Netflix announced yesterday its plans to release by the end of 2008 a program developed to help Mac users gain access to the company’s “Watch Instantly” feature.

Netflix handles a well known DVD rental service, which is extremely appreciated among movie enthusiasts due to its different rental options. By paying a fix monthly rate, customers can access the company’s Web site, choose their movies on DVD or Blu-ray, which are then sent by mail. There are no such issues like late fees when returning the movies, which is considered a very good strategy.

The company decided to respond to the competition’s moves and released an online service for renting movies online, very similar to Apple’s iTunes Store. The movies are then streamed on a compatible device in the user’s home, such as Netflix’s Player by Roku, LG’s forthcoming BD300 Blu-ray Network Player or the Xbox 360 video game console. Netflix’s online service, Watch Instantly, offers an archive with more than 12,000 movies and TV shows, but it is not designed to work on a Mac. The situation had to be addressed as soon as possible, and the company’s officials decided to make the announcement, so customers can make a game plan.

“And, for all of you Mac users (of which I am one) we’ve been busy working getting a solution that will allow you to watch instantly on your Mac. So hang in there - we’ll have something for you by the end of the year,” said Brent, Netflix’s spokesman.

The holyday season always seems to be a good time for such releases, as people have a lot more free time and many want to catch up with the movies they missed over the past months because of work, fatigue or other activities.

A second announcement was made, related to the recent partnership with the broadband entertainment service Starz Play, which added more than 1,000 new videos to its lists. Starz Play is owned by the premium cable channel provider Starz, and besides the 1,000 new clips, another 1,500 are expected by the end of the year. The offer includes popular movies such as “Spider-Man 3,” “No Country for Old Men” and “Superbad.”

“This brings us a much richer set of content. Millions of Netflix subscribers have these movies in their queues,” said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix. He also added that “This represents an interesting change in the landscape and creates a great working partnership between Netflix and Starz.”

Netflix presently offers more than 100,000 DVD titles with its rental service so there is still a significant gap between its two content formats. In order to bring them closer together, the company will have to continue searching for partners interested in offering their content in this constantly growing online market. The reason why customers appreciate these online services is because it is a lot quicker and easier to get the wanted material from the comfort of a user’s home, having to leave the apartment only to buy popcorn.