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from the we-don't-need-no-stinkin'-DVDs dept.
Remember when you could watch Netflix videos without an internet connection? With something called "DVDs"?
Well, now you can again, and you don't even need those circular shiny things. Netflix has finally made movies and TV shows available to download, so you can watch them offline, whenever you want, wherever you are.
In IT Blogwatch, we can't decide what to binge watch first.
So what exactly is going on? Laura Roman has the background:
On Wednesday, Netflix announced and implemented...the ability to download TV and movie titles on mobile devices.
...
At no extra cost...Netflix subscribers will now be able to save select content to their iOS or Android devices, then watch on the go without the need for an internet connection. Say goodbye to...in-flight movies, Netflix is now airplane-mode compatible.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Pino P on Saturday December 03 2016, @05:50PM
The latter.
But some people are stuck on Internet plans costing $5 to $10 per GB with ways around it. For example, one may have satellite Internet that's $5 per GB for most of the day but unmetered from 1 AM to 5 AM local time. Or one may subscribe to a combination of cable and cellular Internet, which is $10 per GB while away from home but $0.06 per GB at home or at affiliated hotspots (e.g. xfinitywifi). This sort of user-managed buffering would be ideal for users with such highly variable data transfer costs.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Marand on Saturday December 03 2016, @09:12PM
But some people are stuck on Internet plans costing $5 to $10 per GB with ways around it. For example, one may have satellite Internet that's $5 per GB for most of the day but unmetered from 1 AM to 5 AM local time.
I'm currently stuck on that sort of connection. Satellite internet, 10GB/mo cap for most of the day, but an extra "allowance" outside of that between 2am and 8am. Doesn't charge extra for going over, but once you go past the cap it's basically dialup speeds, so internet use sucks for most of the day.
From that perspective, this new Netflix feature is great. Not everything is available for download, and it's only on mobile devices (bleck), but it's the difference in being able to download something and watch it when I feel like vs. only being able to watch in an inconvenient, narrow window. Now if I want to watch something I check if I can download it first.
Since I've actually used it, I'll also add some notes about how it works for anyone interested:
• You can choose video quality (SD or HD) for downloads in the settings, giving you some control over bandwidth and storage use.
• For SD quality streams, the downloads have been somewhere in the 200-300MB range per 40-odd minute video.
• There's a fixed limit on how much you can have downloaded at a time. Not sure if it's based on video time, disk space, or number of downloads though; haven't used it enough to tell yet.
• I've heard that once you start watching a video, the download will "expire" after a set time regardless of whether you completed it or not. I haven't run into this yet myself.
• There's a category now that only displays downloadable content.
• Unfortunately, there isn't a clear indication of whether content is downloadable at a glance. You have to select a show or movie and then check for the download button.
• The lack of support outside of Android and iOS apps sucks, but it may be temporary. If not, at least there are HDMI adapters.
• The DRM complaint about the downloads is moot. If you're that uptight about it then the Netflix service, the Netflix app, or the OS req (Android or iOS) will be a deal breaker before the download encryption is even a concern.
Other than the lack of convenient visual indication of downloadable status on the "my list" and searches, it's probably as good a system as Netflix can manage while still having to keep the content distributors happy. People that want to complain will find a reason to complain and the people already using Netflix anyway just get a nice new thing that may be useful. I suspect that having a few movies downloaded will make a nice backup plan for things like internet outages, or times like a few months ago when a bad storm took out the power here for hours.