Netflix comes to TiVo
By the end of 2008, Netflix streaming will be coming to TiVo DVRs. So now, there is yet another reason to start really considering going the TiVo route rather than the cable provider’s DVR route. I had been going back and forth on the idea. Owning a TiVo opens up a lot of flexibility with your TV recordings that you just cannot get with a cable provider’s DVR. This could very well be what I need to make the conversion.
Netflix streaming is somewhat of a new service that started last year sometime. For those customers that are eligible, a member could “Watch Instantly” on his/her computer a near-DVD quality stream of a movie or television show. Currently this service has over 12,000 movies and television shows available. Major studios including NBC Universal, Sony Pictures, MGM, 20th Century Fox, CBS/Paramount, ABC-Disney, Warner Brothers, Lions Gate Entertainment and New Line Cinema are all distributing via the service.
The ability to “Watch Instantly” expanded from the computer to select Blu-Ray Players earlier this year and also recently to the Xbox 360. This means that existing and eligible Netflix subscribers are able to stream movies and TV shows directly to their TV over a broadband Internet connection at no additional cost other than their Netflix subscription and any other associated costs with the players or Xbox service. Now you can add TiVo to the list of options available. The ability the stream from Netflix will begin beta testing for select TiVo owners immediately, with an official roll-out scheduled for early December. It will be available on TiVo HD, HD XL, and Series3 DVRs (not Series2 or DirecTV models).
I have the “Watch Instantly” option available to me now, but I have to be honest, I’ve only used it two or three times so far. I don’t particularly like watching movies from my computer and I don’t have my computer hooked up to my TV currently. However, using a TiVo would definitely encourage me to use this service more frequently.