What Microsoft does not want you to know about Netflix streaming

Earlier this week, Microsoft and Netflix announced that movie streaming will be coming to the Xbox 360. This could be a big deal. But if you are really interested in watching Netflix content on your Xbox, you don’t have to wait and you don’t have to pay twice. If you have an Xbox 360 and a Windows Vista PC, you have everything you need to stream Netflix movies already.

When the Netflix announcement was made, I was sitting in a coffee shop with a friend and learned of the announcement via my cellphone RSS feed. I couldn’t help laughing: Are they serious? I personally have been streaming Netflix movies for a while now, and I pay nothing for it, except for my Netflix subscription.

Utilizing freeware, and Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate you can be streaming Netflix in less than 20 minutes with no fees.  This was announced over a month ago by Adam Pash of Lifehacker.com, and some of us have even been able to stream video using a modified original Xbox.