Tag: Netflix

Streaming Video: Giving Viewers What They Want To Watch When They Want To Watch It

Linda Reimer

The streaming and DVD subscription service Netflix has actually produced, and made available for streaming, a television series. Netflix remade the popular BBC series House of Cards. This new version of House of Cards was indeed made by Netflix itself as its first original presentation and it stars Kevin Spacey. And much ado is being made in the press of the fact that Netflix used Big Data*1 to decide to remake this series and to remake it with the actor they chose for the lead role (Kevin Spacey) and the director (David Fincher) they chose to direct the series.  

And although both the fact that the series is Netflix’s first foray into actually creating a new show and that it is the most popular streaming title Netflix has at the moment are very interesting; what I find the most interesting about the new series is that Netflix released the entire first season of the series all at once and viewers seem to really like that fact as they are streaming away and watching all the episodes in one or two sittings.  

And the fact that this option is so popular – that is having an entire season of a series available to stream from the Internet and watch the day it is released is so popular… that fact illustrates to me that the instantaneous availability of streaming video*2 is becoming more popular with mainstream television and movie fans. And that being the case, just maybe we’re a step or two closer to a television viewing model that is truly on demand and lets viewers watch any television shows or movies they want to watch when they want to watch them, via streaming, and on whatever device they want to watch them upon!

And here’s a link to the New York Times article that started my streaming video musings for today – it is titled Giving Viewers What They Want – here’s the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/business/media/for-house-of-cards-using-big-data-to-guarantee-its-popularity.html?ref=technology&_r=0

And on a non-tech FYI note – Tolkien and fantasy fans can now pre-order The Hobbit as the video now has a release date! It will be released on DVD and streaming video on March 19!

Have a great day!

Linda R.

 

 

*1) In this case the term “Big Data” simply means that Netflix took a look at the user data they have on hand to see which television subjects, directors and actors are popular with viewers and used that information to make the decision to remake the series House of Cards and with the director and cast that they chose to use for the production.

 

*2) In the case of the new House of Cards series streaming availability is extra notable because the series is currently only available to Netflix subscribers to stream via the Internet – it has not yet been released on DVD.

 

 

References

 

Carr. David. (2013, February 24). Giving Viewers What They Want. New York Times. Online.

 

 

How Technology Is Changing Our Lives – Faster Than We Think!

Linda Reimer

I came across two articles in the last two days that appeal to me as the duo-history and tech fan that I am!

The first article is from Forbes and is titled The Apple iPhone at Age 6: My, How Things Have Changed. And I like that article because is illustrates the point that the iPhone, which was the first popular smart phone and offered a truly innovative and intuitive design, has only been on the market for six years! And six years ago people used cell phones to be sure but most of them weren’t smart and you didn’t see them in peoples hand on every street corner, bus stop and supermarket. Today smart phones like the iPhone are ubiquitous. We see cell phones in the hands of children, seniors, teens and everyone else in between. And as the articles’ author Danny Turnbull notes having smart phones has changed the way we live in a number by essentially allowing us the ability to access information and communicate with others at any time.

Here’s the link to the Forbes article:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gyro/2013/01/23/the-apple-iphone-at-age-6-my-how-things-have-changed/

And the second article is from USA Today and discusses how Netflix shares grew at a much larger rate than anyone, even Netflix, expected in the last quarter of 2012. And I like that article because the reason they give for this great growth in Netflix usage is streaming. And by streaming I mean the number of people who have subscriptions to Netflix who watch videos streamed from the Internet on their Smartphones, tablets and televisions; and that point is cool because just as the iPhone kicked off the era of being able to be connected to the Internet 24/7/365 via your smart phone – the growth in people who stream Netflix videos instead of using the service to obtain and watch DVDs shows how the technology and the instant access to video content we gain from having a 24/7/365 Internet connection in our homes is beginning to transform the way we watch television shows and movies – we can now watch them when and where we want instead of  having to wait for those shows to air on TV and that too is cool!

The USA Today article is titled Netflix eked out a profit of $8 million as growing sales tablets and smartphones prompted new customers to try its service and can be accessed via the following link:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/01/23/netflix-reports-4q-profit/1859185/

Have a great day!

Linda R.

References

Turnbull, Danny. (2013, January 23). The Apple iPhone at Age 6: My, How Things Have Changed. Forbes. Online.

Yu, Roger. (2013, January 23). Netflix eked out a profit of $8 million as growing sales tablets and smartphones prompted new customers to try its service. USA Today. Online. 

Video Streaming: Netflix, Vs. Hulu Plus & Amazon Instant Video Available for Wii U

Linda Reimer

Video Streaming: Netflix Vs. Hulu Plus: The Geek website offers an article today that is a basic introduction to the differences between the Netflix and Hulu Plus streaming video services.

Both services cost $7.99 per month for unlimited streaming and both services are available via laptops, Macs, PCs, smart phones, most smart TVs, some gaming consoles and traditional (aka non-smart) TVs via inexpensive media streaming players (Roku, Apple TV etc). Netflix offers a more extensive catalog of movies and TV shows but Hulu Plus offers more currently-on-the-air shows.

So just FYI if you’re thinking of buying a new tablet, smart TV or media streaming player this season!

And I will also put in a good word in for this cord cutter’s favorite streaming video service – Amazon Instant Video (and Pandora via Roku) which actually offers most television shows for streaming the day after they air – and I find Amazon Instant Video offers a more extensive catalog of newer movies and TV shows than Netflix or Hulu Plus so it is another service to consider. And you can try out any of these video streaming services on your computer if like. You can rent or buy movies and TV shows from Amazon without subscribing to a service.

Netflix and offers a 30 day trial version of their service and Hulu Plus offers a free one week trial.

Also of note, in addition to their Instant Video service, Amazon offers a “Prime” streaming service that you can try for free for 30 days. It costs $79 per year and allows movie and TV fans unlimited streaming access to any of the videos in the prime library.

And here’s the link to the Geek article which discusses the differences between the Netflix and Hulu Plus streaming subscriptions:

http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/netflix-vs-hulu-plus-video-streaming-2012123/

Amazon Instant Video Available For New Wii U: And here’s a second link that discusses the fact that Amazon Instant Video is available for the new Wii U so if you are one of the thousands of people nationwide that have purchased the new Wii U – or if you receive one during the holiday season — you can check out Amazon’s Instant Video store – when you’ve completed the current level of whatever game you’re playing that is!

Here’s a link to the aptly titled Slashgear article, Amazon Instant Video For Wii U Released, on the subject:

http://www.slashgear.com/amazon-instant-video-for-wii-u-released-22258024/

Have a great day!

Linda R.