May 20, 2009, 8:01 AM — I'm a big fan of Netflix's "Watch Now." If you aren't familiar with the feature, it lets you stream (some) of Netflix's rental content to your computer or a few other devices. I use it with a $99 Roku Digital Video Player. You can also access it via an HD Tivo, certain Blu-ray players, or Microsoft's Xbox 360, assuming you have a Gold Xbox Live account.
But I'm puzzled over the news that "Watch Now" has just been added to Windows Vista Media Center (see posts at cnet and Engadget). I don't understand why we need this capability; it just seems very limited to me. First, it only works on the Vista version of Media Center (though presumably Windows 7 support will be coming soon). But more significantly, it doesn't work with Media Center Extenders (Extenders are what allow you to get content from your Media Center PC to your TV, without hooking the PC directly to the TV). This means you have to watch on the PC. But you can already enjoy "Watch Now" on the PC; that's where the service got its start!
I suppose there's some additional convenience in that you don't have to drop out of Vista Media Center to access "Watch Now". This is a bigger deal if you do have a PC hooked to the TV always running Media Center and controlled only via remote, but I have to wonder how large that audience really is.
I can't help but feel like I'm missing a piece of the puzzle here. If you're a heavy Media Center user, please leave a comment and tell me why this matters!
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