Netflix movie streaming coming to PlayStation 3

hatt · 11-06-2009, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Your free instant streaming disc for PS3 should arrive by Friday, Nov 06, 2009.

I guess I'll be able to check this thing out today and compare it to PlayOn.

HD Goofnut · 11-06-2009, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hatt

I guess I'll be able to check this thing out today and compare it to PlayOn.

I received the same message from Netflix yesterday as well. I am excited that it has finally come to PS3 and I just hope there aren't any hiccups with it.

**PFC5** · 11-06-2009, 04:03 PM

I just got my Netflix streaming disc in the mail today. Have not had a chance to check it out yet though. I just checked and I never got an email saying it was coming though.

hatt · 11-06-2009, 11:33 PM

So far this thing is FUBAR. At least I can't get it working to my satisfaction. Bars all the way around the picture. My TV won't zoom it without losing some of the picture. PlayOn doesn't have this issue.

It also had some lip sync issues.

HD Goofnut · 11-07-2009, 10:13 AM

I got my disc yesterday and after activating it I decided to play Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler. I was not impressed by the quality because it was actually worse than a SD DVD. There were artifacts and macroblocking everywhere. To make matters worse the audio was a rather weak stereo mix. Another beef I have is that I have to insert the streaming disc into the PS3 every time I want to watch a streaming movie. Of course what did I expect for free?

mschupp · 11-07-2009, 11:22 AM

Got the disc yesterday and I think it works great. Watched a real lemon of a sci-fi (30,000 Leagues Under the Sea) that I would have been disgusted to have wasted a disc selection on and a Dr Who episode.

You just need to remember that ITS NOT BLURAY!

Quality for me looks to be about like OTA NTSC reception (I'm not in a particularly good area for antennas).

Can someone point me to a title thats in HD? I'd like to see if that's any better.

sweetjebus · 11-07-2009, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I got my disc yesterday and after activating it I decided to play Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler. I was not impressed by the quality because it was actually worse than a SD DVD. There were artifacts and macroblocking everywhere. To make matters worse the audio was a rather weak stereo mix. Another beef I have is that I have to insert the streaming disc into the PS3 every time I want to watch a streaming movie. Of course what did I expect for free?

I was impressed by some of the content I watched.

For instance, Let the Right one in is available in HD. My bass kicked in several times as far as audio goes, and I only sampled a few scenes.

The disc is a temporary solution - a XMB interface solution will be coming next year.

I am ecstatic over having this option now.

sweetjebus · 11-07-2009, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mschupp

Got the disc yesterday and I think it works great. Watched a real lemon of a sci-fi (30,000 Leagues Under the Sea) that I would have been disgusted to have wasted a disc selection on and a Dr Who episode.

You just need to remember that ITS NOT BLURAY!

Quality for me looks to be about like OTA NTSC reception (I'm not in a particularly good area for antennas).

Can someone point me to a title thats in HD? I'd like to see if that's any better.

If you log into your Netflix account and go to the Watch Instantly tab you can view the genre "HD"..

Plus on the PS3 itself, there is a "HD" icon underneath the films available in HD.

I sampled some and was getting up to 4Mbps, whereas most of the SD content seemed to be around 1Mbps.

**PFC5** · 11-07-2009, 07:41 PM

I just watched Armageddon on it and it looked as good as I expected. Heck the non-anamorphic DVD looks horrible anyway. I think how fast your connection is plays a part in the PQ. I have 8mbps.

I like the way you can see what the movie is about etc. on the interface too. I wish they had the sound in 5.1 though.

HD Goofnut · 11-08-2009, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFC5

I just watched Armageddon on it and it looked as good as I expected. Heck the non-anamorphic DVD looks horrible anyway. I think how fast your connection is plays a part in the PQ. I have 8mbps.

I like the way you can see what the movie is about etc. on the interface too. I wish they had the sound in 5.1 though.

Yeah, from what I could tell all audio for the streaming is in VHS quality 2 channel stereo. If they made it 5.1 DD that would be a marked improvement and selling point.

awol · 11-08-2009, 08:18 AM

I haven't gotten my disc yet, but it sounds like it's pretty much the same quality as the Xbox version. So, I'm not going to be in a huge hurry to get it.

And yeah, we have to remember that it's not Blu-Ray. Heck, it's not really even DVD. 5.1 surround isn't available on any stream that I've found either.

But let's remember to use it for what it is... a chance to watch material that is quickly accessible and where quality isn't the most important aspect.

gossamer · 11-08-2009, 09:16 PM

I agree that your connection speed is a factor on the quality. I get over 6Mbps and my stream looked pretty good. Borderline DVD-ish.

HiDefRev · 11-09-2009, 02:14 AM

Thanks for all of the good info, folks. I have not yet received my disc, but now I'm not as anxious about it. I was hoping for at least DVD quality and maybe 5.1 DD/DTS sound. Oh well. Skunked again.

I may try a movie or two using PLIIx and see what happens.

HD Goofnut · 11-09-2009, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiDefRev

Thanks for all of the good info, folks. I have not yet received my disc, but now I'm not as anxious about it. I was hoping for at least DVD quality and maybe 5.1 DD/DTS sound. Oh well. Skunked again.

I may try a movie or two using PLIIx and see what happens.

If you want upconverted DVD quality and 5.1 DD you have to go with the HDX titles from VUDU. Of course this is after you pay $149 for a VUDU box and then pay $4.99-6.99 to rent each title. It costs me about $1.40 to rent a BD from Netflix so it's rather obvious just how much of a ripoff VUDU is.

Superman · 11-11-2009, 08:53 AM

I had some people asking about the quality of this on my forum. Since I was in the unique position of having 2 PS3s and 2 Xbox 360s between 3 HDTVs in various connection configurations, I decided to do some testing between the 2 consoles. So here are my findings:

The equipment:

• PS3 Slim connected via WiFi. Connected to TV via HDMI
• Xbox 360 connected via ethernet to power outlet kit. Connected to TV via component cables
• 42" Olevia 1080p LCD
• iPhone as my stopwatch

Initial start time of the Netflix app:
Xbox 360: 24.8 seconds
PS3: 34.0 seconds

I started with an SD movie first. I chose "Apocalypto". The movie was in 4:3 aspect ratio.

Movie start up time:
Xbox 360: 39.3 seconds
PS3: 38.3 seconds

Picture quality:
Xbox 360: Meh. Very soft with little detail
PS3: DEAR GOD MY EYES!!!11!

On the 360, the SD streaming is what you probably would expect. The movie is so compressed that any fine detail or contrast is lost. I was reminded of a VHS tape that was a copy of a copy. Think a high quality YouTube stream at best.

Now the PS3? Hoo boy, what the hell happened here? First of all, while the 360 retained the original aspect ratio and pillar boxed the video, my TV showed that the PS3 switched my output mode from 1080p to 480p which caused the image to stretch to 16:9. That may be part of the reason why there was so. Much. Macroblocking. I'm not exaggerating. I saw pixels that were probably 3 inches big! Think about the worst YouTube clip you've ever seen and then imagine someone compressing it again.

I'm guessing the 360 might be doing some up-scaling, which could explain why it retained the 4:3 aspect ratio and the obvious differences in PQ. That's the only thing I can figure because it's the same source. SD streamed is crappy anyway, but the 360 was much better at presenting it.

Now for the HD. I chose "American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile" which was 16:9.

Movie start up time:
Xbox 360: 40.2 seconds
PS3: 35.2 seconds

Picture quality:
Xbox 360: About the same as an SD DVD
PS3: About the same as an SD DVD

I couldn't tell any discernible difference between the the two. If there was any difference, it's so negligible it isn't worth worrying about. But as with any other HD streaming I've seen, the PQ isn't truly HD. Yeah, it may be in 720p, but the movie is so compressed to make streaming feasible that it hardly merits the moniker "HD". Again, the picture is soft and fine detail is lost. There is certainly more detail in the HD version, but nothing like Blu-ray. That said, both were leaps above the SD quality you're going to get from this service.

I'll also mention that in all the tests, the colors were fairly flat. No real pop, no great contrast or black levels. Now that could have something to do with the compression, it could have something to do with those particular movies I chose, or it could be my wife's TV. I may be able to determine that when I test my other two TVs. The other TVs have the same hookups too so the differences in load times might change too. More to come...

OK, I have the results from my other PS3 and 360. I actually did them twice because some of the numbers were pretty surprising.

• Xbox 360 connected via WiFi. Connected to TV via HDMI
• 50" 720p LG plasma
• iPhone as my stopwatch

• PS3 (original) connected via WiFi. Connected to TV via HDMI
• 56" 720p Samsung DLP
• iPhone as my stopwatch

Again I tested "Apocalypto". And there are some interesting differences. While the PS3 load time went down some, the 360 load time increased significantly.

Movie start up time:
Xbox 360: 53.7 seconds
PS3: 29.4 seconds

Picture quality:
Xbox 360: As before, soft with little detail
PS3: Better than the last test, but still soft with little detail

Unlike the last test, the SD presentation retained the 4:3 aspect ratio. So I guess there is a setting I would need to change on her TV to prevent distortion, although that doesn't completely explain why the 360 displayed properly. The PQ did improve, but the macroblocking was still pretty noticeable. That is true for the 360 version as well, but i felt the 360 display wasn't quite as bad. Neither of which are very desirable in my opinion, but I'll give the 360 a slight edge on this one.

And the HD with "American Pie"...

Movie start up time:
Xbox 360: 40.1 seconds
PS3: 26.4 seconds

Picture quality:
Xbox 360: As before, looks like SD DVD
PS3: As before, looks like SD DVD

As with the SD, the PS3 load time saw a speed increase. The 360 was virtually the same as on the other 360 on the first test. I have no explanation for these discrepancies other than maybe my internet access was being flaky. So your mileage may vary.

The HD PQ between all 3 of these TVs and the 4 consoles was pretty much the same, although I do think I saw a little improvement in color, so I'm chalking up what I said before about the colors being flat to Corinne's TV. I guess I should calibrate it.

The only other thing to talk about is the different interfaces they use. In a lot of ways they are pretty similar. Move left/right and up/down to browse. But I think I prefer the 360's interface better. Flipping through the selections seems faster. You can also just hold the button down and let it continue to flip if you like (which I do). On the PS3 you have to hit the button every time to get to the next selection. I also prefer the way you browse categories on the 360. Not a major issue, just a personal preference.

So there you have it. The PS3 actually appears to have an edge on the 360 in terms of load times, but the 360 gets the nod for better PQ on the SD side. Both interfaces are fairly intuitive, but I personally prefer the 360 version.

11-06-2009, 04:03 PM	#33
PFC5 Super Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 28,355	I just got my Netflix streaming disc in the mail today. Have not had a chance to check it out yet though. I just checked and I never got an email saying it was coming though. __________________ Denon AVR-887 Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs) All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr) Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35 For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841 Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+ SA 3250HD 47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom) Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support) Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers The_Cable_Game Take the high ground and be happier Last edited by PFC5; 11-06-2009 at 04:09 PM.

11-07-2009, 10:13 AM	#35
HD Goofnut The Official HDF Reviewer Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Mississippi, U.S.A. Your resident Dune, Star Wars, and war film expert Age: 27 Posts: 6,845	I got my disc yesterday and after activating it I decided to play Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler. I was not impressed by the quality because it was actually worse than a SD DVD. There were artifacts and macroblocking everywhere. To make matters worse the audio was a rather weak stereo mix. Another beef I have is that I have to insert the streaming disc into the PS3 every time I want to watch a streaming movie. Of course what did I expect for free? __________________ My Review Setup Sanyo DP46848 46" 1080p LCD Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 DirecTV HR21-100 HD DVR Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 System LG BH200 Super Blu Toshiba HD-A20 Sony 40 GB PS3 (Now with Netflix streaming!) 156~206~My Movie Collection Latest Review: *Léon: The Professional* Be sure to check out the Blu-ray Review Request Thread

11-07-2009, 07:41 PM	#39
PFC5 Super Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 28,355	I just watched Armageddon on it and it looked as good as I expected. Heck the non-anamorphic DVD looks horrible anyway. I think how fast your connection is plays a part in the PQ. I have 8mbps. I like the way you can see what the movie is about etc. on the interface too. I wish they had the sound in 5.1 though. __________________ Denon AVR-887 Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs) All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr) Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35 For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841 Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+ SA 3250HD 47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom) Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support) Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers The_Cable_Game Take the high ground and be happier

11-08-2009, 09:16 PM	#42
gossamer 50 is the new 42 Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Da Boogie-down Bronx Posts: 538	I agree that your connection speed is a factor on the quality. I get over 6Mbps and my stream looked pretty good. Borderline DVD-ish. __________________ Living Room: Panasonic TH-50PZ700U Plasma Scientific-Atlanta SA8300HD DVR Sony PlayStation 3 80GB Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD Toshiba SD-4700 SD DVD Apple Mac mini, 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo Onkyo TX-SR706 Receiver Paradigm Cinema 110 Speaker System Pioneer CLD-3070 LaserDisc Player Quasar VHQ760 VCR Bedroom: Panasonic TC26LX50 26-inch LCD Scientific-Atlanta SA8300HD DVR Panasonic DMP-BD30K Blu-ray Panasonic DMRES15 DVD Recorder JVC HR-S8000U S-VHS

11-09-2009, 02:14 AM	#43
HiDefRev Is there HDTV in Heaven ? Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Georgia Age: 55 Posts: 505	Netflix Thanks for all of the good info, folks. I have not yet received my disc, but now I'm not as anxious about it. I was hoping for at least DVD quality and maybe 5.1 DD/DTS sound. Oh well. Skunked again. I may try a movie or two using PLIIx and see what happens. __________________ Living Room Panasonic PT-50LCZ70 50" 1080p HDTV, Sony Playstation3 80 Gig, Onkyo HT-R667 7.1 AV Receiver, ESS HD-308 Main, Side and Surround Speakers on Bell'O Stands, Cadence C-17 Center Speaker, Acoustic Audio HD-SUB15 Subwoofer, DISH ViP 722 HD DVR, Panasonic DVD Recorder/VCR, Den Viewsonic NX2232W LCD HDTV, RCA RT-2500 5.1 AV Receiver, Yamaha Main, Center and Surround Speakers, Onkyo SKW-750X 10" Subwoofer, DISH ViP 211 HD Receiver, Magnavox Blu-Ray Player, Nintendo 64 & Wii

11-06-2009, 11:33 PM	#34
hatt HD Elitist Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: FL Age: 34 Posts: 4,921	So far this thing is FUBAR. At least I can't get it working to my satisfaction. Bars all the way around the picture. My TV won't zoom it without losing some of the picture. PlayOn doesn't have this issue. It also had some lip sync issues.

11-07-2009, 11:22 AM	#36
mschupp . Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 289	Got the disc yesterday and I think it works great. Watched a real lemon of a sci-fi (30,000 Leagues Under the Sea) that I would have been disgusted to have wasted a disc selection on and a Dr Who episode. You just need to remember that ITS NOT BLURAY! Quality for me looks to be about like OTA NTSC reception (I'm not in a particularly good area for antennas). Can someone point me to a title thats in HD? I'd like to see if that's any better.

11-08-2009, 08:18 AM	#41
awol I'm Fabulous. Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,661	I haven't gotten my disc yet, but it sounds like it's pretty much the same quality as the Xbox version. So, I'm not going to be in a huge hurry to get it. And yeah, we have to remember that it's not Blu-Ray. Heck, it's not really even DVD. 5.1 surround isn't available on any stream that I've found either. But let's remember to use it for what it is... a chance to watch material that is quickly accessible and where quality isn't the most important aspect.

11-11-2009, 08:53 AM	#45
Superman HD makes my pants tight Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Baltimore, MD Age: 35 Posts: 2,603	I had some people asking about the quality of this on my forum. Since I was in the unique position of having 2 PS3s and 2 Xbox 360s between 3 HDTVs in various connection configurations, I decided to do some testing between the 2 consoles. So here are my findings: The equipment: • PS3 Slim connected via WiFi. Connected to TV via HDMI • Xbox 360 connected via ethernet to power outlet kit. Connected to TV via component cables • 42" Olevia 1080p LCD • iPhone as my stopwatch Initial start time of the Netflix app: Xbox 360: 24.8 seconds PS3: 34.0 seconds I started with an SD movie first. I chose "Apocalypto". The movie was in 4:3 aspect ratio. Movie start up time: Xbox 360: 39.3 seconds PS3: 38.3 seconds Picture quality: Xbox 360: Meh. Very soft with little detail PS3: DEAR GOD MY EYES!!!11! On the 360, the SD streaming is what you probably would expect. The movie is so compressed that any fine detail or contrast is lost. I was reminded of a VHS tape that was a copy of a copy. Think a high quality YouTube stream at best. Now the PS3? Hoo boy, what the hell happened here? First of all, while the 360 retained the original aspect ratio and pillar boxed the video, my TV showed that the PS3 switched my output mode from 1080p to 480p which caused the image to stretch to 16:9. That may be part of the reason why there was so. Much. Macroblocking. I'm not exaggerating. I saw pixels that were probably 3 inches big! Think about the worst YouTube clip you've ever seen and then imagine someone compressing it again. I'm guessing the 360 might be doing some up-scaling, which could explain why it retained the 4:3 aspect ratio and the obvious differences in PQ. That's the only thing I can figure because it's the same source. SD streamed is crappy anyway, but the 360 was much better at presenting it. Now for the HD. I chose "American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile" which was 16:9. Movie start up time: Xbox 360: 40.2 seconds PS3: 35.2 seconds Picture quality: Xbox 360: About the same as an SD DVD PS3: About the same as an SD DVD I couldn't tell any discernible difference between the the two. If there was any difference, it's so negligible it isn't worth worrying about. But as with any other HD streaming I've seen, the PQ isn't truly HD. Yeah, it may be in 720p, but the movie is so compressed to make streaming feasible that it hardly merits the moniker "HD". Again, the picture is soft and fine detail is lost. There is certainly more detail in the HD version, but nothing like Blu-ray. That said, both were leaps above the SD quality you're going to get from this service. I'll also mention that in all the tests, the colors were fairly flat. No real pop, no great contrast or black levels. Now that could have something to do with the compression, it could have something to do with those particular movies I chose, or it could be my wife's TV. I may be able to determine that when I test my other two TVs. The other TVs have the same hookups too so the differences in load times might change too. More to come... OK, I have the results from my other PS3 and 360. I actually did them twice because some of the numbers were pretty surprising. • Xbox 360 connected via WiFi. Connected to TV via HDMI • 50" 720p LG plasma • iPhone as my stopwatch • PS3 (original) connected via WiFi. Connected to TV via HDMI • 56" 720p Samsung DLP • iPhone as my stopwatch Again I tested "Apocalypto". And there are some interesting differences. While the PS3 load time went down some, the 360 load time increased significantly. Movie start up time: Xbox 360: 53.7 seconds PS3: 29.4 seconds Picture quality: Xbox 360: As before, soft with little detail PS3: Better than the last test, but still soft with little detail Unlike the last test, the SD presentation retained the 4:3 aspect ratio. So I guess there is a setting I would need to change on her TV to prevent distortion, although that doesn't completely explain why the 360 displayed properly. The PQ did improve, but the macroblocking was still pretty noticeable. That is true for the 360 version as well, but i felt the 360 display wasn't quite as bad. Neither of which are very desirable in my opinion, but I'll give the 360 a slight edge on this one. And the HD with "American Pie"... Movie start up time: Xbox 360: 40.1 seconds PS3: 26.4 seconds Picture quality: Xbox 360: As before, looks like SD DVD PS3: As before, looks like SD DVD As with the SD, the PS3 load time saw a speed increase. The 360 was virtually the same as on the other 360 on the first test. I have no explanation for these discrepancies other than maybe my internet access was being flaky. So your mileage may vary. The HD PQ between all 3 of these TVs and the 4 consoles was pretty much the same, although I do think I saw a little improvement in color, so I'm chalking up what I said before about the colors being flat to Corinne's TV. I guess I should calibrate it. The only other thing to talk about is the different interfaces they use. In a lot of ways they are pretty similar. Move left/right and up/down to browse. But I think I prefer the 360's interface better. Flipping through the selections seems faster. You can also just hold the button down and let it continue to flip if you like (which I do). On the PS3 you have to hit the button every time to get to the next selection. I also prefer the way you browse categories on the 360. Not a major issue, just a personal preference. So there you have it. The PS3 actually appears to have an edge on the 360 in terms of load times, but the 360 gets the nod for better PQ on the SD side. Both interfaces are fairly intuitive, but I personally prefer the 360 version. __________________ Samsung 56" 720p DLP HDTV Olevia 42" 1080p LCD HDTV Onkyo TX-SR674 Receiver Onkyo TX-SR606 Receiver Velodyne CHT Front Row 5 piece speakers Sony SS-SR305 for 7.1 surround sound BIC H-100 subwoofer RCA HDV5000 HD DVD Player Toshiba HD-A3 HD DVD Player Samsung BD-UP5000 BD/HD DVD Player Xbox 360 Pro PS3 60 gig My own personal AV/HD forum