When a CEO is asked to dream we shouldn't be surprised when he dreams big. In an Reuters interview with Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, we learn that Netflix is working in parallel to bring its services to "all the game consoles, all the Blu-ray players, all the Internet TVs." Naturally, he added that the Xbox deal is exclusive for the time being. The company is currently focused on the big screen but "will get to mobile eventually, including the iPhone." And while the streaming business is "booming," he says the DVD business is still growing as well, likely peaking in "5 years or so" with people still doing DVD-by-mail over the next 20 years. Reed then adjusted his monocle and disappeared in a flash of cigar and brick-and-mortar ash.

[Via All Things Digital]

Some think that discs are already dead, but that's because they're ignoring all the success Netflix is still having. Of course any company with a name like Netflix is obviously forward thinking -- the name isn't Discflix after all -- and on that note Reed Hastings, the CEO, told the WSJ that he expects to see significant declines in packaged media rentals in the next "four to nine years." We think that estimate is as good as any, but can't wait to see how the home media landscape changes between now and then. This is of course why Netflix is actively building it's streaming service which evidently is currently only used by 20 percent of Netflix customers.

All week, we've seen stats, figures and speculation based on Netflix's earnings call leaking out, and here's a few more interesting notes gathered from around the Internet for those not glued to their speakerphone Monday. Checking in to the party was always talkative analyst Michael Pachter, suggesting that the Xbox Live / Netflix combo could bring more than 1 million gamers to Netflix over the next year, with the service becoming a "gold mine" for the video rental company. At the same time, while CEO Reed Hastings touted "millions" served by Watch Instantly streams, the number of Blu-ray subs rose to 700,000, up from 500k at the beginning of December. Whether you count that as a victory for digital distribution or old school discs, those still checking their mailbox will be happy to know the company is testing Saturday shipping in certain regions...as long as the USPS keeps mailing six days a week.

Read - Netflix testing weekend shipping
Read - Netflix: Blu-ray adoption slow than Internet movie streaming adoption
Read - Xbox Live is proverbial gold mine for Netflix says Pachter

We've listened to Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings talk business about his company, but how's about a little background? After announcing a momentous Q4 while practically every other outfit on the planet hung their head in shame, the understandably elated exec sat down with Fortune to explain how Netflix came to be. As the story goes, Reed lamented the $40 fee he was nailed with upon returning a VHS copy of Apollo 13 in 1997. Soon after, he began to research the idea of starting a rental-by-mail outfit. Interestingly enough, the subscription based model that nearly 10 million people enjoy today was something that came after the first concept, but obviously he hasn't tried to mess with the magical elixir very much sense. Have a look at the read link for the full writeup.

CES 2009 may be a fading memory, but Netflix's founder and chief executive Reed Hastings took time in Vegas to talk about technologies that should be affecting us for years to come. In an interview with The New York Times, Hastings proudly confessed his belief that within two years, "WiFi and Netflix would be built into all televisions." He also speaks at length about how the world wide web is becoming more accessible on the TV, noting that big things could happen if more potent processors and additional memory were stuffed into future HDTVs. Sadly, when asked about why Watch Instantly didn't include brand new releases, Reed simply stated that Netflix "doesn't think of it in title count... it thinks about it in terms of volume and having an even better experience" than is currently offered. Sure, we appreciate improvements in speed / quality / etc., but don't pretend like new releases aren't high (high!) up on the wish list of avid Watch Instantly users.

[Image courtesy of Syracuse]

Just like clockwork, whenever the world of digital downloads has some big news, many so called technologist start proclaiming the death of physical media; meanwhile, those who actually understand the business can't help but laugh. Those who proclaim the death of Blu-ray will one day feel as silly as those who proclaimed the death of VHS in the 90's because of the birth of VOD, because here we are over ten years later and JVC just now stopped producing stand-alone VHS decks and combo units still sell -- why, is beyond us though. The reality is that little shiny discs aren't going anywhere anytime soon, and because of the similarities between DVD and Blu-ray -- and CDs for that matter -- the possibility of Blu-ray becoming the next LaserDisc isn't likely. This is because unlike LD -- which was a very successful format by Hollywood's measure -- Blu-ray players will soon (12 to 18 months) push DVD players completely out of the market as the prices continue to diminish. While at the same time, most Blu-ray players play DVDs better than DVD players do. But regardless of DVD vs Blu-ray, what these technology pundits really mean is that the age of digital downloads is upon us and that physical media is dead. And while everyone knows that the death of physical media is inevitable, the time frame is really what's in question. We could just as easily make our own predictions, but instead of taking the risk of looking stupid, we'll quote Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, who when asked if all the new streaming services would negatively affect its DVD business, responded with "the typical streaming customer differed from the typical DVD subscriber; so comparing the two wouldn't make sense."