Netflix on Monday lifted restrictions on how long subscribers can watch movies and TV shows streamed over broadband connections. The announcement comes on the same day that Apple's Macworld
conference goes live in San Francisco. On Tuesday, the consumer electronics giant is expected to announce a new online rental service through its iTunes store, which would make Apple a direct
competitor to Netflix.
Netflix has been offering online rentals for about a year, allowing its customers to stream movies over the Internet instead of making them wait for DVDs
ordered on the Web but delivered by mail. Until today, Netflix allowed its subscribers to rent three DVDs and watch up to 17 hours of on-demand online entertainment under a plan that charges $16.99
per month.
From now on, those subscribers will be able to stream as many movies and TV shows as they want at no additional charge. However, those who pay $4.99 per month to rent two DVDs per
month will not be able to use the streaming service. The move could also provide a boost to the company's joint venture LG Electronics, which will start selling set-top boxes that deliver Netflix
content later this year. The company has more than 6,000 titles in its library.
By comparison, Apple's service will charge $3.99 for movies that can be downloaded and then played for up to 24
hours. Of course Apple, through iTunes, already has a massive installed user-base.
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