Google+ meet your new best friend—the Verizon Coinstar mashup. Coinstar of course owns Redbox, you’re favorite grocery store DVD distributor. The two together are offering…something. They’re not Neflix—the other convenient way to watch movies. Thus far, they really haven’t promised much of anything.

The announcement may be sort of a premature statement as shown by the lack of news. But two things are clear: the merger will happen and it will offer streaming. It sounds more like a pain than a blessing. The Verizon/Coinstar merge is likely based on a point system. Without knowing what that means, it sounds both tricky and difficult. Groan. Right? Twelve easy steps to watch one Ron Schneider movie. Lucky us.

So where does the problem lie? Well, Netflix found out last year that breaking up the streaming and DVDs is a big no-no. Amazon and iTunes charge too much, but you can grab episodes of television shows and movies pretty easily. Where else is there to go with this merge? Yes, both companies are big deals, and credit where credit is due. However, just because they are good in their respective fields does not mean coming together to produce something no one was looking for is a good idea.

Unless they’re going to produce something mind blowingly new, I have a feeling they’re kicking a dead horse.

Why is this information important? Well, as The Wrap has reported, UltraViolet is being presented as the savior of the failing home entertainment market. How failing is this market? Oh well, DVD sales just fell a mere 44% last year (44%– that’s huge!), due largely to online streaming websites and video on demand. But alas, UltraViolet has now ridden in on its great white horse here to save the day, combining the physical ownership of a DVD with the Internet, web streaming capabilities favored by customers of companies like Netflix. UltraViolet is, thus, offering “new freedom with new UltraViolet digital copy,” says it’s commercial, by allowing access to your movie collection from a variety of forums.

Sounds great? Well, I have just one main concern: the digital streaming aspect of this next great hope is currently free for only a year. After that, studios have the option of launching additional fees for watching your own movies, that you have already paid for. Will people actually go for this? I mean, charging the hypothetical customer additional fees a year later to watch a movie he already owns seems a bit (or a lot) like highway robbery to me.

So what do you think, Banterers? Is UltraViolet going to be the life support that the home entertainment sector needs? Or will it just be another red herring in the face of Internet streaming sites and video on demand?

Yesterday, the company decided their split of Netflix into two separate entities was a bad idea. This is about a month after everyone else did. Qwikster, the harebrained spin off service, has disappeared due to 100% negative feedback. (No, I have not done the research, but that number seems likely, doesn’t it?) Qwikster was going to handle the DVD-by-mail part, while instant streaming would still be available on Netflix.

There are times when a move like this would seem like a pain for consumers, but, it’s easy to see the reason is behind greedy shareholders and businessmen.

“If we split the service, make it inconvenient for all our existing customers, and charge more, we’ll so much money! Guaranteed! We are the best!” –Reed Hastings

Well, after months of an increased price and the original split announcement, Netflix has lost roughly a million of its subscribers. Then there was this last weekend.

So what did they do? What would everyone else do in these situations? They ran as fast as they could back to their comfort zones. Netflix is one whole unit again, and the world can sleep in peace tonight. Gone are the bad dreams of having two pay TWO bills for price of one service. No more questions like, “What’s a Qwikster?” Today, we are free again! Welcome back, Netflix. I know it was a rough month for you. Me too. Now I need to go get my friend’s password again.

To clarify, you same moochers now get added cartoons. Starting in 2013, you can see all your favorites installments of Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda. Given by 2013, there will probably be six more films in each franchise, making it an even better deal. Also by 2013, there will probably be a substantially smaller Netflix library anyway. A smaller base would then mean less viewers followed by less investors followed by less Netflix all together. Uh oh. But this is good news?!?! I think so?

The large amount of bad news to come with this medium amount of good news is that Netflix has lost Disney and Sony due to the end of its Starz deal. Oops. That’s a lot of good content.

Really, Netflix is in a tough spot because studios and premium cable channels hate it. However, streaming films on a computer or a new fangled television is the future. Either that or Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy way too early and people are going to want to walk into video stores and deal with the oh-so-friendly customer service they provided again. Party like it’s 1996!

“What’s a video store?” – Everyone in 2012

So while the future waits to confirm my suspicion, there is a little more good news on the horizon. Netflix MAY be reaching a deal with Warner Brothers to show some of its T.V. shows. There nothing as reassuring as a good maybe, that’s what my mom always told me. Good luck Netflix.

Just to recap:
Pros
Netflix gets Dreamworks Animation.
Netflix may almost be close to possibly working out a deal with Warner Brothers for television shows.

Cons
Netflix loses deal with Starz soon.
Netflix loses Sony.
Netflix loses Disney.
Netflix charges more, loses customers.

Miramax has created ‘The Miramax eXperience,’ an interactive application via Facebook where you can rent films to watch directly on your computer. It’s basically like Instant Netflix but instead of a monthly or yearly fee you pay for each individual movie (about 30 Facebook credits or $3 each) and the rental is active for 30 days but the viewing window is only 48 hours once you start the movie. Seems pretty ideal huh?

But like every new invention there are a few catches. For starters, because this is such a new application there are only about 20 titles available in the U.S. right now, and even less in the U.K. and Turkey (I’m sure other locations will become available soon enough). Additionally, the custom player that you watch the films on, Ooyala, isn’t exactly the most up to date video experience. If you have stopped the movie and go back to it later it can’t tell you where you left off, something that always comes in handy for me! Also, even though you are not physically watching the film on Facebook, you are renting it from the application therefore the typical Facebook “permissions” are present asking you to post this activity to your wall and newsfeed (something I find extremely annoying and invasive about Facebook applications).

Be that as it may, I think this is overall a pretty great idea. While the service hasn’t worked out all its kinks yet, Miramax is smart to release it as soon as possible beating out the competition and being the first movie studio to get the ball rolling on this. Facebook has stated that this deal does limit them just to Miramax so I expect other studios will soon follow suit. I also enjoy the fact that it is single-film purchasing instead of a monthly fee. It’s much more financially sound that way. The application is currently live so you can check it out here: http://apps.facebook.com/miramaxapp/ and see if you’re interested!

Here’s a full list of available titles:

U.S.: Adventureland, Chicago, Clerks, Cold Mountain, Extract, From Dusk Till Dawn, Gangs of NY, Gone Baby Gone, Good Will Hunting, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill, Kill Bill 2, No Country for Old Men, Pulp Fiction, Shall We Dance (2004), Sin City, Spy Kids, Swingers, The Switch, Trainspotting

U.K.: Chicago, Cold Mountain, From Dusk Till Dawn, Good Will Hunting, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill, Kill Bill 2, Shall We Dance (2004),Sin City, Spy Kids

Turkey:  Adventureland, Chicago, Clerks, Cold Mountain, From Dusk Till Dawn,Gone Baby Gone, Good Will Hunting, Jackie Brown, Spy Kids, Swingers

What do you think Banters? Good idea or is this completely pointless?

If all goes according to plan, Facebook would allow users to upload and share an array of TV shows, news, music and other types of media. As Zuckerberg stated during his presentation, “Listening to music is something that people do with their friends…Music, TV, news, books — those types of things I think people just naturally do with their friends. I hope we can play a part in enabling those new companies to get built, and companies that are out there producing this great content to become more social.” And, if executed flawlessly, Netflix would be just one of the potential companies whose partnership with Facebook would allow for both parties to “become more social.”

So there you have it, a possible Facebook/Netflix collaboration, amongst others. This seems to have the potential to be a great move on Zuckerberg’s part, and yet the only thing that keeps coming to mind is Justin Timberlake’s well-stated line (and possibly his only one throughout all of The Social Network): “A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion dollars.”

So what do you think Banterers? A interesting and creative idea from Facebook mastermind Zuckerberg? Or just another step in his attempt at world domination?

Netflix has signed on to release its own original programming with the Kevin Spacey starring, David Fincher producing House of Cards. There are a few things notable about this. One it will be the first straight to streaming one-hour drama; it will not be aired anywhere else but Netflix (and the billion sites that steal it and put it up online immediately after.) This is a spit in the face to those networks who allowed Netflix to stream their shows already (more on that later.)

What really blows my mind is the price this comes at for Netflix. $100 million dollars!!!! Think about it. While Spacey and Fincher are both well-respected and talented men, they seem like a lot to bank on. Especially considering Netflix has not seen a pilot, nor is there one. They have signed on for twenty-six episodes without a single thing produced. High profile names can easily produce a television bomb. But this isn’t television? Or is it? Is it a movie? It doesn’t matter. $100 million dollars!!!!

Wow!

This is coming along with two other recent Netflix stories. One, Showtime and Starz are changing their deals with the online store from original programming to the movies they can stream. Showtime is pulling first-run shows starting this summer. That means if you’re looking to catch up on Dexter, you should probably do it now. Starz, once a huge supporter of the online service, will now have a 90-day restriction on their shows. To present a comparison, the criminally underrated Party Down could be seen the next day. Maybe it’s not all bad though.

Miramax is reportedly not through with the retailer yet. They are close to a $100 million deal with the Netflix that would include Pulp Fiction, Clerks, and The English Patient. $100 million dollars…more!!!! For us, the consumer, that’s great. Miramax has tons of hits, which could potentially draw in new subscribers. However, this is another $100 million. Subscribers only have to pay $9 or so a month, and that’s if you’re not just borrowing your friends account.

Netflix’s fate has yet to be seen, and it probably won’t for a while. They’re making big moves, which, if nothing else, is an experiment everyone will learn from. Best of luck, Netflix.

Every week we are talking about how Netflix is making headlines and this week is no different, although this may be the most shocking news we bring to you regarding Netflix.  It’s not shocker that Netflix is slowly transforming their business model to be focused more on the streaming service.  DVD costs, shipping costs, and warehouse costs all burn into the profit margin despite the great business model of mail rentals that has boosted the company to the top of the movie rental industry.  But this number is the most shocking.

20% of peak internet traffic in the US is from the Netflix streaming service.

Netflix has about 16 million subscribers and that number will grow especially as the bandwidth usage in the US increases along with the expansion of the online streaming service Netflix provides.  While Blockbuster was years late to change their business model and it ultimately collapsed them, Netflix is changing before they have to so they can prepare for the future and to give the consumers what they want.

I can’t wait for this service to improve.  It’s available vai PS3, Xbox, Wii, and the iphone and the use will only grow.  Now they offer the movies is Dolby Digital sound on the PS3 and that will expand to all services in due time.  Once they improve the HD quality and movie selection, the service will be unstoppable.  Why wait 1-2 days for the movie of your choice to come in the mail when you can just stream whatever you want, when you want, and in good quality?  The time is almost here for that, and I can’t wait till it comes.

As a consumer, it’s been a pleasure watching Netflix grow, and I respect everything the company is doing.  The peak traffic number is very shocking, I didn’t even think it was close to that.

What do you think of the fact that 20% of peak internet traffic in the US comes from Netflix streaming movies?

We reported awhile back that Netflix released discs for both the Nintendo Wii and the PS3 so Netflix subscribers who owned the systems could use the disc to play streaming movies on their systems.  Now Netflix has made an adjustment so users are able to stream movies from their netflix queue without the use of the discs. These disc free netflix streaming systems will make it one step easier for users to watch streaming movies on their various systems.  Xbox had the edge when they secretly had an exclusive deal with Netflix, but since that has vanished, Netflix has been booming on all the latest systems.

This new adjustment is just one upgrade for both systems although doesn’t necessarily give an advantage to any of the system owners.  If anything it just makes it slightly less of a hassle since now you don’t have to worry about having the disc and waiting for it to load.  Little adjustments but necessary for owners, and just one look at what is to come for the future.  I actually think when the next batch of systems come out, there will be less physical disc games and the systems will start to all go  streaming and offer downloadable games, but that’s for another post.

Now the area where Netflix falls short is with its offerings of the latest and hottest Hollywood movies, something it’s lacking now with the streaming function.  Hopefully Netflix can make deals with movie studios to offer more streaming content of newer released movies.

What do you think of systems offering Netflix users the ability to stream movies without a disc?

Netflix is the Blockbuster of the new millennium, and now that Blockbuster is in Chapter 11, it’s officially King Kong bitches.  it seems like every few weeks we are updating you with new news regarding Netflix and how they are expanding internationally or increasing their technologies to change with the times.  Well they have just update their excellent Netflix iphone app to fix a few bugs, and make one giant addition.  Now users are able to watch a streaming movie from the Netflix iPhone app on their TV.  Using a connector and plugging into an external display with component, you can now watch those streaming movies in your queue from your iphone to your TV.

Now although cool in theory, it doesn’t make a lot of plausible sense.  I love the iphone app as it’s the perfect way to enjoy a trip.  Only issue is many buses have Wifi that is weak and cannot fully stream a movie that requires a higher caliber Wifi service.  But is it necessary to be able to stream a movie from your phone to your TV?  I don’t think so, I don’t really see the purpose for this to be honest.  Granted I have a PS3 and can just stream from my system to accomplish the same thing.  I understand that many people don’t have a newer system that has these capabilities, so maybe this could be useful for them.  But I doubt it.

To me this is just a nice marketing strategy to further drive PR and word of mouth buzz around the enormous company, gaining views and eyes from more users.  This will not be the reason more users will sign up, but it may influence new users who are undecided and the constant positive messaging of the company and constant improvements and additions may hold a positive view in new users minds, and that’s what would lead them to make the switch.

This is a great marketing gimmick from a great innovative company, and I’m guessing the effort required to allow for the app to produce these capabilities is extremely minimal to the free advertising the PR boom helped it lead.  Another great move from Netflix, and now I am curious to see where they continue to develop and grow.  I am one who is certainly hoping for them to continue to expand their database of movies that can be streamed.  What do you want to see next?

What do you think of the news of Netflix users now being able to stream movies from their iPhones to a TV?