First, let me say that I am a big fan of Silverlight. It's a great technology and in my view it is going to change enterprise application development as we know it (eventually – say version 3 or 4).

OK, now it's truth time. I am a recent user of NetFlix and I have come to enjoy their on-demand service more than the DVDs themselves. I've watched titles that are classics that simply are not found at the video rental store. Their collection is vast. However, unless the (perceived) Silverlight issue I (and many others) am experiencing is corrected Silverlight will suffer a black eye. We all know how important first impressions are. Already people are reportedly canceling their Netflix subscriptions because of this very issue. I don't work for the company so I can't say how many – but anecdotal information (blogs) seems to suggest a substantial amount.

Recently Netflix switched from using Windows Media Player to stream their content to an embedded Silverlight control. Many people have negative things to say about the video quality and many report their CPU being pegged and crashes. In my case, I am not able to use my personal laptop to view videos on demand and must use my company laptop instead. I have an AMD 64 (dual core) with 4GB of memory and 2 GHz CPU, running Vista Ultimate (32bit version). Not the ideal setup (I wish Dell shipped the 64 bit version pre-installed because there is no upgrade from 32 to 64). However, it's still got enough muscle to handle streaming without a problem. I spent hours trying to fix it, until I finally came to the conclusion that it's not me – it's them.

When streaming Netflix using their Silverlight control, within 10 minutes my CPU is pegged and eventually the video comes to a screeching halt. I cannot determine if the issue is a Silverlight bug or if it is the Netflix implementation (there are other factors, such as DRM). It really doesn't matter what the cause is because the GENERAL PERCEPTION is that Silverlight is the culprit. Perception matters in the world of marketing and branding.

Given the high profile of Netflix and their use putting the spotlight on Silverlight, I suggest that Microsoft send as many consultants as it takes from MCS to fix the problem. Reading the blogs I see finger pointing – some say Netflix's DRM and some say Silverlight. At the end of the day Silverlight's brand will be tarnished; Netflix's brand will remain strong. It will be a real black eye for Silverlight if Netflix switches back or if this issue continues much longer.

Don't believe there is a problem? Read these headlines:

If you read the blog that the article referred to (http://blog.netflix.com/2008/10/opt-in-for-new-netflix-movie-player.html?commentPage=3) I think the comments within are enough to cause concern.

To be fair to Microsoft, part of the problem is that Netflix didn't give users the ability to continue using the Windows Media Player – or have a transition period. Bad planning on their part kind of puts everyone in a pickle – and now both Netflix and Silverlight have "mud on their face".

And to make matters even worse, I did not enjoy my movie experience tonight. Although I had to stop and start it quite a few times, and put in a call to tech support, a good movie is "The Mission" starring Robert Dinero. Hopefully my next Netflix experience is better.