Netflix Offers “Watch Instantly” on Macs

Netflix, an extremely popular online movie renting site, has done what other sites have been unable to do so successfully, bring the end of brick and mortar video renting locations. Not only have physical video rental locations dwindled, but other online competitors simply could not get the following that Netflix was able to acquire with its extensive selection and quick mailing turnaround.

But even with all of its successes, Netflix was still marred by one fact, their streaming option was not supported by Apple computers. Earlier this year Netflix announced that members of their site would be able to directly stream content from their site, making it easier on the user to view as opposed to having to wait for the mail out. This easily accessible option drove streaming use through the roof, but only for Window’s users. Mac owners were left out in this major announcement until now.

Last week it was announced by Netflix, Inc. that testing was being done to ensure that Mac users would be able to stream content by the end of this year. The announcement which many members thought would never come, came with a catch. The streaming technology would only be available for Intel based Macs, and not be supported by older models.

Thanks to Microsoft’s Silverlight technology, Netflix is able to bring it’s streaming library of over 12,000 movies and TV shows to non-windows users. I personally find it ironic that the only way streaming media could have been brought to the Mac was via a windows bridge, ala Silverlight. Nevertheless, those holding onto older Macs have a reason to ditch it for the Intel based models.

Currently there is a Mac media player that is available for beta testing. The product, now available for public beta testing can be downloaded by anyone. The beta as admittedly experienced several bugs that may interfere with the quality of the movie played, but plans from Netflix are to have most if not all of these bugs worked out by the end of the year.

Personally I love Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” choice, and have longed for support on the Mac. Interestingly though, the DRM only allows a certain number of machines that you can watch your streaming media on. This limitation is similar to what iTunes has with its account set up. I’m not necessarily sure this will be much of a problem for most of us, but the limitation seems silly to begin with.

Thus far the player has worked fine on my machine, but even with my limited use I may not come across all of the bugs that are expected to pop up. If you are using the public beta software to stream movies on a mac, I’d like to year about your experiences and whether this was a good move for Netflix, Inc. Make sure to leave your comments and be heard!

Tags: apple mac microsoft Netflix Silverlight streaming video