Netflix seems to be doing things right when it comes to the streaming game, partnering with several hardware companies in an attempt to make its service more or less ubiquitous -- a pretty sharp break from the proprietary hardware approach taken by most of its competitors. That means Netflix subscribers have quite a few choices when it comes to streaming, and we thought we'd put the ones available now head-to-head and try to crown a winner. The good news? There isn't a mediocre choice out there. The bad? Well, read on.
Update: We shot another video to answer some lingering questions about the Roku player, check it below.
Roku Netflix Player
Roku's Netflix Player is the granddaddy of this group, originally launched back in May of 2008. It's been updated with some interface tweaks and HD support since then (and it'll soon work with Amazon), but overall, it's the still the same Netflix streaming experience it's been from the start, sleek and minimal. Dedicated hardware means setup is fast, the interface is snappy, and streams buffer in quickly -- our only complaint is that the video hardware in the unit is slightly but noticeably inferior to all the other boxes we looked at. It's not bad, mind you -- it's just not as great as on the Samsung or the TiVo. Of course, you can only ask so much from a $100 box, and you might not even notice the drop in picture quality on a lesser TV, but if not having the absolute best bothers you, you'll want to step up. Otherwise the Roku is perfect for parents, bedrooms, dens and so on -- it's cheap, it's wireless, and it's ridiculously easy to use.
Update: There were a few questions about the output mode of the Roku player, so this is a newer video to show it off playing in HD.
TiVo HD
Netflix on TiVo is a somewhat new thing -- it just launched in December 2008, and it was just the second device to handle HD streaming. We said it was our favorite Netflix implementation when we first tried it out, and that's still true -- although it doesn't look quite as good as the Samsung in our opinion, it's close, and it's the most consistently reliable at getting HD content to stream in HD. If you're like us and a TiVo is your primary living room device, this is by far the most convenient way to get your Netflix streams -- and TiVo's riff on the Netflix playback controls make it accessible for anyone in your family that's comfortable with the remote, which is a big win in terms of usability. Of course, getting a TiVo requires a fair bit of CableCARD drama, so if you're happy with your exisiting set-top we'd say you should look elsewhere, but if you've already got a TiVo or have decided to get one, you're doing just fine. We just wish TiVo or Netflix would tweak the interface to show us what content is in HD -- it's incredibly frustrating that it's not displayed.
Ah, the Xbox. It's easy to think of the 360 as Netflix's secret weapon: it's got a huge installed base that's probably already subscribed or interested in subscribing to the service, it's plugged into a vibrant network that enables interesting planned features like Xbox Live party video sharing, and -- most importantly -- it's free. It's actually a pretty great proposition: if you've got Xbox Live Gold, you've got a Netflix box, no questions asked. So it's too bad the Netflix experience on the Xbox doesn't always live up to its potential. Although the interface is by far the flashiest and prettiest, video quality can be extremely dark, the fan runs constantly, and using the controller for playback controls doesn't necessarily feel intuitive for non-techies. To cap it all off, the 360 appears to be somewhat more particular about streaming in HD: although several Engadget editors have consistent success, during this test we never managed to pull down an HD stream, even when plugged into directly into the exact same 10Mbps cable connection as the other boxes. We're not sure if it just hates certain connections or something else is wrong, but it seems like the 360 is just more finicky than the other boxes. Our verdict: if you've got an Xbox, try it out and see how you feel. If you're happy -- like lots of people are -- that's great. If not, chances are a $100 upgrade to the Roku will bring a world of difference.
The Samsung and the LG represent a whole new front in the streaming war -- it's one thing for Netflix to put out dedicated boxes and sneak onto game consoles, but it's an entirely different proposition for mainstream Blu-ray players to support the service. This is where Netflix really thinks it's going to make a play for the hearts and minds of the consumer, and while the experience on the Sammy isn't perfect, we can see why there's so much enthusiasm -- streaming video on BD-P2500 looks amazing. It runs a very slightly tweaked version of the Roku's interface, but the HQV video hardware in the box is so obviously superior even things like the cover images in the menus look better. Of course, the real reason the 2500 needs all that horsepower is for Blu-ray playback, and that's where the tradeoff comes in -- we've always found Blu-ray players to be slow, and the Samsung is no exception. While it's definitely faster than other BD units we've used, it's still rather, uh, thoughtful, and it takes the longest to buffer up a stream. (Don't even ask us how long it took to pull down a firmware update when we first turned it on.) If you're only interested in Netflix, you'll have to decide whether the dramatic bump in image quality over the Roku is worth the $250 premium and longer load times -- we'd say the BD-P2500's $350 pricetag is only worth it if you're serious about Blu-ray as well.
(Ben Drawbaugh from Engadget HD tested the BD300 -- he and Nilay have extremely similar Pioneer Elite receivers and Kuro plasmas.)
The LG is substantially similar to the Samsung -- they're both Blu-ray players that feature slightly tweaked versions of the "standard" Netflix interface found on the Roku player. Although we've heard mixed reviews of the LG's Blu-ray quality, the unit's video hardware produced solid video quality when streaming HD, and the interface was snappy and responsive. However, the BD300 had the hardest time connecting to the network of any of the units we tested -- we eventually had to manually configure it with a static IP so we could enter a DNS server address, since DHCP wasn't working with our router. From what we can tell, this is a common problem with the BD300, but once we got it working the overall Netflix experience was more or less indistinguishable from the Samsung. Seeing as the two decks are priced almost identically at retail, we'd say the Sammy is the obvious winner between these two at the moment, but if you're willing to play network tech, the LG will certainly do the job.
Before we crown a winner, it's important to note that Netflix streaming involves a pretty major tradeoff -- a huge part of the movie experience is sound, and Netflix doesn't offer any surround audio at all. You're stuck with stereo no matter what, and while we know Netflix is working it, stereo audio just doesn't cut it compared to the 7.1 and 5.1 surround we've become accustomed to. If you can deal with that (and the limited selection of content), you'll find that picture quality in HD at its best can rival that of broadcast television HD -- it's certainly not Blu-ray and there are occasional compression artifacts, but it's eminently watchable. Things in SD aren't bad either: at best it's DVD quality, still watchable at worst. Think about it this way: you're going to want to do The Dark Knight and Iron Man on Blu-ray with seven speakers and a sub at full tilt, but if you're just looking to spend a lazy Sunday watching movies under a blanket, you'll be pretty happy with Netflix.
So, who's the winner? Well, straight up we'd give it to the Samsung for picture quality alone, but really, it depends on your needs, since there isn't a bad choice in the group. If you're the sort of person with a stacked A/V rack, you'll probably find that you've got one or two Netflix-capable devices like the TiVo or Xbox 360 already -- ubiquity is the company's ultimate goal. If you're starting from scratch, we'd recommend the Samsung or LG so you can maximize your Netflix membership -- you need something to play those DVDs and Blu-ray discs you get in the mail, after all. If you've already got your physical playback situation sorted and you just want to dip a toe in the water, the Roku's a fine choice -- sure, it doesn't deliver as perfect a picture as some of the other options, but for $100 it's hard to beat.
There is one other thing:
That popped up after we'd been swapping boxes in and out for a while, but since the only device plugged in right at that second was the Samsung, we just had to wait until the servers figured it out before we could watch movies again. We don't have any problem with copy restrictions on subscription video (especially since Netflix is such a tremendous value) but at the end of the day, DRM is DRM, and wonky things are going to happen. We doubt Netflix's DRM servers deal with people constantly starting and stopping movies on four different units for the better part an afternoon very often, but there's no avoiding the fact that if something goes awry, you don't really have a lot of options to make it better. It's a just a small issue with a service we think is fantastic overall, but if you're wearing a cape while reading this on a FreeBSD box, it's something you might want to think about.
The rest of us will be happily watching Netflix's collection of 80s movies.
d'oh! got soo excited forgot to ask: How do these compare to streaming off a computer? my understanding is that all of the above stream in HD (you don't state it specifically with the Roku, but i think it does); however computers currently only stream in SD. I'm looking to hook this up to a projector which already is connected by VGA, so is it worth buying another box at all?
I have a MCPC and just watch them that way on my TV even though it isn't HD. I have my computer connected to the hard line so I always get the highest quality (which equates to DVD quality) and that's fine enough for documentaries and random movies you're curious about. Just like the article said though, you're going to want to get the DVD's and BluRay's in the mail to watch blockbuster titles in HD and surround sound. The great thing about MCPC's is that when stuff like this comes out, you can be flexible and not end up with an entire cabinet full of outdated kit. BluRay 5.25" drives are now in the $100 range and web browsers are free, which is much more affordable than either of the BluRay players in the review.
@Shoeboy From what I have read at various places, the video solution on a chip in the Roku is capable of up to 1080i, but not 1080p. Roku does no scaling, only displays the encode from Netflix. Netflix has apparently standardized on 720p for HD, since it is generally superior to 1080i except for the fastest moving scenes (like football).
My problem with Xbox360 is you've basically gotta have it connected by Ethernet directly to your computer to get steady transmission rates - which means that the $100 Wifi adapter is useless here. For audio, its not so bad but for streaming porn of my laptop to my TV, it leaves alot to be desired.
Netflix streams from the internet, not from your local PC. Since your internet connection speed isn't going to be anywhere near your WLAN speed, using wifi for netflix streaming is just as fine as using ethernet. The bottleneck is your internet connection, not your LAN.
I think Flashpoint is referring to the fact that wifi inevitably drops packets, and you need a clean space between your wifi hotspot/ap and your machine. Plugging it into your PC if you have a dual-port ethernet in your computer allows you to connect to the internet without dropping packets as wifi does. I've streamed TV over wifi and HD content gets choppy at times from packet loss. I have to have 2 APs in my house just to cover the entire house, plus I have a lot of metal in my walls that reduce my connection quality.
I used to use Linksys's Xbox wireless adapter (http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-WGA54G-Wireless-G-Gaming-Adapter/dp/B00009X6DT) with my 360, and had pretty decent results with streaming Netflix. Of course I wanted optimal picture quality so I wired Cat5 to a switch for my entertainment center, but it *is* usable.
Depends. I kid you not, I just signed up for netflix this weekend (after being away from it for years). Since I have a 360 I wanted to try it out, so I signed up for their free trial. We watched three movies via Netflix's streaming, sent over WiFi to the 360. Video quality on all three was excellent (a notch below DVD quality). However, my 360 is only 10 feet or so away from the wireless router. So maybe that has something to do with it.
"My problem with a 360 is I can't hear to movie over the jet engine fans"
If you actually owned a 360, you'd know that it's not the fans but the DVD-drive that's making the noise. The DVD drive that stays silent when watching Netflix movies.
I agree completely, and it seems most of those who have responded to you so far don't have experience with Netflix on the 360.
Using my Thinkpad I can stream HD from Netflix without a problem. When I try using ICS to share my Thinkpad's connection with my 360, it might say HD is possible, but that'll last about 5 seconds before it blows through the buffer and tells me it's rebuffering at lower quality to allow for smooth/uninterupted playback.
That's with me typically being able to pull down 3-5Mbps via wifi. Of course, if I have the 360 hardwired to my 20Mbps connection, it can play HD Netflix smoothly all day every day.
The biggest thing I want to see from Netflix in the future is CUSTOMIZABLE SETTINGS!!! If my connection is a little on the slow side, let ME choose if I want a bigger buffer so I can still watch something in HD. Don't just automatically chop the quality down and maintain the same ~5-10(?) second buffer. Oh, and adding that little HD icon to the 360 software would be nice too.
Might be worth mentioning that SD content on Netflix ranges widely. Some look like copies of copies of VHS tapes. There are even some foreign films that have their subtitles cut off. Perhaps that's how the DVD looks if you were to purchase/rent them as well, I'm unsure.
Overall, Netflix is the best deal around. Completely beats the slim pickens of Cable's On Demand.
"are even some foreign films that have their subtitles cut off. "
Sure you aren't experiencing some overscan on your display? Any decent subtitle job will have the subs high enough to account for at least 5% overscan, but I've seen plenty of poorly done subs that place them at the very bottom of the picture.
"""Any decent subtitle job will have the subs high enough to account for at least 5% overscan"""
You haven't seen then how many Asian movies/animes are subbed on DVDs.
Sometimes you get impression that they took translation and printed it then scanned then OCRed then printed again and OCRed again then put result as subs on DVD. Most amateur translations (a.k.a. "guesslations") for asian divxs you can find on net are of much higher quality than most official subbing. Often also video quality of divxs is higher (or in worst case you can just add postprocessing) than on DVDs: latter are sometimes plain film to digital interlaced 24fps conversions.
Xbox360 is the way to go IMO because not only can you stream movies from Netflix but you can also download digital movies from their marketplace. Those two combined have left me wanting very little from physical copies of movies period.
Pfft, when you have Netflix, why would ever want to buy digital downloads? You really should ask yourself, how often are you going to watch a specific movie to make it worth the money you are spending on it?
The reason is that Netflix's poor HD selection does not come close to Xbox's marketplace at this time. Also the quality of the HD for the marketplace is quite a bit better than that of Netflix right now. Bluray has a better picture than both for sure, but I am an impulsive movie watcher so waiting a few days for a movie in the mail just doesn't work for me.
The other really nice thing about Xbox360 is that all the shows you download from other services like Amazon etc are also able to be played on it.
My success with the XBox is really mixed as well. I have a 10 MBps connection and my XBox is connected directly to a gigabit network (not that it supports it, but bandwidth is not an issue). Even when I'm showing a full 10 MBs connection on various speed tests, I'll fail to get an HD rating on the XBox with Netflix.
Conversely, I can rent and HD movie on AppleTV and it's ready to watch in seconds, without a hiccup during playback. I'm not sure where the hang up is with Netflix & the XBox, but there's a slowdown somewhere.
I have no problems with streaming HD through Xbox. No dark colors here. I'm using a 5mps connection. The fan runs, but it usually does if the unit is on. Also, I noticed that Netflix has covered their core audiences with all the different devices, very smart. Now I am just hoping that their streaming selection will be expanded.
Netflix/Tivo and the cablecard drama: I'm with Time Warner and it is a nightmare. Still fighting with it since the end of summer, but all is working. I do enjoy the streaming movies in my Netflix $9.99 (BlueRay is a buck more than $8.99) package. I only wish they were downloaded similar to the Amazon setup which gives you 30 days to watch and 24 hours after starting. (having the portability for Airline travel would be nice too)
I don't see how "downloaded and you have 30 days to watch and 24 hours after starting" is better than "watch as many times as you want, whenever you want, start and stop whenever you want as if you own the movie, with as many movies as you want, all streaming over the internet"
I think he was referring specifically to the case of travel conditions that prevent streaming, such as a airline flight. If you are a frequent flyer, I could see the value in having the option to download the entire movie. I also don't think he meant to compare one option to the other, rather he meant he wishes Netflix offered both.
Of course, this becomes a non-issue if you choose not to comply with copyright laws. I mean, any kind of travel is usually planned enough in advance to either download the movie via bittorrent or rip it yourself and convert to divx, h.264, or whatever your preferred codec is before you leave.
until one of them includes Hulu.com / Joost.com / YouTube / and a easy way to add more services I will hang back on use my Intel atom box with custom web GUI to get my content
I think you just need to wait until you're logged in to Xbox live before you try to open Netflix and that thing that pops up that asks if you want to redownload it won't show up.
I've seen it before and it only happens when I'm rushing to get to my movies.
I got the Roku player on Friday and have to say I'm impressed with it. I read a few reviews saying the quality of SD movies was below that of a normal DVD, but I found it to be better than my DVD player. It's true that some movies are encoded differently and quality is lower though. I came across one that looked like a VHS tape, one that didn't fill my screen, but I'd say about 9/10 were excellent quality and were set up to fill my HD screen despite being SD movies. The HD movies looked great and streamed without a hitch.
I thought about getting one of the Blu-Ray players as the extra quality would be nice but overall I'm pleased only being out $100 and was pleasantly surprised by the quality.
I also have the Roku attached to my Hi-Def Panasonic Plasma. The interface is fantastic... but the image quality is a little VHS like... and I am curious how much better the Samsung Blue Ray is....l
My 360 experience in downtown Chicago WITH DSL 6mbit (SBC Elite $35 package) is superb.
Buffering is seconds, always 4 bars. One time I had a "re buffering" incident... not sure why.
I am connected tough a switch via Ethernet over CAT6 to the router.
Are people with problems on DSL or Cable? Comcast in Chicago is notorious for being blazing fast most of the time and painfully slow at 7pm. for brief moments.
I'm in chicago and I get a weird slowdown around 9pm on Comcast. I don't hate it enough to get rid of it, but that price for SBC definitely makes dumping it a more enticing idea.
That's a bit odd, I use Netflix via my 360 and find that it streams HD whenever I'm accessing HD content. A few times I've had it stop to rebuffer in non-HD (likely due to higher network load on my end, not theirs.. I have 6 users on my cable connection and 2 of them are teenage boys, meaning XBL on their Xbox, torrents, pr0n, etc., while another loves to RDP into his office PC -- accordingly, I blame the drop on my end, not Netflix's.
I also never noticed darkness, but I wasn't doing a direct comparison so I wouldn't have noticed it as readily as you had.
i know you mentioned the 360 as being wonky using the controller to move around the stream..... I would agree personally but since my harmony and every other universal remote out there can control the 360 as good as any other device I think it should be mentioned that the controller is not the only way to use the 360 version of netflix.
I was going to say I use my Harmony 1000 Remote for my setup, and I can have the screen set for the 4 color buttons to move around when need be or switch it over to the Play,Slop,FF, Rew, etc and control that way very easily. Hell the only time I ever pick up the Remote for my 360 is playing games. Hell I'll have the game loading up before I even pick up a controller and turn it on. Controlling Netflix with my remote is a snap on the Xbox 360. I have Comcast Internet service and have no problem streaming HD movies. It also doesn't look dark to me.
Really the ONLY complaints I have is the Lack of knowing if it's HD or not until the movie starts loading up to play it'll show HD. I think it would be better if there was at least a little HD picture on the Box Cover Art!!!. I also hope they'll get the HD movies with 5.1 Surround Sound instead of the current Stereo. It would also be nice if you could pick out movies right from the device, so you don't have to log in with a PC to pick out your movies before hand.
I am thinking about a ROKU box and a smaller HDTV for the bedroom. Then again a 2nd 360 would be nice as I would be able to access me PC for Media Center and access that content also. Will have to think about it for a while yet.
I haven't tried the other options, but I am very happy with the implementastion on my 360. I have no trouble at all getting HD content and the picture quality is very good (though I admit I am no videophile). My setup is pretty basic -- 360 on a hardwired network connection to a router to a Comcast cable modem.No trouble with HD quality streams at all. And as to the issue of usinga controller for video, they make these things called universal remotes. Check them out.
(note - fair disclosure: I am a little biased as I used to work for the Xbox group, but I had nothign to do with the Netflix stuff, and am no longer employed by Microsoft.)
While streaming Netflix through my 360 is a Beautiful Thing, a couple of glaring annoyances lead me to believe that it's a service that Netflix doesn't take seriously. For one, you can only browse your Instant Queue (and I believe that's the case when using any of these solutions)--not the entire streaming library. So if you want to check out what's new in the library, and maybe you have a few friends over, you have to go to your web browser and manually add things to your queue.
Also, and I'm sure this is in large part the movie studios' doing, is the licensing agreements they have is almost exactly what VOD providers have. That said, you'll see a lot of titles come and go, and if you're like me and have, oh, about 120 titles in your Instant Queue, you'll sometimes see large groups of titles with a set expiration date, so you really have to play catch up.
But again, streaming Netflix to my livingroom is pure awesome. I've only purchased a couple of DVDs in recent memory, and while the large size of HD content and ISP's bandwidth caps are going to have it out for the foreseeable future, I cannot wait until we aren't dealing with physical media anymore.
I'm using the TiVo HD, and I totally agree with what you say about the annoyance of having to use a web browser to put something into the Instant Queue. It's an unnecessary restriction.
The other annoyance is that it doesn't buffer anything. If I press the 8-second skip back button, I have to wait for the video to reconnect. Naturally I've learned not to press that button, but it's annoying nonetheless. Also, I recently had trouble with my internet connection, the cable modem started dropping packets. The Netflix application was totally unusable, as it kept having to reconnect the video. YouTube on the TiVo worked just fine, because I could start a video and let if buffer before sitting down to watch it.
I actually write software for settop boxes for a living. I suspect that the Netflix software is written to take into account cheaper boxes that don't have enough memory to buffer much video. Then boxes that do have sufficient memory are using the same software, so they can't buffer either. It wouldn't be hard to offer buffering as an option, and it'd sure make me happy.
So, Netflix, hit me up, I'd be happy to write this software for you :)
Hey Engadget, how about mentioning things like power drain, heat level, noise level of the player itself, and the ease of use with the included (if any) remote control?
If you take these things into consideration, the Roku is head & shoulders above the competition, using far less power (even when streaming), emitting far less heat, making NO noise (compared to the jet engine sound of the 360 that's a huge bonus), and comes with one of the most straightforward, easy-to-use remotes I've ever seen.
One more consideration: How much will using the device for Netflix wear out your device? Do you really want to tie up your 360 or Blu-Ray player for streaming videos, and lessen its lifespan in doing so?
Finally, consider price. The lowest-priced alternative outside of the Roku is the Xbox 360, and that's still three times more expensive and requires an additional subscription to Live Gold in order to use it for this purpose. The Roku is ready to use out of the box, costs $99, and doesn't require anything more than a Netflix subscription. That's value for your money. Also, don't forget the fact that the Xbox WiFi adapter alone is almost the same price as the entire Roku, Wifi and remote included!
and @aaron: I think they were referring to the controller because it's what comes with an Xbox 360, and they're not counting extras you'd have to purchase separately. If you want a remote for your 360, you have to spend about $25 to get one, and that's 1/4 the price of a Roku!
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posted January 19th 2009 11:08AM
Thanks guys, i submitted this to ask engadget, but a full review is even better than opinion from the mob!
d'oh! got soo excited forgot to ask: How do these compare to streaming off a computer? my understanding is that all of the above stream in HD (you don't state it specifically with the Roku, but i think it does); however computers currently only stream in SD. I'm looking to hook this up to a projector which already is connected by VGA, so is it worth buying another box at all?
I would also be curious to compare these boxes to HD TVs that have netflix streaming built into them.
From what I read on the roku site it does 720p or less (has component, composite and hdmi ports)
@marc
I have a MCPC and just watch them that way on my TV even though it isn't HD. I have my computer connected to the hard line so I always get the highest quality (which equates to DVD quality) and that's fine enough for documentaries and random movies you're curious about. Just like the article said though, you're going to want to get the DVD's and BluRay's in the mail to watch blockbuster titles in HD and surround sound. The great thing about MCPC's is that when stuff like this comes out, you can be flexible and not end up with an entire cabinet full of outdated kit. BluRay 5.25" drives are now in the $100 range and web browsers are free, which is much more affordable than either of the BluRay players in the review.
@Shoeboy
From what I have read at various places, the video solution on a chip in the Roku is capable of up to 1080i, but not 1080p. Roku does no scaling, only displays the encode from Netflix. Netflix has apparently standardized on 720p for HD, since it is generally superior to 1080i except for the fastest moving scenes (like football).
My problem with Xbox360 is you've basically gotta have it connected by Ethernet directly to your computer to get steady transmission rates - which means that the $100 Wifi adapter is useless here. For audio, its not so bad but for streaming porn of my laptop to my TV, it leaves alot to be desired.
Netflix streams from the internet, not from your local PC. Since your internet connection speed isn't going to be anywhere near your WLAN speed, using wifi for netflix streaming is just as fine as using ethernet. The bottleneck is your internet connection, not your LAN.
I think that the problem with the xbox 360 on is you cant get it outside of america
@D: "I think that the problem with the xbox 360 on is you cant get it outside of america"
I think you'll find that none of these devices work outside america, because Netflix is a US only service. That's not a limitation of the 360.
I think Flashpoint is referring to the fact that wifi inevitably drops packets, and you need a clean space between your wifi hotspot/ap and your machine. Plugging it into your PC if you have a dual-port ethernet in your computer allows you to connect to the internet without dropping packets as wifi does. I've streamed TV over wifi and HD content gets choppy at times from packet loss. I have to have 2 APs in my house just to cover the entire house, plus I have a lot of metal in my walls that reduce my connection quality.
@D: "I think that the problem with the xbox 360 on is you cant get it outside of america"
I think you'll find that none of these devices work outside of america, because Netflix is a US only service. It's not limited to the 360.
I used to use Linksys's Xbox wireless adapter (http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-WGA54G-Wireless-G-Gaming-Adapter/dp/B00009X6DT) with my 360, and had pretty decent results with streaming Netflix. Of course I wanted optimal picture quality so I wired Cat5 to a switch for my entertainment center, but it *is* usable.
My problem with a 360 is I can't hear to movie over the jet engine fans
anyone read the last sentence?
TMI! The whole world didn't need to know what you stream over your network.
Depends. I kid you not, I just signed up for netflix this weekend (after being away from it for years). Since I have a 360 I wanted to try it out, so I signed up for their free trial. We watched three movies via Netflix's streaming, sent over WiFi to the 360. Video quality on all three was excellent (a notch below DVD quality). However, my 360 is only 10 feet or so away from the wireless router. So maybe that has something to do with it.
"My problem with a 360 is I can't hear to movie over the jet engine fans"
If you actually owned a 360, you'd know that it's not the fans but the DVD-drive that's making the noise. The DVD drive that stays silent when watching Netflix movies.
I agree completely, and it seems most of those who have responded to you so far don't have experience with Netflix on the 360.
Using my Thinkpad I can stream HD from Netflix without a problem. When I try using ICS to share my Thinkpad's connection with my 360, it might say HD is possible, but that'll last about 5 seconds before it blows through the buffer and tells me it's rebuffering at lower quality to allow for smooth/uninterupted playback.
That's with me typically being able to pull down 3-5Mbps via wifi. Of course, if I have the 360 hardwired to my 20Mbps connection, it can play HD Netflix smoothly all day every day.
The biggest thing I want to see from Netflix in the future is CUSTOMIZABLE SETTINGS!!! If my connection is a little on the slow side, let ME choose if I want a bigger buffer so I can still watch something in HD. Don't just automatically chop the quality down and maintain the same ~5-10(?) second buffer. Oh, and adding that little HD icon to the 360 software would be nice too.
Might be worth mentioning that SD content on Netflix ranges widely. Some look like copies of copies of VHS tapes. There are even some foreign films that have their subtitles cut off. Perhaps that's how the DVD looks if you were to purchase/rent them as well, I'm unsure.
Overall, Netflix is the best deal around. Completely beats the slim pickens of Cable's On Demand.
"are even some foreign films that have their subtitles cut off. "
Sure you aren't experiencing some overscan on your display? Any decent subtitle job will have the subs high enough to account for at least 5% overscan, but I've seen plenty of poorly done subs that place them at the very bottom of the picture.
"""Any decent subtitle job will have the subs high enough to account for at least 5% overscan"""
You haven't seen then how many Asian movies/animes are subbed on DVDs.
Sometimes you get impression that they took translation and printed it then scanned then OCRed then printed again and OCRed again then put result as subs on DVD. Most amateur translations (a.k.a. "guesslations") for asian divxs you can find on net are of much higher quality than most official subbing. Often also video quality of divxs is higher (or in worst case you can just add postprocessing) than on DVDs: latter are sometimes plain film to digital interlaced 24fps conversions.
Xbox360 is the way to go IMO because not only can you stream movies from Netflix but you can also download digital movies from their marketplace. Those two combined have left me wanting very little from physical copies of movies period.
Pfft, when you have Netflix, why would ever want to buy digital downloads? You really should ask yourself, how often are you going to watch a specific movie to make it worth the money you are spending on it?
The reason is that Netflix's poor HD selection does not come close to Xbox's marketplace at this time. Also the quality of the HD for the marketplace is quite a bit better than that of Netflix right now. Bluray has a better picture than both for sure, but I am an impulsive movie watcher so waiting a few days for a movie in the mail just doesn't work for me.
The other really nice thing about Xbox360 is that all the shows you download from other services like Amazon etc are also able to be played on it.
My success with the XBox is really mixed as well. I have a 10 MBps connection and my XBox is connected directly to a gigabit network (not that it supports it, but bandwidth is not an issue). Even when I'm showing a full 10 MBs connection on various speed tests, I'll fail to get an HD rating on the XBox with Netflix.
Conversely, I can rent and HD movie on AppleTV and it's ready to watch in seconds, without a hiccup during playback. I'm not sure where the hang up is with Netflix & the XBox, but there's a slowdown somewhere.
Is it possible to check what your rating is before buying the service? I don't want to sign up for it and then not be able to stream HD from my Xbox.
You can sign up for the free trial.
I have no problems with streaming HD through Xbox. No dark colors here. I'm using a 5mps connection. The fan runs, but it usually does if the unit is on. Also, I noticed that Netflix has covered their core audiences with all the different devices, very smart. Now I am just hoping that their streaming selection will be expanded.
I have no issues with HD either except for their terrible selection available in HD. It will get better with time I am sure though
Netflix/Tivo and the cablecard drama:
I'm with Time Warner and it is a nightmare. Still fighting with it since the end of summer, but all is working. I do enjoy the streaming movies in my Netflix $9.99 (BlueRay is a buck more than $8.99) package. I only wish they were downloaded similar to the Amazon setup which gives you 30 days to watch and 24 hours after starting. (having the portability for Airline travel would be nice too)
Thanks for the comparison.
I don't see how "downloaded and you have 30 days to watch and 24 hours after starting" is better than "watch as many times as you want, whenever you want, start and stop whenever you want as if you own the movie, with as many movies as you want, all streaming over the internet"
I think he was referring specifically to the case of travel conditions that prevent streaming, such as a airline flight. If you are a frequent flyer, I could see the value in having the option to download the entire movie. I also don't think he meant to compare one option to the other, rather he meant he wishes Netflix offered both.
Of course, this becomes a non-issue if you choose not to comply with copyright laws. I mean, any kind of travel is usually planned enough in advance to either download the movie via bittorrent or rip it yourself and convert to divx, h.264, or whatever your preferred codec is before you leave.
until one of them includes Hulu.com / Joost.com / YouTube / and a easy way to add more services
I will hang back on use my Intel atom box with custom web GUI to get my content
The TiVo does Youtube.
With PlayOn software, you can do Hulu, Youtube, CNN etc. They even supported streaming Netflix on the 360 before it was available through NXE.
I just picked up a Roku player last week and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. If you have an Xbox 360, but lack the Live Membership, you can get a 13 month membership for just $29.99 at Amazon - http://www.techdealdigger.com/deals/microsoft-882224058650-29-at-amazon/6150
I think you just need to wait until you're logged in to Xbox live before you try to open Netflix and that thing that pops up that asks if you want to redownload it won't show up.
I've seen it before and it only happens when I'm rushing to get to my movies.
I got the Roku player on Friday and have to say I'm impressed with it. I read a few reviews saying the quality of SD movies was below that of a normal DVD, but I found it to be better than my DVD player. It's true that some movies are encoded differently and quality is lower though. I came across one that looked like a VHS tape, one that didn't fill my screen, but I'd say about 9/10 were excellent quality and were set up to fill my HD screen despite being SD movies. The HD movies looked great and streamed without a hitch.
I thought about getting one of the Blu-Ray players as the extra quality would be nice but overall I'm pleased only being out $100 and was pleasantly surprised by the quality.
I also have the Roku attached to my Hi-Def Panasonic Plasma. The interface is fantastic... but the image quality is a little VHS like... and I am curious how much better the Samsung Blue Ray is....l
My 360 experience in downtown Chicago WITH DSL 6mbit (SBC Elite $35 package) is superb.
Buffering is seconds, always 4 bars. One time I had a "re buffering" incident... not sure why.
I am connected tough a switch via Ethernet over CAT6 to the router.
Are people with problems on DSL or Cable? Comcast in Chicago is notorious for being blazing fast most of the time and painfully slow at 7pm. for brief moments.
I'm in Chicago on Comcast, actually. No idea why my 360 is so finicky, but the other boxes don't have a problem on the same connection.
I'm in chicago and I get a weird slowdown around 9pm on Comcast. I don't hate it enough to get rid of it, but that price for SBC definitely makes dumping it a more enticing idea.
That's a bit odd, I use Netflix via my 360 and find that it streams HD whenever I'm accessing HD content. A few times I've had it stop to rebuffer in non-HD (likely due to higher network load on my end, not theirs.. I have 6 users on my cable connection and 2 of them are teenage boys, meaning XBL on their Xbox, torrents, pr0n, etc., while another loves to RDP into his office PC -- accordingly, I blame the drop on my end, not Netflix's.
I also never noticed darkness, but I wasn't doing a direct comparison so I wouldn't have noticed it as readily as you had.
Good write up, all the same.
i know you mentioned the 360 as being wonky using the controller to move around the stream..... I would agree personally but since my harmony and every other universal remote out there can control the 360 as good as any other device I think it should be mentioned that the controller is not the only way to use the 360 version of netflix.
I was going to say I use my Harmony 1000 Remote for my setup, and I can have the screen set for the 4 color buttons to move around when need be or switch it over to the Play,Slop,FF, Rew, etc and control that way very easily. Hell the only time I ever pick up the Remote for my 360 is playing games. Hell I'll have the game loading up before I even pick up a controller and turn it on. Controlling Netflix with my remote is a snap on the Xbox 360. I have Comcast Internet service and have no problem streaming HD movies. It also doesn't look dark to me.
Really the ONLY complaints I have is the Lack of knowing if it's HD or not until the movie starts loading up to play it'll show HD. I think it would be better if there was at least a little HD picture on the Box Cover Art!!!. I also hope they'll get the HD movies with 5.1 Surround Sound instead of the current Stereo. It would also be nice if you could pick out movies right from the device, so you don't have to log in with a PC to pick out your movies before hand.
I am thinking about a ROKU box and a smaller HDTV for the bedroom. Then again a 2nd 360 would be nice as I would be able to access me PC for Media Center and access that content also. Will have to think about it for a while yet.
I haven't tried the other options, but I am very happy with the implementastion on my 360. I have no trouble at all getting HD content and the picture quality is very good (though I admit I am no videophile). My setup is pretty basic -- 360 on a hardwired network connection to a router to a Comcast cable modem.No trouble with HD quality streams at all. And as to the issue of usinga controller for video, they make these things called universal remotes. Check them out.
(note - fair disclosure: I am a little biased as I used to work for the Xbox group, but I had nothign to do with the Netflix stuff, and am no longer employed by Microsoft.)
While streaming Netflix through my 360 is a Beautiful Thing, a couple of glaring annoyances lead me to believe that it's a service that Netflix doesn't take seriously. For one, you can only browse your Instant Queue (and I believe that's the case when using any of these solutions)--not the entire streaming library. So if you want to check out what's new in the library, and maybe you have a few friends over, you have to go to your web browser and manually add things to your queue.
Also, and I'm sure this is in large part the movie studios' doing, is the licensing agreements they have is almost exactly what VOD providers have. That said, you'll see a lot of titles come and go, and if you're like me and have, oh, about 120 titles in your Instant Queue, you'll sometimes see large groups of titles with a set expiration date, so you really have to play catch up.
But again, streaming Netflix to my livingroom is pure awesome. I've only purchased a couple of DVDs in recent memory, and while the large size of HD content and ISP's bandwidth caps are going to have it out for the foreseeable future, I cannot wait until we aren't dealing with physical media anymore.
I'm using the TiVo HD, and I totally agree with what you say about the annoyance of having to use a web browser to put something into the Instant Queue. It's an unnecessary restriction.
The other annoyance is that it doesn't buffer anything. If I press the 8-second skip back button, I have to wait for the video to reconnect. Naturally I've learned not to press that button, but it's annoying nonetheless. Also, I recently had trouble with my internet connection, the cable modem started dropping packets. The Netflix application was totally unusable, as it kept having to reconnect the video. YouTube on the TiVo worked just fine, because I could start a video and let if buffer before sitting down to watch it.
I actually write software for settop boxes for a living. I suspect that the Netflix software is written to take into account cheaper boxes that don't have enough memory to buffer much video. Then boxes that do have sufficient memory are using the same software, so they can't buffer either. It wouldn't be hard to offer buffering as an option, and it'd sure make me happy.
So, Netflix, hit me up, I'd be happy to write this software for you :)
Hey Engadget, how about mentioning things like power drain, heat level, noise level of the player itself, and the ease of use with the included (if any) remote control?
If you take these things into consideration, the Roku is head & shoulders above the competition, using far less power (even when streaming), emitting far less heat, making NO noise (compared to the jet engine sound of the 360 that's a huge bonus), and comes with one of the most straightforward, easy-to-use remotes I've ever seen.
One more consideration: How much will using the device for Netflix wear out your device? Do you really want to tie up your 360 or Blu-Ray player for streaming videos, and lessen its lifespan in doing so?
Finally, consider price. The lowest-priced alternative outside of the Roku is the Xbox 360, and that's still three times more expensive and requires an additional subscription to Live Gold in order to use it for this purpose. The Roku is ready to use out of the box, costs $99, and doesn't require anything more than a Netflix subscription. That's value for your money. Also, don't forget the fact that the Xbox WiFi adapter alone is almost the same price as the entire Roku, Wifi and remote included!
and @aaron: I think they were referring to the controller because it's what comes with an Xbox 360, and they're not counting extras you'd have to purchase separately. If you want a remote for your 360, you have to spend about $25 to get one, and that's 1/4 the price of a Roku!