Netflix is coming to (some) Android phones... did I buy mine too early?

[born2dig]

I got my Android (an HTC Inspire 4G) just a few days ago and have been searching out video options ever since. Now (as noted in a couple of threads already) comes the news that Neflix and Qualcomm have worked things out so that "future" models based on the Snapdragon processor will have Netflix streaming capability built in. I checked my specs and sure enough, I am running Snapdragon; but that leaves me wondering whether this app will ever be available for my phone or not. Customer service people I talked to at both Netflix and AT&T weren't able to help me on this; in fact this news is so fresh that the reps I encountered weren't aware of it yet.
Any reassuring word out there?

 

[born2dig]

A quick follow-up: The comment thread in this page answered many of my questions, and sad to say it doesn't look that good for people like me:
Netflix for Android Previewed on LG Revolution, Quick Look at Qualcomm’s Next-Gen Multi-Core CPU [MWC] [Video] | Android Phone Fans

 

[EvilMonkey]

If you are familiar with PlayOn, the app is now in the market as of yesterday and it is working great for me (does Netflix, Hulu (regular free Hulu, not plus), CBS and a bunch of other stuff)

For those uninitiated, PlayOn is a media server that runs on your PC at home (so it has to be left on). This requires software on your PC, then the phone (or your XBOX or PS3 or wii or other devices) connect to it. After the initial pairing to your PC (you have to be on your home network), it'll work over 3G/4G or wifi.

There is a 14 day trial, and then PlayOn costs $79.99 for a lifetime license, or you can do it annually for $39.99 for the first year, then $19.99/year after that.

I've used PlayOn to watch Hulu on my TV (through my PS3) for about a year now.

Leaving your PC on may not be ideal for everyone (and of course the license is not overly cheap), but as I said, it's working great on my Evo today. I've already watched Fringe on Hulu and part of a Netflix movie.

It does lack some functionality of course that a native app would have, but hey, at least it's a solution available today on today's devices. It does require Android 2.2 with Flash of course.

More info at www.playon.tv

This app might warrant its own thread if someone thinks it should. The app was getting some bad reviews because people didn't read the instructions....but it does work.

 

[SNAFU]

Netflix is getting very disapointing in how they are dragging thier feet/playing games on this.

That and how thier instant play movies are also going downhill, I'm seriously considering dropping my subscription if they can't get thier act togeather soon.

 

[born2dig]

Still looking for solutions: PlayOn on my HTC phone?

One person on this thread, EvilMonkey, says PlayOn is working fine on his Evo. I have downloaded it and set it up on my PC and phone, and though I get almost all the way there (playlists and thumbnails), I have yet to see any video on my phone from PlayOn. What's the trick? I gather Evo and my Inspire are very similar phones. Evilmonkey, are you out there? If you have any suggestions, e-mail me at skross55@gmail.com . Please!

 

[rkeenan]

My 3g is so slow that its hard to watch YouTube videos on my Evo. I live in a decent sized city too. So aa great as this app sounds, I think I would be wasting my money.

 

[EvilMonkey]

One person on this thread, EvilMonkey, says PlayOn is working fine on his Evo. I have downloaded it and set it up on my PC and phone, and though I get almost all the way there (playlists and thumbnails), I have yet to see any video on my phone from PlayOn. What's the trick? I gather Evo and my Inspire are very similar phones. Evilmonkey, are you out there? If you have any suggestions, e-mail me at skross55@gmail.com . Please!

You have Android 2.2 (or higher), right? I guess you do cause otherwise you wouldn't find the app in the market.

When I pull up a show or a movie, I see the thumbnail with a "Play" button super-imposed on it. I press that, and it starts playing after awhile (it takes a bit....like 30 seconds or so before it starts, but then works fine).

Do you see the play button super-imposed? You might need to install Flash on your phone if you haven't already (find it in the market).

To be honest, I am not sure what the problem would be, but they have an EXCELLENT support department. Go here PlayOn Technical Support | PlayOn for some info. There's a link there for the user forums and they are very helpful there. Hope that helps.

I'll send you an email too.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Netflix is getting very disapointing in how they are dragging thier feet/playing games on this.

That and how thier instant play movies are also going downhill, I'm seriously considering dropping my subscription if they can't get thier act togeather soon.

Already did this myself. I figure they need us more than we need them.

 

[born2dig]

You have Android 2.2 (or higher), right? I guess you do cause otherwise you wouldn't find the app in the market.

When I pull up a show or a movie, I see the thumbnail with a "Play" button super-imposed on it. I press that, and it starts playing after awhile (it takes a bit....like 30 seconds or so before it starts, but then works fine).

Do you see the play button super-imposed? You might need to install Flash on your phone if you haven't already (find it in the market).

To be honest, I am not sure what the problem would be, but they have an EXCELLENT support department. Go here PlayOn Technical Support | PlayOn for some info. There's a link there for the user forums and they are very helpful there. Hope that helps.

I'll send you an email too.

Well I have been back and forth with PlayOn tech support and they haven't solved my problem yet; I'll try the user forums. Actually I am not totally positive I have the Flash I need; I saw a list of specs somewhere and it seemed to say I have Flash 10.1 but I'll have to check again. I'm really a newbie here; how can I determine what software came natively on my phone? I see a list of apps (including the ones I installed myself), but I have the feeling flash would be listed somewhere else on there. In another thread I also saw reference to a difference between "full" and "lite" flash. Could this be my problem?

 

[EvilMonkey]

^ I know we've been going back and forth on email, but for others. Go to the market and do a search for "Flash" and make sure "Flash 10.1" is installed.

Secondly, I made a video of how mine works, but PLEASE IGNORE THE FRAMERATE: I used ShootMe to record it, and apparently it only does like 2 frames per second, so once the video starts playing, it's jerky (but it's not on my phone). You will notice at the beginning I'm on 3G though, so you can see how it works and how long it takes to buffer and start playing Hulu content (but Netflix is similar load times. Both are faster on wireless than 3G) Wish I had a better way to capture video on my phone with better framerates....but I don't or don't know how.

PlayOn on HTC Evo (Hulu, Netflix, etc)