Starting today (or at least very soon), Windows Media Center users on Vista systems can stream Netflix Watch Now videos, and manage their DVD and streaming queues, straight from the TV + Movies section.


Microsoft's announcement came late yesterday, and some in-house blogs are reporting the feature as "starting today," but we lack a Vista system and Netflix Unlimited subscription to test it out at the moment. When it does arrive, however, users running Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate can fire up Media Center, head to the TV + Movies section, and should see a new Netflix option there.




Here's how the selection and queue management should look. Search, recommendations and ratings are available from the Media Center view, and any remote that works with Media Center should be able to operate the Netflix streaming controls while it's playing. The plug-in is Silverlight based, and requires a Netflix subscription, of course.

Running Media Center on a lower-tier Vista system, or want that same kind of Netflix streaming on your TV-connected PC? Try the myNetflix plug-in, or make the leap to Boxee or XBMC. Mac users should also check out Plex's latest upgrade.

Here's Microsoft's video preview of Netflix streaming:

Thanks, Ognjen!

Netflix in Windows Media Center [Microsoft Windows site via Windows Experience Blog]