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.