Ready to say goodbye to those familiar red envelopes? Not so
fast: Netflix is
introducing its new service slowly and cautiously. It will take six months for the
movie rental company to roll out its online service to all subscribers, and years until
DVDs-by-mail become obsolete.
In the initial version of the service, only about 1,000 of Netflix’ 70,000
titles will be available to watch online, and they will play only on PC
screens. Over the coming years, the company hopes to expand the selection of
films and to allow films to be shown on any Internet-connected screen, including
cell phones, PCs and televisions. This gradual pace is deliberate; Netflix CEO
Reed Hastings says that “mainstream consumer adoption of online movie watching
will take a number of years due to content and technology hurdles.”
Like the existing DVD-by-mail service, Netflix’ online
service will be rental-only. At least for the time being, it will be included
at no additional cost in subscribers’ monthly membership plans. The hours
available for instant watching will vary based on subscribers' monthly plans.
The feature requires Internet connectivity of at least 1 Mbps; a 3 Mbps
connection is necessary for DVD quality. It differs from current services in
that it does not require downloading large video files. After a one-time
install of a browser applet, users will be able to order movies and begin
watching them in as little as 10 to 15 seconds. Movies can be paused, and a
position bar allows viewers to jump to any point in the movie.
