Netflix 'Watch Instantly' Mac Beta Live

Netflix announced last month the release of its long-awaited media player for the Macintosh. Until recently, only a select number of users have been able to test out the benefits of the service. From now on, however, Netflix is finally allowing Mac owners everywhere to access its “Watch Instantly” feature through means of a public beta.

Netflix's service enables subscribers to “watch instantly” thousands of movie and television show titles, which can also be delivered home to them, on DVD, provided they sign up for the subscription-based service. A Netflix blog post signed Brent reveals more about the service.

“Hi, Brent here with an update on our new player for the Mac and PC. We're past the first phase of our beta already, so I'd like to give you a chance to join in. But before doing so, you need to consider the following,” says Brent. He continues outlining that, for Mac users, the experience may be a tad buggy, but errors are being logged to be dealt with in future versions. Brent adds that “if you run into problems you can help out by posting details here in the blog comments.” Additionally, “not all movies are available to watch with Silverlight,” according to the Netflix guy. As a Mac user, “you may notice errors or lower than normal quality when watching certain titles,” the post also reads.

A note for Windows users is also included in the announcement, pointing out that Silverlight is a requirement on all machines, should they “opt in.” The fact that the service is Intel-bound is also noteworthy.

“Once you get up and running, check out some of our newest content. We recently added a lot more movies, as well as recent episodes of many TV shows, including Heroes, CSI and NCIS. You’ll find all these movies & TV episodes under the ‘Watch Instantly’ tab of the website,” the post ends.

Netflix's Watch Instantly provides a simple and easy-to-use feature that enables users to stream content immediately. They can watch their preferred films and shows, on the Mac only. However, they cannot save the content to their hard drive, or transfer it to their iPod, iPhone, or any other media player.