Netflix - Streaming Movies for Windows, Mac and anyone who pays Netflix for a solution.

I've mentioned before in here about streaming video on demand from Netflix.  While it isn't top of the line quality video, it is a great service for a good price.  Even the least expensive Netflix DVD rental plan supports unlimited streaming for just under US$9.00 per month.  It is a service that my wife uses a lot.

For those who don't know, Netflix uses someone else's streaming video service.  They didn't set up their own servers or write their own software.  Nothing wrong with that after all, why reinvent the wheel if someone else is willing to do it for you?

The service used, uses Microsoft Silverlight.  Silverlight is Microsoft's version of Adobe Flash (literally), with proprietary DRM added.  Flash supports DRM of course, that's how Hulu.com is able to stream tv shows and movies while keeping the intellectual property rights holders happy.  But you know Microsoft, they need their own.  Anyway, Silverlight works very well for this.  As long as you're running Windows or Apple's OS X.

Linux and Android mobiles can run Flash, with Adobe's DRM.  Linux runs Hulu.com video perfectly.  My HTC EVO smartphone using Android 2.2 (Froyo) ran Hulu video perfectly, until Hulu blocked it.

Android can't run Hulu video as Hulu doesn't have streaming video distribution rights for mobiles.

iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad can't run Flash of any type because that's the way that Steve Jobs wants it.  (Some wags insist that the reason the iPhone didn't have a flash for the camera until recently was that Steve thought they meant Adobe's Flash)

Linux can run Silverlight via an open-source version called Moonlight.  But no DRM as Microsoft won't license it for Linux.

Android can't run it either, but then again neither can anything from Apple that starts with the letters iP. (Because that's the way that Steve wants it.)

Funny thing, Steve Jobs keeps pitching iPxx's support for HTML5, that with it there is zero need for Flash or Silverlight.  But even the head honcho at Netflix points out that HTML5 doesn't support any kind of DRM, therefore can't be used to legally distribute video from most intellectual property holders.

The bottom line is that you can only watch Hulu.com using Windows, a Mac running OS X, or Linux.

You can only watch Netflix if you are running Windows, a Mac running OS X or (later this year) an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.

Netflix says that there isn't enough Linux market to justify the expense of creating a Linux non-Silverlight application.

Yet, Netflix decided to write a free native application for a device with half of the market size of Linux?

There alone is proof that Apple (or someone with a vested interest in Apple) has paid Netflix to write a streaming video app for the iPxx devices.

Sadly, the app may not run on the new iTV from Apple.  The $99 Apple TV replacement is an iPad in a box sans display.  Apple has disabled HD output from the iTV.  Apple sources have revealed that the A4 chip (same one used in the iPad and iPhone 4) doesn't have enough horse power to render HD video.  Actually it could, but on only on a tiny screen where you're not likely to notice artifacting and other errors.

So, if you want to watch streaming video over the internet, here are your options:

• Amazon Video on Demand - Windows, Apple OS X, Linux, Android 2.2 smartphone (change settings to turn off the request for mobile version), Tivo.
• Hulu.com - Windows, Apple OS X, Linux, Android 2.2 is capable but blocked by Hulu, perhaps other TV type boxes.
• Netflix - Windows, Apple OS X, Apple iPxx devices (soon), numerous large screen TVs, DVRs and other closed boxes.