TVSquad

I'm not against DRM, but I do think Netflix needs to provide options for those not running Internet Explorer and WMP. I use Firefox when I'm using Windows and I mostly use Mac. I was very disappointed with this limitation.

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@ treycranson -- Amen brother...

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That is one of the worst ideas I've ever heard. Why would I want my login tied to my physical location?

In addition, it wouldn't solve any of the problems described here.

Also, a software-only GPS receiver is an oxymoron. A GPS receiver is, by definition, a piece of hardware that reads radio waves broadcast by GPS satellites. You may be able to approximate a location based on something software can use, but it is by no means a "software-only GPS."

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And you wonder why nobody would fund the start-up? I think that pretty much answers it.

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A start-up I worked for in 2000-03, one that failed due to a lack of funding, would have solved this problem for Netflix. By using GPS authentication, passwords are only good at pre-authorized locations. We were also in the midst of developing and patenting a software-only GPS receiver (thereby eliminating the need for a hardware device plugged into your PC) when the business went under. There are still some white papers floating around online on this concept. Do a search on CyberLocator and "location authentication" for further details.

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Brad-
Above, you write, " If you want to begin a movie now and finish it later, you're out of luck."
Unless I misunderstand you, what you write simply isn't true. Over the weekend I stopped a TV show I was watching, logged out of Netflix, shut down my computer, and when I logged back in later, the show started *in exactly the spot I left off*.

"Hausevangelist" points out a similar error.

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If you want to begin a movie now and finish it later, you're out of luck.

Howso? You can pause it indefinitely, or just restart later. Netflix counts how much you actually watched, no how much you downloaded.

The main problem is that the streaming movies *suck*. Most of them have 1-2 stars from Netflix users, a scale I can almost always trust. Also, it's only the movie, no DVD extras.

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Remember when shiney whitepapers could fund a company for 3 years? ahhhhh the good ol days

Anyone with basic microcontroller experience could spoof any GPS based authentication you could develop. Not that anyone would bother, because it would be much more trivial to just inject it somewhere into the software itself.

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WHAT THE FUCK IS NETFLIX??? IT'S AS IRRELEVANT AS VHS BY NOW.
322FT3W

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And you wonder why nobody would fund the start-up? I think that pretty much answers it.

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Thanks for the link credit Brad. I personally would prefer to see better movie content on the free streaming more then I want the content to be "rippable". I still posted about it on my blog because I knew it would be a popular topic.

Brent

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We were also in the midst of developing and patenting a software-only GPS receiver (thereby eliminating the need for a hardware device plugged into your PC) when the business went under.

That is a stupid idea. There is no way to truly authenticate such a setup. The only way it could deduce any location information is from the IP address assigned to the machine, which is not always geographically accurate. No wonder your company went under. Are you developing software-only sexual devices now?

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I've watched two movies now using the streaming thing. "The Hotel" and "Lilya-4-Ever." While I wasn't a fan of the first I loved the second movie, a foreign one (Russian). I love how I can stop a movie, shut down my computer and then come back to the same part automatically. As far as I know I can login from wherever with my Netflix ID and watch the movies, but I do believe being able to download would be convenient.

However legally speaking I can see why Netflix wouldn't allow that because once you've downloaded the movie you technically have it to own but you didn't pay for the movie, you only "paid" to view it. So I probably won't be doing the whole download to own hacking thing this article mentions. Well, unless better movies are made available and the crack still works.

Anyway I'm a fan of this streaming thing. I get the lowest quality stream (yes, my internet connection sort of sucks) but I can still watch a movie in full screen and there's little to no pixelation. I'm running 1280x1024 on Windows Vista.

Oh and yes I did have to use Internet Explorer to watch the movies but it was a minor issue, I don't mind switching browsers for this. (normally I use Firefox)

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How long before they patch this up? Any guesses? But thanks for the tip from your friends over @ http://www.askTheAdmin.com

Any chance they are going to send you a bill??

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For those wanting to view the "Watch Now" movies in Firefox, download the latest IE Tab extension. Works like a charm :)

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How long before this is a huge failure and those heading up the project can write the report explaining the reason it failed? Does anyone get fired before they explore the nonDRM route?

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Looks like a lot of shows have been removed like The Office. Perhaps NBC got scared??

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I did this a little while back, the painfully simple way.

Step 1) Connect your pc to your home DVD recorder's line input.
I use DVD Anywhere by X10, but there's lots of ways to do that.
Step 2) Insert a DVD-RW and hit record

Works like a champ. I watch WatchNow movies with my portabld DVD player all the time on my morning commute.

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"If you want to begin a movie now and finish it later, you're out of luck."

This isn't true....just use the slider at the bottom of the window. It restarts the load (30 seconds or more, which isn't great, but that's the sacrifice for good video quality on a large file).

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