Hacking NetFlix

Netflix Sued by National Association of Deaf Over Captions

Digial Journal reports that the National Association of the Deaf has filed a federal lawsuit against Netflix for not providing captions for all streaming titles.

“We have tried for years to persuade Netflix to do the right thing and provide equal access to all content across all platforms. They chose not to serve our community on an equal basis; we must have equal access to the biggest provider of streamed entertainment. As Netflix itself acknowledges, streamed video is the future and we must not be left out,” said NAD President Bobbie Beth Scoggins.

Netflix has captioned about a third of streaming titles, and has promised to provide captions for 80% of titles by the end of the year.

In related news, GigaOM reports that CNN was also sued over the lack of captions by the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness.

Reader Experiencing Strange Netflix Streaming Device Quality Problem

Reader Chris writes, "I was wondering if any of the other Hackingnetflix users have reported significant quality differences in their streaming devices lately. I have a sony Blu-ray (s570) and an Xbox 360 hooked up to my TV for streaming; The quality of streams with the Blu-ray has been worse than YouTube over dialup for going on a week and a half, but the Xbox isclear as day. All other variables are equal...both wired ethernet,same router, cables swapped, each tested on its own right into thecable modem. It's almost as if Sony's service is either experiencing problems right now or Comcast is somehow limiting traffic whenstreaming to the blu-ray but not through the Xbox. All other speed tests both during and not during streaming are showing no speed issues whatsoever."

Sounds like it might be a problem with the PS3 or the network configuration on the PS3. Anyone else have an ideas as to what could be wrong?

Is anyone else noticing streaming problems on one or more Netflix-ready devices?

Netflix App for Android Now Supports Droid X

Android Central reports that the Netflix Android app has been updated to support the Droid X. The full list of supported Android phones now includes:

• HTC Incredible with Android 2.2
• HTC Nexus One with Android 2.2, 2.3
• HTC G2 with Android 2.2 
• Samsung Nexus S with Android 2.3
• Motorola Droid with Android 2.2
• LG Revolution with Android 2.2
• Casio G'zOne Commando C771 with Android 2.2
* Motorola Droid X with Android 2.3

Netflix is working to expand the list of supported Android devices: "We are aggressively qualifying phones and look forward to expanding the list of phones on which the Netflix app will be supported." 

If you can't wait, there are workarounds for many Android devices...

Netflix Experiencing Streaming Problems Tonight

Netlfix is having streaming problem tonight, and there were a number of reports on Twitter that Netflix streaming was down. I had problems with the Roku & Mac, but both now appear to be working.

Are you having trouble with Netflix streaming?

Thanks to Frank & Noor for alerting me to this problem.

Is Netflix Outgrowing Los Gatos?

The Los Gatos Patch reports that Netflix wants to stay in Los Gatos, but they've outgrown the current headquarters building.

In a letter dated May 10, Amy Dee, director of procurement and corporate facilities, said its headquarter campus can no longer accommodate its employees. 

It said the company had already expanded to a building to the north of its current location at 100 Winchester Circle in what is called the South Bay Industrial Park and is actively looking at options for additional space to support its growth needs. 

"We'd like to stay in Los Gatos but are concerned about the ultimate availability of space to the south and north," Dee said.

Roku Does Direct Deal with Wal-Mart Online

Despite a distribution deal with Netgear, Dave Zatz discovered that Roku is now selling through Walmart. You can pick up a Roku XD for $78 or XDS for $98 online only for now, but Zatz believes it'll be available in-store soon.

Netflix New Releases for June 14th, 2011

Click here for the full list of new releases this week.

Interesting titles include Vanishing of the Bees, Revolución, Jackass 3.5: The Unrated Movie, Mooz-Lum, A Cold Day in Hell, The Concert, Monogamy, The Rite, Chatroom, Fall Down Dead, 36th Precinct, The Desert of Forbidden Art, Kill the Irishman, Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, The Makioka Sisters, and Wartorn 1861-2010. 

How Many Netflix Streaming Devices Do You Own?

Netflix recently disclosed that there are more than 400 Netflix-ready devices, and Dan Rayburn from the Business of Online Video thinks the average family has about 10 Netflix-enabled devices. 

So it's great to see that Netflix has removed the limit of five streaming devices and now allows customers to watch instantly on up to 50 unique devices per account. While I'm not the average user, and currently have about 30 unique devices I stream Netflix from, it's not crazy to think that many families that use Netflix already have ten devices in their home today that stream Netflix content. Between a family of four you could easily have six mobile devices (phone/tablet/iPod), three computers and two to three other devices like game consoles/Roku/Apple TV and broadband enabled TVs/Blu-ray players/STB. I'm willing to bet that a large percentage of Netflix users, who use the account within a family of four, already have ten Netflix enabled devices in their home today.

I know many of you are not "average" Netflix subscribers, and I'm curious about how many streaming devices you own:

I did a quick count and I have about 20 Netflix-ready devices, including game consoles, blu-ray players, phones, tablets, TiVo, Sony Dash, Samsung TV, etc.

Possible Way to Access Old Netflix Streaming Page

There seems to be a bit of controversy about the new Netflix streaming page design (more than 2,500 comments so far), and not everyone seems to like the new design. There are third-party websites that help you find streaming movies like InstantWatcher and FeedFliks, but the unofficial Netflix Streaming blog has a link that brings up the old Netflix streaming page, but it doesn't seem to work for everyone (I was able to access it). 

Update: Reader Lahia found a tip from commenter English_Wolf on the Netflix blog that discovered a way to enable sorting again:

Click on a genre and add &vt=tl

For example:

New (useless) anime genre:
http://movies.netflix.com/WiAltGenre?agid=7424

Old (sortable & awesome) anime genre:
http://movies.netflix.com/WiAltGenre?agid=7424&vt=tl

Also, the Huffington Post is running a poll about the new design.

Are you able to access the old page?

What Do You Think of the New Netflix Website Changes That Focus on Streaming?

Michael Spiegelman, Netflix's director of product management, announced changes to the Netflix website that put more focus on streaming. 

Starting today, most members who watch instantly will see a new interface that provides more focus on the TV shows & movies streaming from Netflix. The title images are larger, there are more of them on the page and play buttons appear when you hover your mouse over the title images. Star ratings, information and other functions are available when you mouse over the title images. We’ve also made some changes to several pages on the site: adding more rows, and filling out the rows with more TV shows & movies, which you can find by hovering your mouse over the end of a row.

What do you like or dislike about the new design?

Thanks to Richard for sending this in.