I just added thousands and thousands of movies to my home collection that I can watch whenever I want, a catalog as big as any neighborhood video store.

Now if only I can find something good to watch.

Anyone with the next-generation video game consoles Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 now can turn the gaming machines into movie machines.

Both involve software for game consoles that can stream movies from Netflix's library of "Watch Instantly" films directly to the television instead of on a computer. After all, who wants to watch "Alien" on a puny 13-inch laptop?

The first is for the Xbox 360. Earlier this week, Microsoft introduced a free download for the machine, called the New Xbox Experience (NXE), that updates the machine's operating system with a new interface and new features.

The biggest addition is the ability to watch Netflix's "Watch Instantly" movies -- some 12,000 movies that you can stream to your computer for free if you're a member.

It works beautifully. The video quality is near DVD quality. The audio, while sounding good, is just in stereo instead of the usual 5.1 surround sound.

And it's simple to use. When you choose the feature from the Xbox, you see the list of movies that are in your "Watch Instantly" queue. Just press on one of the movies and it's streamed directly to the television.

The other option is a $30 program called PlayOn that you can purchase at www.themediamall.com. You install it on your PC, which turns it into a media server. Then, anyone with an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 can watch Netflix "Watch Instantly" movies, even video from sites like Hulu.com. The video and quality also are outstanding.

One downside to both methods is you can't browse the Netflix catalog from the television. You have to do that from a computer and put what you want to see in the "Watch Instantly" queue. Hopefully, that feature can be added later.

And the NXE option for the Xbox 360 has one interesting flaw ? it won't stream any movies from Sony Pictures because the company has no licensing agreement. That's likely because Sony also is the maker of the PlayStation 3, and Sony is not about to make things easy for rival Microsoft.

What both methods are doing is fulfilling the promise that these next-generation gaming machines will become more than just gaming consoles. Just think of them as entertainment hubs for the living room.

Now, gamers can satisfy their movie addiction. The only thing we need now is for Hollywood to make better movies.

vince@sltrib.com