I'll put this one in Home Theater instead of Water Cooler, as it really does have to do with HT stuff.

Next Tuesday the PS3 will be able to install a Netflix app instead of having to use the BD for streaming. The new interface will run on the Cell processor natively, instead of inside a Java virtual machine, so it will be much quicker. Also full browsing of all streaming titles will be possible, and a text search. (Apparently the app is already available for Canadian NF subscribers.)

Additionally, on Monday Netflix will be making some HD titles available in 1080i, and upping the sound to Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. The PS3 will be the first device to support both of these formats.

That is awesome news.

Hope the rooks, ESP the oldest ones, get at least the 5.1.

All models will be getting all features.

Netflix doesn't have their blog updated yet, but the Playstation one has this: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/10/14/netflixps3/

Nice!

How does the HD streaming work over wireless? Can you let it cache for a couple of minutes first so that it doesn't get stuck or lower quality, or can you really only do this over a wired connection?

Over wireless, Netflix caches to create a buffer. I stream NF using a Samsung BD-P3600. The High def stuff looks about as good as a cable high def channel. I've not yet had it choke on the stream and have to buffer during playback, although the picture might occasionally stutter.

I hope NF rolls out the increase sound and picture resolution to other TV playback devices (mine included).

Netflix steaming always buffers. The playback devices pick the video quality based on how quickly the initial buffer fills. During playback the quality can increase or decrease based on current network conditions.

Even better, Netflix just gave Sony an updated version of the app to be distributed on Tuesday, and it supports 1080p instead of just 1080i.

Very cool. I should really start using Netflix streaming.

How could I get netflix if I am not in the USA?

Really, you can't. Netflix only serves the US, and Canada.

With a US account, you definitely need a shipping address because they need a place to send your DVD/BD rentals. Canadian customers can do streaming-only, but they have less titles available at this time.

Even if you could get by that, their streaming service only allow US/CA IP addresses to access their servers. It might be possible to get a VPN with a US end-point, but that'll hurt performance pretty badly. Really, even without the VPN what kind of sustained connection can you maintain to US servers? Netflix HD needs 3+ Mbps.

Really, you can't.

Sweet. I've always used my xbox for netflix streaming because I found the interface to be much better and I didn't have to get off the couch to put in a disc. Hope the new PS3 netflix app is much better than the current version. With text search capability, 5.1, and 1080p it doesn't sound like I'll be watching netflix on my xbox anymore.

And, you don't have to pay sony 50 bucks per year for the servic,( although I'll keep my xbox gold membership for gaming anyway.)

Are you sure? I had to pay up to get Hulu plys on my PS3. I would imagine this will be the same.

Nope, the Netflix app is free to all PS3 users (you still have to pay the Netflix bill). Hulu Plus will also be free to all users (same deal with the bill), once the "Preview" period is over.

Does netflix streaming have new movies as soon as they come out, or is the selection more limited?

It depends, but in general the disc selection is much greater than the streaming selection.

Not to hijack the thread or anything . . .

I haven't purchased a blu-ray player yet and I am wondering if there are any significant advantages in getting a PS3 as opposed to one of the Panasonic models that allows wireless streaming of Netflix. I don't play video games so that is not a factor, but the wife and I do use the Netflix streaming service quite often.

Any advice from current PS3 owners that use Netflix to stream movies?

Thanks in advance.

Advantage: Wait 30 minutes for a firmware update before watching a movie. Then have the fun of trying to figure out what Sony just removed from your device!

PS3 is the most versatile BD player out there. However, it does *not* have any IR capabilities so if you have a universal remote, you have to buy some add-on devices to get it to work.

Since the cell processor is so much more advanced in any other BD players, it can emulate just about anything in software. For example, all the hidef codecs are supported, and 3D is supported.

Having said all that, I still use my Oppo for BD playback! I happen to have the older PS3 and the fan kicks in way too often.

Became a customer this morning. Not bad! Choice is pretty limited yet in Canada, but for the price, I will save about 15$ per month by reducing my cable plan. I will just have to monitor the capping on my Internet connection (limited to 100G).

So far very satisfied. Quality is very good and there was not a single time a hint of a streaming lag. 2.0. It will be much better when the 5.1 will be available, though!

Sorry, should have explained better. For Netlfix streaming to work on xbox360 you must have a netflix subscription AND an xboxlive GOLD account which is 50 bucks per year.

I think we understood.

What he was getting at is: for now, in order to gain access to the Hulu Plus Preview software one has to subscribe to PlayStation Plus, which is also about $50 a year. That requirement won't be there for the new Netflix app, nor Hulu Plus once it comes out of preview.

oh, didn't know that there was such a thing as playstation plus... guess I have been in the dark.

Are you serious?

The PS3 does take a long time on updates for games, firmware, etc. All updates for the xbox console or games are much faster.

I never update my ps3 right before watching a movie or playing a game unless I absolutely have to because it takes forever (it is required before going online so will have to do it for netflix).

I think you can set it to auto update though but not sure.

There's an auto update, but it's part of PlayStation Plus. Before that I'd just ignore the update message until it was time to go to sleep. Then I'd start the update and tell it to power off when done.

ahhh... that's right, I remember reading about the PS3 plus at the same time I was reading about the auto update feature.

Naw, I'm just throwing dirt around.

Curses! Soiled again!

great pic!

For what it's worth, the PS3 delivers more value than a standalone player. It can basically do everything. But you pay a little more for it.

Just like DVD decks, the difference in quality between components is shrinking. Blu ray deck sellers are attracting buyers with their internet-ready add-ons, like Pandora, YouTube, Netflix, etc.

I own 3 Blu Ray players - a Sammy BD-p1400, a BD-p3600 and an Insignia (Best Buy house brand) NS-BRDVD3. The 3600 does Netflix, Youtube, Blockbuster and Pandora. The Insignia does Netflix & some others after firmware update. The 1400 does just blu (it is not a profile 2.0 player).

The difference in quality between the Insignia and the Sammies are unintelligible when playing a blu disc. The 3600 and the BRDVD3 each stream netflix at what appears to me to be the same quality, although I actually prefer the functionality of the Insignia Netflix interface. The 3600 does a slightly better job of upconverting DVD discs (and it connects wirelessly to the internet).

My suggestion would be to research some of the value decks out there, including Insignia's NS-WBRDVD, which connects to the internet wirelessly. It can be gotten from BB or on the gray market for ~$150 - $175. If dvd performance is VERY important, consider a "name" brand unit over the Insignias (reports indicate that the Insignia decks are made at the same factory that assembles LG and Samsung players, and is a hybrid of the two). If Netflix streaming is a top priority, I can definitely recommend the BRDVD3, which loads blu rays faster than either of my other players, too. Beware of lemons - but assuming you get a good one, you'll be happy.

I was home at lunch, and without even checking for it there's a Netflix icon under the video section of the XMB now. I guess it was on a timer to automatically show up. Didn't have time to do anything with it, can't wait to try when I get home this evening.

Downloaded the netflix app at lunch

Diskless streaming for Wii has reportedly been released, too.

Now, where's that Android app?

Netflix interface seems nice on PS3...

I still see room for improvement. I can only search for titles of movies, cant search for actors, etc.

Also, I like being able to take the lists of genres and place them in a sortable list and sort by date, rating, etc.

Since these two features are lacking I will probably still use the computer to add most movies to my disc queue. The ability to search at all is nice though as this feature is missing from the xbox.

I would also like to be able to search for movies in surround and/or 1080p... how you find those buried in the collection of streaming movies I have no idea.

I picked a movie and it started up about as fast as the xbox streams do.

Overall very impressed and will be using ps3 instead of xbox to stream movies now. My xbox is so friggin' loud that this will be great.

With the disc it was possible to know if a movie had an HD stream or not. That's not presented to the user until the movie is playing now, and then only if one hits the Display button (that also will tell if it has surround sound). Would be nice to know up front.

I do like it more than the disc though.

I installed the PS3 Netflix app on the PS3 today.

The PS3 in the family/theater room.

Previously I only streamed Netflix movies from my very private home office PC.

Did you know "Recently watched" migrates from the PC to the PS3?

This could get awkward.

It's recently watched on the Netflix account, not machine specific. So yeah, be careful.

Please, clue us in ...

What kind of titles is Netflix offering that the wife and kids can't know about?

Start with "9 Songs".

Gotta love Google images .

9 Songs seems like the kind of movie you could watch together, though.

Err, 9-songs? Ummm never heard of that one. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

In a bathtub.

Sounds dangerous.

*ZOT!*

Has anyone found an HD movie with surround to test out?

I have. HD with surround is pretty good visually, although once you get used to Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio, nothing else compares. The movie selection in Canada is weak I find. I won't renew after the free trial.

Do you remember any of the titles you watched with 5.1 DD+? I couldn't find anyone making a list on the Internet.

I watched U-571 on Netflix, sounded pretty good. I'm not familiar with DD+, but most new Blu-rays are recorded in lossless audio-DD TrueHD or DTS Master Audio.

Using the menu on the PS3, you can switch between bitstream and Linear PCM to change between the formats (DD and DD True HD) the difference is very noticeable.

Aaarrrgh. Just tried it tonight and it would not connect to my account. Then some company arrived so I had to abandon the experiment. I'll try again later. Eventually when I get it going I'd like to compare Netflix to a BRD I already have to see how noticeable the difference is.

Anybody else have trouble connecting on their PS3?

I too looked for a list on the internet. I called netflix and they said there are about 5-600 titles with surround sound right now. I asked if there was a way to search on the site or the ps3 for surround only and they said no. They said that as more devices support surround and more titles are available they would likely add it to the website as a search criteria (similar to the HD genre)

bummer, u-571 isn't a streaming option in the US.

Netflix has been experiencing trouble with their sites today. Maybe too many streaming requests now that they've made it easier?

Update - I tried gain after company left last night and my PS3 logged right in and I was streaming U571 in no time. Maybe it was because I had just created both my Netflix and Paypal accounts so they hadn't completely synced up yet? Now I just have to play with the service to understand all of my options. Thanks for the update on searching for surround titles, I won't waste time on that at least. Still curious on doing a visual high def comparo to BluRay when I have time - hopefully tonight if I can find a title that is both on Netflix and on my shelf.

You would Think someone would start a list of movies with surround sound somewhere but I haven't found it...

Here's a list, but it looks like they stopped updating it in early 2010.

Err... that list is not for Netflix.

I spent my lunch searching for any movie on Netflix that I have on BRD at home - not a single match. I get that they don't have the latest movies on Netflix, but even an old one like iRobot was not available. I wonder if it's a studio issue?

In any case I started watching U-571 just because, and I do notice significant video artifact. Banding in the underwater scenes is quite prominent, but I can't know if this is due to source material or introduced by the streaming signal. Audio sounds reasonable without having critically listened to it.

The HD steaming on NF, is no where near comparable to BD, just as their SD steaming is not comparable to DVD. If anything I'd say their SD is like digital cable, and their HD is like HD cable.

I limit my steaming viewing to things where I don't care about picture quality. Mostly TV series.

But if you check carefully, they do have some titles on HD streaming that are not available on anything but DVD. In this case the streaming offers better quality than disc rental.

While NF announced recently that they are now a streaming company that also rents discs instead of the other way around (referring to the number of titles viewed each way), I still rely upon them for discs with occasional streaming.

Same here Chris.

Just discovered today that Blockbuster uphere now has a $9.99 monthly charge which gives you all you can watch for the month with one dvd out at a time(which I doubt they follow, except for new releases, as I saw one person take 4 out on the program today). This competes against Netflix's $8.99 and right now BB has the much larger/better inventory to choose from up here. I wonder if the cable companies will follow suit for thier video-on-demand service.

I've been using the Netflix streaming without a disc now since the feature has been available and I am very happy with the difference. It is like night and day. With the disc, it is very slow to have a chosen title buffer and load. Also, it took quite a long time to return to the menu from watching something. Many times a title would stop after about 15 or 20 minutes and rebuffer. All of these issues are completley gone now. There is a much improved interface. I couldn't be happier, unless of course everyone had better bandwidth to get better quality. But the stuff in HD looks pretty good though: somewhere between good DVD quality and Blu-Ray.