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There are those that would say that Netflix streaming service is hurting the film and TV industry (mostly those in those industries) since people can watch anything in Netflix wherever they are. Additionally, they also claim that the decline of disc (DVD) purchases are directly caused by this streaming media. Broadcast & Cable channels don’t want to pay the premiums for the shows if Netflix is going to have it, which is really strange to me. Of the 300 Million people in the U.S. only 20 Million have Netflix service thus far; do the math, that’s 280 Million people who don’t have the service. So, if the Broadcast & Cable services won’t pick up the content they will lose more viewers to services like Netflix who stream content when ever the viewer wants to see it.

I would suggest that the trend of streaming content is really about two things; money and choice. The economic downturn has a lot to do with it, people have collected videos (DVD, Blu-Ray, VHS) because they had disposable income, now that many peoples disposable income has dried up, they look for other sources that are cost effective. Netflix is cost effective, even though you have to wait to see newer films or TV shows.  Also, while streaming content is good on average, you do not get the same quality or bonus content that you get with with a disc based media. Sure I like to stream content to my mobile device or even when I am at home, but if I really like a film or TV show and want to be able to watch it whenever I feel like it, I go out and by it on disc. I will watch streaming content or go to the theater if I think I might like the subject for something new, then make the judgment call to purchase it on disc.

I am not alone on this, many people do the same. If the economy gets better, then you might see the numbers changes, but for now this it the way it will be for a while.

Today I tried WinAmp for my Android phone again. I had tried it before, but there was no streaming. That has now changed with the update that arrived yesterday.
My Nexus One is not rooted, so I expect that I would not have some of the issues that I have heard of by other users. So far that has been the case.
I have tested WinAmp with Wi-Fi and 3G connections. Wi-Fi streaming performed flawlessly during my tests, I must add that I don’t work in a lab anymore so these tests are more if real- world use not use it until it breaks. I had the usual ‘buffering’ issues while using WinAmp with a 3G connection, but since I was driving during this part of testing I would attribute it to the network not the software.
I also tested transitioning from one connection type to another and back without loss of playback at anytime, which is a big plus in my book. I will continue testing the application and update my results. Since the streaming portion of the software is what I am really interested in.

UPDATE: I have continued using WinAmp on Android, and it still has a few quirks. Most notably is the loss of the stream after a period of time. While the stream can be restore in most cases, other times the app does an FC and you have to start over. Still this application is still my favorite. I would like the option to have WinAmp start playing  a playlist (of my choosing) after network connectivity is lost for a period of time. That would make things better.