netflixed

Parents and children can now more easily find kid-friendly Netflix content on the Xbox 360.

Available starting today, Netflix's "Just for Kids" section now appears as a special page accessible through the gaming console's Netflix app.

Geared for children 12 and under, the section offers rows of TV shows and movies organized by genre, such as comedies and animated films. The section also displays characters meant for kids, including Barney, Miley Cyrus, Power Rangers, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Dora the Explorer.

The movies and shows displayed through Just for Kids are all available for streaming. So kids … Read more

Streaming video may be cost-effective and convenient, but consumers are still renting more movies via the mail and physical retailers.

People renting DVDs and Blu-ray discs through retail stores, kiosks, and Netflix's mail service totaled more than 62 percent of all movie rentals in the first half of the year, according to NPD Group. In contrast, those renting digital movies via subscription streaming, pay TV video on demand, and Internet VOD added up to only 38 percent.

Though physical discs still lead the rental landscape, their popularity has been waning. Rentals of DVDs and Blu-ray discs dropped by 17 … Read more

Correction, August 3 at 2:18 p.m. PT: This story was corrected and updated throughout after CNET learned that the study it was based on from Procera was not an accurate reflection of all Netflix traffic.

The streaming of the Olympic Games may be popular among viewers, but it doesn't appear to be hurting Netflix traffic.

It turns out that an earlier report from Procera that said Netflix streaming dropped 25 percent in the U.S. on Sunday did not reflect all traffic to the Netflix site.

Procera explained its data in this statement:

Amazon is serving Netflix some mobile competition with its new Instant Video iPad app.

Free for iPad users, the Amazon Instant Video app offers both Amazon Prime and non-Prime users the ability to purchase or rent any of the more than 120,000 videos available in the retailer's online video store.

Users can then stream the content to view it online or download it to catch it offline. Amazon Prime subscribers ($79 a year) get the better end of the deal. Prime members can stream thousands of movies and TV shows at no extra cost. Non-members must pay the … Read more

Back at the January Consumer Electronics Show, Roku showed off a prototype of its Streaming Stick -- a version of its streaming box miniaturized to the size of a USB drive, and designed to work with any TV equipped with an MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) port. We thought it was cool enough to bestow it with a nomination as one of the best home theater products of the show.

The good news is that the Streaming Stick is on track for its promised 2012 release. Roku today affirmed that the product will be released "in the coming weeks." … Read more

Make it a Blockbuster night.

Remember that? It wasn't that long ago that Blockbuster was king of home video and the company's name was synonymous with weekend entertainment for millions of Americans. But the original Blockbuster business is dead now. Netflix and Coinstar (Redbox) rule supreme and Hollywood's home entertainment business is in the toilet.

Against that dismal backdrop, the studios are excited about a 1 percent uptick for the first half of the year in U.S. home-video sales, according to the Digital Entertainment Group. DEG said total revenue came in at $8.4 billion, while … Read more

Netflix users may be getting closer to being allowed to disclose to friends what videos they're watching.

The Senate could vote on an amendment next week to the Senate Cybersecurity bill that would allow this kind of sharing, according to a report in the TheHill.com. Right now, because of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), Netflix users can disclose what other kinds of media they're enjoying but not videos.

The VPAA was implemented after reporters from the Washington City Paper obtained a list in 1988 of the videos rented by then Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork. His … Read more

Shares of video-rental service Netflix fell 5 percent in early trading this morning to $56.81.

The company is now trading well below its previous 52-week low, following a collapse in the stock price yesterday when shares fell 25 percent. The company warned in its second-quarter earnings report this week that it might report a loss in the fourth quarter and also might not add as many subscribers as it had expected.

A host of analysts downgraded the stock yesterday and Consumer Reports reported that Netflix's service didn't fare particularly well in a consumer-satisfaction survey.

Though Consumer Reports, … Read more

Netflix has been no stranger of late to complaints about its services. And now Consumer Reports has released a study that might pile on.

In a recent survey of its subscribers, Consumer Reports found that 81 percent of over 15,000 respondents used Netflix's streaming service in the previous month, making it an exceedingly popular offering. However, in terms of overall satisfaction with the service, the respondents pushed Netflix down to sixth place behind Vudu, iTunes, and several others.

Out of a possible score of 100, Vudu took the top spot in subscriber satisfaction, earning a 76. Apple's … Read more