Netflix HD movies [mini-rant]

[EvolutionXGSR]

Hey folks. I don't really know if this is Mac-related, but I'm sure it also applies to AppleTv users.
I was sitting at home going thru the Netflix on my Xbox yesterday and I couldn't help but become totally frustrated with their HD selection.
All the movies I would want to watch in HD were only available in SD. And all the movies that I would never consider watching in any quality other than SD were in HD.

Example:

Not in HD...
Up, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Alice in Wonderland, Star Trek(2009)

In HD...

Rumble in the Bronx, Home Alone 2, Mad Max, Attack of the 50ft woman, Star Trek(1979)

Why would I want to watch Rumble in the Bronx in HD? I love Jackie Chan and I actually like the movie, but with all due respect, it looks like it was filmed with a Hi8 camcorder.
Mad max, great movie, but why in HD? Attack of the 50ft Woman from 1958 in HD, seriously? And why can't I watch the newest Star Trek in HD when the 1979 version is available?

Anyone else find this annoying?

 

[thetruth1985]

Hey folks. I don't really know if this is Mac-related, but I'm sure it also applies to AppleTv users.
I was sitting at home going thru the Netflix on my Xbox yesterday and I couldn't help but become totally frustrated with their HD selection.
All the movies I would want to watch in HD were only available in SD. And all the movies that I would never consider watching in any quality other than SD were in HD.

Example:

Not in HD...
Up, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Alice in Wonderland, Star Trek(2009)

In HD...

Rumble in the Bronx, Home Alone 2, Mad Max, Attack of the 50ft woman, Star Trek(1979)

Why would I want to watch Rumble in the Bronx in HD? I love Jackie Chan and I actually like the movie, but with all due respect, it looks like it was filmed with a Hi8 camcorder.
Mad max, great movie, but why in HD? Attack of the 50ft Woman from 1958 in HD, seriously? And why can't I watch the newest Star Trek in HD when the 1979 version is available?

Anyone else find this annoying?

I know it sux but think about it from the studios perspective. If you could watch all the latest movies in HD for 10 bucks a month, who the hell would buy blu rays? I know blu rays have high def audio and 1080p but a lot of consumers don't have setups to take advantage of this. Go out and buy "Up" on blu ray and then check back in about 6 years to see if it's on netflix in HD yet.

 

[EvolutionXGSR]

I know it sux but think about it from the studios perspective. If you could watch all the latest movies in HD for 10 bucks a month, who the hell would buy blu rays? I know blu rays have high def audio and 1080p but a lot of consumers don't have setups to take advantage of this. Go out and buy "Up" on blu ray and then check back in about 6 years to see if it's on netflix in HD yet.

Yeah, but they don't have to manufactur the blu-ray disc, package it, and ship it. They are basically sending it out as information. I, as a customer, am paying a subscription fee to view it online or receive it in the mail. The studios, in turn, get a percentage of that.
Besides, whether I stream it or have it mailed to me thru Netflix, I don't see where the difference would be as I'm not purchasing a Blu-ray disc from them. It's just being mailed to me as part of my subscription.

 

[liquidsuns]

I have the same problem with iTunes movies. So many I would have bought if the studios would have made them available in HD.

 

[smithrh]

It would be nice to see more HD, but another constraint is technical, the bandwidth required is much higher than SD.

I've never had any issues with streaming SD, but with HD there are typically 2-3 hiccups per hour.

Looks awesome though!

For a list of available HD content:

http://www.netflix.com/WiHD

You may need to be logged in to see this list, not sure.

 

[Chase R]

Another example of the broken, out-dated film industry.

 

[JeffLebowski41]

yup, rant to the content providers, not Netflix. They are backwards thinking and trying to hold onto old revenue streams. The providers that wake up to this the soonest will be the ones that thrive in the future.

thanks for the tip off about mad max in HD though! that's going in the queue.

 

[mikepro]

I've watched Alice in Wonderland and Star Trek 2009 both in HD through the PS3 Netflix interface. Weird that they would not be available through ATV2....

Hey folks. I don't really know if this is Mac-related, but I'm sure it also applies to AppleTv users.
I was sitting at home going thru the Netflix on my Xbox yesterday and I couldn't help but become totally frustrated with their HD selection.
All the movies I would want to watch in HD were only available in SD. And all the movies that I would never consider watching in any quality other than SD were in HD.

Example:

Not in HD...
Up, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Alice in Wonderland, Star Trek(2009)

In HD...

Rumble in the Bronx, Home Alone 2, Mad Max, Attack of the 50ft woman, Star Trek(1979)

Why would I want to watch Rumble in the Bronx in HD? I love Jackie Chan and I actually like the movie, but with all due respect, it looks like it was filmed with a Hi8 camcorder.
Mad max, great movie, but why in HD? Attack of the 50ft Woman from 1958 in HD, seriously? And why can't I watch the newest Star Trek in HD when the 1979 version is available?

Anyone else find this annoying?

 

[bobr1952]

This is the one thing I have to wonder about as far as Netflix is concerned. They are really trying to push their streaming service, and trying to slowly get out of the mail business but right now, it seems they have put themselves at a bit of a disadvantage if they continue on that path without better agreements with the studios. We already have the 28 day wait for new releases, and none of them are able to be streamed and Netflix has no current TV shows to be streamed. Blockbuster offers current movies without a wait and Amazon offers current movies and TV shows--but at a steep price as compared to Netflix. I'm sure a lot is going on behind the scenes with the studios but they are going to need to make some pretty heavy deals if they want to remain competitive in the streaming market.

 

[EvolutionXGSR]

I just think they need to start focusing on getting us alot more 2000+ movies in HD versus older movies that we probably wouldn't mind seeing in SD.