Netflix Innovations - Stymied by lack of standards?

There is an interesting opinion piece about the problems with all of the emerging Netflix clients creating a backlog that will slow down innovation.

Personally, I have Netflix streaming on two devices in my home already (not counting the PCs). The kids have gotten used to picking out a kids movie off of TiVo whenever they want to and watching it immediately. We've even dropped down to the lowest Netflix level (1 per month) because we watch so much more from the Netflix Instant Queue than from the DVD Queue.

I've used the line "Netflix is called Netflix and not Mailflix for a reason" in dozens of talks about the demand for bandwidth to the home. In years past, this was only a clever line. Now it's a very present reality, and it's amazing how quickly one can get used to such conveniences.

Standards do have a place, but aren't always the best way to encourage innovation. I'll reserve judgment at this point - mostly because my Netflix client works just fine, thank you. But if the next cool widget shows up on the neighbor's iPhone before it appears on my TiVo console, my tune may change.

In the meantime, Man on Wire - streamed via Netflix over TiVo - was clear enough to induce vertigo, and I highly recommend you add it to your Instant Queue.