Your Xbox 360 as a Netflix Watch Instantly unit
p2pnet news | TV:- Netflix subscribers with a Microsoft Xbox 360 and Windows Vista PC won’t have to come up with $100 for Roku’s Netflix Player box.
How come”?
Because —- “you already have everything you need”.
Using the free Windows Media Center plug-in, vmcNetflix, “you can turn your Xbox 360 into a Netflix Watch Instantly box,” says Lifehacker.
Essential ingredients include:
- An Xbox 360
- Windows Vista with Vista Media Center (it’s included by default in Vista Home Premium and Ultimate)
- A Netflix subscription
- The freeware vmcNetflix plug-in
Then >>>
Step 1: Set Up Your Xbox as a Media Center Extender
Step 2: Install the vmcNetflix Plug-in
Step 3: Set Up Watch Instantly on Your PC
Step 4: Set Up vmcNetflix on Your Xbox 360
Step 5: Enjoy!
Each step is detailed in the Lifehacker post and, “That’s all there is to it,” it states, adding >>>
You can now stream any Netflix Watch Instantly video directly to the TV in your living room using the Xbox 360 that’s already there. No $99 out of your pocket, no extra piece of equipment to add to your entertainment center. vmcNetflix handles everything nearly perfectly, from separate episode listings for television shows to managing and accessing your Netflix Watch Instantly queue.
The vmcNetflix plug-in has been in steady development for a few months now, but as the video above points out, the vmcNetflix plug-in can be a little slow and sometimes buggy. I hardly notice the sluggishness, though thinking about it, it does feel a little slower than normal Media Center extender operation. If you run into bugs, the vmcNetflix homepage offers tips for troubleshooting. I’ve found that restarting my 360 and or Media Center PC remedies any problems. Be sure to check back in with the vmcNetflix homepage from time to time and keep an eye on updates, since the developer is fixing problems and adding features at an impressive pace.
Also – as the video pointed out – vmcNetflix can download Watch Instantly videos and save them on your computer. This comes in very handy because saving videos means you don’t have to worry about downloads buffering, and video playback, fast-forwarding, and rewinding all work better.”
But there is a downside, Lifehacker points out.
Saving videos, “is not part of the Watch Instantly terms of service”.
.
.Stumble It!
Lifehacker – Turn Your Xbox 360 into a Streaming Netflix Player, June 24, 2008
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June 26th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
I see that Netflix continues to completely ignore non-MS platforms.
MS partners are MS victims that MS hasn’t gotten to yet.
June 27th, 2008 at 3:36 am
Not to worry, thanks to ISP’s around the world throttling bandwidth, Netflix and Apple’s d/l of video will soon be a thing of the past.
Think about this, if you have a home, and your bandwidth is capped, but your parents are not so smart, and you a the child have been d/ling from apple and netflix your fav movies, HOW LONG do you think you’ll be able to do that before your parents get a bill and its staggering???
I know the above scenario is not exactly 100% flowing correctly, but I honestly believe that ppl are NOT paying close enough attention to this throttling case and to the companies that are offering video on demand… I really believe that something BIG is coming but no one is putting two and two together…
Watch out Apple/Nextflix, ISP Throttling is going to KILL your video d/l business model.