Netflix just announced that it is offering a free instant streaming video disc for the Sony PS3 gaming console that allows Netflix members to view movies from their growing library of streaming video movies.

Normally, a user has to have a Roku Movie Player or a Netflix-ready Blu-ray player in order to view Netflix’s instant movies on their television. The announcement of a free disc for the Sony PS3 gaming console that enables the viewing of their streaming video downloads should be a pleasant surprise for the millions of PS3 owners.

In order to view the movies, the user must have a Netflix membership. Memberships allow access to over 100,000 DVD and Blu-ray discs and about currently about 17,000 “Watch Instantly” streaming video movies. At this point, there are not very many recent movies available for streaming viewing, but the number is growing. The nice part about this feature is that you can watch movies on demand and there isn’t any limit to the number of movies you can view each month.

The Netflix access disc can be obtained free of charge from the Netflix site. You will need a good Internet connection to view the movies. Due to bandwidth constraints, all of the current Watch Instantly movies are in standard definition. High definition movies are coming, but a user will have to have an very good high-speed connection in order to enjoy the benefits of high definition.

A couple of nice things about Netflix is that they offer a free trial and regular membership is on a month-to-month basis, so there are no long-term contracts. Members sign up for a specific number of rental discs that can hang onto for as long as they wish. When you mail a disc back to them, they send the next movie in a queue that the member sets up on their web site.

All of us at Tech-Evangelist.com have been Netflix members for several years and we have never been disappointed with their service. Even if you do not have a PS3 or a Netflix-ready device, you can still view videos on demand on your personal computer. Netflix recently signed a deal with Starz and now offers about 1,000 Starz movie titles as part of their Watch Instantly feature. There are some real good movies in that selection.