Apple Thoughts - News & Reviews on all things Apple

"According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon.com has been pitching media companies on a streaming video subscription service that would compete with Netflix. Amazon has talked to NBC, Time Warner and Viacom about a service that would work on the Web, on mobile devices, and on Xbox 360 consoles."

If this is true (and I think it probably is), then the digital distribution field is about to get a lot more interesting. I've been hoping for some competition for Netflix, which pretty much rules the roost when it comes to streaming video. I'm a firm believer that more competition is always good for the consumer. It's also possible we'll see a streaming video solution from Apple, maybe even at today's event. It looks to be an exciting few months for fans of streaming video. Anybody else excited about this possibility?

"Looks like Roku's going aggressive on price with its lineup of streamers in response to Sony's new $130 Netbox streamer, the upcoming Google TV launch, and rumors that we'll see that rumored $99 iOS-based Apple TV arrive on Wednesday."

The standard def box went down to $59.00 USD, the regular HD is $69.00 USD and the HD-XR box is at $99.00 USD, all dropping in price from $20-$30.00 USD. This is getting to the point to have one just for the UFC they offer, but if they would throw in some NFL RedZone, I'd buy it in a heartbeat and lose Dish Network all together. But I think I will first wait to see what Apple has in store for us on Wednesday.

"The streaming content wars are heating up, and thus far it seems to come down to one of two worthy contenders: Venerable DVD-by-mail provider Netflix in one corner, slugging it out with ad-supported, studio-funded rival Hulu Plus, who earlier this month brought their popular service to iOS devices (and more) at long last."

I'm a big fan of Netflix, the DVD service as well as the streaming option, and now that I've received my HuluPlus invite I'll be trying this out as well. Each has different advantages, Netflix having the upper hand when it comes to movies, and HuluPlus for the TV shows. For a total of less than 20 bucks per month for both it's a pretty good package if you watch enough TV to make it worthwhile. I still wish I could get rid of my Dish service, and it is getting closer and closer all the time.

"HBO Go is a service which allows paid HBO subscribers to access HBO original TV shows, movies, and sports on their computers all in HD."

In about six months, you will be able to watch the same service on your iPad or iPhone/iPod Touch, or at least that is the plan from HBO. The big problem is that it is only available via Comcast or Verizon FIOS, so if you are a Dish Network subscriber like me, it appears you are out of luck. Too bad too, as I was looking forward to this.

"Netflix streaming queue starting to look a little stale? It's working on that, and has signed a deal that brings EPIX's library of movies to Watch Instantly -- just not that instantly."

So plan on being able to view movies, via streaming, from Paramount, Lions Gate and MGM about 90 days after the DVD release now that Netflix has reached an agreement with EPIX. EPIX is a network set up by those studios to bring their movies to the 'Net, and Netflix has finally worked out a deal with them. This is great news for those of you (us) that use the streaming feature of Netflix, and if you are a Netflix user, why wouldn't you?

"Sounds really cool until you start reading the details."

I have to agree that one part isn't cool, and that is having to either buy a SlingBox or pay $200.00 to $400.00 USD to upgrade your DVR in order to use this service. The upgrade fee is a bit excessive and that is what would prevent me from using this service, especially since there are so many other options out there to access the programs I normally record for viewing later. But the rest of it I could live with, such as the $10.00 USD monthly fee (I already pay that since we have two DVRs). How about you, does this interest you at all or are the costs too much in relation to the benefit? 

"Well, would you look at that? The v1.2 update to MobileMe iDisk that Apple pushed out last month has a secret -- er, did have a secret."

And the not so secret secret is that it allows you to play audio via your MobileMe app, from your iDisk, while using another app. While this isn't exactly "iTunes in the cloud" that many sites are talking about, it is a step in the right direction.

"If you’re a music-loving fanboy who has a spare $10 lying around every month, then be sure to take a look at Rhapsody: the super-popular subscription music service app that has just been updated to support multitasking."

Rhapsody allows you to stream and download songs and playlists on your iPhone or iPod Touch, and it's just been updated to allow multitasking. The service costs $9.99 a month. Since it allows you to download playlists and songs, you can use the app even when you're out of range of WiFi or 3g. For those that don't like Rhapsody, you can always try rival service Mog, though currently the Mog app doesn't support multitasking. Are you using Rhapsody? If so, what's your experience been like?

"Netflix's revenue missed expectations last quarter, possibly because many of us haven't laid hands upon a DVD or Blu-ray in quite some time. The number of customers streaming movies has jumped drastically from a year ago."

So 61% of it's customers (me included) are streaming video now compared to 37% a year ago. People are paying the lower $8.95 USD per month rate for one disc shipped at a time since they get to stream as much as they want, regardless which plan they are on. For me, since they don't have everything on the streaming, it makes sense to get on the family plan, which gives me some choices and my wife some choices.

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"Ever wonder why premium movie channels (your HBOs and the like) get top-shelf Hollywood movies not long after their DVD release but yet you're still stuck streaming Mystery Science Theater 3000's greatest hits on Netflix?"

I wonder this, but figured it was just part of the agreement that Netflix has with the various studios about delaying the streaming for a certain amount of time. While I still enjoy streaming various TV series that I didn't catch when they were on TV, it is nice to switch it up every now and then and watch a movie. Adding Relativity to the mix looks pretty good on the surface, since the studio has had a hand in production of over 200 films and earned over $13 billion in revenue. One of the first films offered via streaming with be "The Boxer" starring Christian Bale. The big deal here is that this will be streaming during the "pay TV window" that usually blocks Netflix from streaming until "months if not years" after this window period, according to the press release. Premium content at the same time as HBO and Showtime? Sounds like Netflix is becoming a force in the movie industry, which is definitely good for it's customers.

"Spotify is slashing the cost of its advert-free music streaming in Europe, in a bid to win more paying customers besides just mobile users."

Spotify is currently only available in Finland, France, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom, but if you live in one of those countries they have a deal for you. They have dropped prices considerably for their streaming music service and offer the Unlimited plan for £4.99pm and the Open plan is free. The upside? No-ads music, but the downside for both is no mobile access, no offline or MP3 play and no higher-bitrate quality. They still offer the Premium plan for £9.99, which gives mobile access and higher-fidelity music.

"Jessie Becker here from Marketing and we're thrilled to let you know that we are now shipping instant streaming discs for the Wii to ALL members who want one today!"

The disc is free, and click here to get yours! 

"Roku will announce on Monday a major update to the software powering the company's Roku Player models. As part of that update, the company will also introduce the new Roku Channel Store."

Roku is certainly heading in the right direction, having already provided streaming content from Netflix, Amazon's Video on Demand and MLB.TV. Now with the new Channel Store, you get ten more channels to choose from including blip.tv, Flickr, Pandora and Revision3. They have 3 boxes to choose from ranging in price from the standard definition box for roughly $80.00 USD to the HD box for about $130.00 USD.

"The first game streamed by MLB.com will be Thursday's 2:20 p.m. game between the Cubs and White Sox. An earlier version stated the first game would be on Wednesday."

Today is the first day they are going to be streaming it live on the iPhone App MLB.com At Bat 2009. The game will stream for free and will be White Sox-Cubs at 2:20pm Eastern, followed by Tigers-Cardinals at 8:15pm Eastern. According to MLB, they will detect the speed of your connection, on either 3G or Wi-Fi, and adjust the video quality accordingly. The application also has limited DVR capabilities such as pausing and rewinding. I'm sure it is only a matter of time before they start charging for some of the games now that the 3.0 software allows the in app purchasing, but for now I'll enjoy the free streaming.

"According to Torrentfreak, Lost was the most downloaded TV Show on Bittorrent in 2008.. ABC has two other shows on that Top 10 list (Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy). It is clear ABC is producing great content, and it is no surprise that our users want to stream it on boxee."

Since I'm away from my beloved DVR (it used to be a Tivo but that is a painful story) for most of the week while at work, this sounds like a pretty good alternative. They hope to release an Apple TV version soon. I stream shows now from ABC, CBS and FOX but I'm always looking for something better, at least until I can afford to get a Slingbox. Or maybe I won't have to buy one?

"Watch Instantly is a great way to catch up on a movie, TV show or documentary without having to wait for the movie to come in the mail. You don't get the extra features or super surround sound, but it's fast, the quality is good and it is free to use. If you have a Netflix Unlimited plan, you can watch as many movies a month as you want. If you have a limited plan, the number of films you can stream is also limited."

It may be US-only (most of these new-fangled things are these days) but it's pretty cool that Netflix has finally acknowledged that not every computer in the United States runs Windows. About a year and a half ago, I canceled my Netflix subscription because they said they had no intention of bringing streaming to the Mac. Now I may just reconsider it. Of course, the title selection probably sucks (at least I've heard it does for now) but it's something where there was nothing before.

When Netflix was created, the CEO said that nothing had more bandwidth than a truck and the postal system. This seems to be an indication that that's no longer the case.

Has anyone out there with a Netflix account given this baby a whirl yet? It's no longer opt-in so you should be able to try it out on your account right now. I'm curious to know what you all think of it.