HD Netflix set to debut on the Xbox 360

by Dustin Burg { Oct 29th 2008 at 2:35AM }

High definition Netflix content streaming is something we didn't think was possible, especially on the Xbox 360. Well, it is possible and HD Netflix streaming is going to debut on the Xbox 360 when the New Xbox Experience releases on November 19th.

According to our friends over at Engadget, Microsoft and Netflix will soon announce that Xbox Live gold members will have access to high definition Netflix movie streaming to their 360s come November 19th. HD movie streaming that isn't available with Netflix's current "Watch Instantly" portal, Roku hardware or Samsung and LG's Netflix enabled Blu-ray players. The HD Netflix roll out will be slow at first with approximately 300 movies being available in HD on day one of the NXE's launch. To recap: Netflix subscription + Xbox Live gold + NXE = HD movies and very happy Xbox 360 owners.

[Thanks, DeadPlasmaCell]

Tags: dashboard-update, fall-update, netflix, new-xbox-experience, nxe

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

ScottishPrik @ Oct 29th 2008 2:44AM

Is there any word on Netflix coming to europe or more specifically UK.

Intangible 360 @ Oct 29th 2008 7:26AM

According to Wikipedia, "Netflix had preliminary plans to expand to Canada and the UK in 2005, but the expansion appears to have been postponed or canceled as Netflix concentrates its services on the U.S. market."

So we're stuck with the expensive Microsoft offerings.

JerkfacedFed @ Oct 29th 2008 9:40AM

it will be an instant hit and they will expand in due time. until then go for the microsoft movies or bit torrent!

Zmithe @ Oct 29th 2008 10:27AM

What happened to the BT Vision thing that was supposed to happen mid-2008 for the UK?

BowserUSC @ Oct 29th 2008 2:54AM

Awesome. I hope it works well.

ObiBen @ Oct 29th 2008 2:55AM

Sweet! I'm glad I renewed my Netflix account.

elmersglue @ Oct 29th 2008 3:00AM

wow, this is actually pretty huge...300 movies actually sounds like a pretty hefty amount to start with....but will they be movies people want to watch in hd?

Brian @ Oct 29th 2008 9:02AM

Not 300 movies ... the movie 300 :)

RedSonRising @ Oct 29th 2008 3:03AM

very big deal to me, i wasnt interested in streaming netflix until this announcement..

300 HD movies is a decent start, i hope they add to that collection regularly.. definitely getting a netflix account now

stjohnob @ Oct 29th 2008 3:18AM

That's awesome. Now that Netflix has added the Starz network and CBS library it adds a lot to the mix. My only question is whether the sound will be in Dolby 5.1 surround.

DC502 @ Oct 29th 2008 3:58AM

Wow, this is huge! I wonder whats going to happen next for the other companies (apple, sony,, etc)

ryan @ Oct 29th 2008 11:37AM

If HD streaming catches on, buying Bluray movies could be a thing of the past. And that analyst that predicted Bluray's popularity lasting only 5 years could be right.

Eric Carter @ Oct 29th 2008 4:22AM

About time Microsoft let something this happen. I was streaming divx movies from my laptop for the longest time. This seems like very good alternative.

Eric- http://redlightxbox360.com

ryan @ Oct 29th 2008 12:08PM

OHMYFUKIN GOD! will you quit with the redlightalley dot com already!

Boomh4u3r @ Oct 29th 2008 6:04AM

I need to get netflix...lol

Deezul @ Oct 29th 2008 6:43AM

Looks like a lot of Comcast users, myself included, are going to run into that 250GB cap. I was on the fence about getting Netflix for my 360s, but this is a big lean towards YES.

shawn @ Oct 29th 2008 8:01AM

yep same problem here..i have comcast,i mean whats the deal with them putting a cap on things when they know full damn well that hd is pretty coming quick for the internet...this company makes no sense,they just upgraded there speeds again to like 22mb and for what? to get to the cap quicker?

Major @ Oct 29th 2008 8:35AM

I can't wait for Comcast to get hit with an antitrust lawsuit. I'm of the opinion that they created these transfer limits for this exact anti-competitive purpose. Netflix streaming means less people paying for their pricy, limited, and highly compressed HD offerings.

Neuromancer @ Oct 29th 2008 10:13AM

Comcast blows, so glad Verizon FIOS came to my neighborhood.

Deezul @ Oct 29th 2008 12:24PM

I live in BFE. My high speed Internet options are Comcast cable, Satellite, or wireless broadband. I'd consider the wireless broadband, as the speed is OK, but their caps are even worse than Comcast.

PeacefulOutrage @ Oct 29th 2008 6:58AM

Oh, yeah!

I feel like the Kool-Aid man!

Premature ejaculation man @ Oct 29th 2008 7:52AM

If Microsoft flaunts these features hard enough (and expands globally, seriously, that's whats stopping things like Zune aswell) then they'd be too powerful!

Crazy stuff for you Americans to enjoy

RoboJ1M @ Oct 29th 2008 8:11AM

So, hang one, you have to pay (Gold)for the right to pay (Netflix) for movies in HD? :/

J1M.

Deezul @ Oct 29th 2008 9:46AM

Weird, I know. The next thing you know, restaurants and bars will require some kind of charge to "cover" your entrance, and then charge you again if you order food or drinks. How is this possible?

zourskittles @ Oct 29th 2008 9:51AM

You don't pay anything new for Netflix if you already have a subscription, you can make one just for streaming on the 360 but it's no different pricing. I'm not sure if silver accounts get the NXE and get to stream netflix, but if they do than you get free xbox live with a regular netflix subscription.

RoboJ1M @ Oct 29th 2008 10:07AM

Well, maybe I'm just getting this wrong but:

You pay for Netflix but you're not aloud to use it in HD on the 360 unless you have a Gold account as well?

Maybe Microsoft are providing staging servers and you pay Netflix for the films and MS for the bandwidth needed for HD streaming.

Deezul: What? o.0?? I'm confused, are you being facitious?

J1M.

BananaBoat @ Oct 29th 2008 8:12AM

Is this not the end of Blockbuster and Hollywood Video as we know them? Why would anyone ever go to a brick and mortar video store, when you could get movies on your TV for a small monthly subscription fee (until Netflix decides to muck it up, and make it one movie per day for 10 dollars, 2 for 15, etc, which WILL happen someday, mark my words).

Imagine if they could do this for games....rent a game via broadband, and have it deactivate after a week or whatever....all for a subscription fee... *drool* the future sirs, the future!

horngreen @ Oct 29th 2008 8:27AM

This is pretty slick. Now I'm even happier I didn't dive into the Blu Ray/HD DVD battle.

ExMcCloud @ Oct 29th 2008 8:49AM

Wow...I told people this was gonna happen months ago...Thanx Netflix FOR MAKING me look good!

Bravo6 @ Oct 29th 2008 9:07AM

ah, awesome news

hoss133 @ Oct 29th 2008 9:12AM

This is awesome. If anyone wants a free 30 day trial of Netflix..here are the codes, first come, first served, the codes are good for a free month of any plan, but the codes expire Oct 31:

M376562194205
M366502194285
M396562194255
M306572194555

Go to netflix.com/tellafriend to sign up.

Mr Bunky @ Oct 29th 2008 9:23AM

The reasons to get a PS3 keep getting slimmer and slimmer this holiday season.

John Glavasich @ Oct 29th 2008 9:31AM

AAHHHH!!! this sounds awesome but I hope it doesn't take a year to buffer. Does anyone know if the deal for the other streaming devices is a timed release?

GeorgeFive @ Oct 29th 2008 9:42AM

Here's a couple more codes if anyone wants a free month. As the guy above said, first come, first served, and they have to be used by October 31:

M762891891215
M742811891295
M732841891225

Go to netflix.com/tellafriend to sign up.

Ruxpin @ Oct 29th 2008 9:47AM

I think the real question here is where will the balance be between Netflix vs. Live Video Marketplace?

As a looong time subscriber to Netflix and Gold, their movie selection has started to get better recently for their instant plays.... assuming the recent Starz addition will be part of the Xbox-based streaming, there's got to be some overlap there. As the service improves through more offerings (especially HD) and spreads by word of mouth, I'd imagine Netflix might start cannibalizing into MS profits... at least until a new subscription style change.

Mike @ Oct 29th 2008 9:51AM

I'm going to jump on the bandwagon here and enter some more free month codes, same as above first come and all that.

M376136197275
M326156197685
M366166197695

netflix.com/tellafriend

B-rad @ Oct 29th 2008 9:53AM

This is potentially huge news for the Xbox 360. If the HD library expands over time, I think Microsoft has a legitimate answer to the PS3's Blu-Ray. I'm beginning to think more and more that the future is in digital distribution, not hard disk. Microsoft knows this and thats why they are really pushing this. The Blu-Ray advantage of the PS3 just got a little bit reduced today.

You gotta love the competitive marketplace. Capitalism FTW!

bigphill @ Oct 29th 2008 2:49PM

my only question is what is going to be the quality of the stream? It will be nearly impossible to stream "blu-ray" quality hd to the x-box. Thats just the reality, but will it be comparable to cables hd. I am not complaining because I will get it as well, but also I am wondering about buffering and pixelization. I am a true film/game fan, but just want as much info as possible. But if you have netflix and xbox live, this is the way to go......still wish the xbox had blu-ray, but we all know it will never happen.

Will @ Oct 29th 2008 9:58AM

Hell yeah, buddy.

mr. cool @ Oct 29th 2008 10:19AM

More Codes:

M376562194205
M366502194285
M396562194255
M306572194555

Rezt0ne @ Oct 29th 2008 10:25AM

Im getting fed up of the disparity of service offered to non US xbox live members. Last time I checked we seem to pay more than US customers even when the exchange rate is taken into account, yet have less content available for us in the marketplace and time and money has been spent developing netflix integration that we can not use. I Can not help but feel European membership fees are being used to subsidise US content deals and development of US only features.

Tucker @ Oct 29th 2008 11:36AM

Talk to Netflix and the other content providers who are unable or unwilling to strike deals with European distributors. It's all licensing and other bullshit that holds this stuff back - it's not like Microsoft is sitting around going "ah, screw those Europeans, they don't deserve any of this stuff." In this particular case, they struck a deal with Netflix to get their streaming content. It also happens that Netflix doesn't provide service overseas.

Instead of developing features and technology, should Microsoft just sit around and say "sorry, we were going to add this cool thing, but we don't want to upset our European customers." Try yelling at Netflix to start up service across the pond rather than Microsoft for developing the technology. Sounds like in this instance your gripe is with the big red N.