For HD HTPC users that have Netflix and use the "Watch Now" feature, how good is the quality? I looked on Netflix.com and there is nothing that talks about resolution or quality. I am guessing you are not getting 720P even on the TV HD material.
The quality depends on your actual broadband speed. The system does a quick speed test right before you start watching the movie and will degrade the picture quality mid-movie if your speed slows. With that said, my opinion (since I haven't run any tests) is that at its highest quality it is displaying a 480p signal with compression that is slightly noticeable. Of course your computer upscales that if necessary and does a decent job of it. But overall picture quality on a 1080p display is not quite as good as an upscaled DVD. Also my opinion on their quality scaling system is that at lower qualities, the picture is not downscaled per se, just further compressed (think JPG compression at low qualities displaying some moire effect and artifacts).
There are 3 qualities based on how fast your internet connection is. If you have a cable modem then you get the highest. If you have cheap DSL then it's the lowest.
The high quality is very good for the vast majority of movies. Not quite DVD quality, but very close. It's much better than standard-definition digital cable or satellite. There are a handful of titles where it seems the studio did not provide them with a quality source master. "Last of the Mohicans" for example looks like it was encoded from an old VHS tape (it probably was).
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For HD HTPC users that have Netflix and use the "Watch Now" feature, how good is the quality? I looked on Netflix.com and there is nothing that talks about resolution or quality. I am guessing you are not getting 720P even on the TV HD material.
The quality depends on your actual broadband speed. The system does a quick speed test right before you start watching the movie and will degrade the picture quality mid-movie if your speed slows.
With that said, my opinion (since I haven't run any tests) is that at its highest quality it is displaying a 480p signal with compression that is slightly noticeable. Of course your computer upscales that if necessary and does a decent job of it.
But overall picture quality on a 1080p display is not quite as good as an upscaled DVD.
Also my opinion on their quality scaling system is that at lower qualities, the picture is not downscaled per se, just further compressed (think JPG compression at low qualities displaying some moire effect and artifacts).
There are 3 qualities based on how fast your internet connection is. If you have a cable modem then you get the highest. If you have cheap DSL then it's the lowest.
The high quality is very good for the vast majority of movies. Not quite DVD quality, but very close. It's much better than standard-definition digital cable or satellite. There are a handful of titles where it seems the studio did not provide them with a quality source master. "Last of the Mohicans" for example looks like it was encoded from an old VHS tape (it probably was).