Netflix in HD

[timmydformvp]

Has anyone heard if you are able to download HD or Blu-Ray movies from Netflix yet? I have read some places where it will be available in the future, but I wanted to see if anyone had any experience diong this. I am about to buy a new player and this may affect which I buy. THanks in advance for your input.

[neos_peace]

from what I understand you can stream a movie through there player if it's availbale in HD but downloading to own .. No

[timmydformvp]

Thanks. I'm not interested in owning the movies, just watching. Can you downstream blu-ray?

[MattFromCT]

I've streamed several of their titles but I wasn't aware any were available in HD. I'd love to know a title or two should I can try it out.

[RiseDarthVader]

You wont be able to stream Blu-ray quality. Your internet would have to hit the peak of its download speed and you will need to make sure you wouldbt be capped. Currently there is no way of downloading/streaming Blu-ray quality legally or illegaly.

[timmydformvp]

Ok. I guess I will be getting an Panny BD35. I guess if the technology ever catches up, I can buy a new one Anybody know who carries more BD online, Blockbuster or Netflix?

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by neos_peace

from what I understand you can stream a movie through there player if it's availbale in HD but downloading to own .. No

yeah I do it thru my microsoft system and while it looks better then the sd video, it isnt really what id call HD.

[Clark W Griswald, Jr]

Originally Posted by timmydformvp

Ok. I guess I will be getting an Panny BD35. I guess if the technology ever catches up, I can buy a new one Anybody know who carries more BD online, Blockbuster or Netflix?

Both have Blu-ray movies available but I couldn't get info on who has MORE. I've used both and prefer Netflix for now. BB seemed to send the movies a little faster. I am getting the Samsung 2500/2550 to stream HD movies from Netflix (for free if you have a subscription). There is an LG blu-ray player which also streams HD movies from Netflix. Only issue is that they only have about 300 HD titles available at this time. 12,000 SD quality titles though.
Mostly, I'm getting this for the wife. She can stand to watch SD movies...I'd rather read the back of a cereal box than watch that crap.
Certainly, Netflix and others (BB) realize the future of High Def includes HD downloads/streaming and they will improve their inventory to pound Blockbuster into submission. I love any format-type war....it is the customer/consumer who benefits

[jeff92k7]

We have the Samsung BDP-2550 that we purchased specifically because my wife wanted the streaming Netflix feature. We have actually used it more than we have used the player to watch Blu-ray discs. It's great to just pick the movie and start watching it almost immediately.

The quality leaves something to be desired though. I rationalize it in that the movies we stream aren't available on Blu-Ray anyway so it makes the poor quality a little more bearable.

However, that said, the quality really isn't that bad. The SD movies are pretty close to DVD quality picture but only have stereo (Pro-Logic) sound. The HD movies are only at 720p so while it's nowhere near Blu-Ray quality, it's still better than DVD.

As Netflix's selection grows and quality improves, this feature may be even more useful.

Jeff

[Clark W Griswald, Jr]

Originally Posted by jeff92k7

However, that said, the quality really isn't that bad. The SD movies are pretty close to DVD quality picture but only have stereo (Pro-Logic) sound. The HD movies are only at 720p so while it's nowhere near Blu-Ray quality, it's still better than DVD

Jeff, is it worth it to have the Netflix streaming? I am planning on for my wife. Any buffering issues/pauses?
Thanks,
Clark

[canyonblue737]

I have a Xbox 360 with Netflix SD and HD streaming, a AppleTV with SD and HD rentals and a Sony SD-350 Blu-Ray all hooked up via HDMI to a 1080p 61 inch DLP TV with a full-up 5.1 surround system that works with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Soo...

1. Blu-Ray is WAY, WAY better than any other option. The picture quality due to the minimal compression (bit rate is by far the highest) is much clearer and pure than any thing else out there. Further the lossless audio (Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD MA, or lossless PCM) is a step above any other option in the download or streaming world.

2. Netflix SD streaming is pretty ho-hum in quality. I am pretty impressed however by their 720p HD stream, althogh there is plenty of compression artifacts that can be seen in fast moving scenes or scenes with large areas of one color. Not bad for streaming a movie on a whim that you think you will only want to watch once with no extra cost from your existing Netflix subscription though. The biggest issue here... very, very, very limited selection and almost NO new releases. Sound is only stereo!

3. Apple TV SD rentals are quite good quality, near DVD. Sound is Prologic surround. Their HD rentals are even better than the Netflix HD but still not Blu-Ray at all. The sound for those are Dolby Digital 5.1 only. They have a MUCH larger selection than Netflix and almost all the recent releases after 30 days being in the stores.

IMHO:

1. Blu-Ray is the WAY to go for anything you want to own, period. If you want to rent it that it is the best option still if you can wait for the delivery from Netflix or go to a Blockbuster etc. If you care about sound then yet again, Blu-Ray and even in DVD in many cases is superior to Apple and Netflix streaming options.

2. For a spur of the moment choice to watch a movie the HD options from Netflix and AppleTV aren't half bad and very convenient. What kills Netflix right now is the lack of titles available for streaming, in particular HD streaming. If they had anything like the list Apple has but included in the monthly price of the Netflix service it would be a HUGE success, alas that has not happened.

3. AppleTV is a great spur of the moment choice and has a lot of recent releases in 720p quality, but highly compressed. The problem is they charge the same $4-5 bucks as renting at Blockbuster, but at least you don't leave your house.

[brettallica]

Also a big negative to both Apple TV and Netflix is neither of them will allow you to stream HD over a computer; i.e. you must own one of the specified set-top boxes to pull in the HD. In the case of Apple, you must own an Apple TV unit; in Netflix's case you must own one of those Roku boxes, or either of the Samsungs that currently support Netflix's streaming HD. You can also get HD streaming content over a compatible TiVo box.

This setup is a load of ¢rap if you ask me.

While it's cool that we have the ability to stream HD over the internet, it is very uncool that you have to own a special box to view it when a perfectly normal computer is more than capable of doing the same. Props to the two Samsung players and LG's unit for making this happen. I imagine that in time, all or most major manufacturer Blu-ray players with BD-Live will be able to do the Netflix HD streaming; also I can see Netflix "letting" us watch their HD titles online sometime soon. I don't see Apple being so kind, though.

I've got a Windows-based PC, a DirecTV HDDVR, and the Sony BDP-S550...basically, I have all the wrong components for HD streaming! (even thought they all are quite capable)