We wanted more control over managing our Netflix instant queue. Now you can add new releases directly to your instant queue directly on your screen — no need to power up the laptop to catch fresh flicks.  There’s still room for improvement on managing the Watch Instantly queue though: sorting, tagging, and filtering could all be useful ways to find those hidden gems in a snap. But were always willing to reward progress, so we’ll give ‘em a “5″ on that request.

We also asked for greater control over playback resolution, and this is where the Xbox Experience upgrade really shines. One major drawback of Netflix Watch Instantly was the regular stop-the-show-and-downres that occurred as your available bandwidth changed. We’re happy to report a major improvement. What used to bring the entire show to a grinding halt for 15 seconds or longer is now a mere 2-second lapse. Even better, while in the past the appearance of the rebuffer screen guaranteed a coarser image quality, with the latest update the brief interruption is now just as likely to improve your resolution as your network’s capacity opens up.

While there’s still some room for improvement here (like, say, seamless rebuffering in the background), the overall effect of this upgrade is a dramatic improvement in the online video experience. Scores a big fat “9″.

And even though we never asked for the Xbox Live Party, we’re having fun sharing Netflix with friends via our Xbox 360. Getting a recommendation from an online friend is always cool. Chatting while watching: cooler.

Just last month they enabled HD content from Netflix, previously available online only through Xbox. Now Roku has announced integration with Amazon.com’s new Video On Demand service, with access to instantly purchase, rent and watch digital movies and TV episodes. The new content is planned to go live “early in 2009.”

The Roku box is well respected for its easy setup. Features include built-in connections to wifi and to any television set using HDMI, component video, composite video, s-video, stereo audio or optical audio.

On Your Screen, on Your Schedule

Netflix continues to expand its “Watch Instantly” library, currently over 12,000 of its total 100,000 titles are available for instant viewing. While watching on your laptop works in a pinch (think stuck in an airport), the real beauty of instant movie access happens with friends and family on your inhome screen. Netflix has teamed up with a number of partners to bring instant viewing to TV. The current list of Netflix-ready devices includes a $99 set top box from Roku and Blu-Ray players from Samsung and LG in the $350-400 range.

But for the 25 million Xbox 360 owners out there right now, there’s no need to plunk down additional cash for another black box. With an Xbox Live Gold membership, you can link your Xbox directly to your Netflix account. Every movie in your Instant Queue is available — instantly — on your big screen, optimized to balance image quality and smooth playback. And now with Xbox Live, Netflix has opened the door to online HD. Over 300 movies and TV titles are available to watch instantly in high def. Xbox is the only Netflix-ready device with HD access.

The Price is Right

Once you’ve added the Xbox Live Gold membership — which in itself offers pay per view of XX,000 titles, adding Netflix is pretty painless. The Netflix “unlimited” plans start at $8.99/month, which gives you unlimited DVDs per month (1 disc at a time) plus unlimited access to Watch Instantly. If you want more DVD choices in the house at once, they have the plans to accommodate.

NetflixUnlimited Plans
Unlimited Instant Viewing, Unlimited Monthly DVD Rentals	Price per Month
1 DVD at-a-time	$8.99
2 DVDs at-a-time	$13.99
3 DVDs at-a-time	$16.99
4 DVDs at-a-time	$23.99
5 DVDs at-a-time	$29.99
6 DVDs at-a-time	$35.99
7 DVDs at-a-time	$41.99
8 DVDs at-a-time	$47.99

Wouldn’t It Be Nice…

Opportunities for improvement? Sure. The browsing interface is pretty limited: you can’t sort or tag the titles in your instant queue, so the more titles you add, the more cumbersome the queue becomes. We’re on the 4-disk-at-a-time plan, and everyone in the family has their own queue. However, only one queue gets access to Watch Instantly, so the instant queue can get pretty thick in a hurry.

More control over resolution would be a plus. Netflix automatically chooses the video quality to give you the best image possible based on the speed of your Internet connection. The faster your Internet connection, the higher the quality that they’ll deliver. Sounds great, but any slowdown in connectivity during playback pauses the show, while the software recalculates the new resolution to send. In my house, this happens once with almost every viewing, usually about two minutes into playback. If I could avoid the pause by setting a preference for slightly lower resolution, I’d be set. Meanwhile, my only option is an ongoing discussion with my ISP on the merits of delivering consistent service.

Looking Forward

The folks at Netflix recently came out with their growth strategy for 2009 and beyond, and distributing entertainment online is at the center of it all: “We know the future belongs to instant watching, to streaming to your TV.” The Netflix-enabled devices work well and make streaming simple. Their Watch Instantly collection is on the fast track: recent agreements with CBS, Disney, and Starz have increased the library size by 20% in the past two months. And their fixed-price approach, which has proven to be so popular with DVDs, is a welcome alternative to the growing world of online pay-per-views. These guys are moving in the right direction as TV adapts to the internet, and they saw it coming way back when. As Netflix CEO Reed Hastings recently remarked, “There’s a good reason we didn’t name the ecompany DVDs-by-Mail.”

Which is better, Netflix or Blockbuster?

While there are some smaller players in the rental business, for the critical items like option plans and movie selections, more is definitely better. Both Blockbuster.com and Netflix, Inc. are at the top of the game when it comes to selection, convenient returns, reviews, personalized recommendations, gift cards — and a place to buy DVDs on the cheap.

For all their similarities, there’s a lot to pick and choose from between these two. In fact, the differences between the two are much greater now than in past years, which makes it easier than ever to pick the plan that suits your needs best.

Ask yourself a few basic questions about what’ll make your life easier . How many videos do you go through in an average month? How important is access to video games as opposed to movie streaming? Is driving to the neighborhood store no big deal or an inconvenient drag? Once you consider your priorities, picking the right plan is a snap.

Blockbuster’s In-Store Exchanges

When Blockbuster Total Access service came out in 2004 with free unlimited in-store exchanges for DVDs received through the mail, it was an offer that Netflix ultimately couldn’t match. But while this extra value was key in helping Blockbuster gain new subscribers, the program proved just too expensive to maintain — Blockbuster’s profitable in-store rentals were being cannibalized by their own customers moving online and exchanging DVDs in-store for free.

So last year, Blockbuster came out with Blockbuster By Mail (a mail-only plan similar to Netflix), put caps on monthly in-store exchanges for regular Total Access members, and introduced Total Access Premium, with unlimited in-store exchanges for a higher monthly fee. These changes were intended to drive profitable traffic back to their 2,000 brick & mortar locations nationwide.

While there’s a degree of potential convenience in the mail-and-store strategy, you’d best be careful here: Blockbuster prices its products differently online and off. While an online DVD rental is free from due dates and late fees, once you exchange your title in a retail store, the new rental will probably come with a return deadline. Miss it and you’re racking up late fees again.

After you’ve enjoyed your movie, you’ll need to return that in-store exchange back to the store where you rented it. While you can return a mailed DVD to a store, you can’t return store-rented movies by mail.

So if the local Blockbuster store fits into your day, Total Access or Total Access Premium deserves a close look. You can also use your in-store exchanges for video game rentals — a nice plus that you won’t find on Netflix. Blockbuster’s running a special deal on the Total Access 3-at-a-time plan, offering half price for the first month.

Netflix: More Movies, More Plans

If making additional trips to stores isn’t your idea of a time saver, then the Netflix vs. Blockbuster comparison becomes much simpler.

For mail-only plans, prices are comparable. Even though Blockbuster will save you a buck a month on a couple of its plans, Netflix has the larger library. Either one will have you covered for recent releases and Hollywood hits, but when you’re looking for that hard-to-find classic or indie title, that additional thousand titles can make a big difference.

And even though Blockbuser has eleven different plans to choose from, they max out at three simultaneous rentals. At our house, we started off with the 3 at-a-time plan, but quickly realized the benefits of giving everyone a movie of their choice. For us, four at-a-time is the magic number, and Netflix has the plan that fits. And, they offer a cool free trial.

DVDs by Mail: Netflix.com and Blockbuster

	Netflix.com	Blockbuster.com
		Blockbuster Total Access	Blockbuster By Mail
Subscribers	7,500,000	2,600,000
DVD Titles	100,000	80,000
Postal Delivery
DVD Distribution	free delivery via 1st class mail
Postal Returns	postage-paid return envelope
Distribution Centers	100+ mail distribution centers in US	39 distribution centers across US, plus X,000 in-store exchange loactions
Pricing Plans
Unlimited Monthly Rentals	Price per Month
8 DVDs at-a-time	$47.99	N/A
7 DVDs at-a-time	$41.99	N/A
6 DVDs at-a-time	$35.99	N/A
5 DVDs at-a-time	$29.99	N/A
4 DVDs at-a-time	$23.99	N/A
3 DVDs at-a-time	$16.99	$19.99 includes 5 in-store exchanges $34.99 Premium, unlimited in-store exchanges	$15.99
2 DVDs at-a-time	$13.99	$16.99 includes 3 in-store exchanges $29.99 Premium, unlimited in-store exchanges	$13.99
1 DVD at-a-time	$8.99	$11.99 includes 3 in-store exchanges $21.99 Premium, unlimited in-store exchanges	$8.99
2 Monthly Rentals:
1 DVD at-a-time	$4.99	$9.99 includes 2 in-store exchanges	$3.99

Movies on Your Laptop: Netflix.com or Blockbuster’s MovieLink

Now that you’ve figured out the best way to get DVDs into and out of your life, let’s talk instant access to watching movies online.

Both Netflix and Blockbuster offer online movie viewing, but the two companies have taken dramatically different approaches.

Netflix includes free streaming of over 7,000 titles directly to your PC with each of its DVD-by-Mail plans. Though the lowest threshold rental plan (2 DVDs per month) limits you to 2 hours instant access per month, all other Netflix plans include unlimited instant access. And all this instantly available view-on-demand full-length commercial-free content is absolutely free with your monthly subscription.

And while 7,000 online titles is a small fraction of the entire Netflix library, my S.O. and I currently have 78 movies in our queue. Seventeen of these — over 20% — are available to watch instantly, streaming full-length, commercial-free, on demand. A nice option, especially when we’re on the road or if the DVDs are en route.

Comparing Blockbuster’s instant access solution is almost unfair. Last year Blockbuster purchased MovieLink, an online rental site which offers movie rentals via download. Similar to the iTunes movie rentals, you pay per movie. The file downloads to your PC, and will be erased 24 hours after viewing begins. Blockbuster and MovieLink are separate services, there’s no need to subscribe to Blockbuster to rent (or buy) digital movies from MovieLink. With 5,000 titles available, MovieLink puts Apple TV’s current selection to shame. But here again, BlockBuster pales in comparison to the NetFlix instant access library.

Online Access: Netflix vs MovieLink

Choose and Enjoy

Deciding which company is right for you can be pretty simple — once you’ve figured out how many movies you’re likely to consume, and how you value getting movies in a store versus on your laptop.

Both Blockbuster and Netflix are good bets to be around for the long run, and as web-based delivery methods get faster and easier, we’re sure to see these guys revise their offerings and their prices. Both companies have hinted at new strategies and partnerships to be introduced this year, and the entire online video market is heating up with new competition like never before. Which reminds me of one other appealing aspect to both Netflix and Blockbuster: unlike your mobile phone company, you can change or cancel your plan anytime and move on to the next new thing.

So now it’s easy access for all, and more content to boot. They’ve added a substantial amount of new TV episodes and full-length movies to the site. For what is essentially a brand new public site, there’s a wealth of shows worth watching — all in decent resolution. With its easy-to-use site search and navigation, Hulu’s hard to beat for free streaming TV and films.

More Online Video Content

With over 66,000 titles available, Graboid has one of the broadest selections of video online, including 17,000 movie titles and over 37,000 TV shows. Most of the content is in English, but there’s also a decent smattering in other languages.

The service is focused on providing feature-length programming. Graboid allows owners of video content to upload files to Usenet for rapid distribution and promotion. While the company is actively engaging copyright owners, it’s clear that some files available have been added to the database by third parties. Graboid contends since their service is different from the P2P networks it’s completely legal.

The Faster the Better

Even with all this cool content, the real story here is speed. Graboid transfers video way faster than BitTorrent and P2P file-sharing sites, with virtually no waiting for steady reliable streaming. In fact. their exclusive Fusebox technology provides the fastest data transfer we’ve found anywhere: we regularly see Graboid downloads maxing out our broadband connections.

And in many instances, a fast file download is a very good thing. At a good site like Hulu or Veoh you can stream decent content directly to your laptop. But if you’re behind a firewall, streaming can range from agonizingly slow to downright impossible.

Meanwhile, Comcast has admitted to slowing down video streams from third party sites that they can’t monetize; other big networks like Verizon and ATT are getting in line. (My PC laptop is a case in point — even though it’s a fast processor, the firewall firmware pretty much ensures that a video stream just ain’t gonna be pretty.

A speedy download, on the other hand, gives me quick, reliable access to smooth and steady playback.) BTW, for streaming Graboid, you’ll need a minimum of 1 Mbps.

More Pros than Cons

In addition to the amount of quality content we’ve already discussed, there’s a lot more to like about Graboid.

1. The application organizes this massive library by category and provides a basic search window. Between the two, it’s pretty easy to find what you’re looking for.
2. With the free basic membership, you get 4 gb of file transfer per month. And rest assured, the free membership is actually free — no hidden costs or strings attached.
3. If 4 gigs per month just ain’t enough, additional subscription plans are available for as little as $4.99 a month.
4. Graboid is free from adware, spyware and any other kind of maliciousness.

What’s a review without a few gripes:

• Graboid’s library navigation structure could be more intuitive, and the search needs some beefing up — there’s no clean way to find content by language.
• They include a basic rating system integrated into the listings, but it’s limited to thumbs-up or thumbs-down feedback.
• And although the payback screen provides a smooth playback and decent video quality, the interface lacks fully functional rewind button.
• Oh, and a sliding content indicator would be nice, to be able to scrub your way forward or back through the show or movie.
• Last but not least: no Mac version yet.

The web site provides access to their blog and a support forum (Warning: Graboid and Vista don’t get along very well!); it’s also the one place to join Graboid and download the application. Check it out and let me know what you think.

A joint venture of NBC Universal [owners of Bravo, USA Network, Sci-Fi, A&E, Sundance Channel, Oxygen] and News Corp [think Fox, FX, Speed, FUEL TV, National Geographic Channel, and The History Channel] Hulu offers free video-on-demand content: episodes of current shows, past seasons, archive series, and a limited selection of films. Image quality is crisp within the in-screen viewer, although at full screen there’s noticeable degradation. [Limited HD content is available for those with sufficient bandwidth and hardware.]

Hulu seems to be processing invites and adding new users in waves: a good thing, since their level of service was a bit, er, inconsistent during the early fast-growth months. If your request for a beta invite is placed on hold, check out Justin Goldberg’s peek inside the list of available private beta invites via Google. While supplies last.

Even though we’re in this age of World Wide Web, much of Hulu’s content distribution is limited to within the United States. If you’re outside of the US, you can reclaim your geographic anonymity with Hotspot Shield. [Thanks for this tip goes out to Matt Schlicht at OpenHulu]

Since there’s almost always more than one way to do it online, you don’t need to access Hulu directly to see the shows. Hulu has partnered with AOL, Comcast, MSN, MySpace, and Yahoo as additional distribution venues; MySpace and Veoh are already providing some content. And OpenHulu may be worth checking out. Matt has painstakingly embedded all of Hulu’s content in an open-access site — no invitation or log-in required. Since Hulu’s branding and advertising are still intact within each video, the site seems to be in compliance with their terms of use, so OpenHulu is legit and above-board. That said, the user interface, however, is a poor substitute for the real thing.

All in all, a decent amount of buzz for a site that’s still in development. And we fully expect to see more in the coming months, as Hulu and others move to bring more shows to a wider online audience.

With Apple TV’s new upgrade and features, including online movie rentals and lower pricing, it’s getting easier than ever to bring high quality and high def movies from the web to your TV. And as much as we like Apple, we like to see a robust, competitive marketplace even more. Netflix recently announced their plans to develop a new set-top box.

Meanwhile, Vudu, which introduced its video-store-in-a-box just last October, has already had to slash $100 off the retail price and expand its hi-def library to keep competitive with Apple’s latest.

Between Apple and Vudu, the two products use different perspectives for in-home networking and deploying content from the web. No surprise then that each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Which is best suited for your needs? Here’s a quick side-by-side. Hope it helps.

Product	Apple TV	Vudu
Cost and Storage	$229 (40gb), $329 (169gb)	$295 (250gb)
Amount of Content	Apple is starting off with about 750 titles as of late January 2008; expect rapid growth here. TV shows available from over 60 networks	Contracts with seven film major studios + 20 independent & foreign studios and distributors = 5,000 movie titles in library.
Cost of Content	Movie rentals: $2.99 – $3.99 for standard def, $3.99-$4.99 for high def. Huge collection of TV episodes, most can be purchased for $1.99 each.	Movie rentals range from 99¢ to $3.99, purchased movies from $4.99 to $19.99. TV episodes are $1.99.
What’s da Def?	Hi-def purchases from iTunes store: 720p. Movie rentals: 1280 by 720	Automatically assesses your TV’s display capability and delivers the maximum resolution your set can handle, up to 1080p.
TV Compatibility	Compatible with enhanced-definition or high-definition widescreen TVs capable	Works with any standard definition television, in widescreen or fullscreen format
Bandwidth Requirements	Wireless video streaming requires 802.11g or 802.11n) or 10/100BASE-T Ethernet network	Requires a minimum available bandwidth of 2.0 Mbps (usually advertised by ISPs as 3.0 Mbps) for instant viewing of movies. You can test your bandwidth here.
Wireless	Built-in Wi-Fi. Connects to your wireless network to download content from the Internet, so you only have to connect it to your TV, not to a DSL or cable modem. Quick ‘n easy access to content that lives on your PC or Mac.	Not. You’ll need to plug the box into an Ethernet or game adapter to connect it to a wireless network.
Cables	Includes power cord. All other cables additional.	Includes HDMI™ Cable, Ethernet Cable, Composite Video with Analog Stereo Audio Cable, Power Supply & AC Cord, RF Antenna.

If you’re looking for instant access to a great selection of film titles (and you have a decent broadband connection), the Vudu solution has a lot of appeal. For the rest of us, for now, Apple TV looks like the way to go.

• 1056 live TV channels on your PC
• No monthly charges
• Thousands of worldwide programs
• 100% legal

Sounds good. But how does this $30 software product work, and does it live up to the hype?

What it Does

DTV4PC is a software application that aggregates Free To Air (FTA) channels and packages access with a custom user interface and search function. FTA channels are, as the name implies, already free; they’re accessible to anyone with an internet connection. DTV4PC offers a means of organizing (and potentially updating) a collection of FTA channels.

What it Says it Does

However, that’s not quite how they’re positioning the product. With promises like “nearly 100 channels of the most popular programming on the worldwide airwaves available with no pay-per view fees, or hidden charges”, this sounds like an entertainment bargain. With promises of viewing “Comedy Central, ESPN, Fox, ABC News, Discovery Channel, MTV Overdrive, EuroTV, Vintage Cartoons, Food Network, National Geographic, Rapture TV, Adult Swim, Broadway Network, Game Network, and more”, how can you miss?

One popular and in-depth review from Chris at RGBscan.com has attracted a lot of praise for its straightforward and detailed analysis of the channels provided and overall video quality. The reviewer was not impressed, and has also complained about a lack of support from the vendor on honoring their 30-day guarantee. (Nor is he alone on this issue. I found a number of similar complaints on from disgruntled customers.)

And the People Say

From a decidedly unscientific sampling of online reviews, it looks like roughly 60-80% of posters who’ve purchased this item have expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of available content.

Satisfied customers point to the ease of keeping their channels organized, the free radio add-on, and easy access to European channels (great for ex-pats).

Tip: If you are interested in purchasing, visit the DTV4PC website, read what they have to say, and before you buy, leave the site. That’s right, navigate away to another website. DTV4PC sends up a live chat pop-up window offering 25% off the purchase price to anyone who exits the site without making a purchase.