Netflix Reaches Movie Deal With Samsung

[mikemorel]

Netflix Reaches Movie Deal With Samsung

Netflix Inc. has reached an agreement with Samsung Electronics Co. to bring movies from the Internet to television sets through Samsung electronics devices, including new products that also play movies in the high-definition Blu-ray format.

The deal is the latest in a series of efforts by Netflix, the Los Gatos, Calif., company that pioneered DVD rentals delivered by mail, to position itself for a future in which movies are delivered entirely over the Internet. Samsung, the big Korean electronics manufacturer, will allow users of two new $400 products, the BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 Blu-ray disc players, to access video through a Netflix Internet video service that currently offers more than 12,000 movies, television shows and other titles.

The Samsung products are already on sale, though early users of the products will have to connect them to the Internet to download new software that makes them compatible with Netflix's service. Future versions will have Netflix access built in. Terms of the relationship between the two companies weren't disclosed.

The companies also plan to work on integrating Netflix's Internet service into other electronics products they didn't name. Many analysts believe new television sets in the coming years will broadly come with access to Internet-based entertainment services. Samsung is a major maker of televisions.

Netflix has already struck deals to offer its Internet video service on devices that include a Blu-ray disc player by LG Electronics Inc., the Xbox 360 videogame console by Microsoft Corp. and a set-top box manufactured by a startup Roku Inc.

And the concept of a dedicated blu-ray player is slowly becoming a thing of the past.

Interesting that Samsung and LG, two Korean companies, are the first to jump on the video download bandwagon. BTW, Netflix uses Microsoft Silverlight/Playready...

[tonyb]

Sounds good, HD from blu ray SD from netflix

whats your thoughts on apple saying downloads being a hobby until at least 2010?

[mikemorel]

Originally Posted by tonyb

Sounds good, HD from blu ray SD from netflix

Netflix is signing people up on SD movies for free. Like with the blu-ray subs, I think they'll boost the subscription cost when they dump a few thousand HD movies on their service.

Then it'll be HD from blu-ray/HD from Netflix.

On deck...The next batter, Toshiba!

whats your thoughts on apple saying downloads being a hobby until at least 2010?

Err, Tony? Wake up. It's almost 2009!! Time is ticking away.

Like consumers are waiting in line to buy blu-ray players and discs.

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by mikemorel

Netflix Reaches Movie Deal With Samsung

And the concept of a dedicated blu-ray player is slowly becoming a thing of the past.

Interesting that Samsung and LG, two Korean companies, are the first to jump on the video download bandwagon. BTW, Netflix uses Microsoft Silverlight/Playready...

err... I thought you were upset about LG having Blu-ray playback in its "Netflix box" per the thread you started a few months ago
LG's New Blu-Ray Box Includes Netflix Streaming; "Well Under $500"

Originally Posted by mikemorel

Blu-ray inclusion jacks the price of this box out of the market.

I could buy one of those new Centrino 2 notebooks that just went on sale for $500. They include HDMI out, a large HDD, DVD burner, full internet access, HD playback, the ability to store my photos home videos, music, etc. AND can include Netflix access for $500. And I can take it with me wherever I go!

LG/blu-ray/Netflix will go nowhere because of $500 price tag due to blu-ray inclusion.

Notebook computers will replace standalone BD/DVD players in 5 years.

The BD-P2500 has an MSRP of $499.99: http://www.samsung.com/us/news/newsR...news_seq=11109

So which is it? Is it priced out of the market or isn't it?

[tonyb]

as long as netflix hd matches blu ray / vudu hdx then good, and if toshiba make good a good duel player then i'd be interested.

it maybe be nearly 2009 but downloads have been around for a similar time, longer for the techie av niche and its struggling to gain traction as a device (the first series i got via digital was series 3 of 24 back in 3-4, i can't remember who i paid but i dont think they exist anymore)

but i'm not going to forgo the best quality hd until 'at least' 2010 (and i bet the 'at least' is referring to sd digital)

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by mikemorel

Netflix is signing people up on SD movies for free. Like with the blu-ray subs, I think they'll boost the subscription cost when they dump a few thousand HD movies on their service.

Good. That's a few thousand more HD movies than what they offer now (ie zero).

Err, Tony? Wake up. It's almost 2009!! Time is ticking away.

Like consumers are waiting in line to buy blu-ray players and discs.

In the most recent conference, the Netflix CEO wouldn't even give the percentage of Netflix subscribers using Watch Instantly, and there was no drop-off in DVD usage because of it. He said adoption of Watch Instantly was growing - but then again, growing from essentially zero is easy, isn't it?

Q: What is the percentage of customers using watch instantly? Have you seen the drop-off in DVD by mail for those customers?

Reed Hastings: We’ve seen a growing adoption of the watch instantly as we’ve got more platforms and more content and we expect that to continue. You can’t really see a drop-off in DVD usage because the people who go for online streaming are a different type of person so there’s no good control of what those people would have done, so there’s no easy way to tell that.

Not only that, but Apple's Steve Jobs says streaming video is and will continue to be "a hobby", in other words, there isn't any money in it:

Steve Jobs still doesn't think much of the IP-connected set-top box. On Apple's Q4 call just now, Jobs said in response to an analysts question about Apple TV, "I think the whole category is still a hobby right now. I don't think anyone has succeeded at it, and the experimentation has even slowed down lately. Some of the people who were doing some things in that area have sort of faded away. Given the economic conditions and the VC funding outlook, I think it will continue to be a hobby in 2009."

http://www.contentagenda.com/blog/15...080035308.html

[bt12483]

Round 2 of mikemorel's "next big thing"....and it is...a bluray player once again!

I wonder which player the OP will buy...the 2500 or the BD300? You know he secretly wants one - it's like the proverbial forbidden fruit. Funny how the 1st devices (besides the dedicated Roku box) that have this functionality are all bluray players....hmmmm...shouldn't that say something?

And I would bet my paycheck that the next most likely device would be....a TV, like the article states.

The odds of a S DVD player getting Netflix functionality? Not too great IMO. Which means people will in part be buying bluray players to access Netflix, especially since not many people have heard of Roku, and they are not sold in stores. But keep in mind Netlfix only has ~8M subscribers anyway, of which how many have a demand for Instant Watch? According to Netlfix not many, as least not yet.

But I see added value for bluray - the format that is supposed to die in 2008...or is it 2009/10/11/12...I get confused as to when exactly bluray is supposed to die these days. Maybe the OP can refresh my memory.

Also, mikemorel....the 2500 has a HQV chip in it too. Just sayin....


BTW: you are late to the punch OP - I posted this yesterday (in the proper forum no less).

[bt12483]

Originally Posted by mikemorel

Netflix Reaches Movie Deal With Samsung

Here's another version, check the title:

Netflix and Samsung Partner to Instantly Stream Movies on Next Generation Blu-ray Disc Players

Samsung's Blu-ray players offer Full HD 1080p playback and feature the
award-winning HQV(TM) processing chip for the highest quality viewing of
Blu-ray discs and astounding upconversion of standard DVDs. The players
also provide a truly immersive HD home theater experience with capabilities
to decode high-resolution multi-channel digital audio soundtracks and
7.1-channel analog audio outputs.

"Samsung has been at the forefront of innovation in consumer
electronics and has established a market leadership position in Blu-ray and
digital television," said Netflix Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Reed Hastings. "We're excited about the upgraded Blu-ray disc players.
Moreover, we look forward to working with Samsung in the years to come to
deliver a variety of outstanding products on which consumers can watch
movies delivered over the Internet from Netflix."

"In its new form, Samsung Blu-ray players become the ultimate content
delivery box, combining on-demand access to movies and jaw-dropping Full HD
viewing," said Reid Sullivan, Vice President of Marketing, Audio/Video &
Imaging at Samsung Electronics America. "Samsung presents a new value
proposition for Blu-ray players by positioning it as a portal to a world of
engaging digital content, be it Blu-ray discs, movies from Netflix or other
online content."

Sounds like a win-win for bluray and Netflix if you ask me, but spin away OP, spin away...

[aaronwt]

Originally Posted by Grubert

Good. That's a few thousand more HD movies than what they offer now (ie zero).




In the most recent conference, the Netflix CEO wouldn't even give the percentage of Netflix subscribers using Watch Instantly, and there was no drop-off in DVD usage because of it. He said adoption of Watch Instantly was growing - but then again, growing from essentially zero is easy, isn't it?



Not only that, but Apple's Steve Jobs says streaming video is and will continue to be "a hobby", in other words, there isn't any money in it:



http://www.contentagenda.com/blog/15...080035308.html

Alot of companies are jumping on the VOD/streaming bandwagon if there is no money in it. All these companies wouldn't be offering it if they didn't expect some kind of return on it it either now or in the future.

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by bt12483

Also, mikemorel....the 2500 has a HQV chip in it too. Just sayin....

Exactly. Compare it with the BD-P1500 (list $299.99). You could rationalize that the BD-P2500 is $100 more for HQV, $100 more for the "Roku feature."

BTW, we don't have any recent sales figures for the Roku box, do we?

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by aaronwt

Alot of companies are jumping on the VOD/streaming bandwagon if there is no money in it. All these companies wouldn't be offering it if they didn't expect some kind of return on it it either now or in the future.

http://blog.streamingmedia.com/the_b...008/08/page/2/

History has a way of repeating itself, and we have gone through this before. In 2000, before the bubble burst, we had nearly 50 CDN [Content Delivery Network] providers in the market. Two years later, we had less than 10. Five years later, we’re back to 50, but for how long? At some point, investors are going to want to see some return on their money, and with fewer video delivery networks focusing on doing more than just delivering bits, it’s going to be hard to get acquired unless they can show a lot of revenue, which most don’t have.

More specifically:

With Netflix still only having less than 15% of all their DVD inventory available for streaming, the volume of popular content continues to be a major hurdle. If Netflix can get more first-run movies online it will help, but how long will it take to get even 50% of their content online? The problem does not lie with the encoding and hosting of the video but rather the licensing deals with the content owners. Netflix's success with their streaming offering is solely dependent on the major movie studios giving them distribution deals to stream more of their library over time. But the real question is how much inventory will they allow Netflix access to and over what time period?

Netflix is smart to do all of these deals as no one will argue that it makes a Netflix membership much more valuable than it currently is if you could only get physical DVDs. But at some point, Netflix is going to have to make up for the huge amount of money they are spending to stream all of this content to devices. Right now, the Netflix streaming service is a loss leader. That's fine for now, but how quickly is Netflix going to have show how they are going to make money from the service? They may be able to do a streaming only subscription down the road or maybe advertising will creep in over time, but right now, Netflix is burning through money to make all this happen. Exactly how much we don't know, Netflix won't say on record how much their streaming service is costing them. Over time, I think they will get so much pressure from investors that they will have to break out those numbers.

For Netflix, the streaming service is a big gamble that they are betting everything on. They have to turn the streaming service into a real business model down the road or they risk having a cool service, but one that costs them money. If it was anyone else, I'd say they have some bad odds at making it. But so far, Netflix has been very smart at how they operate, doing things like making their platofrm open and providing APIs. I give Netflix about 14 months before they have to start showing investors how they are going to turn their IP based video offering into sustainable business model. I'm rooting for them.

http://blog.streamingmedia.com/the_b...x-may-dom.html

[madhatter]

"Samsung has been at the forefront of innovation in consumer
electronics and has established a market leadership position in Blu-ray and
digital television," said Netflix Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Reed Hastings.

Apparently Hastings has never used a Samsung Blu ray player.

Hopefully another manufacturer will join in on this, otherwise it will be one big mess with Samsung providing the hardware.

[bt12483]

Originally Posted by Grubert

BTW, we don't have any recent sales figures for the Roku box, do we?

Last I heard the BDA was suppressing this data with their almighty soul crushing forces.

I thought I saw something about 100k being sold after a few months or something, but I don't know how official that was. I think our buddy mikemorel has a post about somewhere in the archives.

[GardenVariety]

Originally Posted by mikemorel

And the concept of a dedicated blu-ray player is slowly becoming a thing of the past.

Interesting that Samsung and LG, two Korean companies, are the first to jump on the video download bandwagon. BTW, Netflix uses Microsoft Silverlight/Playready...

I'm trying to figure out if you are saying this is going to phase out Blu Ray or if you are just saying that are going to add more functions to Blu Ray Players. Usually you are skewed towards bagging on Blu and praising digital downloads. Anyways, this still doesn't get around the FACT that many broadband companies are putting caps on bandwidth and throttling speeds.

[Hokis4ever]

Great news for rentals. Nothing more, nothing less.