Netflix instant viewing

[Dan the Man]

I recently purchased an LG BD390 BluRay player to watch Netflix movies over the internet. It works really well and my girlfriend absolutely loves it.

I have 3 questions for anyone else that may have this player.

#1 - The movies don't play in Dolby Digital. I seems to only get 2 channel sound.  Discs work fine - I get DD or DTS. Maybe the streaming versions of the movies aren't transmitted with DD.

#2 - Any suggestions on the best internet speed for watching streaming movies? (Please don't just answer the fastest you can get). I have RR and I think its the standard package. I generally get very good download speeds. Would it make sense to go back to the Turbo RR?

#3 - The movies were working really good right before X-mas, now since 12/25 we are getting lots of pauses and unable to access the internet messages, yet the net is there and I can verify it on my PC. My theory is that lots more people got network players for Xmas and now the Netflix servers are clogged.

I have it plugged into the router. I was using the wireless connection, but I was getting alot of digital clutter. Plugging it in cleared that all up and it worked flawlessly, up until 12/25.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Happy Holidays everyone!

[Bebop]

Regular RR should be sufficient unless someone else is using it while your are watching Netflix.

http://blog.netflix.com/2008/11/encoding-for-streaming.html

[Rick_EE]

The movies are standard stereo.  They are working on DD.

I had turbo, and movies were great.  I downgraded to standard and had problems when someone else was using it.  I went back to turbo.

[bschlafer]

What is TWC charging for Roadrunner Turbo these days?  I'm paying over $50 for their 7mb/s service.


*Bill

[jkane]

The movies are standard stereo.  They are working on DD.

 Glad I read this thread!  I had been thinking that this was the way to go.  I stopped buying DVD's a couple years ago, and was debating blueray, or online early next year.  I guess I'll keep living without movies for a while.  If the sound track isn't there, I might as well wait for it to come out on OTA.

Why do so many vendors think sound is not important to the Home Theater experience?

[Ralph Kramden]

It must save them money somehow. I'd like to do Netflix streaming with my projector, but I read the quality sucks with a large screen(106" diagonal). Is that correct?

[oz]

It must save them money somehow. I'd like to do Netflix streaming with my projector, but I read the quality sucks with a large screen(106" diagonal). Is that correct?

Yes, can you comment on the picture quality?  Are they less than DVD-quality?

[Bebop]

What is TWC charging for Roadrunner Turbo these days?  I'm paying over $50 for their 7mb/s service.


*Bill

It's $10 more.

[ArgMeMatey]

I'm doing Netflix streaming and Blockbuster On Demand with two Samsung BD-P1590 Blu-Rays.  Works well with AT&T DSL 3008/512.  Every once in a while it pauses, but not as bad as a typical rental DVD!  

We don't have any issues with normal internet use on 1 or 2 computers simultaneously in addition to ONE streaming Netflix, but I've never tried streaming something like Hulu or even YouTube while she's streaming a movie.  

I have both players connected via wired Ethernet ports running at 100 Mbps.  

Wife told me today "I'm ready to get rid of cable"   so it's no wonder TW and AT&T would like to put a stop to this!

[Rick_EE]

I had been thinking that this was the way to go.  I stopped buying DVD's a couple years ago, and was debating blueray, or online early next year.    

Look at Netflix online availablilty.  There are a lot of movies, but few of the recent hits.  Hardly any of the top of all time.  The reason I got neflix in the first place was to watch older movies on DVD.  

I realized my comment about quality was for HD movies.  I should check if they are DD, since that is the HD standard.

[Martyus]

Yes, can you comment on the picture quality?  Are they less than DVD-quality?

Yes, Netflix streaming is, at best, SD quality (video and audio) and not at all DVD-quality. I would compare it to SD analog cable when watching on a HDTV (I watch Netflix via Win7 Media Center via HDTV). Watching movies via Netflix streaming is no substitute for a DVD, but would be comparable to watching a movie on SD analog cable.

I have RR 7MB service and have always received the highest quality Netflix streaming (even with other Internet activity like the kids playing online games like CODMW2 at the same time).

[Ralph Kramden]

Yes, Netflix streaming is, at best, SD quality (video and audio) and not at all DVD-quality. I would compare it to SD analog cable when watching on a HDTV (I watch Netflix via Win7 Media Center via HDTV). Watching movies via Netflix streaming is no substitute for a DVD, but would be comparable to watching a movie on SD analog cable.

I have RR 7MB service and have always received the highest quality Netflix streaming (even with other Internet activity like the kids playing online games like CODMW2 at the same time).

WOW, that's pretty bad.

[ArgMeMatey]

WOW, that's pretty bad.

Obviously a higher bit rate is better, but I wouldn't say it looks bad.  No, it is not DVD quality but it looks better to me than SD cable.  

On a 3 Mbps AT&T connection we do not get the best possible streaming rate, but it looks pretty good to me on a 40" LCD TV.

[basshive]

Yes, Netflix streaming is, at best, SD quality (video and audio) and not at all DVD-quality. I would compare it to SD analog cable when watching on a HDTV (I watch Netflix via Win7 Media Center via HDTV). Watching movies via Netflix streaming is no substitute for a DVD, but would be comparable to watching a movie on SD analog cable.

I have RR 7MB service and have always received the highest quality Netflix streaming (even with other Internet activity like the kids playing online games like CODMW2 at the same time).

I have to disagree here because that is a blanket statement about all Netflix content streamed without taking into account the content type/end user equipment and everything else in the mix.

1. Depending on what is being streamed, the picture quality varies. Some shows/movies look "bad" to begin with. Crap in crap out. SD is SD regardless and I am not sure anyone thinks SD on an HDTV looks good.

2. The HD streaming experience is second to none in my experiences. The video and audio quality is superb.  

3. When you marry what I consider very good quality with the experience as a whole, the outcome is good

[Dan the Man]

I think the video quality is just OK, it is not great. I only occasionally get movies to stream in HD, mostly they are in SD. It would be great if they movies were all in and always came through in HD, but I can live with it as is. These services have a bit of evolution in front of them yet.

I would be much more satisfied if they streamed the audio in DD, the sound is an important part of the viewing experience.

IMO, the streaming movies are not a replacement to getting them on a disc. Until they stream in HD with DD sound, and newer titles are available I'm still going to prefer watching them on disc. It's still great to be able to watch a decent movie whenever I feel like it.