Netflix: Watch movies instantly is amazing

Netflix recently unveiled a beta testing program for Mac users to be able to watch movies instantly on their computers. The feature is basically an on-demand service for Netflix’s huge collection of movies and TV shows. I don’t know the exact number of titles available, but I know that every single film I’ve searched for so far has shown up as available in their “watch instantly” program.

The beta program runs on Macs using Microsoft’s fantastic Silverlight technology which I’ve praised highly before. I just signed up to test the program and I am just amazed at how easy and quick it was to watch my first streaming movie. All I had to do was install Silverlight and then restart my browser and basically, I just clicked on a movie in Netflix and it started streaming.

And don’t assume that streaming means crap quality. The Netflix video quality goes by the speed of your internet, and since my internet is pretty fast, my movies were just as clear as DVDs. In fact, I really couldn’t tell the difference most of the time.

The greatest surprise is that there are no ads during movie playback. I don’t know why I expected there to be ads, but when I found out it was all ad-free, I think it made the experience even better than it already was. The great thing about this on-demand feature from Netflix is that it really is on-demand in every way possible. You can skip to a particular part in the film you’re watching and it shows you a quick image of where you are while you’re seeking (see image below).

But perhaps the BEST thing about this streaming service is that it’s unlimited. Yep. You can be on Netflix’s lowest subscription plan and still watch as many movies as you want. There’s no limit and there’s no increase in price.

I’m never going to leave my house again. If you’re contemplating getting a Netflix subscription, just do it. It’s so super awesome I cannot even explain it in words. BEST THING I’VE PAID FOR THIS YEAR.