Cable giant Comcast is getting offensive, and I'm not just talking about rates.

As Americans surround themselves with video screens that stream movies and TV shows from different websites, Comcast is going after the challengers.

Comcast had to do something. It can no longer rely on the near monopoly provided by government franchises and content-licensing deals to hold on to its cable TV customers.

So the Philadelphia-based company is giving itself a makeover, in the style of Hulu, Netflix, iTunes and other popular digital-video portals.

Over the past year, Comcast has rolled out new hardware, Web services and mobile applications that extend its video content well beyond the TV and set-top box.

It looks like the company is trying to stem the tide of "cord cutters" who are turning to broadcast and Web video, but managers behind the new initiatives denied that's the case.

"I would say the reason we're doing a lot of this stuff is because our audience is moving to different devices," Tom Blaxland, senior director of product management, said during a recent media tour highlighting the new services.

Blaxland (below) manages a Comcast team in Philadelphia that's building new Web interfaces and mobile apps.

"We just keep following that thread of where our customers are going, so we can give them tools they appreciate," he said.

It may be working. Earlier this month, Comcast announced it's losing fewer cable TV subscribers this year -- 443,000 through the nine months ending Sept. 30, compared with 622,000 lost during the same period last year.

Comcast's big growth area remains broadband Internet service. Content and video services add value to the broadband business, and prevent the company from becoming a simple utility.

Customers benefit because the rise of Web alternatives is pressuring Comcast to provide new and improved services to subscribers, but it hasn't gone so far as to lower rates. Instead it's offering more ways to consume content you're paying for already.

With nearly 4 million users, Comcast's video-streaming apps are hits. But that's still only a small portion of the 20 million digital TV subscribers who could get their content on mobile devices through the free apps.

About 8 million people are using Comcast's video site, XfinityTV.com. That includes 5.5 million subscribers and 2.5 million others who use the site to stream free broadcast content.

One goal of the site is to provide a unified console for TV shows and movies available via Comcast. Listings show what can be recorded to a DVR, streamed over the Internet or played from Comcast's "On Demand" collection.

Blaxland said this content may be available from various other websites, but it can get complicated for avid viewers to bookmark and track dozens of sites to get their shows online.

For a while, Microsoft was heading in this direction with its Windows Media Center video guide, which can blend cable, broadcast and online video sources. But the company now emphasizes the Xbox for video consumption.

Comcast also is developing a new app that will stream live TV shows to Web tablets in subscribers' homes, matching a capability offered by other cable companies. Comcast announced the live TV streaming in January and disclosed last summer that it will use a Motorola device that connects to home routers and handles the streaming. Reports last week said the service will enter testing in a few weeks and initially work only with iPads and Motorola Xoom tablets.

Comcast also is preparing to release a new cable box that plays cable TV, Web video content and some Web apps. Dubbed "Xcalibur," the set-top box is being tested in Georgia, with plans to roll it out across the country starting next year.

Tying these apps and products together is a new interface design dominated by thumbnail "cover shots" of movies and TV shows. It looks more like iTunes or Netflix than the traditional Comcast menu. The interface was added to the XfinityTV.com site in October and is used on the new Xcalibur box.

Elements of the interface will also appear on the new Comcast app coming this month to the Xbox 360, Blaxland said. Comcast subscribers will be able to stream stored -- but not live -- video content to the consoles, after Microsoft rolls out a new software dashboard for the consoles Dec. 6.

Some of these changes reflect what's happening behind the scenes. Comcast is now streaming content over the Internet from a central hub in Denver, which could eventually replace the local "hubs" that Comcast uses to store and distribute video over its traditional cable.

Meanwhile, the company is using both cable and Web systems. That's why subscribers will see some shows available "On Demand" -- from Comcast's regional hubs -- and others available for Web streaming. Different licensing deals affect what's available from the two systems.

You'd think Comcast would be able to abandon regional hubs and just stream everything via the Internet, as Netflix or Hulu does. That would eliminate the need for set-top boxes, and let customers stream live and on-demand content straight to connected TVs, tablets and game consoles.

Blaxland said "you could foresee that being the case" but for now the cable system still works well for distributing high-quality video.

"Eventually the IP (Internet protocol) stuff will catch up so that we can do some pretty cool stuff," he said.

Having one central hub could also lower Comcast's operating costs dramatically.

So does that mean subscriber rates will come down? Not likely.

"There's no way you can speculate on that," spokesman Steve Kipp said, explaining that content costs will keep going up even if distribution costs fall: "Those rates keep going up year after year, especially sports."

On the eve of Apple's fall product announcement Wednesday, Amazon.com is surfacing with plans for a subscription video service that could appear by the holidays.

Both The Wall Street Journal and Associated Press are reporting that Amazon is talking with studios about streaming their catalog of older content, perhaps through a monthly service affiliated with its $79 per year Amazon Prime service.

If nothing else, the reports could get Amazon mentioned in the wave of news coverage coming Wednesday when Apple is expected to announce a new version of its AppleTV device and a video subscription service.

Amazon already competes in the space, offering video rentals on demand to PCs and connected devices such as TiVo digital video recorders.

Next we'll be hearing about Microsoft's Zune Marketplace and the video it offers through Windows Phone 7 and the Xbox.

And don't forget Hulu and its pay service, or rumors that YouTube will offer a video rental service soon.

Just in case there's nothing to watch on TV.

Maybe I should have waited before running a column on Hulu Plus and the roughly $10 fee that media companies are charging for buckets of online content.

Content owners are refining Web strategies and tinkering with release windows for their latest material. Hulu Plus - the new subscription service announced last week - is one outcome. Another is studios delaying the release of current movies to Netflix.

Today Netflix offset that a bit by announcing a new arrangement with Relativity Media, the studio behind movies such as "The Fighter" and "Get Him to the Greek."

Instead of waiting for its movies to work through the pay TV pipeline before reaching Netflix, Relativity is giving Netflix earlier access. Its movies will still come out on DVD before they stream on Netflix, but the companies said their deal is a new approach that will get the movies streaming sooner.

From today's Netflix release:

The deal marks a continued shift in the distribution of major motion pictures in the U.S. Under the agreement, an increasing amount of popular contemporary movies previously encumbered by pay TV agreements with premium channels such as HBO, Showtime and Starz will become available to be streamed from Netflix months - and not years - after their release on DVD. It will be the first time that studio quality theatrical feature films will be streamed via subscription by Netflix instead of being broadcast by the traditional pay providers, and it opens up a new revenue stream for such movies.

It doesn't sound like the number of recent movies on Netflix will change a whole lot but it shows progress - or positioning for a future where streaming replaces DVDs.

The deal could also influence consumers trying to decide what to do with that extra $10 or so they're paying for Netflix or a premium channel on their increasingly expensive cable plan, especially if they're getting tired of the limited selection available to stream from Netflix.

Adding fresher content could also help Netflix keep some subscribers tempted by Hulu Plus, which promises fresher content from the major studios behind Hulu.

While consumers are sorting out their options, studios are exploring new ways to monetize their content. The Netflix deal signals this change, Relativity President Michael Joe said in the release:

"The growing number of Netflix subscribers streaming first run movies is very exciting and presents another viable option for us to maximize the long-term business behind our properties. We're delighted to partner with them on this incredible new opportunity, which has great promise for our industry - reshaping Pay TV deals going forward."

Here's Monday's piece exploring the subscription fees for Hulu, Netflix and other digital content:

The digital-media business has a new mascot: Alexander Hamilton, the treasury secretary on the $10 bill.

Hamilton sorted out the nation's financial policies during its chaotic early days.

Entertainment companies are doing the same thing now that the digital revolution has happened -- they're finding their footing and figuring out standard ways to make money. Their solution appears to be charging $10 a month for access to the most desirable content.

This crystallized last week when Hulu announced a $10 per month premium service. Hulu Plus offers full collections of current TV shows in high definition, making them available through some phones, game consoles and TVs with Internet connections.

Netflix officially made its streaming video service available on the Wii today, after several weeks of soft-launching the service.

It provides instant play of selected movies and TV shows through the Wii when a special Netflix disc is playing in the console. Netflix is providing the discs free to people who subscribe to plans starting at $8.99 a month. Here's a link to the Netflix Wii registration site.

The Wii is late to the Netflix party. Instant-play Netflix streaming has been available for a while on the Xbox 360, PlayStation3 and all sorts of Blu-ray players and Web-connected TVs.

But it's still a nice addition for Wii owners looking for a simple way to get Netflix streaming to their TVs. It's also a big step forward for the Wii, which otherwise lacks the movie playback capabilities of the Xbox and PS3.

I've been testing it at home and prefer the Wii setup over Netflix on my Tivo HD, even though the Wii service is lower resolution. That's because I've got weak DSL service at home and the lower res video streams just fine on the Wii, but pauses to buffer now and then on the high-def Tivo.

For families who already have Netflix and a Wii, the service could become an auxiliary DVR in the family room, providing a big library of on-demand movies and TV shows. The service also includes Netflix DVDs by mail (although note that Netflix recently agreed to delay new releases from a few major studios for up to 28 days).

(Today's column looks at the online broadcast of the Vancouver Olympics and how it may preview cable TV business practices coming to the Web. This version also includes some images from my testing.)

You'd think the Vancouver Olympics would be a great time to shift from viewing the games on TV to viewing them online.

NBC is delaying broadcasts of major events until prime time, and Canadian TV coverage is largely unavailable here this year.

Networks instead are delivering live event coverage online, plus on-demand replays, in high-definition video using a special Web player built by Microsoft.

This comes as all sorts of new gadgets are making it easier to display Web video on a TV.

Some 52 million people watched 600 million minutes of the Beijing Olympics online in 2008, and Vancouver's Web video will be even better, streaming in 720p high-def with better controls to pause, fast-forward and rewind.

It sounds terrific, and some may find it's the best way to watch the Games.

But don't expect an online utopia, free from the shackles that networks, cable companies and the Olympics organizers put on event coverage.

Although the technology for streaming video is getting better, it's also enabling content owners to apply more restrictions and controls to online video.

In some ways, online broadcasts of the Vancouver Olympics preview what's coming from media companies, as they explore ways to charge for online content that used to be free.

This will be apparent when you try to watch a Vancouver event live online at NBCOlympics.com, the Games' official, exclusive broadcaster in the U.S.

For the first time, viewers will have to prove that they subscribe to premium-cable service to access "live and full-event replay video."

During previous Olympic Games, you only had to provide a Zip code to identify yourself as a cable customer.

This time, you've got to register for access through your cable or satellite company, which checks to see that you have a cable package that includes MSNBC and CNBC.

People without cable or those who subscribe only to limited basic cable can watch video highlights, commentary and feature stories at the site, but not live events or full replays. The delivery system has progressed from a ski jump to a bobsled course.

It's basically the cable model extending to the Web, where improved authentication systems enable broadcasters to limit the really good stuff to paying subscribers. If this is what NBC does now, I can't wait to see what it's like after Comcast finishes acquiring the network.

Maybe I'm being crotchety.

The vast majority of people still prefer to watch the Games on TV, and most online viewers watch only the highlights that are available to everyone, according to Perkins Miller, digital-media senior vice president at NBC Sports and Olympics.

NBC's research after the Beijing Olympics found that 93 to 95 percent of people would rather watch the Games on a TV than a PC.

"Given a choice that's what they want ... they've got the big screen, they've got the couch, they've got the fridge," Miller said.

Miller believes the online broadcast is complementary - something people do when they can't get to the TV - as opposed to competing with regular TV broadcasts.

But he's not stuck waiting until prime time to see events happening earlier in the day in Vancouver. For those who can't wait, or who want to see more than NBC chooses to broadcast, online video becomes must-see TV.

The exclusive Olympics broadcaster in Canada, CTV, appears to be a bit less strict about checking whether you have premium cable. But its live video and full-event replays are restricted to people whose computers have Canadian Internet protocol addresses.

If you're willing to fudge during the sign-in process and spoof your IP address, you may be able to connect through a proxy server in Canada, but you'll have to find one that's fast enough to handle the video.

The easiest part may be connecting your TV to the Web. Most new PCs have powerful enough graphics and outputs for connecting directly to a TV, and you can buy a tiny home-theater PC for under $400 nowadays.

One option is the new "WiDi" wireless display technology that Intel, Netgear and Best Buy announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

In preparation for the Olympics, I've been trying an $899 bundle from Best Buy that includes a Toshiba laptop with built-in WiDi and a hand-sized Netgear "Push2TV," which fits behind the TV.

The wireless system is a breeze and a nice feature to have on a new PC. After connecting the receiver with an HDMI cable, it connects by pushing a button on the laptop. Whatever is on the laptop screen then appears on the TV, with audio.

Watching videos streamed from NBCOlympics.com worked pretty well over my slow DSL broadband. There wasn't buffering but there were some jagged edges during fast action.

But the Olympics' "full-screen" playback isn't quite as promised.

I was hoping for a true full-screen display, as you would get from YouTube and Hulu.com. Olympics videos are shown inside a PC-like media player frame, with a banner ad permanently appearing on the upper right corner of the screen.

Here's a screen shot of what appeared on my TV when using the WiDi setup:

NBC is trying to strike a balance between entertaining users and making sure companies paying for the coverage get exposure, Miller said. He's hoping the quality of video is so good the "frame won't be a distraction."

You'll get a similar frame if you find a way into CTV's Olympics video stream.

I'm stubborn about not paying for premium cable so maybe I'll just keep the WiDi pointed at Hulu.com until it starts charging, and hope for the best from the London Games in 2012.

Nintendo announced this morning that it's finally getting Netflix service on the Wii, so owners of the hit console can stream movies and TV shows through the console to their TV sets starting this spring.

It's the last of the current-generation consoles to get Netflix, which has become almost a standard feature on consoles and Internet connected set-top boxes and TVs.

Nintendo has still sold more than 26 million of the consoles, including 3 million in December despite a general slump in the game industry through 2009. U.S. game hardware sales were down 16 percent through November, according to NPD.

Netflix had 11.1 million subscribers at the end of September, paying $8.99 or more per month to receive DVDs mailed to their home and videos streamed via broadband.

"We believe that this will not only add fantastic value to existing consumers and have them spend more time with their Wii console. its another beneift for those consumers considering which console to buy," Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said in an interview.

Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings told the New York Times that it took longer to develop the application for the unique Wii platform.

To initiate the feature, Wii owners will need to request a free disc from Netflix that will load the software. Discs can be requested at netflix.com/Wii. There will be no additional charge to extend a Netflix account to the Wii.

The disc is the same sort of disc used for Wii games and "allows the application to be very robust -- much more robust than what migh be made available simply through an application loaded onto the Wii console,'' Fils-Aime said.

"In order to create that type of application it takes time. Also to fully utilize the Wii remote takes time," Fils-Aime said.

Netflix subscribers can manage their full accounts on the Wii using the consoles remote.

Fils-Aime declined to say whether the company will also add the other de rigeur connected TV applications -- Facebook, Twitter and Pandora -- to the Wii.

"We certainly look at all of the activities the consumer is doing through the Internet and we constantly think about where are the opportunities to add value,'' he said.

Nor would Fils-Aime comment on speculation that the company may up the Wii's resolution from standard- to high-definition. He said the Netflix service works well with the current output.

"We don't believe that the non-HD resolution of the Wii console will hold back Netflix adoption through the Wii at all,'' he said. "The fact of the matter is the vast majority of the instant streaming content that Netflix has available is non-HD and the fact is that ... many consumers who have an HD television still aren't watching HD content through that television."

Fils-Aime said Netflix enhances the console's position in the home.

"Nintendo has always said that we compete in the entertainment industry so we fight minute by minute for consumers' entertainment time," he said. "This partnership with Netflix will help us get more of that consumers' entertainment time on the Wii console."

Netflix connections are on Xbox, TiVo and all sorts of Web-connected consumer electronics nowadays, so it's a little anticlimactic that the video rental service is being integrated into Microsoft's Windows Media Center.

Unless you're a Netflix customer using Windows Media Center, of course. In that case you'll love the slick integration and search features. Netflix appears as a "tile" in the TV and movies section of Media Center.

Microsoft is announcing the addition Wednesday. It works only on Windows Vista and not XP Media Center Edition.

Tiles for additional video rental services could be added in the future but Microsoft isn't previewing those plans yet, according to Ben Reed of Microsoft's Connected TV business group.