Netflix Announces Plan to Kill Mailbox, Envelope Industries

Late last night, Netflix announced the details of a partnership with electronics company LG to create a set-top box that will let members to stream movies directly to their televisions and save them an exhausting walk to mailbox. The device will apparently function like Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” feature, only it will be usable by people who don’t own Windows PCs, which are generally plagued by spyware and often prone to spontaneous explosion. This comes shortly after the debut of the similar (and similarly awesome) VUDU, another movie-streaming set-top box, and shortly before Apple is expected to introduce a feature in its iTunes store that will allow users to “rent” movies for a 24-hour period. So this movies-over-the-Internet thing finally seems to be happening, probably meaning that Blockbuster Video, the United States Postal Service, and that new Blu-Ray DVD player you just bought yourself for Christmas are now pretty much obsolete. Also, if you paid $23 for the special-edition two-disc Superbad DVD for any other reason than the free included McLovin fake I.D., then you’re a total chump.

Netflix Partners With LG to Bring Movies Straight to TV [NYT]
Fox, Apple to sign iTunes deal [Variety]