Netflix Watch Instantly Streaming Video Review Discussion

by Jerry Jackson

As a frequent traveler and user of multiple computers, I've all but given up on trying to watch movies using DVD or Blu-Ray disks. Half of the laptops I use don't even have optical drives, and even if they did, I don't want to haul a bunch of DVDs around in my travel bag. That's where online streaming video services come to the rescue. There are several different websites that offer online streaming of TV shows and movies, and Notebook Review is going to take a close look at several popular services, beginning with Netflix.com. I took a close look at both standard definition and high definition content to see if Neflix really is poised to replace your DVD or Blu-Ray player.

Read the full content of this Article: Netflix Watch Instantly Streaming Video Review

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been with netflix for a while now.. and i really like instant watch feature..

just finished watching Lost season 1 to 4...

 

We stream The Office at Bestbuy. Very clear, and no lag. Sure looks convenient to me.

 

As usual for this kind of websites - US only, right?

 

Jerry - you mention movie downloads several times in the review. Did you mean streaming, or can you actually download stuff from Netflix now?

 

Looks like a pretty good website but I hate watching movies on the computer! Anyone agree? Movies are supposed to be watched in a cinema. You couldn't watch movies anywhere else than the cinema until the 70's I think. I built myself a home cinema with a HD projector and a 103" screen. It's absolutely amazing and it's a great experience. Therefor I will never watch a movie on the computer. But I have to say that the website looks amazing.

 

Jerry,

What is you internet speed and did youget any lag?

Did you do any streaming through a xbox?

 

It's all streaming with Netflix. This review was originally part of a larger review that also included a review of Amazon's service (which gives you the option of downloading in addition to streaming.

The editorial team decided to break up my larger review into two pieces (one that focuses on Netflix and the other on Amazon. The Amazon review will be published in the coming days.

 

I get 12.8 Mbps down via my home ISP (Road Runner) and there's no lag. I stream Netflix content to my various PCs (laptops and desktop) and I also have a Roku Player connected to the HDTV in my family room so I can stream Netflix Watch Instantly to my HDTV.

The Roku player essentially works the same way that the XBox 360 does for streaming Netflix, but I can't comment on how well the XBox works compared to the Roku player since I don't have an XBox.

I'm still keeping my figures crossed that some anonymous person at Microsoft will send me a free XBox 360 one of these days. I'm a father of two and too cheap to buy another game console.

 

Is the 480p about the same as Hulu's 480p? Because I get lag when hulu is that high.

 

I've used Hulu several times but I hate the commercials so I don't watch content on Hulu very often. J.R. is the real Hulu expert in our office, so I'll default to him on that one.

I can say that yes, I've noticed lag when watching Hulu in the past, and I don't get any lag from Netflix except for rare occasions when I'm having network issues (either with my router or ISP) but that is a problem with my network and not a issue of Netflix causing the lag.

 

I've had excellent experience with Netflix, but my understanding is that there are only HD streams to the Xbox360 at this time. I just watched the entireity of the first season of Dexter without issue (thus vindicating the decision to build a HTPC), but the picture quality peaked at about DVD-level.

 

I've used netflix for almost 2 years now and i love it.

The selection is sometimes limited, but the quality and speed is never a problem. The only time i remember ever getting a lag was after i had watched a Doctor Who marathon and about season 3 or 4 (cant remember) it lagged with me one episode about 3/4s of the way though the season. All i did was kill my browser and then went back to netflix and the problem hasn't happened since.

About the only real negative i have with netflix is Silverlight... and thats not really their fault so much as i cant get it to work in Linux (and moonlight is still next to un-usable last i checked) So you have to run in Windows to watch the movies (i havent checked with OSX because i dont run macs, so someone else will have to comment there) Problem is there "IS" a way to make it work, because their "connect to your TV box" runs linux and silver light works there

Still over all i would say its a great service, just wish they would have a larger selection. I would pay 50+ a month is all of their content was available as a view it now instead of having to get discs

 

i have the roku that streams it to the TV - FANTASTIC little box, allows for HD streaming with built in wireless, etc.

hd quality is def very good, sure not perfect but what do you expect

never lags, etc even for HD - have 6mbps connection at the moment but never did any lagging at 3mbps either when we had that

 

HD streams to the Roku and other blu ray players with built in netflix streaming.


netflix instant watch through a set top box is fantastic - through a computer, has much more problems at least in my experience.

ironic since it started on the computer only

 

Im way to cheap for netflix, esp since I can just grab shows off of my DVR for free at whatever res my tv gets it at.

 

LOL. I always thought *I* am way too cheap.

I neither own a TV nor subscribe to cable or satellite TV. Hell, I don't even have a TV tuner card for any of my computers. *That's* cheap.

So I rely exclusively on my Netflix subscription and sites like Hulu and TV.com to get my TV fix.

 

I am even cheaper that you with no TV, no tuner card, and no netflix

 

some caveats to Netflix "Watch Instantly"

-you can have six devices registered to your netflix account. PCs, TiVos, Rokus, 360s.

-you have to have an *unlimited* account to have unlimited streaming. Netflix's entry level subscription (4.99/month, 1 DVD out at a time/ 2 per month only) only has 2 hours of streaming allowed.

-The number of devices that can play *simultaneously* is based on your subscription level.
: 1 DVD out at a time= 1 device
: 2 DVDs out at a time= 2 devices
: 3 DVDs out at a time= 3 devices

I've got a 1 DVD plan, but have 2 computers, 1 TiVoHD and my girlfriend's Roku. Only one can play at a time.

And to really enjoy this service, you really need a Roku.

 

Well, there are also other ways to get movies legally, there's a pretty useful article here on this thing.I guess it might come in handy for those that can't use Netflix.