Netflix is finally looking towards a streaming future, with the death of DVD predicted, plans for services on other devices – notably the PS3 and Wii (probably) – and a move outside the United States and into unspecified international territories.

Netflix Of The Past

When Netflix formed in 1997 as a DVD by mail company in the United States, the Internet wasn’t the behemoth it is now, and online video was a concept rather than an actual living, breathing part of the Web.

Streaming video therefore wasn’t part of the plan for the company at that point. However, it introduced ‘Watch Instantly’ as part of its subscription service a few years ago and hasn’t looked back since.

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Netflix is seemingly everywhere now, at least in the U.S., yet there are actually still many devices the service isn’t available on.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has now confirmed that an iPhone app will appear one day, but not before Netflix finds its way onto all games consoles, Blu-ray players, and Internet-enabled televisions.

From Mail To The Web

Netflix was formed in 1997 as a service delivering DVDs via mail to consumers across the United States. But its name suggests that even then its founder and CEO, Reed Hastings, was envisioning an Internet future for the company.

And so it came to pass. Netflix now enables its subscribers to watch over 17,000 movies and episodes of television series via their computers or one of a number of Internet-enabled devices and the ‘Watch Instantly’ service.

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The iPod Touch got a serious hardware upgrade, as Apple looks to be drooling over the mobile gaming pie.

The Touch is now faster and supports OpenGL|ES, which should improve game performance.

Two new features are voice-controlled music playback and voice memos; the earphones have been updated with a microphone.

There is no video camera for the iPod Touch, perhaps because this would create competition with the iPhone.

Overview of Features

• Control music playback with spoken commands.
• Audio recorder
• Genius Mixes
• Buy or rent movies and TV shows
• App Store
• Shop on iTunes
• Safari Web Browser, Mail, Maps and YouTube
• Nike+ support

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If Google started streaming movies on YouTube for a fee, could it make money, serious money at that? A financial analyst thinks so, and said as much this morning while urging people to buy Google shares. This may be a little premature seeing as the move hasn’t even been confirmed as yet.

YouTube Revenue Streams

YouTube is a hugely popular site, one responsible for turning millions of people on to online video. But its 400 million-plus worldwide user base so far gets the full run of the site for free, with only adverts occasionally passing in front of their eyes.

Whether a purely advertising-based business model is enough for the site has long been the subject of debate. Regardless, I’m sure Google would like to see higher returns on the $1.65 billion it paid to acquire the site a few years ago.

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A lot of us watch a great deal of online video each month, some good, some bad, but which are the videos that go beyond merely being popular and attract worldwide attention?

The 100 Million Views Club tells us exactly that, and it consequently makes for very interesting reading, with movers and shakers shaping the new chart.

Visible Measure Viral Video Chart

While Magma tracks the most popular videos of the day, Visible Measures is constantly tracking the biggest and most popular viral videos around. And there are 35 which, according to the company, have exceeded 100 million views.

We first covered the list in May but things have changed somewhat since then. The newly updated list has seen some new entries which have quickly raced up the charts due to either current events or the zeitgeist of the day.

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Netflix is a movie rental company first and foremost but it’s also developing a very strong online video streaming strategy, with its Watch Instantly video-on-demand a huge hit. It has now added ABC shows to its line-up and could soon be available as an iPhone app.

Netflix Watch Instantly

Netflix’s business is built on delivering rented movies to people’s doors and charging them a monthly fee for doing so. And it’s a pretty damn successful business. However, Netflix knows that the days of physical media are coming to an end, with streaming music and video, as well as software and games delivered via the Internet becoming standard.

Therefore, it offers its subscribers the chance to stream video via its ‘Watch Instantly’ service. Those paying the monthly fees required to rent DVDs get access to over 12,000 movies and episodes of popular television series. Not just available on a computer, Netflix’s ‘Watch Instantly’ has been added to a number of devices, from set-top-boxes to the Xbox 360.

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Including a video camera in the new iPhone 3GS was an inspired move by Apple, and one which has increased the number of mobile uploads on YouTube. How much more inspired it would be to also include a video camera on the iPod Touch and other models. It could have a huge impact on the world of online video.

IPhone 3GS Video

The recently-released iPhone 3GS includes some fantastic video features. The device includes a 3 megapixel camera which is capable of recording video at near-HD quality with full audio and at 30 frames-per-second. What’s more, there is some excellent basic editing software included as standard which also allows captured clips to be uploaded to YouTube and the like with ease.

This inclusion of a good quality video camera in the iPhone is a worry for video camera manufacturers, because if this sort of device is available in a smartphone, where is the need to buy a product which costs more and is only capable of doing that one job? However, the iPhone is still a costly prospect for most people thanks to the monthly contract required to use one.

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