Requirements:
- Microsoft Windows Vista with Media Center (Premium or Ultimate)
- A valid NetFlix subscription
- A broadband internet connection
- NetFlix Movie Viewer installed (i.e. make sure you can view WatchNow movies)
- Stream WatchNow movies directly to the Media Center player.
- Download WatchNow movies to a "Watch Later" gallery.
- Support for Vista Extenders on both x86 and x64 platforms.
- Support for NetFilx Instant Queue.
- Support for Episode listings.
- Search for movies by keyword.
- Browse DVD and WatchNow movies by genres.
- Sort Gallery by Title or Year.
- View your queue, history, and recommendations.
- Add, remove, move movies in your queue.
- Dynamically switch between small, medium and large gallery listings using FastForward and Rewind buttons on your remote.
- Switch to full screen anytime video is playing by simply pressing the Play button on your remote.
- Prevents standby/sleep while downloads are still in the queue - requires Vista Media Center PC to be configured in "Away Mode".
- Better/improved download status and queue management.
- Ability to add recieved DVDs to the Watch Later gallery.
- Add support for Parental Controls.
- When watching a streaming WatchNow movie on the Extender, it seems that fast forward, rewind, & skip is causing the extender to hang if pressed after starting the movie Once the streaming buffer gets larger, it starts working okay. Note: I've read reports online that other folks are having the same or similar issues with other videos as well.
- When initializing the movie player for the extender, it currently is not uncommon for it to fail. See "Troubleshooting the extender setup" below.
Installation:
- Run the installer for the new version.
- Start Vista Media Center and you should find an entry in the Program Library under the Online Media strip.
- When prompted enter your NetFlix username & password, click the Remember checkbox if you don't want to keep having to entering it, and select Login. From there it should place you in the Main Menu.
Steps to setup extender:
- Install new version.
- On Vista Media Center PC, start vmcNetFlix application - during startup, you should see a dialog indicating Extenders can now be setup.
- Then start up the Exender, connect to the Vista Media Center PC and start the vmcNetFlix application on the Extender. You should encounter several dialogs prompting you for options to setup the extender for streaming. After this, it may take 30-50 seconds to setup the Netflix Player on the Extender.
- The main menu will load and you should now be able to play WatchNow or the downloads in WatchLater.
Troubleshooting the extender setup:
- If you are having issue with the extender getting setup, make sure you don't have any antivirus software blocking vmcExtenderSetup.exe from running.
- Sometimes it might take multiple initialization attempts before it works, so make sure you try multiple times...
Download x86 Beta Version 1.0.22 Now
Download x64 Beta Version 1.0.22 Now
Release Notes Beta 1.0.22 (5/10/2008):- Fixed "Instant Queue" listings to support lastest Netflix website changes.
- Removed "Recient Additions" until it can be fixed/replaced,
- Changes to font size to help with 4:3 sized displays.
- Fixed various scrolling issues with the gallery items.
- Moved "Instant Queue" category to WatchNow menu.
- Fixed the issue with Reciently Watched movies showing up in the Instant Queue.
- Fixed the issue with menus getting reset when coming back from the Details page.
- Renamed WatchLater to Downloads .
- Increased spacing on menu items.
- Major change to UI look and feel - combined main menu and gallery pages, cleaned up details and settings page.
- With combined start page, should have slight faster load time.
- Added direct support for WatchNow queue (i.e. Netflix Instant Queue)
- Removed "A", "An" and "The" when sorting.
Download x86 Beta Version 1.0.10 Now
Download x64 Beta Version 1.0.10 Now
Release Notes Beta 1.0.10 (4/28/2008):- Fixed issue with missing Genre listings due to NetFlix recent change in formatting.
- In the 'Your Queue' gallery, added addition In Queue listing for WatchNow-only movies.
- Fixed Install Upgrade issue in which addin was getting unregistered (hopefully this is the last one).
- Misc UI bug fixes (spelling errors and length of buttons).
- Added support for sorting gallery items by Title or Year, select your sorting preference in Settings->Gallery Options
- Centered the summary text.
- Fixed some issues with the installer, which should now upgrade and repair. Also, moving from a 4 field version to a 3 field version - which solved some of the install problems.
- Fixed a bug that was preventing the application to run if it was a first time install.
- Added new configuration settings (under Settings) for Netflix Connection (user/password), Gallery Options(default thumbnail size), Bitrate Configuration (default stream/download bitrates), and Movie Player (setup/initialization).
- Now displays movie summaries in the Gallery when Large thumbnails are selected.
- Now displays a different error if the connection is bad versus invalid email/password.
- Removed automatic initialization of the movie player during typical startups, this now only happens during startup when you are going through the extender setup.
- If a movie fails to play, it will now ask if you want to re-initialize the movie player and try playing the movie again.
- Added a new button in the Settings page which performs initialization of the movie player, this allows you to manually force the initialization to happen without rebooting.
- Fixed an issue in which ffdshow which was causing the application to fault.
- Modifications to simplify the Extender
setup. At startup, it now takes 30-50 seconds longer to load, but
everything is now done in the background and overall setup should be
more reliable. This greatly enhances the experience for those
wanting to Clone the license from the VMC PC.
Download x86 Beta Version 1.0.7.5 Now
Download x64 Beta Version 1.0.7.5 Now
Release Notes Beta 1.0.7.5 (4/15/2008):- Fixed issues with downloading of some Episodes.
- Added some fault handings around some registry accesses.
- Extender
setup now provides two options for extender licensing, cloning the
license from the VMC PC or obtaining a new license from NetFlix.
- Fixed UAC issue with x64 platforms when sharing common files w/ extenders
- Removed registration of 'Services\Movies' category, due to VMC Start Menu limitiations, this was overwritting other Add-In's in the start menu. Will leave it in 'More Programs' for now.
- Removed creation of desktop short-cut during install.
- Fixed the detection of an Extender vs. a Remote Desktop Session.
- Added support for Vista Extenders. Also sets up the Extender's user session to share the main VMC NetFlix PC license, typically each new Vista user will use up an extra license - of which NetFlix only allows 4 total (which resets each year in January).
- At this point, Extender support has only been tested on a XBOX 360 and 32-bit Vista OS.
- Moved the storage location of favorites and cached files to a common area so extenders have access.
- Modifications to ease the transition when playing videos.
- Addressed more issues with UI behavior.
Download x86 Beta Version 1.0.6.0 Here
Download x64 Beta Version 1.0.6.0 Here
Release Notes Beta 1.0.6.0 (4/5/2008):- Added caching of movie covers and implemented a major change in the way gallery items were processed in order to enhanced the load/response time.
- Removed video background, this was causing occassional vmcNetFlix crashes when starting live video (like switching to live tv) while vmcNetFlix was running. I'll look at adding it back in at a later time.
- Modified to install vmcNetFlix Add-In under the 'Services\Movies' category - this places it in the TV+Movies section. Will look into making an option to install into different locations at a later time.
- Changed Browse DVD, it now shows New Release, Top 100, and Top 25 by Genre - the search function still searches the entire database.
- Addressed more issues with UI behavior.
Download x86 Beta Version 1.0.5.5 Here
Download x64 Beta Version 1.0.5.5 Here
Release Notes Beta 1.0.5.5 (4/1/2008):- Fixed issue playing downloaded files - if UAC is 'on', the files could not be played because of security access placed on the files. Modified security access of the downloaded files so that "everyone" has full access to the files after download.
- Added "play" key handler - now while in vmcNetFlix app, if video is playing in the background and the 'play' key is pressed you will be switched to "full screen".
- Added Small, Medium and Large thumbnail support in the galleries. By pressing the 'FastForward' or 'Rewind' keys, you can switch between Small, Medium and Large thumbnails. The default is Medium.
- Started working on a Settings page, basic page now allows modification of username and password.
- Fixed some issues with UI behavior.
- Fixed some issues with UI behavior.
- Added a new "Favorites" sub-category in "Your Queue". Any movie can now be added to the "Favorites" sub-category.
Download x86 Beta Version 1.0.4.5 Here
Download x64 Beta Version 1.0.4.5 Here
Release Notes Beta 1.0.4.5 (3/28/2008):- Fixed issue with "play download" not working.
- Fixed some spelling errors.
- Added support for episode listings.
- Some cosmetic changes (changed the wording and locations of some text).
- Now supports x64 w/o UAC modifications.
Release Notes Beta 1.0.3.1 (3/25/2008):
- Fixed application crash if "Your Recommendations" reports no movies.
- Fixed an issue in which gallery item tags where sometimes not getting displayed correctly.
- Moved more gallery item processing to the background, should improve response time a little.
- Non-WideScreen issues should be resolved.
Release Notes Beta 1.0.2.0 (3/24/2008):
- Modified detail text, should be easier to read now.
- Fixed random gallery items showing up in the Delayed Viewing gallery.
- Added "Go To FullScreen" button which will be displayed when there is media playing in the background. This provides a way to get back to the movie from the vmcNetFlix application.
- Added numbering in each of the gallery selections.
Release Notes Beta 1.0.1.1R2 (3/22/2008):
- Updated registion file in the installer to match 1.0.1.1 release files.
Release Notes Beta 1.0.1.1 (3/22/2008):
- Fixed "null" string exception using on-screen keyboard, a condition that would happen after logging out.
- Reduced number of gallery pictures on main page if non-widescreen resolution.
Donations
This software is free of charge. However, if you wish to express your appreciation for the time and resources that I have spent for the development of this product, I will glady accept and appreciate any donations.Since this was my first Media Center application, I started with the "Z" sample application provided in the Windows Media Center SDK - it provided a great jump-start for the UI, which really saved development time. I also include the MiniHttp and NetFlixAPI libraries, which aided in development as well.
Click Here for Comments and Feedback
Screen Shots
