Well if you don’t have a home theater Netflix streaming option yet, but own an internet-connected Sony BRAVIA TV, Netflix just went live. Just as they promised back in July. You’ll be watching your favorite flicks in no time now.

All you have to do is apply the latest software update and you’re ready to go. What will it be? A drama? Action movie? Comedy? Comedy is PS3 owners having to use a “DVD” to get Netflix working on their console. Feel free to laugh at them.

We talked earlier this month about the announcement that the PS3 would be getting Netflix streaming service. Today marks the official live date for the PS3 Netflix deal. If you were wondering how Netflix got around that deal with Microsoft, Blu-ray is the answer.

The Blu-ray disc that has to be in the PS3 at all times uses BD-Live to access the Netflix streaming catalog. As long as the disc is in the PS3, you can stream until your heart’s content. The service is free to all Netflix members, but you have to request one of the discs.

Rumor is that Netflix is going to let iPhone users get in on the fun of streaming movies via WIFI. Users would love it of course, but how would they do it? The iPhone doesn’t support Flash, so it’s probably not going to be a web portal.

Netflix could develop its own app and do it all itself we suppose. How do you think AT&T would feel about users watching video on its wireless network without paying though? We would be surprised if this one panned out anytime soon.

I tried Netflix once for movie rentals but I was never able to get the films I wanted to see the day they came out so I went back to using my local movie store. When Netflix started its streaming service, I thought it was interesting and I am waiting for it to get more offerings before I think about using it again.

Netflix has announced that it will be streaming new ABC shows including popular programs like Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, and Legend of the Seeker. Netflix is now offering the first four seasons of Lost in its streaming catalog and the other shows will start streaming in September.

That’s what seems to be happening with a small group of subscribers who are claiming their discs are arriving with small cracks on the outside edges. They say it’s happening repeatedly. No one is sure what is causing it since the Discs have an extra coating to prevent scratches on Blu-ray.

It could be the automated mail processing machines, manufacturing defects or maybe postal carriers are playing Frisbee. The Mars Box blog experienced this issue back in ‘07, but over the last few months reports are picking up again. It’s too bad the extra costs that customers are paying can’t go toward tougher packaging, but Netflix told Wired the problem is “infinitesimally small” and changing shipping wouldn’t be cost effective.

I used Netflix for a while before I realized getting a new movie the day it comes out is about likely as a perfect credit score in today’s economy. It would take weeks to get a new film and by the time it was finally available I would have rented it at my local movie store anyway.

When Netflix started offering streaming movies and TV shows with its subscriptions things got a bit more interesting. Netflix and MTV Networks announced today that they would be streaming popular programs including South Park from Comedy Central.

No doubt, this will upset a great many of you, but Netflix is raising the price of Blu-ray rentals again. You might remember, Netflix already implemented a $1 per month fee for Blu-ray customers in October. Now it wants to raise it even higher, by around 20 percent across its pricing structure.

It should hit April 27th and is only applicable to BD customers. According to the company, this is all due to having to buy more titles on BD to “accommodate the increasing number of Netflix members who prefer renting movies on Blu-ray.”

It looks like despite some denials from Sony in the past, a survey is being conducted to gauge the public’s interest in streaming movies and TV shows to their game console. The service on PS3 might require a one-time purchase of a $9.99 “Netflix Instant Streaming Disc” that would be inserted to stream video, but otherwise the cost would be free.

The survey asks which is your favorite console, then if you’d be interested in this service. Seems like the Wii would be a natural contender as well. At any rate it looks like it is coming our way soon. You can check out the survey below.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings says that by late this year or in 2010, Netflix might let users get rid of the red envelopes and subscribe just to their streaming service. Reed realizes that in order to maintain their current level of success, it has to “nail” the streaming aspect.

Most of us envision streaming becoming more popular in the coming years. It’s faster cheaper and it’s great for them if they can strong-arm studios into providing new releases for download. There was no talk of pricing, but Netflix has always been pretty fair.

The economic crisis has taken it’s toll on many industries, but not Netflix. Consumers are happy to sit on their butts and escape through a goods movie. The streaming and mailing movie rental company is doing just fine. They closed 2008 with 9.4 million customers and today they announced that they’ve broken the 10 million mark.

The company has added 600,000 net subscribers since January 1st alone. It’s likely only going to go up as customers choose their service over theater tickets or going out on the town to eat.

In an effort to make one console appeal to gamers more than the competition, console makers like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are adding new features. With the global economy down the console makers are also adding features to make gaming systems perform tasks outside of gaming to broaden their appeal.

One such feature was the addition of Netflix streaming capability to the Xbox 360. The Netflix application was made available for Netflix and Xbox Live Gold customers in November of 2008. In the roughly three months since the Netflix application was made available Microsoft says that over a million Xbox 360 owners have installed and activated the Netflix application.

Some great news for Netflix customers. According the Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, they’re starting to test Saturday shipping during the first quarter of 2009, but apparently only in “certain parts of the country.” So, normally if you send back a disc on Friday, you would have to wait for Monday for your next disc to ship.

If Netflix receives it on a Saturday, you could receive your next disc as quickly as Monday. That is, if you live close enough to a distribution center to get one day delivery. That should make a lot of people happy. It’s only one day, but still. We like everything now!

There is more than a little truth to the fact that when money is tight and the economy sucks, people want to spend what little money they do have on things that take their mind off how bad the economy sucks. Thanks to that fact entertainment industries tend to weather recessions pretty well.

Netflix is among the companies that are still doing well despite the weak economy. Netflix has announced its Q4 2008 financials for its year ending on December 31, 2008. The mail-order movie rental service finished the quarter with 9,390,000 subscribers for a 26% growth compared to the same quarter of 2007.

The Roku Netflix player was the first device to support streaming movie rentals from Netflix and ushered in an array of devices supporting the Netflix streaming service. One of the best features of the original Roku Player was the cheap $99 price tag.

Roku announced today that its Digital Video Player now supports HD streams of films from Netflix. Other HD streaming partners will reportedly be added to the Roku player as well. The additional providers are expected to debut in q1 2009.

Online movie rentals are one of the most convenient ways for movie fans to get their favorite films without leaving the house. The catch is that many of the newest releases aren’t available for streaming rentals. Netflix offers a streaming on demand library of 12,000 movies and TV shows to its subscribers.

Several hardware devices will allow Netflix members to access the streaming content including the Xbox 360 and some DVD players. Netflix and TiVo announced today that TiVo DVR subscribers would be able to access the streaming content library over certain TiVo DVRs.