MUMBAI: Equinix, Inc, the provider of network-neutral data centers and Internet exchange services, announced today that online movie rental service Netflix, Inc., has established operations supporting the company’s new instant viewing feature at Equinix Internet Business Exchange (IBX) centers in multiple markets across the US.

The move will give Netflix direct access to an aggregation of networks, including the broadband providers and transit networks that reach their end users.

The addition of the real-time playback feature not only allows Netflix users to view video in real-time as it is delivered to their personal computers, but it also eliminates the need for the download of large video files. Following a one-time installation of Microsoft Windows Media Player, most subscribers’ movie selections will begin playing in their Web browser in as little as 10 to 15 seconds.

Equinix offers Netflix a high performance platform with a rich source for interconnection and robust network connectivity, and the ability to scale its infrastructure in a more hands-on manner. Deploying to multiple markets to gain redundancy and resilience, Netflix will have direct access to end-users’ networks, providing the fastest and most reliable customer experience.

“Equinix is a critical partner for our new instant viewing feature. With Equinix, we can operate in close proximity to many of our top network service provider partners, with access to a platform that ensures the most streamlined path between our content and our end-users. This results in another value-added feature for Netflix’s 6.8 million members,” said Netflix vice president, IT operations Mike Osier.

“Netflix is poised to become a leading destination on the Internet for the delivery of movies and television programming on demand. As Netflix and other content companies seek to push large amounts of data to users in a reliable and efficient manner, they are finding that the environment at Equinix provides them with a perfect platform for traffic exchange,” said Equinix chief business officer Margie Backaus.