Poll: How are you enjoying HD Netflix streaming on the Xbox 360?

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 22nd 2008 at 12:00PM

Now that HD Netflix streaming has finally arrived on the Xbox 360, we have no doubts whatsoever that legions of you have already given it a spin. We've heard mixed impressions right out of the gate, but we're hoping some of the first day glitches have worked themselves out by now. At any rate, how has your experience been so far? Are you impressed with the quality? Are there any aspects that could be improved upon? Break off a paragraph or three in comments below.

Filed under: Industry, Polls, Media streamers, Other formats, Internet

Tags: console, content, hd stream, hd streaming, HdStream, HdStreaming, microsoft, netflix, new xbox experience, NewXboxExperience, nxe, poll, polls, programming, stream, streaming, xbox 360, Xbox360

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Highest Ranked

Spiza @ Nov 22nd 2008 12:45PM

Darren, you need to see if they offer "How to make a poll" class somewhere.

Neutral

FreeRange @ Nov 22nd 2008 12:57PM

What's missing.. -Haven't tried it yet. -Don't own an Xbox -Not available where I live.

Anything else?

Neutral

Stin @ Nov 22nd 2008 11:05PM

Nah... I'll stick with much better quality 1080p blu-ray rips.

Neutral

Cam @ Nov 24th 2008 2:43AM

Well, Darren IS the biggest Sony fanboy ever on this blog, so it comes at no surprise that he wrote this lame poll for 360...I'm sure he is hoping for bad feedback to prove something yet to be determined

Highest Ranked

RazorD @ Nov 22nd 2008 12:49PM

Definitely need a 'Its a US Only feature.. *sigh*' option :P

Highest Ranked

Darren @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:02PM

Quality is great, they just need more movies.

Neutral

James T @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:57PM

Are you kidding? My six year old loves the selection. And what more do you need than Tank Girl and Fifth Element. Besides, their getting there. Give them time.

I can't believe I'm saying, but the quality of the video is really good, maybe it's my old eyes. I'm happy enough with it that if I got few more Netflix devices for my other TVs, I'd be willing to give up DVD rentals. I really can't see the need to DVDs or Blu-Ray with more than enough movies to keep everyone happy and even more every day.

Neutral

Jose @ Nov 23rd 2008 12:49PM

Sorry, but on a large 1080 TV (like my 60"), no streaming formats approach the sharpness and color depth of Blu-ray.

Neutral

THizzle7XU @ Nov 23rd 2008 10:59PM

The quality on SD is actually nice. I wonder if it has to do with the 360 upscaling everything to 1080p (if you have the display for it)...

Highly Ranked

bry2an @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:03PM

I have a 10Mb internet connection and I can't keep the HD signal. I find this very disappointing but it plays in lower res so it is not a total lose. Also the selection I can see getting very old quick.

Neutral

kastonie @ Nov 22nd 2008 2:30PM

Well i have a 6mb connection and it works great. Its all about latency....

Neutral

THizzle7XU @ Nov 23rd 2008 11:04PM

I have 15Mbps with Speed Boost and it works perfect. If only it was in 5.1...even regular DD would make me happy.

Neutral

Eric B @ Nov 24th 2008 12:56AM

I have 10Mbps also and the first day it sucked then that night it was amazing instead of the bars it shows presented in HD and since then I have only got about 2-3 bars and drop outs. maybe Netflix servers are overloaded? or my Charter High speed is lacking :(

Highest Ranked

WyattERP @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:05PM

Every time I start an HD stream, it lasts about 1 minute before it freezes, and readjusts because "my internet connection has slowed". So far, no good.

I'll chalk it up to stress on the initial start up of the streaming service, but those one or two minutes looked fine!

Neutral

Phil @ Jan 31st 2009 4:03PM

The exact same thing has been happening to me even after I got the COX speed boost. I've talked to Netflix, XBOX, and COX customer support and the bottom line is that xbox live can't handle the demand for Netflix service as of yet.

Highly Ranked

freddy @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:12PM

It's Great just needs more movies hd is solid but no 5.1 audio other than that it needs more

content newer movies welcome

Neutral

German Plumber @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:20PM

Pros - Easy, 2 week free trial for new customers, decent library for SD content.
Cons - Have to use my customer to put things on instant que list, my movie taste has little appetite on their lists for SD and HD (Especially HD), certain movie that are streamable from Netflix.com are not from the 360 (Karate Kid 3!!!!).

It's overall a pretty seemless experience and fairly easy to use. More content will help tremendously for the $9 charge per month. If your looking for an easy way to watch a bunch of different titles without having to leave the house (Have to leave room to put movies on instant que list assuming TV and computer aren't in same room)

As it stands right now, I'm going to cancel after my 2 weeks is up.

Highly Ranked

Bob @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:23PM

Love and I'm sure move content will be added in the future. After all, it has only been publicly available for 4 days.

Highest Ranked

Bob @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:23PM

"move"? That should be "more". Darn iPod Keyboard.

Neutral

Jeff @ Nov 22nd 2008 3:11PM

Streaming movies and TV shows from Netflix isn't new (at least not 4 days new) and the selection is paltry to say the least. If they want people to pay for this service solely for the Watch Instantly feature, the selection needs to be upgraded and quick. They need new releases available...movies people actually care to watch.

Highest Ranked

Bob @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:06PM

I was referring to HD streaming...like the title of the article. I agree the quality of content is lacking but this is hardly the fault of Netflix: the studios contractually restrict the release of more popular and recent movies to maximize DVD sales.

Highly Ranked

Bozster @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:09PM

Jeff.. I'm not sure how 10,000 titles is a small online catalog? It's been only a few days since they launched their HD service so there's time to add stuff in HD now but their existing catalog is the biggest of all digital downloads services.

Neutral

Jeff @ Nov 22nd 2008 6:54PM

Since HD streaming movies are basically a subset of the standard streaming library, my point still applies. I'm not saying there aren't a lot of movies available. I'm saying the selection is poor. The vast majority of the Watch Instantly videos are not movies I want to watch. Most are older movies or bad movies.

And saying it isn't Netflix's fault is only partly true. If they are going to offer a service and charge money for it, then they are responsible for providing a compelling service. Unless they begin adding more movies that people actually want to part with their hard-earned money to watch, then they are failing in this respect and I feel that I can blame them since they would be the ones getting my money.

Neutral

DEEZNUTZ @ Nov 23rd 2008 5:22PM

@ Jeff,

Netflix model still remains primarily disc based rentals over the mail and their selection should be judged as such. Their watch now feature is a perk, and not one they are charging extra for. If you subscribe simply for their online streaming, then thats on you.
I do agree their selection available to stream is lacking, but will improve over time.

Highest Ranked

Andy Anonymous @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:33PM

The quality is very decent; it's the selection that needs an upgrade.

Highly Ranked

aaron @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:39PM

im not coming to netflix's defense here because their selection is pretty poor but their initial hd offerings are pretty good when you compare it to what the other devices launched with. i dont remember specifically what other devices launched but i dont remember appletv, vudu, xbox live video marketplace or psn launching with more than a few hundred things either.

gotta give netflix some time to fill things out some.

Highly Ranked

Mr. SunToucher @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:34PM

I wouldn't know how great Netflix is. Being from Canada we did not receive the Netflix portion of the update, hopefully within the year it will come. If not Netflix then maybe some other company that could provide the rest of North America with downloadable movies.

Highly Ranked

Simple @ Nov 22nd 2008 7:41PM

Not going to happen. There is no Netflix in Canada and it's not likely that there will be. There is Zip.ca which provides a similar DVD-by-mail service, but it doesn't do streaming and isn't big enough to get into bed with Microsoft anyways.

The only hope is that Netflix enters the Canadian market, and given the economy, I can't see that happening in the next year.

What Microsoft CAN do is update the video store to add TV shows. If Apple can get licenses to sell television in Canada via iTunes and Apple TV, than so can Microsoft.

Neutral

Valicore @ Nov 22nd 2008 10:00PM

I'm kinda surprised that Netflix didn't put forth an effort to offer this to non-U.S. customers. It seems like it would be a huge money maker.

Neutral

minimalist @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:34PM

Pros:

1. HD streams look quite good (better than SD digital cable)
2. Adds tons of value to Netflix and XBL Gold subscriptions.
3. Nice, clean interface

Cons:

1. Lacks most of the really good content (and even less if you're looking for HD)
2. SD streams look fuzzy and grainy even on 10Mbps cable (and HD streams often get downgraded in quality mid-program.)
3. No managing of queue or browsing via the Xbox.

I give Netflix and Microsoft a 7 out of 10 on this. Its a really well done first effort but it still needs some tweaking. Get some good HD content on there and let me manage the content on the TV and it would become my first stop for most of my programming. Right now its more like my second or third choice (after Blu-ray and SD DVD rentals)

Neutral

Mr_Fizzlepop @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:06PM

This one could be on the Cons list too, just add an IF

"2. Adds tons of value to Netflix and XBL Gold subscriptions." IF you already have both of them, if you don't have one or the other, that cost starts to go up from a bit, to a whole lot.

Highly Ranked

Michael Bakshi @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:38PM

Well, the Netflix capability is one of the reasons I decided to buy the Xbox 360. I was thinking of doing a huge upgrade to my computer when I saw the news on EngadgetHD about the announced deal between Microsoft & Netflix.

Buying the Xbox 360 has probably saved me $500 to $700 in computer upgrades just to allow it to be able to connect to a TV and view shows/movies from the hard drive. Also, PlayOn for the 360 is excellent because it allows me to watch videos from Hulu and Youtube.

Because of all these, the dream of abandoning Cable is not that far away if more networks decide to release their shows on these services.

Anyways, when I tried Netflix on the day of the update -- it didn't seem as awesome as the hype made it look to be.

First, even though I'm on a FiOS connection with and ethernet cable connected to my Xbox I only get 3 bars for the HD signal. What do I need to have to make it 4 bars?

Also, within watching 5 minutes of HD, the signal would degrade and then Netflix will downgrade to compensate because the net connection has "slowed". I wouldn't expect this from a direct ethernet connection to my router.

However, I did enjoy the fact that CBS releases it's new episodes the same day they're aired on broadcast television.

I was kinda sad I had to work the night a brand new episode of NCIS was broadcasted but I was surprised when I got home and tried looked through the NCIS collection on Netflix. The new episode was already in the queue ready to watch instantly!

It's only going to get better in the future and I am very proud of my Xbox 360 purchase. I also hope Microsoft mauls the PS3 and Wii this holiday season. Microsoft's aggressive price strategy to undercut it's rivals and their new deal with Netflix is sure to attract new shoppers who are unsure about Bluray but want to have an HD gaming/entertainment experience of their own this holiday season.

Neutral

Brent @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:57PM

The sys reqs say "5Mbps or higher broadband connection". I have 10mb x 768k and can't hold an HD stream for more than 1-2mins before it buffers and drops back down to HQ SD. Some HD flicks (8 Seconds) don't have sound unless they're streamed at SD. I killed my stream, shut down the 360, and ran speedtests (speedtest.net) showing I had between 6-9Mb/s average down, so I'm pretty sure it's not my connection.

So far it's useless to me, aside from making me incredibly frustrated when I want to watch a movie. From what I've read they only encode ~3Mb/s, so a 10Mb connection should be more than sufficient. This isn't going to get any better when they add multi-channel audio (FAQ says "coming soon"), as I assume they're going to need to encode ~6-8Mbs (on par with Sat/Cable). Until I can stream it over 10Mb, torrenting is still the only method I have of getting good, quality, stable HD content to my 360.

Maybe it's just "new toy" syndrome, and honestly I feel like HD streaming is the only botched part of the NXE launch.

Neutral

DeadPlasmaCell @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:59PM

I love it. There is always room for improvement, but it's a great start. I'd love to be able to browse the listings on the 360, but not a deal breaker.

Highly Ranked

Alex @ Nov 22nd 2008 2:46PM

so far I love it. We watched an episode of The Office and it was in HD. There were a few segments that seemed like the picture was "soft" but then corrected itself. The HD looked like my cable HD: fibrant, sharp, no noticeable macroblocking or pixelation. Took less than 30 seconds to start playing.

I will try a movie tonight.

All if all, a helluva a great deal and a great product.

Neutral

Greg @ Nov 22nd 2008 3:17PM

I am curious to what speed people have that can watch the HD. I have 7mbps from bright house and it won't hold the hd more that a minute. I can watch itunes hd in about 1 minute, and apple tv in about 30 seconds. With a lot of the other comments I see I'm not the only one with this problem. This was a major disappointment. I have 20mbps FIOS getting installed in 2 weeks, I am curious if this will be enough bandwidth for the Netflix to work properly.

Neutral

JBDragon @ Nov 23rd 2008 1:52AM

I just have Comcast Internet and HD seems to work just fine as long as I don't do anything else on my PC at the same time.

Highly Ranked

anseK @ Nov 22nd 2008 3:26PM

I wouldn't say the Netflix HD streaming is "excellent" but it is definitely "good." It doesn't look as good as OTA or Blu-ray but it looks much better than DVD on my 50" via 6Mb connection. I would have no problems using it for catching up on missed episodes or watching classic TV. My next test is to put it up on the 60" in the living room to see if the lower quality starts to show.

Highly Ranked

tlarkin79 @ Nov 22nd 2008 3:28PM

The selection of HD streaming content seems more limited than I would like. Even regular streaming options has many to choose from, but there are still many more I would like to see.

Highest Ranked

chili d @ Nov 22nd 2008 3:33PM

Quality is excellent, quantity thus far is not.

I've also monitored how much bandwidth I used in 1 day of MASS usage and it was only 3GB (up and down).

Now I'm not worried I'm going to go over my 250 GB/month cap with Comcast.
I am able to stream the HD with no issues on my 8Mb down/2Mb up (soon to be 16Mb down in my area).

Highly Ranked

Paul @ Nov 22nd 2008 3:41PM

I am also having the Netflix HD issues where I begin streaming HD content and within 45 sec's it reduces my stream to SD or lower. I have worked on this issue all morning with Comcast and Netflix.

Comcast was out this morning and verified my 8mb connection with no connectivity issues. I have also worked with Netflix and they are seeing this same issue for many users, all of which seem to have Comcast connections. Basically Netflix acknowledges the issue and is working to correct it but I believe that the problem resides with Comcast and their bandwidth technologies such as "SpeedBooster". It's Comcastic!!

Hopefully this can be repaired within the next week.....

Neutral

J.Goodwin @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:19PM

It's certainly possible. Speedboost can make your connection appear to be better than it actually is, until you attempt to use it on sustained content. Another debug item would be to make sure that you (or your teenager) have bittorrent closed when you're attempting to use streaming video.

I wonder if NAT would have anything to do with this as well? Maybe run the network settings wizard in NXE and test your connection, see if you have a strict or moderate NAT instead of an open one, and if you do, then resolve that and see if it fixes the problem.

Neutral

GT1Boy @ Nov 22nd 2008 3:57PM

No one has mentioned that some of the SD Netflix Starz Play content is 4:3 Pan&Scan. I've noticed this in Ransom, Lethal Weapon 3, and Road Warrior. That's not acceptable.

I only have 3360/864 DSL (4 bars for SD and 2 bars for stepped-down-to-SD HD) and the picture is a little soft compared to an upscaled DVD on my old 56" Toshiba 1080p DLP but definitely watchable. My only other compaint is the lack of english subtitles or captions.

I'm dropping Blockbuster Total Access after switching to them from Netflix almost 3 years ago and going back to Netflix because I'll be able to use this service on my Tivo Series 3 and Xbox 360.

Neutral

chris @ Nov 26th 2008 3:22PM

Agreed - I tried Alien & Aliens, both were 4:3 (i.e., worthless). I don't know if this is the case with all "Starz Play" stuff or not. Come on, Netflix!

Highly Ranked

DEEZNUTZ @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:26PM

Love it. Been using it since day one and have not had any issues playing HD content whatsoever. Cut off HBO and Starz from my cable bill immediately after playing a couple of movies. With the Netflix 2 disc plan, I get BD movies in the mail, and I have the play now movies to fill in the time between receiving movies in the mail. And I can only assume they will add more content to the play now as time goes by, so it'll only get better.

I can see Netflix adding a premium for this service eventually, and honestly I would pay an additional $5-8 a month if all/most of their DVD/BD titles were available to play instantly, and in HD/5.1 audio. I much prefer a monthly fee with unlimited access, than paying a rental fee per title.

Highly Ranked

Tucker @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:07PM

My connection is only like 6mb/400k cable, and I'm using the wireless adapter, and netflix HD streams fantastically. I dunno what's up with some of you 10 meg cable and fios users, but you might want to get your stuff checked out.

Selection could be better, but they've got two seasons of 30 Rock which I've been meaning to watch anyway, so that should keep me occupied for a while.

I give thumbs up!

Neutral

jpschneid @ Nov 22nd 2008 6:23PM

Haven't tried it .. I'm not a Netflix subscriber (Blockbuster) and I don't have a Gold Live membership. How about a free trial weekend or submit for a free trial pass MS/Netflix? Other wise I will never know if it's good or bad ....

Neutral

Brent @ Nov 22nd 2008 7:47PM

You can get free trials with just about any new Live enabled game, or at worst pay $8 for a 1 month Live card (Netflix isn't the only benefit). Netflix has a 14 day free trial (s'what I'm currently using) with plans starting @ $4.99-$8.99, which allows unlimited streaming of both HD and SD content.

Live is basically the reason to even have the console, and without it you're only getting a small piece of the experience. With the plethora of free trials and low cost to join, you don't really have any reason not to at least give it a try.

Highly Ranked

Dave @ Nov 22nd 2008 6:26PM

I seem to have no problem streaming HD content but SD seems to buffer and tell me my connection has slowed. I have 15 Mbps connection and have the 360 directly connected to my router and nothing else on that would use bandwidth. I have a feeling this is NetFlix's way of saying "Hey, our servers are getting hammered right now so we'll blame it on your connection since most of you won't know any better."

Neutral

GhostDoggy @ Nov 22nd 2008 6:36PM

I'm really curious about this. Off the air Digital TV broadcasting in 1920x1080 interlaced for reduced bandwidth (when compared to 1920x1080 progressive) takes about 19.2 Mbps of video-compressed bandwidth. This is using something like MPEG-2. Using MPEG-4 to reduce the bandwidth need is still in the 8-9 Mbps neighborhood.

Being that the great majority of folks out there are probably not on that level of broadband usually means to me that their definition of 'HD' is more like 'Higher Definition' than High Definition. Either you are reducing the resolution or OVER compressing the bit stream it makes no difference as its going to probably be called HDlite.

Of course, if you are a U-verse subscriber or been with DirecTV long enough then you may be use to this Less Than deliverance of HD.

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