Streaming Movies-Netflix, PS3 STORE, XBOX360-ZUNE, Apple TV, Amazon.com

[DIGITALBATH]

I know bring up this very subject is almost sacrilidge, but I wanted to pick the brains of the people on this site to see what you guys think.

I have a PS3 setup wireless, and a 360 setup with an ethernet cable. My provider is Comcast-high speed broadband. Now, I don't buy a ton of movies, but I rent quite a bit. There is an awesome independent movie rental place I go to called Scarecrow Video, about a 15 minute drive. On Wednesdays they have rent 1 new release, rent an old release for the same price for a total of $4.50. Both can be blu-ray. There is also a Blockbuster close to me, and they have a similar program M-TH, but it's like ~$6 and it can be a new blu-ray, but usually has to be a non-blu-ray on the older catalogue-and they seem pretty inconsistent with this policy.

The PS3 has been fairly disappointing on this front. Despite having a larger catalogue, the price is terrible at like $6.00 + tax, and the downloading and buffering is a nightmare, and takes forever, and has killed the mood for me a couple of times.

The new "Instant 1080p-Zune HD, XBL", is better in terms of speed. I watched Outlander the other night because it was too late to rent, and I get sick of watching all of the same stuff over and over again. It was pretty impressive-picture quality was not bad. The sound was surprisingly robust. There is an opening spaceship crash scene that was loud as hell, 50-it sounded close to 65 on my receiver.

A couple of questions. Does anyone know any hard facts on bit-rates that you get on any of these methods? For audio and for video. Also, for sound-would it be a stretch to say that a blu-ray audio codec sounds more quiet than a streamed source, because it is more accurate, or has not had the decibel level screwed with, or we're just hearing more noise-so it appears louder? You would think that since they're offering an inferior product, that the rental prices would match, or there would be deals more often of some kind.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by DIGITALBATH

The PS3 has been fairly disappointing on this front. Despite having a larger catalogue, the price is terrible at like $6.00 + tax, and the downloading and buffering is a nightmare, and takes forever, and has killed the mood for me a couple of times.
You would think that since they're offering an inferior product, that the rental prices would match, or there would be deals more often of some kind.

By "PS3", take it you mean the PSN Store, and not PS3's free streaming-Netflix adaptor disk?

(Which can be a mixed bag, given the limited selection--and most of the recognizable titles offered by StarzPlay in hideous low-bit quality--but at least some studio HD titles are available....But if you're going to get all audio-techie about it, 'fraid I can't help you with that one. )

[DIGITALBATH]

Originally Posted by EricJ

By "PS3", take it you mean the PSN Store, and not PS3's free streaming-Netflix adaptor disk?

(Which can be a mixed bag, given the limited selection--and most of the recognizable titles offered by StarzPlay in hideous low-bit quality--but at least some studio HD titles are available....But if you're going to get all audio-techie about it, 'fraid I can't help you with that one. )

I was mainly talking about the PSN store, but sure, Netflix PS3 too, I just wanted to see what people on here think about it.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by DIGITALBATH

I was mainly talking about the PSN store, but sure, Netflix PS3 too, I just wanted to see what people on here think about it.

Again, I don't have a techie-theater setup, so can't speak for 1080 or audio quality--
But apart from the crappy Starz titles (and indies, gay and Bollywoods that need the exposure), there's been a healthy influx of full TV series lately and more "real" Sony, Warner and Paramount studio titles in broadcast-HD....Which looks pretty crisp by broadcast standards, if it's coming in on a decent respectable broadband.
And that's no extra charge assuming you already have a Netflix subscription, which can also get a month's worth of hard-copy Blu rentals on a one-time payment.

[Atreyu]

This may seem like a stupid question, but here goes. If your TV or blu-ray player has internet hook up and you want to subscribe to the Netflix internet service do you still have to purchase the box they offer for $99 and up?

[ArieS]

Originally Posted by Atreyu

This may seem like a stupid question, but here goes. If your TV or blu-ray player has internet hook up and you want to subscribe to the Netflix internet service do you still have to purchase the box they offer for $99 and up?

Depends on the BD player you have.

[Atreyu]

A blu -ray player that has internet access. What about a TV that has internet access, or would that also be depending on the set?

[bhampton]

Well,

You wanted to know what people thought of it so here's my take,.,

Netflix sent me the disc for streaming with my PS3 and I tried it out of curiosity. I must not have the best type of internet connection (Cable Hight Speed but likely still on the slow side) so what I got looked worst than badly done DVD. I haven't wanted to try that again.

Now,.. Other people in the house have used the streaming for older TV series on the laptop and that works pretty well. (For them)

On a related note, Amazon often sends me notice I can instantly watch stuff from their VOD store when I buy Blu Rays. If I just bought the film on Blu Ray there's zero chance I want to watch the crap Amazon streaming version. I ignore them every time. I have no use for Amazon's video on demand service.

=Brian

[witheygull]

Originally Posted by Atreyu

A blu -ray player that has internet access. What about a TV that has internet access, or would that also be depending on the set?

It all depends on the model of player and/or TV that you have. To see which devices specifically support Netflix streaming, click here.

[Atreyu]

Thanks for he helpful info.

[DGates01]

Originally Posted by EricJ

But apart from the crappy Starz titles

It's not so much the titles, it's the awful compression on Starz Netflix selections.

But as you mentioned, the TV shows and other movies in HD are quite good. Not quite Blu-ray quality, but better than DVD for sure.

[chele519]

I've been watching Prison Break on Netflix on my blu ray and it looks pretty good in HD. I use a wired connection rather than wireless for a better picture when streaming. My blu ray player also has a VOD service called VUDU. Depending on your connection it plays in SD, HD, or HDX. The movies are the same price as Comcast On demand and I thought it looked pretty good. Only watched the Blind Side so I can't say how good action/special effects movies are.

[Mr. Cinema]

My PS3 is connected via ethernet. I get about 7 mbps speed and Netflix works great. I never have issues with buffering. Once a show or movie starts, it plays. The streaming is great for tv shows. I can run through a season of The Office much faster than having to use up my disc slots through the program.

The tv show quality looks good to my eyes and some of the movies as well. Their HD quality has improved greatly over the last year and so has their selection. I just added Breakdown the other day in HD. That movie has yet to receive even an anamorphic dvd release. So the only way to see it in its OAR is through Netflix.

They have also recently added a bunch of stuff, a nice mix of classics and action films. They even have Demolition Man in HD. A guitly pleasure of mine. I also added Jason and the Argonauts in HD. I know it gets a BD release next month, but this will be a nice preview. I believe Netflix is adding 5.1 audio later this year.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Atreyu

A blu -ray player that has internet access. What about a TV that has internet access, or would that also be depending on the set?

Most all Blu's have internet access, but whether a player (or TV) is in enough with Netflix to corporately offer a direct link should depends on the company and player--
The ones that do usually advertise the fact.
http://www.netflix.com/NetflixReadyDevices?

(But if you do have a compatible player, PS3/Wii, or LG/Bravia TV set that advertises Netflix, no, you don't need the $99 Roku box. Unless you don't have one, of course, and want it.)

[raygendreau]

Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema

I believe Netflix is adding 5.1 audio later this year.

I like that. Where did you get that info?

I was surprised to see The Red Baron available streaming on 1 June. Content availability is definitely improving.

[Beta Man]

The streaming quality I get with Netflix stinks........ but if you're paying $5-$6 for one new and one catalog rental each time...... I would think a 2-at-a-time plan (what I have) from Netflix, with Blu-ray enabled, would be a good way to go

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by raygendreau

I was surprised to see The Red Baron available streaming on 1 June. Content availability is definitely improving.

Foreigns and small-studio indies are starting to DEPEND on VOD to get themselves noticed, so it's easier to find arthouse favorites--
Also, Starz as a network is trying to build their name on getting this year's titles to cable as soon as possible, so you can get quite a few recent titles ("Moon", "Doubt", "Julia & Julia") right away, if you don't mind the, um, Starz quality.

[raygendreau]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

The streaming quality I get with Netflix stinks........ but if you're paying $5-$6 for one new and one catalog rental each time...... I would think a 2-at-a-time plan (what I have) from Netflix, with Blu-ray enabled, would be a good way to go

1 at a time unlimited, blu-ray enabled works for me. I get blu-rays exclusively. I rarely watch anything but HD selections streaming and the PQ is very good. I have a wireless connection speed of 6 mps through my PS3. The PQ is at least as good as 720P. In fact my TV display indicates it is 1280x720 for HD streaming Netflix movies. With my AVR processing the audio with PLIIx, there is plenty of activity in the surrounds.

[DIGITALBATH]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Foreigns and small-studio indies are starting to DEPEND on VOD to get themselves noticed, so it's easier to find arthouse favorites--
Also, Starz as a network is trying to build their name on getting this year's titles to cable as soon as possible, so you can get quite a few recent titles ("Moon", "Doubt", "Julia & Julia") right away, if you don't mind the, um, Starz quality.

That is interesting and encouraging. That is actually the majority of movies I watched before going blu . The only problem I have is, that many of the foreign films are usually dubbed english, instead of the original language and english subtitles. I refuse to watch dubs.

I found this article, which I think is pretty relevant to our discussion and modern state of affairs if you will in modern TV/Home Theater Tech.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-...rColumnArea1.2

[kingofgrills]

Originally Posted by DIGITALBATH

I was mainly talking about the PSN store, but sure, Netflix PS3 too, I just wanted to see what people on here think about it.

Personally, I don't go to video stores anymore. I use Netflix, and my monthly fee of $16.99 allows me to have 2 Blu-ray discs checked out at a time, along with unlimited streaming to my PS3 or computer. 2 discs at a time works perfectly for my family, and streaming fills any gaps in nicely. Plus, Netflix sends discs very quickly where I live, so we don't find ourselves waiting.

I use Netflix streaming on my PS3 all the time, mostly to catch up on TV shows like Heroes or Lost. All content looks good, especially HD stuff. the video quality really does depend on the download speeds you can maintain. Before switching to Comcast, I had Qwest high speed DSL, and the picture quality, using the ethernet cable, was horrible.

I would suggest hooking your PS3 via the ethernet cable. You'll achieve higher download speeds, and that will improve your video quality.