Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
"Watch Instantly" Queue

Is there a separate queue for "Watch Instantly" movies? So far I only see the list for my set up mail out list.
 
Thanks for the info on Bluray...I couldn't find it listed from the iPad app and didn't know if they offered that or not.

Thus far, I'm underwhelmed by the 'View Instantly' selections. Like others pointed out, the streaming vids look pretty good overall. I did hook it up to a 52" Plasma via the component out connector (had an older one for my Touch that works) and the video quality isn't that great actually, even over WiFi. Then again, it looks about the same as what I've gotten when using streaming via the Xbox360 app on the same TV. They also don't handle 16:9 for most vids so they get clipped on the big screen. They look very good on the iPad screen however, and thats really how I'd be using it.

Do the free trial deal before deciding. I don't watch enough TV/Movies to make it worth my time.
 
overall its been great. BUt when I outputted it to my plasma big screen the picture was very pixelated at times.

watching on the ipad screen it looks great and i had no real issues with the streaming.

i do agree that the movie and tv show selection isn't that great (via streaming).

the $8.99 plan is the way to go if you want instant movies to watch.
 
Been lucky so far, the TV shows I want to watch have had the complete series available for online streaming. Really great.

App was really buggy for a while, but has gotten better.
 
If your Blu-ray or DVR doesn't have Netflix streaming, get a Roku box to go with your big screen and you'll be even happier with Netflix! The Roku works with a wireless connection (picks up the signal better than the iPad), is easy to set up and will soon be releasing an update that will allow you to manage your Netflix streaming queue right from your TV! And, if you love baseball, you can watch the games from your MLB.tv account on your Roku. The device is small and can easily be moved from room to room or taken with you when you travel. Worth the $99 for the HD (720p/HDMI) version!

http://www.roku.com/
 
Is there a separate queue for "Watch Instantly" movies? So far I only see the list for my set up mail out list.
Yes, your "Instant" queue is separate from your "DVD" queue. If you're looking at the "Your Queue" page, there should be two tabs (one for DVDs, one for Instant).

i do agree that the movie and tv show selection isn't that great (via streaming).
Yeah, I'm hoping this will improve over time, but there's already a lot of good content available. I've been using it like crazy to re-watch LOST from the beginning.
 
Streaming movies is pretty weak IMHO. It is kinda cool using it for some older TV shows, but so far I'm not impressed enough over the $1 Redbox at my local McDonalds...
 
The app itself is pretty bad, probably the worst app I use. Don't get me wrong, the videos play just fine but browsing through my queue is a laggy nightmare. I love netflix and I absolutely think it's worth the 9 bucks a month. They really need to fix their app though.

This has also been my experience, exactly.
 
I think you are dead wrong to call this the worst app. It has crashed here and there, but I have been very, very pleased with it. I never thought I could get through a move start to finish on the app, but I have. Quality is excellent. I am not expecting blu-ray, but it is pretty damn good.

If you are an anime fan and have a subscription to crunchyroll.com, you can use their app, too. They started with an iPhone app, which worked great (for me, but saw that people were having issues). I was so excited when they released the iPad app, that was even better. But kept crashing. After a week, they updated it and works really well, with an even better user interface. Good work. I am a big Fist of the Northstar fan and you can't get past the first 24 episodes in the United States. A lot of great anime on the app/website.
 
The app itself is pretty bad, probably the worst app I use. Don't get me wrong, the videos play just fine but browsing through my queue is a laggy nightmare. I love netflix and I absolutely think it's worth the 9 bucks a month. They really need to fix their app though.

I've got a Roku and it does a great job streaming to my 52" HD LCD TV. My Netflix app experience is just as is quoted above. It frequently buffers, the quality goes straight to crap after a few minutes and then the voice and screen get out of sync. It is a good first iteration, but Netflix needs to get on the ball and improve it. I can stream shows from my ABC app and they look awesome. They are in high-def and look great on the iPad. Then I turn on Netflix and get glitches, buffering waits and a pixelated picture.
 
I've check how the page looks like on my friends account and I don't have it on mine. Its the only down side to netflix that I really see but thats account related. I've checked online and it seems it happens to others but pops up unexpectedly.

I've gone ahead and cancelled my $25.00/per month Blockbuster account. Netflix seems to get the job done and then some more.

Yes, your "Instant" queue is separate from your "DVD" queue. If you're looking at the "Your Queue" page, there should be two tabs (one for DVDs, one for Instant).
 
At one time streaming was for USA only - You may want to verify streaming to the UK pre buy.

I used to subscribe on the 360 but most of what I wanted to watch was not avail via streaming so I cancelled.

Very tempted to go for this at $8.99/month (or £6.25).

As I live in the UK, can anyone confirm for me what payment options Netflix take? Will I need to use a US based credit card? How about PayPal.

Rather than pay $8.99/month, do they do any sort of (discounted) annual membership?

Thanks.
 
I'd absolutely try it.

Despite some flaws, this is one of the killer Ipad apps. One of those apps that by itself almost justifies the cost of the IPad. Here's why:

1. With a strong WiFi connection, the movies load up quickly, stream nearly flawlessly, and look awesome.
2. Watching movies on an Ipad is a great experience. Curled up on the couch or in bed, on the counter when your making dinner (and then moving it with you as you go room to room), on the desk at the hotel when you're working. I would much rather watch video on the Ipad than a computer with all but the largest screen.
3. The choices of movies, tv shows, documentaries etc.. is outstanding. While more limited than the DVD collection, you'll likely never run out of stuff to watch.
4. Netflix just updated the app to work with the VGA attachment. Thus, you can hook the Ipad up to your TV. In theory you can do this with a laptop, but it's much more cumbersome.

There are problems that Netflix must fix. The app is too slow to load; it tends to crash (although not usually in mid-movie); and it doesn't buffer streams that movies can stop and start if you have a poor WiFi connection. For me, this last one is almost a killer. I travel a lot and use the app mostly on the road. But I find hotel WiFi is often unusable.
 
Streaming movies is pretty weak IMHO. It is kinda cool using it for some older TV shows, but so far I'm not impressed enough over the $1 Redbox at my local McDonalds...

Despite some flaws, this is one of the killer Ipad apps. One of those apps that by itself almost justifies the cost of the IPad. Here's why:

1. With a strong WiFi connection, the movies load up quickly, stream nearly flawlessly, and look awesome.
2. Watching movies on an Ipad is a great experience. Curled up on the couch or in bed, on the counter when your making dinner (and then moving it with you as you go room to room), on the desk at the hotel when you're working. I would much rather watch video on the Ipad than a computer with all but the largest screen.
3. The choices of movies, tv shows, documentaries etc.. is outstanding. While more limited than the DVD collection, you'll likely never run out of stuff to watch.
4. Netflix just updated the app to work with the VGA attachment. Thus, you can hook the Ipad up to your TV. In theory you can do this with a laptop, but it's much more cumbersome.

I don't see how you can prefer renting movies from Redbox and enjoy that more than Netflix! I mean sure you pay $1 per movie, but for just $9 a month you can stream SO much more content and get a DVD as fast as you can watch and return them. As for older shows, that's even better. I'm sure Redbox won't have every movie or TV show you want. And streaming isn't weak at all. Depending on your signal you can even stream in HD. I suggest you give it a try.
 
Netflix Rules

Netflix is by far the best app available for the iPad. I used to stream movies to my blu ray payer via a hardline from my router. Now I stream to my iPad over wifi and it is effing brilliant. You can select from a huge library of films, videos, tv shows, etc. No, you can't stream first run movies, but there are plenty of good titles that will stream and the picture is excellent. As far as the app goes, I haven't notice any bugginess. You find a movie, select it and bang it's playing. Netflix was right on with this app. They had it ready to go on day one. For $9 a month, you can't beat it. You also can rent as many dvds you want every month for the stuff you can't stream.
 
Redbox is great if you want to see those crappy slasher flicks. They don't have many good titles. just the crap that appeals to the intellectually challenged.
 
The browsing movies on the iPad is slow and buggy but the playback is nice and fast.
The movies playing is perfect and thats what I care about.
The browsing could improve .
 
At one time streaming was for USA only - You may want to verify streaming to the UK pre buy.

I used to subscribe on the 360 but most of what I wanted to watch was not avail via streaming so I cancelled.

Due to content licensing issues I don't believe you can stream it outside of the US. From what I've read in another thread here on MR, the only way to do it is to get a provider in the UK who can give you a US IP address. Apparently there are several options available. Use MRoogle to search the forum.
 
netflix is great if you pay attention to it. you have no idea how much money ive wasted on it lol. ive kept the same movies out for a year once. just forgot about it. netflix app is pretty sweet on the ipad. ive used it to watch a bunch of mac documentaries actually lol. I start them downstairs on the ipad and then finish them on my 58" plasma via my xbox. so if your going to actually use the service its well worth it. just dont be like me get some dvds or blurays and forget about them but keep paying monthly lol.
 
It is an awesome app!! I have Verizon FiOS so my internet connection is fast! I can stream movies via wifi with surprisingly good quality and no glitches. You wait a bit for the movie to start but I've had zero problems once it starts to play. I have not used the 3G streaming much (yet), so I will have to report back. This is one of the reasons to get an iPad and/or Netflix if you have only one or the other.:)
 
Not had much luck getting this to work from the UK.

Signed up to Netflix, but unable to get any payment options accepted, so looks like a no go from me.

The streaming itself won't be an issue, just getting some method of payment set up is the problem :(
 
I was impressed enough using a friends account on my iPad to subscribe. The film selection is really quite decent. What I was really impressed with was the quality over 3G. The video is very sharp, with only a little pixelation in high detail areas (trees, etc.).
 
How long did you have the trial subscription? After reading your post, I can see it makes sense to check out the available video content, for streaming, first.

I ran the whole 2 weeks of the trial. I didn't use it every day, but I kept running into stuff I wanted to see that I couldn't I finally decided it wasn't worth it.
 
I ran the whole 2 weeks of the trial. I didn't use it every day, but I kept running into stuff I wanted to see that I couldn't I finally decided it wasn't worth it.

I have to agree that alot of the stuff I want to watch is not available for streaming. I doubt I am going to pay for the service, will probably just cancel the free trail.

As far as the app, the app is buggy and slow but streaming videos works very well.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.