Audio Video News

Netflix is interested in expanding its reach to the world of cable television—and is doing so on two fronts.

The streaming giant is in talks with Comcast and Suddenlink to create a Netflix app for their set-top boxes. In fact, Netflix has already inked a similar pact with Virgin Media in the U.K. A possible sticking point is Netflix’s insistence that cable operators use its technology to improve streaming quality, potentially leading to accusations of special treatment from other content providers. Cable ops are also understandably concerned that Netflix would compete with their other offerings—but that cat’s out of the bag, isn’t it?

In related news, Netflix is featured on the home screen of the Samsung GX-SM530CF Smart Media Player, basically a CableCARD-enabled cable box that consumers can buy at retail, in lieu of a rented box, as allowed by federal law. Because it uses a unidirectional CableCARD, the device does not support cable-company-approved video on demand. It also lacks DVR recording though it does have DLNA capability to fetch media from computers and other network devices.