# Seems I'm paralyzed...



## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

...by the _speed_ at which technology is advancing. I mean, the rate of progress is increasing faster than _(not then)_ I can keep up, er, decide, uh, buy.

Signed up for Netflix streaming to replace four premium movie packages, but first I 'tested streaming movies to my laptop. I had planned to get the Roku box for my main tv, but by then I learned about built-in tv apps coming so I decided to wait. Now, I've just heard that this year new tvs would have a big red Netflix button on the remote so, again, I decide to wait.

Meanwhile, I'm relegated to watching the same four crap premium HD movie channels on Comcast cable, while waiting for the next Netflix, or magic golden streaming, or whatever, improvement.

He who hesitates is... :whatdidid



> EDIT 1/10/11: Someone here who knows me and is aware of my recent medical history (mild stroke in '05 ) has gently chided me for using the word "paralyzed" in the title of this thread. Fact is, I'm fine, and am doing pretty damn good for an old man who walks with a limp and types with one hand. For anyone who 'knows' me and may have had a moment of concern about my condition before opening the thread, I humbly apologize.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

That's the thing about Netflix... I've tried to specifically search for dozens of movies that they don't have available for streaming.

They do have a large library available for online viewing... but if you target specific movie titles, you might be disappointed.

A bunch of movies I was going to recommend my father watch, I searched for and found them unavailable... though in the meantime he has found a bunch of movies that he has enjoyed watching through random or genre searches.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

I'm curious why you would wait just to have a Netflix button on a remote? It's just usually 2-3 button presses to get Netflix loaded depending on the device.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

One thing about it, no one option is for everyone. But I understand as I constantly am thinking there's something better for me out there.

I've explored all options and decided the best I can do from our perspective is the core package I subscribe to with Dish (it could be any provider appropriate for you, Dish just works for me) and the premiums they offer. It's a bit spendy.

But either I'm going to go to the movie when it comes out because it is so important to my existence (that's less than one a year) or wait until it's on a premium. I don't want to deal with carting or mailing DVD's back and forth or struggling through the various lists of movies to stream or finally getting "it" a couple of months before its on HBO.

Nor do I want to wait until next year to see the U.S. version of "Shameless" or "Boardwalk Empire" or other award winning series because I might be dead next year.

For me, the network web sites and HULU offer streaming opportunities when for whatever reason my recording screws up. That's what streaming offers me.

So the big red Netflix button has not entered into my decision making.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Nick said:


> ...by the _speed_ at which technology is advancing. I mean, the rate of progress is increasing faster than _(not then)_ I can keep up, er, decide, uh, buy.
> 
> Signed up for Netflix streaming to replace four premium movie packages, but first I 'tested streaming movies to my laptop. I had planned to get the Roku box for my main tv, but by then I learned about built-in tv apps coming so I decided to wait. Now, I've just heard that this year new tvs would have a big red Netflix button on the remote so, again, I decide to wait.
> 
> ...


Nick, I've tried the Rokus, various BD players and the best of the bunch is the BD65 from Panasonic. It plays all formats of NetFlix streaming content, including the old 4:3 shows (it's the only device that I've found that plays them as they were meant to be viewed), upscales all content to 1080/60p and is easy to use. I also have a Samsung sound system/BD player that upscales wide screen content (both streaming and DVD) better than the Panny BD65 does. But, for all around good PQ and proper aspects, the BD65 is the best. And it's about the same price as a Roku. Here's a *link*.

Just checked the price and they have bumped it up to $139. I only paid $103 before Xmas. BB has it for $119.

Rich


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

rich584 said:


> Nick, I've tried the Rokus, various BD players and the best of the bunch is the BD65 from Panasonic. It plays all formats of NetFlix streaming content, including the old 4:3 shows (it's the only device that I've found that plays them as they were meant to be viewed), upscales all content to 1080/60p and is easy to use. I also have a Samsung sound system/BD player that upscales wide screen content (both streaming and DVD) better than the Panny BD65 does. But, for all around good PQ and proper aspects, the BD65 is the best. And it's about the same price as a Roku. Here's a *link*.
> 
> Just checked the price and they have bumped it up to $139. I only paid $103 before Xmas. BB has it for $119.
> 
> Rich


How well does your Samsung BD player work with Netflix? I have a C5500 and it has had some issues but with the latest firmware it handles Netflix quite well. For streaming videos from a computer it simetimes hiccups on MKV files and occasionally can't deal with AR correctly, but it does better than my Directv DVRs (which isn't saying much).


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

bobnielsen said:


> How well does your Samsung BD player work with Netflix? I have a C5500 and it has had some issues but with the latest firmware it handles Netflix quite well. For streaming videos from a computer it simetimes hiccups on MKV files and occasionally can't deal with AR correctly, but it does better than my Directv DVRs (which isn't saying much).


My Sammy sound system/BD player is an HT-C5500. I guess that means Home Theater (HT) with a C5500 BD player. So we've got the same BD players. I don't use my computers to stream video content, so I can't comment on that.

For NetFlix wide screen streaming content it gives a slightly better upscaled picture than the BD65, but when watching an older show, like the first few seasons of L&O SVU, the Sammy doesn't get the aspect (4:3) right, but the BD65 does. I've ended up with one of my BD65s sitting on top of the HT-C5500 for that reason.

I only bought the Sammy sound system/BD player because the sound system on my Panny plasma was driving me nuts and my wife didn't want a really big sound system in the master bedroom that would cause the whole house to shake like my three other sound systems do. Little did I know that the Sammy puts out 165W per channel on 3 ohm speakers and has a passive sub-woofer that actually works. It shakes the house too. :lol:

Rich


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## Ganome_Danome (Dec 10, 2009)

There are so many ways to view netflix these days that there's really no reason to hold off for a Netflix button or TV with built in Netflix App.

Plug a desktop PC into your HDTV, you have a netflix player, plug a laptop into your HDTV, you have a netflix player, buy a used PS3/360/Wii, you have a netflix player, buy a cheap BD player, you have a netflix player, stream Netflix from your PC to your DVR with Playon, etc.

Looking at my entertainment center, I have at least 5 different ways to watch Netflix. Pity the service isn't worth subscribing to.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Ganome_Danome said:


> There are so many ways to view netflix these days that there's really no reason to hold off for a Netflix button or TV with built in Netflix App.
> 
> Plug an old PC into your TV, you have a netflix player, buy a used PS3/360/Wii, you have a netflix player, buy a cheap BD player, you have a netflix player, stream Netflix from your PC to your DVR with Playon, etc.
> 
> Looking at my entertainment center, I have at least 5 different ways to watch Netflix. Pity the service isn't worth subscribing to.


Read your whole post and agreed with everything you said except for the comment: Pity the service isn't worth subscribing to.

Gotta disagree with you there. We have two NF accounts and many ways to stream NF and we all watch as much NF content as we do D* content. What don't you like about it?

Rich


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Is it still cut off Netflix streaming after FW updating to v1.43 ?


rich584 said:


> Nick, I've tried the Rokus, various BD players and the best of the bunch is the BD65 from Panasonic. It plays all formats of NetFlix streaming content, including the old 4:3 shows (it's the only device that I've found that plays them as they were meant to be viewed), upscales all content to 1080/60p and is easy to use. I also have a Samsung sound system/BD player that upscales wide screen content (both streaming and DVD) better than the Panny BD65 does. But, for all around good PQ and proper aspects, the BD65 is the best. And it's about the same price as a Roku. Here's a *link*.
> 
> Just checked the price and they have bumped it up to $139. I only paid $103 before Xmas. BB has it for $119.
> 
> Rich


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## dsw2112 (Jun 13, 2009)

Ganome_Danome said:


> There are so many ways to view netflix these days that there's really no reason to hold off for a Netflix button or TV with built in Netflix App.
> 
> Plug a desktop PC into your HDTV, you have a netflix player, plug a laptop into your HDTV, you have a netflix player, buy a used PS3/360/Wii, you have a netflix player, buy a cheap BD player, you have a netflix player, stream Netflix from your PC to your DVR with Playon, etc.
> 
> Looking at my entertainment center, I have at least 5 different ways to watch Netflix. *Pity the service isn't worth subscribing to*.


I disagree with that statment as well. The Netflix Starz Play was just one of the reasons we subscribed to Netflix. That one feature alone makes Netflix cost effective for us. For anyone that rents movies (and wants actual Blue Ray quality) I just don't know of a better option...


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

Without giving it one moment of research, are the Netflix movies in HD?


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

armophob said:


> Without giving it one moment of research, are the Netflix movies in HD?


Some are.


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## Ganome_Danome (Dec 10, 2009)

rich584 said:


> Read your whole post and agreed with everything you said except for the comment: Pity the service isn't worth subscribing to.
> 
> Gotta disagree with you there. We have two NF accounts and many ways to stream NF and we all watch as much NF content as we do D* content. What don't you like about it?
> 
> Rich


Eh, it's an opinion.

I've subscribed to Netflix on and off over the years, and the added cost of Blu-Ray, and lack of movies that interest me on their streaming service has made me look for alternative sources for renting movies.

Red Box, Blockbuster Online, etc have all given me better value for my money than Netflix has, not to mention in some cases, getting the movies much sooner.

I'd probably be a lot more interested if I didn't subscribe to D* and Comcast (for locals in HD) or watch Hulu, making all the TV shows they have for streaming meaningful.


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## Ganome_Danome (Dec 10, 2009)

dsw2112 said:


> I disagree with that statment as well. The Netflix Starz Play was just one of the reasons we subscribed to Netflix. That one feature alone makes Netflix cost effective for us. For anyone that rents movies (and wants actual Blue Ray quality) I just don't know of a better option...


Blu-Ray quality streaming over the internet? Or do you mean renting Blu-Rays?

I like Blockbuster Online for renting BDs, no increased price for renting BDs, and don't have to wait a month for new releases, and the turn around time is only one day longer than Netflix (no service is gonna be perfect), and they also offer game rentals as part of the plan (no streaming service, but going by Netflix selection, meh, I don't miss it).

Plus I don't rent a lot of movies usually, I have cable/satellite which most of the year provides more than enough content.

Note: My opinion of Netflix will change once they have 95%+ new releases on their streaming service, in true BD quality (ok maybe the true BD quality is pushing it, I don't really care THAT much about HD, but I do want most new movies to be on the service before I resubscribe to it).


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## dsw2112 (Jun 13, 2009)

Ganome_Danome said:


> Blu-Ray quality streaming over the internet? Or do you mean renting Blu-Rays?
> 
> I like Blockbuster Online for renting BDs, no increased price for renting BDs, and don't have to wait a month for new releases, and the turn around time is only one day longer than Netflix (no service is gonna be perfect), and they also offer game rentals as part of the plan (no streaming service, but going by Netflix selection, meh, I don't miss it).
> 
> ...


I was referring to renting in regards to the Blue Ray discs. The difference is probably the fact that you don't rent a lot of movies then. We have the one out at a time plan with Netflix and we can easily get 2 movies a week (sometimes more.) Our turn-around time has always been a day (probably a perk of living in a big city) and the streaming is enough for us (as I said the Starz Play eliminates the need for us to subscribe to Starz.)

With the bit rates required you're not going to see anybody stream BD for a LONG time. Since Netflix can stream in HD I find that sufficient as a streaming option.


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

rich584 said:


> My Sammy sound system/BD player is an HT-C5500. I guess that means Home Theater (HT) with a C5500 BD player. So we've got the same BD players. I don't use my computers to stream video content, so I can't comment on that.
> 
> For NetFlix wide screen streaming content it gives a slightly better upscaled picture than the BD65, but when watching an older show, like the first few seasons of L&O SVU, the Sammy doesn't get the aspect (4:3) right, but the BD65 does. I've ended up with one of my BD65s sitting on top of the HT-C5500 for that reason.
> 
> ...


What firmware version does your Sammy have? The recent update to 1020.1 fixed the aspect ratio issues with 4:3 (I also found that the original setup I had was set to stretch 4:3, but it only did that with some movies, not all ). If you have an earlier version, get the update.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

P Smith said:


> Is it still cut off Netflix streaming after FW updating to v1.43 ?


Are you talking about the Panny BD65? That only lasted a day or so. They released an FW that wouldn't connect to NF, but quickly fixed it.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

armophob said:


> Without giving it one moment of research, are the Netflix movies in HD?


If you're renting disks, most of the new and many of the older movies are in BluRay. If you're streaming, only the PS3 gets full HD and 5.1 sound. The rest of the devices, as far as I know, get 720p and PCM sound. That's gonna change soon and they'll be streaming 1080/24p and 5.1 sound to all the devices. The BD players upscale the 720p to 1080/60p very well. Still only PCM sound, tho. Some of the streaming movies are in 720p, some aren't. My Sammy BD player upscales the letterbox non HD content very well, the Pannys don't.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Ganome_Danome said:


> Eh, it's an opinion.
> 
> I've subscribed to Netflix on and off over the years, and the added cost of Blu-Ray, and lack of movies that interest me on their streaming service has made me look for alternative sources for renting movies.
> 
> ...


There is a lot more streaming content than there was just a couple months ago.

Rich


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

I'm in pretty much the same spot on getting a new TV.
I'm thinking about a 3D, but I just know that the technology will improve and affordable sets that do not require glasses are right around the corner.....


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

bobnielsen said:


> What firmware version does your Sammy have? The recent update to 1020.1 fixed the aspect ratio issues with 4:3 (I also found that the original setup I had was set to stretch 4:3, but it only did that with some movies, not all ). If you have an earlier version, get the update.


I've got the update, I just haven't tried to watch any old SD offerings. I'll try it today. Aside from my 21-200, this is the first Sammy product that I like. And I really like it, the sound is great and the BD player works really well. Not too thrilled with the remote tho. They could have raised the Select (or Enter) button and the four arrow buttons a bit more so that they could be more easily identified in a dark room. Aside from that minor annoyance, I'm ready to buy a couple more.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Marlin Guy said:


> I'm in pretty much the same spot on getting a new TV.
> I'm thinking about a 3D, but I just know that the technology will improve and affordable sets that do not require glasses are right around the corner.....


One thing about the 3D sets that I like is the Panny line of 3D plasmas. I don't care about 3D, but the 2D PQ is really good on those sets. I'm gonna wait a bit before purchasing one and let the price drop.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

bobnielsen said:


> What firmware version does your Sammy have? The recent update to 1020.1 fixed the aspect ratio issues with 4:3 (I also found that the original setup I had was set to stretch 4:3, but it only did that with some movies, not all ). If you have an earlier version, get the update.


Just checked and my Sammy is now playing the early seasons of L&O:SVU correctly. Thanx, if you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have looked.

Wish I hadn't bought so many Panny BD65s now. :nono2:

Rich


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

rich584 said:


> If you're renting disks, most of the new and many of the older movies are in BluRay. If you're streaming, only the PS3 gets full HD and 5.1 sound. The rest of the devices, as far as I know, get 720p and PCM sound. That's gonna change soon and they'll be streaming 1080/24p and 5.1 sound to all the devices. The BD players upscale the 720p to 1080/60p very well. Still only PCM sound, tho. Some of the streaming movies are in 720p, some aren't. My Sammy BD player upscales the letterbox non HD content very well, the Pannys don't.
> 
> Rich


Eventually I will move away from the pay channels to lower my D* bill. I am buying older movies on Bluray now.
Sounds like I can wait a while to start the Netflix thing.
Thanks


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

armophob said:


> Eventually I will move away from the pay channels to lower my D* bill. I am buying older movies on Bluray now.
> Sounds like I can wait a while to start the Netflix thing.
> Thanks


I don't own one BluRay disc. Not one. I'm not gonna get caught up in spending a small fortune on them as I did with DVDs (at least they can be upscaled) or VHS movies, which I gave away since they are worth practically nothing. Don't even want to think about how much money I spent on VHS movies and blank tapes. I had several large bins full of them. And a dozen VCRs.

I just know another big change in recording methodology is in the works somewhere. The next thing we'll see is BD recorders. Then, when they've sucked every last drop of money out of them, something new will appear rendering the BD discs useless anachronisms.

My son does own a copy of _Avatar_ on a BD disc.

Rich


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

rich584 said:


> I don't own one BluRay disc. Not one. I'm not gonna get caught up in spending a small fortune on them as I did with DVDs


I am definitely being much more selective with BluRay movies I will watch more than twice. I have over 1000 dvds and feel sick over that money as well.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

armophob said:


> I am definitely being much more selective with BluRay movies I will watch more than twice. I have over 1000 dvds and feel sick over that money as well.


The only one we have in the house, _Avatar_, I could watch every couple weeks. Don't see many movies that good.

I don't know how many DVDs we have but the thought of spending all that money on a soon to be anachronism kinda turns my stomach. 

Rich


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## 4HiMarks (Jan 21, 2004)

I have never subscribed to Netflix as I, too, don't find it economical. We only have the time to watch a movie every couple of months if we're lucky, so even with the one-at-a-time plan, we'd be paying, what?, $15-20 per movie? Might as well just buy it at that rate. I do have VUDU on my BD player, which I have used exactly once in the year+ I have owned it. It offers Netflix, and CinemaNow, and a few other things like Pandora and YouTube, but the fact is, I find very little coming out of Hollywood worth devoting two hours of my time to, much less paying a monthly subscription fee for.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

4HiMarks said:


> I have never subscribed to Netflix as I, too, don't find it economical. We only have the time to watch a movie every couple of months if we're lucky, so even with the one-at-a-time plan, we'd be paying, what?, $15-20 per movie? Might as well just buy it at that rate. I do have VUDU on my BD player, which I have used exactly once in the year+ I have owned it. It offers Netflix, and CinemaNow, and a few other things like Pandora and YouTube, but the fact is, I find very little coming out of Hollywood worth devoting two hours of my time to, much less paying a monthly subscription fee for.


I didn't think I would ever use Pandora either, but I tried it and it's one of the best free things I've ever used. I do use NF quite a bit. But I have plenty of time to watch TV. Their streaming content has improved a lot and there are many more movies that you can watch. Your BD player will probably upscale NF's 720p streaming to 1080/60p. I get a really good streaming picture now.

Rich


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