Redmond, Washington — Microsoft, attempting to position its Windows Media Center as the central platform to watch TV shows from the internet and broadcast TV on the PC, snuggled a little closer to its US movies-on-demand buddy, adding Netflix to the list of streaming content providers to its Windows Media Center feature for Vista PCs, the companies said late Wednesday.
Microsoft already has a deal to provide movies from Netflix through its Xbox game console, but people can only play back movies that are available for instant streaming on that platform.
For example, Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” application — which enable people to watch titles available for streaming from Netflix via a Web browser — the Windows Media player application uses Silverlight to deliver the video.
Beginning Wednesday, Netflix subscribers can now access the company’s library of streaming movies and TV shows instantly from within Windows Media Center right on the media dashboard built into Vista Home Premium and Ultimate.
Netflix’s streaming service will appear on Windows Media Center within the next couple of days. (Credit: Microsoft)
People with a Netflix account can now have access to more than 12,000 “Watch it now” videos on demand via the Netflix application in Windows Media Player in Vista; they also can manage their physical disc queue, which gives them access to 100,000 titles. XP users would not be able to access the service.
Ben Reed, the senior product marketing manager for Windows Media Center, said in a statement that there is a continuous demand for one standard user experience: “The use of familiar controls, of pause, fast forward, rewind. That is one of the pain-points we hear from consumers about the myriad ways you can consume TV shows and movies online. Each one has a different search and discovery experience; each one has a different player; some work great full screen; some do not.” Microsoft is also adding some new features, including an improved way to search through Netflix movies and TV shows.
Owners of Windows Media Center will also be able to sift through entire Netflix library, manage their DVD queues, and “filter searches by titles that are available to watch instantly,” Microsoft said in a statement.
However, they cannot view those instantly: They still have to receive physical DVDs in the mail to watch those titles.
Microsoft also pushed its Media Center into its forthcoming Windows 7 operating system, but there is no word if the deal extends that far.
Microsoft continues to attempt to boost the amount of content available on Windows Media. In March, the company launched a new sports channel, including replays of the past NCAA basketball tournament.
“We are building on our broader vision to alleviate the need to jump from Web site to Web site to find TV shows, movies, sports and news,” Microsoft said in a statement. “With Windows Media Center, (users) can now find it in one place.”
Microsoft also has included a “Turboscroll” feature to Windows Media Center in Windows 7, which makes it far faster for people to scroll through and find specific entertainment content they are looking for, Reed said.
The Netflix deal follows others Microsoft has reached this year to bring sports content from CBSSports.com, Fox Sports and MSNBC.com to Windows Media Center.
Netflix has steadily been bridging the once wide gap between the PC and the television by entering into partnership deals with a wide assortment of set-top box makers, including Roku, and LG.
To access Netflix’s service, Windows Media Center owners must first subscribe to the rental service. Then, to stream movies, they can start Windows Media Center on their computers by selecting the new Netflix tile under TV+Movies heading.
And more importantly, Netflix is available in the US only. Before 2004, the company manipulated the idea of launching in the UK, but then decided to concentrate only on the stateside of the biz.