First Netflix Streaming Box Review, $100 and Unlimited Downloads!

[mackthaknife]

Netflix Box

If you stream a lot of current release movies... will it pull a standard Netflix-throttle and only allow you to watch Mr. Bean movies or that guy Ernest?

 

[kskill]

Apple TV is pretty cool as it's a media device that syncs with your computer, but unless they add a subscription model to their rental service [let alone hundreds more releases] I would more likely purchase this new Netflix box.
I'm actually pretty excited about this Netflix box.. I just wish it didn't cost $100 as it serves no purpose without the service.

How long until a DVR/Rental Streamer is released?

 

[milo]

If you stream a lot of current release movies... will it pull a standard Netflix-throttle and only allow you to watch Mr. Bean movies or that guy Ernest?

Their streaming options include hardly any new releases, and those are mostly artier films and documentaries. I haven't seen a single new release of a mainstream hit.

 

[kskill]

If you stream a lot of current release movies... will it pull a standard Netflix-throttle and only allow you to watch Mr. Bean movies or that guy Ernest?

Mr. Bean is the most important rental of all time.

 

[theBB]

I'd be curious to know just how close to DVD quality the video is with a typical US cable internet connection.

I have used Netflix on a PC through a cable modem. The quality was nowhere close to DVD. It was comparable to Hulu, but it occasionally got much worse in the middle of streaming with an error message stating that the bandwidth was too low, so it was picking a lower quality image to keep the streaming going. The selection was extremely limited as well, but I have not checked in the last few months.

 

[milo]

I mentioned this before, but nobody seems to be noticing it, so I'll repeat it...

How many MOVIE titles does Netflix actually have available for streaming?

They list ten thousand, but that includes TV shows, which iTunes probably has at least that many of. The comparison of numbers is a bogus one, and people are (probably wrongly?) assuming that NF offers more movies to download.

The advantage of NF seems to only be price, you can watch things cheaper but if anything their selection looks like it's probably worse.

 

[synapse9579]

They list ten thousand, but that includes TV shows, which iTunes probably has at least that many of. The comparison of numbers is a bogus one, and people are (probably wrongly?) assuming that NF offers more movies to download.

Kinda reminds me of how Dish/Cable companies say they have 50+ HD programmings when they are counting channels such as HBO EAST and WEST as two different channels.

 

[kresh]

Just one word on this subject.

Buffering...



edit: Since the DRM does not allow for this "Buffering...", ever time I watch Netflix streaming (yes I tried it) it stutters and skips. I have over 7Mbps down and the stream still stutters and skips a few seconds of the stream quite often.

 

[Shasterball]

Also, any kind of competition is good competition.

 

[katorga]

Never gonna happen

On one hand, Netflix, AppleTV, and soon XBOX will be pushing downloaded video content.

On the other hand, every cable company and broadband ISP is starting to move to hard download caps and per GB surcharges.

IMO, the ISP's will never allow mass market IPTV to take off. It competes directly with their core business and uses their infrastructure to boot. ISPs will cap downloads and move to rate plans that make it so expensive to download movies or stream IPTV that they kill the market, for at least the next 5 years.

 

[Towhead]

HD downloads work, then this could be what saves us all (industry included) from the horrors of Blu-ray, the most incompetent HD format ever devised.

The most incompetent? Well, why don't you go and make your own and we'll call it competent. I think Blu-Ray is fantastic and a very nice media format, much more so than HD. Maybe you're thinking of the DRM, movies, encoding, etc., then that's another debate but there's nothing you'll tell me that'll lead me to believe that HD-DVD is "better" than Blu-Ray save for player inconsistencies (ie, profiles) which I will agree suck.

But, c'mon, give it up already. Blu-Ray is here to stay.

 

[Towhead]

In the large cities where NetFlix, Apple, and XBOX compete on FIOS and high speed internet connections, the numbers of "proven reserves" ie, people hooked into their equipment, is used to bolster claims of relevance. The rest of us, those with DSL, slow cable, rural homeowners, the hilltop rich, will see no benefit to streaming media. It's dumb to think that streaming media will replace hi-def DVDs or even regular DVDs any time soon except for the inner-city noisemakers. Reminds me of the on-line grocers that failed leaving their white vans to be repossessed...

 

[mac 2005]

Newsweek Review

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137925

The device looks interesting, and seems to get an OK plug here. One question: Is the reporter saying "Intanet"?

 

[dan3L]

Stereo only -- no 5.1
No HD Content at all. 0.
No purchases at all. 0.
No new "blockbuster" movies, except through the normal DVD rental.
Picture quality: "not great, even at 2.2 Mbps"

Still, it beats driving to the nearest brick & mortar store.

My Apple TV is a vehicle for streaming my movie library to my TV. This thing at any price is not for me. I am using aprox 2.2 mbps for my encoding. Looks Great! Walley World quality at a Walley World price.

 

[stainlessliquid]

It doesnt download? And they recommend a 1.5mbit connection?

I would hate to work for their customer service. This is going to be a complete nightmare for people with DSL. I have 1.5mbit and I know that it is simply impossible no matter how good a day youre having to stream high quality video, especially not DVD quality. It just barely scrapes by streaming youtube, it doesnt even come close to streaming movie trailers.

This is going to be a disaster. Internet connections in america are not remotely close to being ready to STREAM movies. Download sure, but not stream.

 

[Keebler]

i think this is a great movie. smart business decision by netflix.

as a Canadian who is constantly bent over the table my monopolizing corporations (bell, Rogers etc...), i applaud this move. As much as i love apple and hope to one day own the ATV, i think market competition is healthy and will hopefully provide all users with a variety of choices instead of having to get something they might not need (all of the features that is).

 

[Tom P]

+++



++ And you actually think COMCAST (sucks) is going to let you use all that bandwidth without shutting you down.

COMCAST (sucks) will not allow any of their customers to use this bandwidth sucking service for long.

Cable companies in the US suck. We are so behind with speed and bandwidth allotments. This very new technology called downloading/streaming movies is just too new and advanced for our backward GREEDY cable companies to allow it to advance. It will take another 10 years till they will let you download or stream that kind of content on a regular basis.


+++

 

[DaBrain]

Simple, and great idea.

Not sure why it would be "dead in the water" at this point though... give it a chance.

Yep just the beginning! They had so many orders today their phone system went bonkers for hours!

I ordered one for $99.00. Can't beat it and I was surprised on how much TV programming they have added.

I got it for my elderly parent thats restricted a lot in what she can do. We live in the middle of the woods and a dual LNB DTV or Dish network won't work here and we don't have cable. OTA TV stinks. Our reception is terrible. So now Mom can watch a variety of programming on my existing net flix account! And for no extra charge, no time limit.

Is it the latest and greatest programming? Very little I'd say BUT for at least it has a decent selection for now that will only get better. Should get ours Friday. Do I think it will be as good as Apple TV? Nope but it sure will let Mom enjoy her time better and she can watch many things from the past and a fair amount of not too old movies.

 

[DaBrain]

I'd be curious to know just how close to DVD quality the video is with a typical US cable internet connection. While the way the catalog is described makes it sound somewhat less appealing at the moment, it sounds to me like a fairly impressive setup. Were I using Netflix, I'd seriously consider getting one.

The comments seem to indicate that it *does* do widescreen 480p in the same way a DVD player does. Someone above said it does not do any widescreen. If it only releases pan&scan 4:3 versions of movies, I personally would be more annoyed by that than by DVD quality (which, if it gets fairly close to DVD quality, I'm actually quite fine with).

Yes I have verified it does do widescreen 16:9. It's stated in their forum that it can be selected in the user setup screen.

 

[DaBrain]

I can't imagine Netflix is doing this without dealing with the movie industry first.

I certainly don't have a problem with the way this unit looks. In fact it will look better with my stereo components than an apple tv. Clayj's issues with Roku are a little more troubling, but given how cheap this thing is, even that's not such a big deal. At some point, you just buy a new one.

I agree! I don't give a squat what the unit looks like, what I do care about is a half way decent picture for my Mom to see. If it's as good as what my pc displays we will be satisfied for the price. I will know this Friday!

 

[uNext]

Amazing how the lackluster apple tv gets defended.
Seriously i bought one and returned it because there was nothing to it.
My vista media center with the joost plug-in, mediaroom vmcnetflix, iptv, niveus library, online content and so much more. Is years ahead o what the apple tv wishes to be. i mean i understand the apple tV..an ipod for your tv or living room but either A.people watch tv shows more then once or B. they dont care for how much bang they can get for their buck.

I been playing watch now content on my vista media center and yeah the quality sucks @ 16mbps but it beats the hell out of paying 2.99 per episode.
Not to mention i record in HIGH DEF.


To each its own.

 

[trip1ex]

Apple should buy Blockbuster.

 

[hazmatzak]

Last time I checked, my appletv is theoretically streaming HD rentals...720p, DD audio. Granted you have to wait one minute for it to "buffer" and get a head start, but that is expected.

That's "progressive download". That is, it's really trying to download and save the whole thing, but you can start to watch before it has finished. That's how Apple does movie trailers too.

With streaming, you can jump to any point. You absolutely need a minimum bandwidth, because it's done in real-time. That's how Apple is showing the iPhone SDK presentation, for example. You only need a tiny buffer, because it's just trying to even out any network latency. It's not trying to save anything permanently.

Another difference is that with progressive download, it is ensuring that the file is bit-identical. But with streaming, if you lose some frames, it ignores them and keeps chugging along. And once you have the whole file, you can rewatch without using the network (within 24 hours on the AppleTV, until the perfect copy is deleted); but with streaming, you would have to restream.

 

[timothyjay2004]

To me, it looks like a mac mini that has survived a fire...

 

[je_wallace]

I like the idea. I like the 9.99 plan. The box is ugly though.

Agreed. The pricing and download the thing for me.

[As gas prices rise, I wonder if we'll see more people downloading?....Wish I could download a t-bone steak with garlic mash and peas right now.]