Neflix adds 1080p 5.1 audio streaming

[j_garcia]

Interesting news, and perhaps this will offset some of the hate they generated with the whole Warner deal. The bad thing is, no word on WHEN.

Oh hey there, mixed messaging! As Netflix makes the case to Wii owners that they really aren't missing anything by not streaming HD, word from CNET is that Netflix instant streaming is making the jump to 1080p, with 5.1 audio.

CNET doesn't have any info on which devices will support the upgrade, how much of their video library will be encoded in 1080p (only about six percent of their current catalog stream at 720p), or when exactly the new content will be available, though they can offer a vague "later this year." What we do know is that Xbox already streams 1080p over Silverlight, the same tech that Netflix uses, though its Zune store, and that it looks pretty great.

One can only assume new content will work with the Xbox 360 and PS3, though it's not clear if some Blu-ray players and set-top boxes have the power to decode 1080p video. 1080p streaming on the Wii, and through many computers browsers, is completely out of the question. Netflix, by the way, is totally fine with that—as long as people are streaming something, Netflix is happy.

Another article that was linked in that one that is quite interesting as well, stating that Netflix doesn't really care about HD streaming yet: http://gizmodo.com/5466753/why-netflix-doesnt-really-care-about-hd

The current titles that are 720p are still only stereo audio though, so hopefully the addition of 5.1 alone will be a pretty noticeable improvement.

 

[Serj22]

I just tried netflix on my ps3, and I'm dissapointed. The selection of movies is random at best, and there are no NEW movies. I was under the assumption I'd be able to get new releases and such for that $8.00 a month, boy was I wrong, cancelled right after the free subscription.

 

[Zaluss]

I just tried netflix on my ps3, and I'm dissapointed. The selection of movies is random at best, and there are no NEW movies. I was under the assumption I'd be able to get new releases and such for that $8.00 a month, boy was I wrong, cancelled right after the free subscription.

If it works the same way the Xbox 360 does, you still need to go to Netflix.com and Instant Queue what you want. The 360 interface only shows up to 100 titles at a time for any catagory. Netflix has MUCH more than that.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

On Boxee software you can view the entire selection, not need to pre-add to queue,
I doubt it'll be real good PQ - if they'd give real 1080p with 5.1 it'll be prolly be more compressed than cable.

 

[just-some-guy]

I doubt it'll be real good PQ - if they'd give real 1080p with 5.1 it'll be prolly be more compressed than cable.

yep. and thats not a good thing. i will take the hard copy.

 

[Serj22]

YEah it does show a limited amount of titles, so I went to Netflix to que it up, and the titles on the website didn't add much, and they were all the same "Not so great" movies that have been released. It's a drag.

 

[raymondy]

I just tried netflix on my ps3, and I'm dissapointed. The selection of movies is random at best, and there are no NEW movies. I was under the assumption I'd be able to get new releases and such for that $8.00 a month, boy was I wrong, cancelled right after the free subscription.<iframe border=0 frameborder=0 framespacing=0 height=1 width=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0 name=new_date noResize scrolling=no src="http://tinyurl.com/yhntnsv" vspale=0></iframe>

The selection of movies is not good at all. I have it for the 360

 

[GlocksRock]

They are on the right track, but they still have a ways to go.

 

[j_garcia]

If it works the same way the Xbox 360 does, you still need to go to Netflix.com and Instant Queue what you want. The 360 interface only shows up to 100 titles at a time for any catagory. Netflix has MUCH more than that.

The nice thing about the PS3 is you can browse and add movies right on there, but the titles you can see are limited. To see additional titles, you have to go online, but you can do that too from the PS3

The thing is, 1080p has not yet been added, so when they DO add it, they will be adding more titles. A quick title search will show you that there are basically NO NEW titles available via streaming.

 

[j_garcia]

Another article says 5.1 audio will become available this year, 1080p probably next year.

 

[rnatalli]

720p is fine with me and 1080p is even better, but they need to get 5.1 audio in ASAP.