This seems like it is a great product if you like older movies, but for me I'll stick to redbox. $1 movie rental per night is good for me, and right now I get a free rental every monday and wednesday night. They are everywhere here; gas stations, grocery stores, and mcdonalds, so I'm driving by them everyday. There is no problem in stopping by to rent one.
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First Netflix Streaming Box Review, $100 and Unlimited Downloads!
- Thread starter guru_ck
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Got my box up and running. Now I can watch Police Academy 7 whenever I want. Glad I have an Apple TV. Also glad Netflix made a big step in the right direction. They just REALLY need to have a better list of good movies and TV shows. Early adopters shouldn't whine, I know.
Mine just came in! Piece of cake to set up. I'd say slightly less then DVD quality but more than acceptable for it's intended purpose and that is some content for my elderly parent to watch and to that end it will serve it's purpose well. She's watching a movie from 2007 now and loving it! Hooked up via HDMI at 480p and the sound is great also.
Looking forward to the hdtv update later this year. Now to get a better speed connection. Currently Im cruising the net while she's watching the movie on a 3 Mbs connection. (actual speed from ISP is 2.82/.85 Mbs.
Looking forward to the hdtv update later this year. Now to get a better speed connection. Currently Im cruising the net while she's watching the movie on a 3 Mbs connection. (actual speed from ISP is 2.82/.85 Mbs.
Mine just came in! Piece of cake to set up. I'd say slightly less then DVD quality but more than acceptable for it's intended purpose and that is some content for my elderly parent to watch and to that end it will serve it's purpose well. She's watching a movie from 2007 now and loving it! Hooked up via HDMI at 480p and the sound is great also.
Looking forward to the hdtv update later this year. Now to get a better speed connection. Currently Im cruising the net while she's watching the movie on a 3 Mbs connection. (actual speed from ISP is 2.82/.85 Mbs.
Hey DaBrain,
Can you (or anyone else) comment on on the Netflix Box video quality compared to Apple TV's Standard Def quality. We all know that Apple TV's HD will be superior, but I'm wondering about the SD quality. I have been less than impressed by the quality of Apple's Standard Definition compression.
Secondcup
The SD quality is very dependent on the original that they used, or however they got it. MANY MANY of the programs / movies are in 16:9 format, and the video quality is outstanding.... for a 1.5~3mbps link. (My cable is 15/10, but the box is pulling data at 1.5~3)
That said, many of the older movies are very poor quality, like VHS quality. But I'm sure that the source must had been pretty poor to start with.
The box itself is able to decode and output 720p, according to Roku. And it is an specialized ASIC inside, so its possible that it may take an H.264 stream of 5~10mpbs. So it should have very nice HD output someday. Only time will tell.
Sorry but I currently don't have an Apple TV (yet) to compare with. I would rate the quality as slightly less then DVD at 480p with a connection of 3 out of 4 stars. My current DSL is only 3Mbs. Soon to be 7Mbs and that will give my 4 star connection on the Roku box. Just for information purposes when netflix goes HD, Roku states that it will be 780p and 1080i. With my current 3 star connection IM happy and the on screen text in movies is fine. 2 stars and the text is not as defined and a lot more contrast of the movie. So for me 3 stars is fine and will only get better in my future. Hope this helps somewhat.
Finally, Im very curious to see what new features roku plans on adding in their next firmware up grade? Im hoping u-tube and other sites get added which would be really nice.
It always amazes me to see positive reviews that also contain the statement, "slightly less than DVD". Ugh. Sorry to be a snob, but i struggle to place that big of a value on convenience so as to drop BELOW DVD quality these days. I can accept 720p as an interim compromise for streaming products that don't want the issues that come with full 1080p, but 480p....yeeeesh.
Of course, as you say, for elderly folks or maybe kids or others with little TV's or who really just don't care... perfecto.
That is why the current world where there is less of a full fledged commitment to formats is a good thing. multiple ways to skin a cat. I find the combination of
TV HD rentals and Blu-Ray a great combination. The TV HD rentals are super convenient, yet still strong in quality, but if I really want the most immersive experience I will be sure to watch Blu-Ray.
Of course, as you say, for elderly folks or maybe kids or others with little TV's or who really just don't care... perfecto.
That is why the current world where there is less of a full fledged commitment to formats is a good thing. multiple ways to skin a cat. I find the combination of
TV HD rentals and Blu-Ray a great combination. The TV HD rentals are super convenient, yet still strong in quality, but if I really want the most immersive experience I will be sure to watch Blu-Ray.
^^^ not all Blu-ray discs are mastered well.
I have some DVD's that actually look as good on my Pioneer Elite player compared to the Blu-ray on my PS3...
I have some DVD's that actually look as good on my Pioneer Elite player compared to the Blu-ray on my PS3...
On the quality issue, I understand those who only want the best. Much like those who prefer CDs to iTunes AACs, they can tell a difference.
There are millions though who don't even have HD sets, so anything close to 480p is going to look great on their sets compared to what they're used to. Others like me, who do have HD sets, have difficulty seeing any big difference between Blu-ray and standard DVDs.
I have a 37" HD set and got a Blu-ray player a year ago. Most of the time I don't even bother cueing the Blu-ray versions of movies from Netflix when they're available because there's very little difference (to me). Now if I had a giant screen, say 47" or better, perhaps I would see the difference and care.
My Roku player came in today. Can't wait to get it home and try it out. I expect I'll be very satisfied with the quality of the picture since I have a high speed connection.
There are millions though who don't even have HD sets, so anything close to 480p is going to look great on their sets compared to what they're used to. Others like me, who do have HD sets, have difficulty seeing any big difference between Blu-ray and standard DVDs.
I have a 37" HD set and got a Blu-ray player a year ago. Most of the time I don't even bother cueing the Blu-ray versions of movies from Netflix when they're available because there's very little difference (to me). Now if I had a giant screen, say 47" or better, perhaps I would see the difference and care.
My Roku player came in today. Can't wait to get it home and try it out. I expect I'll be very satisfied with the quality of the picture since I have a high speed connection.
I will admit to never having watched a blu-ray on a 37" tv, but I do find it hard to believe that the difference is not more clear. You ARE using component or HDMI cables, right? I could see someone struggling to see the difference between 720P and 1080P, but 480p versus either 720p or 1080p? I find that hard to imagine.
Granted, I usually watch on a 135" screen so the difference is more pronounced, but I do also have a some 60" and 50" tv's and still feel the same way on those.
I am not a video snob... but I do appreciate a good picture. I do get frustrated when I go to my folk's house and they are watching an HD channel and it looks like poop. I went behind the TV and discovered that the cable company had connected with both HDMI and composite. They were on the composite input for months without knowing!!!!! amazing.
As always though, the bottom line with this stuff is are you enjoying it. If the answer is yes, then there are no worries.
Granted, I usually watch on a 135" screen so the difference is more pronounced, but I do also have a some 60" and 50" tv's and still feel the same way on those.
I am not a video snob... but I do appreciate a good picture. I do get frustrated when I go to my folk's house and they are watching an HD channel and it looks like poop. I went behind the TV and discovered that the cable company had connected with both HDMI and composite. They were on the composite input for months without knowing!!!!! amazing.
As always though, the bottom line with this stuff is are you enjoying it. If the answer is yes, then there are no worries.
And I appreciate a good picture too. I was very annoyed with our (only) local cable company because it took them a long time to start carrying the major networks in HD. Since I was on board early with an HD set, having only premium pay channels in HD angered me.
Yes, I use a HDMI connection and yes, I can see the difference between Blu-Ray and standard DVD but the difference is not NEARLY what the difference is between NTSC and DVD. I hope Netflix on demand is at least as good as DVD or it will be disappointing.
Got my Netflix box hooked up, sampled some programming and here are my first impressions:
I like the hardware, its ease of setup and ease of use. Navigating my queue is easy and enjoyable. It's laughable that the supplied cable is composite only. They might as well leave out the cable altogether because many people will use the supplied cable and be disappointed with the results. I'm using HDMI. Component would be superior to composite. However, I guess some people would complain if there was no cable.
On my fast (wireless) internet connection, picture quality shows great potential. But apparently, as with most everything, picture quality depends on how the content is prepared for viewing. Of the stuff I sampled so far, episodes of Heroes and Weeds Season-2 look very good. Feature films and Weeds Season-1 don't look so good. What's good appears to be DVD quality; better than the TV shows I've purchased from iTunes. What's not so good is below that and disappointing.
I hope Netflix will concentrate on providing higher quality encoding for all of their content. This might be dictated by the studios for all I know. Perhaps the feature films I sampled so far were poorly prepared on purpose, so as not to compete with the DVD market. Time will tell. There's no point upgrading the service for HD until their content preparation is upgraded too.
All in all, I'd rate the service as "acceptable...but needs improvement."
I like the hardware, its ease of setup and ease of use. Navigating my queue is easy and enjoyable. It's laughable that the supplied cable is composite only. They might as well leave out the cable altogether because many people will use the supplied cable and be disappointed with the results. I'm using HDMI. Component would be superior to composite. However, I guess some people would complain if there was no cable.
On my fast (wireless) internet connection, picture quality shows great potential. But apparently, as with most everything, picture quality depends on how the content is prepared for viewing. Of the stuff I sampled so far, episodes of Heroes and Weeds Season-2 look very good. Feature films and Weeds Season-1 don't look so good. What's good appears to be DVD quality; better than the TV shows I've purchased from iTunes. What's not so good is below that and disappointing.
I hope Netflix will concentrate on providing higher quality encoding for all of their content. This might be dictated by the studios for all I know. Perhaps the feature films I sampled so far were poorly prepared on purpose, so as not to compete with the DVD market. Time will tell. There's no point upgrading the service for HD until their content preparation is upgraded too.
All in all, I'd rate the service as "acceptable...but needs improvement."
Great bang for the buck!
Been using it since Tuesday, and I'm really loving the ugly little box... As others have mentioned, the quality on recent stuff (30 Rock, The Office (nbc)) is pretty good on a 60" Sony SXRD, older TV shows can be a little sketchy on picture quality but I don't blame Netflix for that. Just finished watching "Casablanca" and it looked very good for being 65 years old. Best thing is I've gotten more use out of this in 3 days then I have out of my Netflix account in 3 months! Can only get better from here, and if my $99 does nothing other than encourage further development of the streaming content and new firmware/hardware, then it's money well spent. Perfect world, Apple strikes a deal and integrates the service into aTV take3, then I get the elegance of the aTV interface with the great subscription model and content of Netflix. At the very least, hopefully it will force Apple's hand to offer a reasonable subscription model for video content through aTV. Thrilled with this $99 purchase!
Been using it since Tuesday, and I'm really loving the ugly little box... As others have mentioned, the quality on recent stuff (30 Rock, The Office (nbc)) is pretty good on a 60" Sony SXRD, older TV shows can be a little sketchy on picture quality but I don't blame Netflix for that. Just finished watching "Casablanca" and it looked very good for being 65 years old. Best thing is I've gotten more use out of this in 3 days then I have out of my Netflix account in 3 months! Can only get better from here, and if my $99 does nothing other than encourage further development of the streaming content and new firmware/hardware, then it's money well spent. Perfect world, Apple strikes a deal and integrates the service into aTV take3, then I get the elegance of the aTV interface with the great subscription model and content of Netflix. At the very least, hopefully it will force Apple's hand to offer a reasonable subscription model for video content through aTV. Thrilled with this $99 purchase!
^^^ Still waiting for mine...
I don't think there's much of a chance that the AppleTV will have a Netflix feature added to it?
I don't think there's much of a chance that the AppleTV will have a Netflix feature added to it?
^^^ Still waiting for mine...
I don't think there's much of a chance that the AppleTV will have a Netflix feature added to it?
Well, here's hoping some technical, smart, savvy programmer type out there can create a Netflix-specific hack for the
TV! Call it Netflixxy or AppleFlix. 
^^^^
I'm getting mine (finally) today! I had to wait the week to ship and about a week transit.
I guess I got the tail-end of the first batch.
I'm getting mine (finally) today! I had to wait the week to ship and about a week transit.
I guess I got the tail-end of the first batch.
^^^^
I'm getting mine (finally) today! I had to wait the week to ship and about a week transit.
I guess I got the tail-end of the first batch.
Look forward to your impressions. We are very happy with ours.