Netflix service via Windows 7 Media Center

I am considering subscribing to Netflix in order to use the service to
stream content to my various devices through Media Center on Windows 7. I
have in the past, used Cinema Now and wasn't really too happy with the
quality of the video stream, so I wonder if anyone who currently uses the
Netflix service can comment on the following:

1. Video quality of the streams
2. Number of simultaneous streams (I have a lot of devices and my children
may want to watch something different than me)
3. Content availability
4.Other issues
5. Use on devices such as the Linksys DMA 2200 (vmcnetflix plugin) or XBox
360

-Pete

"Pete Delgado" <> wrote in message
news:...
> I am considering subscribing to Netflix in order to use the service to
> stream content to my various devices through Media Center on Windows 7. I
> have in the past, used Cinema Now and wasn't really too happy with the
> quality of the video stream, so I wonder if anyone who currently uses the
> Netflix service can comment on the following:
>
> 1. Video quality of the streams
> 2. Number of simultaneous streams (I have a lot of devices and my children
> may want to watch something different than me)
> 3. Content availability
> 4.Other issues
> 5. Use on devices such as the Linksys DMA 2200 (vmcnetflix plugin) or XBox
> 360
>
> -Pete
>

I look at Netflix online as value added to the rental service or in other
words I won't likely subscribe (unless it were very modestly priced) if it
were offered as a separate service. Video quality IMO is reasonable but
normally less then DVD. There is a vast selection of content online but if
any would be considered worth while viewing is highly dependant on an
individuals personal taste.

The number of simultaneous feeds would limited first by the max numbers of
devices that are allowed per account which I believe to be 4 and possibly by
the home network or internet connection.


I've viewed a few gems from Netflix online that I won't have likely rented
or found for viewing on television at a time that suited my schedule. So
it's kind of nice to have as filler but not a compelling source on it's own.

the best experience is on the Xbox 360 if you have a gold membership and use the
XBox interface. the quality is far better. or on my Samsung Blu Ray I can get a
limited number of HD streams from Netflix.

I've not tried the vmcnetflix plugin with an extender since the experience on
even a high end 1920 x 1080p desktop replacement monster using the W7 MCE
interface is not wonderful. Netflix is great for netbooks and small size and
resolution laptops IMO.

I did a couple of free trials, but for my needs, it wasn't a good fit. It may be
for yours. I'm kinda a HD snob..

On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 14:38:12 -0500, "Pete Delgado" <>
wrote:

>I am considering subscribing to Netflix in order to use the service to
>stream content to my various devices through Media Center on Windows 7. I
>have in the past, used Cinema Now and wasn't really too happy with the
>quality of the video stream, so I wonder if anyone who currently uses the
>Netflix service can comment on the following:
>
>1. Video quality of the streams
>2. Number of simultaneous streams (I have a lot of devices and my children
>may want to watch something different than me)
>3. Content availability
>4.Other issues
>5. Use on devices such as the Linksys DMA 2200 (vmcnetflix plugin) or XBox
>360
>
>-Pete
>
Barb Bowman
MS-MVP
http://www.digitalmediaphile.com
http://digitalmediaphile.wordpress.com

"Barb Bowman" <> wrote in message
news:...
> the best experience is on the Xbox 360 if you have a gold membership and
> use the
> XBox interface. the quality is far better. or on my Samsung Blu Ray I can
> get a
> limited number of HD streams from Netflix.
>
> I've not tried the vmcnetflix plugin with an extender since the experience
> on
> even a high end 1920 x 1080p desktop replacement monster using the W7 MCE
> interface is not wonderful. Netflix is great for netbooks and small size
> and
> resolution laptops IMO.
>
> I did a couple of free trials, but for my needs, it wasn't a good fit. It
> may be
> for yours. I'm kinda a HD snob..

As am I! ;-) I find it difficult to watch SDTV content any more!

Even the high resolution feeds on Cinema Now looked about as good as
standard television on MCE 2005 and is one of the reasons that I cancelled
the service. I guess I will try the free Netflix trial to see if it suits
me, but I don't have high hopes for it.

-Pete

let us know what you think after the trial.

On Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:19:45 -0500, "Pete Delgado" <>
wrote:

>Even the high resolution feeds on Cinema Now looked about as good as
>standard television on MCE 2005 and is one of the reasons that I cancelled
>the service. I guess I will try the free Netflix trial to see if it suits
>me, but I don't have high hopes for it.
Barb Bowman
MS-MVP
http://www.digitalmediaphile.com
http://digitalmediaphile.wordpress.com

"Barb Bowman" <> wrote in message
news:...
> let us know what you think after the trial.
>
> On Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:19:45 -0500, "Pete Delgado"
> <>
> wrote:
>
>>Even the high resolution feeds on Cinema Now looked about as good as
>>standard television on MCE 2005 and is one of the reasons that I cancelled
>>the service. I guess I will try the free Netflix trial to see if it suits
>>me, but I don't have high hopes for it.
> Barb Bowman
> MS-MVP
> http://www.digitalmediaphile.com
> http://digitalmediaphile.wordpress.com

Barb,
Thus far I'm not too impressed. The Netflix widgets adjust the bitrate of
the content to account for your bandwidth in order to ensure that streaming
begins as quickly as possible. While this may be desirable on the desktop,
when I want to watch a movie on a 57" widescreen TV I need as good a quality
as possible for the best experience. Unlike cinemanow, there doesn't appear
to be a way to set your bit-rate manually and have the widget store the
media after download so that you can watch it in the highest quality.
As-is, the content is barely watchable on my 24" monitor.

To test, I watched a variety of content such as animated TV shows and recent
major film releases.

I'm going to apply for a developer account over the holidays to see if there
is anything that can be done to improve the experience for people like me,
but it appears that the majority of the content has been encoded in very
lossy codecs and that not much can be done to improve the experience for
streaming content to larger screens.

Oh well... :-(

-Pete

if you come up with anything, I have this 52 inch Samsung.. I'd love an improved
experience to play with :-)

On Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:44:59 -0500, "Pete Delgado" <>
wrote:

>I'm going to apply for a developer account over the holidays to see if there
>is anything that can be done to improve the experience for people like me,
>but it appears that the majority of the content has been encoded in very
>lossy codecs and that not much can be done to improve the experience for
>streaming content to larger screens.
Barb Bowman
MS-MVP
http://www.digitalmediaphile.com
http://digitalmediaphile.wordpress.com

"Barb Bowman" <> wrote in message
news:...
> if you come up with anything, I have this 52 inch Samsung.. I'd love an
> improved
> experience to play with :-)

How about the ability to play up to 6 poorly encoded streams all at once on
the same monitor! ;-)

-Pete

um, I'll pass.. ;-)

On Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:46:33 -0500, "Pete Delgado" <>
wrote:

>How about the ability to play up to 6 poorly encoded streams all at once on
>the same monitor! ;-)
Barb Bowman
MS-MVP
http://www.digitalmediaphile.com
http://digitalmediaphile.wordpress.com