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Tina Popielarczyk
I recently purchased an Xbox and I must say, considering that have yet to acquired a sports game, that I am very impressed. I got the Xbox 360 pro (with the 60gb hard drive) and this allowed me to take full advantage of the recent updates for the New Xbox Experience (NXE).
There is a metric ton of videos, demos, pictures, community games, themes and online goodness that really extend the entertainment experience of the Xbox. The interface is really intuitive and looks great in 1080p.
Netflix Instant Watch is a really significant addition and adds a really solid value, if you are in fact a Netflix subscriber. The only problem with Netflix Instant Watch is that there is a really limited movie list and it can take quite a while to find a decent movie for your Instant Queue. The HD movies streamed consistently without interruption and the picture quality was pristine.
The other problem is that you cannot add movies to Instant Queue directly from the Xbox, you have to go online via a PC, but the instant queue will update almost immediately. There was an announcement of a Netflix app for Windows Mobile so this should relieve that bottleneck (or maybe I could create a Media Center app).
The only real unresolved disappointment was the poor performance of Windows Media Center. While it only took a few minutes to connect to my home PC, once I got it up and running the controls were really slow (I mean in the order of 10-20 seconds per click). My network is running fine, it handles high def streaming with ease. So right now am I assuming there is some contention between the various apps that can share data from my Vista PC (Zune, Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center).
Thanks to the folks at Microsoft and Netflix, I've gotten the new Xbox 360 console upgrade and have started watching Netflix movies on my Xbox this morning. A couple gaming sites have been doing some reviews as well and have raised a bunch of questions, some of which I have already asked Microsoft and Netflix and will update this post if I get answers.
The new Xbox 360 console update, which will be release to the public on November 19th, includes the highly anticipated ability to stream Netflix content to the Xbox 360 console as long as you are a Microsoft Live Gold customer and a Netflix customer.
After downloading the new console update and then downloading a small Netflix update, you active the streaming functionality by entering a code from your Xbox 360 into your Netflix account via the computer. From there, you can add Netflix videos into your watch now queue and they instantly show up on your Xbox 360. Navigating through your movies is done by going to the Netlfix box in the "Video Marketplace" channel which takes you to an app that allows you to very cleanly and very quickly flip through the movies in your queue. The movies are represented by cover artwork of each movie and even when you have a hundred or so titles in the queue, the app is super fast. I would compare the experience to being almost identical to flipping through albums in iTunes using Cover Flow. The only major downside here is that movies still have be added via the computer first, before they can be played back on the Xbox 360.
Once you select a movie, you get a screen with details about the video and the ability to rate the content as well as the ability to start, resume or remove the video. When you select play, the app checks your connection speed and buffers the video. For me, the videos buffered very fast and I never waited more than about ten seconds for any video to start. That may not be the startup time for the average consumer though as I am on a 20MB FiOS connection. While most movies are in SD, Netflix has to date made about 300 videos available in HD, many of which are TV series and not actual movies. Watching the SD movies on a 50" plasma screen looked amazing and HD is really incredible. The quality of the stream is all based on your connection speed and I am waiting on Netflix to hopefully give me details on the encoding bitrates being used. But the bottom line, the video quality is really, really good and in my eyes, is DVD quality with no frame rate issues.
Netflix and Microsoft have clearly thought about the experience, the ease of use and the quality of the videos being delivered and overall, I expect users will be very happy. That being said, this hands on review leaves me with three main questions that will dictate how successful the offering will be.
For starters, what is the business relationship and model behind the new service? With three parties involved, Microsoft, Netflix and content owners, whom is paying whom to make all this happen and how will money be made? I know this is a new service to start and hence, a clear business model has not yet been established. But over time, one will have to emerge.
Second, does the availability of getting movies on the Xbox 360 now mean that more content owners and in particular, major movie studios, will start giving Netflix the rights to encode and deliver more first-run movies? Hopefully so, but they still control the content and have a big say in the success that the Netflix service will have.
I've noticed recently that when my friends are watching Netflix it'll tell me the title of what they are watching. I remember a couple years ago Netflix got into HUGE trouble when they changed their algorithm and users could see other users' queue. I'm pretty sure it resulted in a lawsuit, but I'm having trouble finding the article.
Most of the time when I have a friend watching Netflix I only see that red Netflix cover. However I have a few friends that I can see the movie. I currently don't use Netflix so I'm not aware of their features, but I'm pretty sure you should have this as on optional feature.
Find the 'My Xbox' tab on your dashboard then click the window w/your gamertag and gamerscore. Scroll over to 'Online Safety' and choose to change the setting. Click 'Customize' and scroll down to video and music status. If your friends can see your video status then the current setting should be 'Everyone', switch it to blocked.
Your friends should now only see "Watching a movie" when they see you online. And regarding the queue, I've never been able to see anyone's queue, only that they're browsing it. You can only see the movie they're watching, granted they have their settings adjusted to allow it.
It's just a privacy thing, not even a concern. I'm part of the school of thought that not everyone needs to know what I'm doing/where I am all the time. I don't think it's weird that I don't think everyone on my friends list should see what I'm watching, or that I don't necessarily need to check in on Foursquare of Facebook every place I go. I don't have 1200 photos on my Facebook, nor do I announce when I'm on the toilet via Twitter. Not for any particular reason, just cause I don't. Some people do and while I don't think it's weird, I just don't do it. Just like the people that are critical of privacy don't concern themselves with what they're sharing. Just thoughts. I'm not judgmental.
AWWW! I thought this was going to be a thread where I could tell everyone I just finished watching Battlestar: Galactica seasons 1-4. Or maybe I would tell everyone how I'm a big Kung-fu flick lover and how Jackie Chan's old school films are some of my favorites.
i dont mind. i think i have mine set for anyone to see. doesnt really bother me and it saves me the "whatareyouwatchinnn?" question. If netflix had a buttload of porn im pretty sure people wouldnt like the feature. xP
i dont mind. i think i have mine set for anyone to see. doesnt really bother me and it saves me the "whatareyouwatchinnn?" question. If netflix had a buttload of porn im pretty sure people wouldnt like the feature. xP
Once you insert the Netflix Streaming Disc, it shows up in the XMB in the video section. Select Netflix from the XMB and the experience is largely identical to streaming Netflix on other devices, with a few new features.
The main interface shows you the cover art of the movies in your instant queue, arranged horizontally. If you select a movie, it will show a screen with more detailed information, a summary of the plot, and a star rating. You're also able to scroll horizontally within the more detailed view, without having to return to the main screen. If you stop watching a movie, you're able to resume where you left off or start again from the beginning.
The step-up over standard streaming Netflix devices are the tabs at the top of the interface. With other devices, like the Roku Digital Video Player, you're only able to access movies that you've added to your Instant Queue using a PC. On the PS3, you're given some additional tabs that allow you to browse new arrivals, movies Netflix thinks you'll like, and categories you use often. That's not quite as good as the Xbox 360's Netflix interface, which allows you to add new titles to your instant queue without using a PC, but it's a welcome addition to the basic Netflix streaming available on other devices.
While we've seen some reports that the image quality of streaming Netflix isn't quite as good as it is on the Xbox 360, we didn't notice any significant quality drop-offs in our testing. In our experience, the image quality of streaming Netflix movies is basically identical across devices. We've commented extensively on the image quality in previous hands-on reports, but the main takeaway is that the content labeled "HD" is nearly DVD quality. The other content is watchable, but videophiles will definitely notice plenty of compression artifacts.
The major frustration with Netflix on the PS3 is that you need to insert the special disc to use the service. That's not the case with Netflix streaming on any other device so far and couch potatoes will complain about that extra trip to the PS3 every time they want to stream a movie.
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