A few weeks ago a limited number of Netflix customers started getting emails letting them know they could watch as many videos as they'd like online using the "watch instantly" button next to selected items in their queue. Now Netflix has gone and made and made it official. Almost all Netflix subscribers can watch as many online videos per month as they want.

Previously the DVD rental service only allowed users to watch a limited number of hours per month based on their subscription rate. For example if you've got the $18/month Netflix plan, you were able to watch 18 hours of online video per month.

If you're a subscriber at the lowest level, paying just $4.99/month to rent up to two DVDs per month, you'll find you can still only watch a few hours of video. The change comes in advance of Macworld, where Apple is widely expected to announce a new iTunes video rental option. Will the move give Netflix an upper hand? Probably not, but it may be enough to at least keep Netflix in the game.

[via paidcontent]