jfg wrote:I know it seems silly, but if Netflix wants streaming to succeed they need to find a way to provide HD streams of movies that exist in HD. I didn't upgrade all my home theater equipment to watch movies in the same quality I watched them in before I upgraded. They do have a ton of HD content that I'll never get around to watching but to add movies made for the HD format in SD is kind of stupid.... it's probably not them, it's probably the studios, but if they really want to get people to go all streaming they still have a ton of work to do.
It's mostly due in part to the studios. They have the leverage as a content provider to say which content goes up into Netflix's library and if it's in HD/SD. It's the same relationship with the cable and telco companies, as well. Content providers are also reluctant to embrace streaming since the residual revenues aren't as lucrative as with cable and Blu-ray/DVD sales. They acknowledge there is a market for streaming and why they have an extensive content library with Netflix. Only thing is they still nudge you into renting/buying their more popular titles.
For movies like Iron Man and Star Trek, I would just rent the Blu-ray and for movies that don't really "need" the HD upscaling, use Netflix streaming. That's what I do right now.
Speaking of Apple TV, did you hear/see the Apple event yesterday? Can't say I'm all that excited about the reboot of Apple TV. I remember when the first Apple TV came out about 4 years ago, it was basically an ignored hobbyist product. Apple is pushing more of an effort into the new Apple TV product and it's 99 cents an episode rental. On Amazon, it's 99 cents to purchase an episode and you get to keep it as well. Plus, Roku and Boxee have been out for a long while now, they're good products, and perhaps cheaper than Apple TV.
I have a Western Digital Live Plus which is much better than Apple TV and about the same price. The interface sucks so Apple has it beat there as always, but it plays anything I throw at it which Apple doesn't do. As long as Apple TV doesn't have MKV support it's not suitable as a media center solution...
However, if I didn't have a device that streamed Netflix yet and that's all that I was looking for I would buy the Apple TV in a heartbeat. You know with Apple that the interface will be great and it will work without many glitches unlike most devices that have the added benefit of Netflix. My guess it will be on par with how Netflix works on the 360 without the extra price for Live.
do we really need to discuss the market power of apple, or should we just leave it with Zune mp3 players.. apple is a monster right now and what they say goes.. even if there is a superior product out there, apple's product will dominate the market and so the distributers of material will flock to whatever medium apple uses, thus making other products obsolete.
I buy Apple products as long as I'm not affected by the limitations. I haven't used another companies products that are as glitch free and UI friendly as Apple and you never feel like it's a pain to use their products. But, that's largely because of the limitations they put on their stuff. Like I said, if I was looking for a Netflix player I'd get an Apple TV. There's a reason people blindly buy Apple, it's called loyalty because they know they are going to get something that isn't going to give them headaches.
lastingsgriller wrote:do we really need to discuss the market power of apple, or should we just leave it with Zune mp3 players.. apple is a monster right now and what they say goes.. even if there is a superior product out there, apple's product will dominate the market and so the distributers of material will flock to whatever medium apple uses, thus making other products obsolete.
The instant when Apple became a monster.
"I do not think baseball of today is any better than it was 30 years ago... I still think Radbourne is the greatest of the pitchers." John Sullivan 1914-Old athletes never change.
Yeah, lots of new stuff added this week, but I wasn't impressed as a whole. I have been enjoying all the seasons of Family Guy and The First 48. Love my Watch It Now for tv serieseses.
“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” --Henry David Thoreau
If you didn't know, a few months ago, Netflix announced an extra monthly fee for DVD rental delivery and there was some consumer backlash on that move. They've taken it one step far by separating Netflix's DVD and streaming operations: Qwikster for DVD's and Netflix for streaming.
It's really a drastic, stupid move. Streaming is convenient, but the DVD collection has a more vast selection (although new releases are being released to streaming faster than before). Even worse is, the new lack of synergy between the two services. For example, your Qwikster queue will be different from your Netflix queue. If I wanted to catch a movie/TV series from my DVD queue right away via streaming, I could do that. No longer with this new realignment.
jfg wrote:I think the funniest thing is that this was passed off as an attempt to apologize for the price hikes.
Yeah, that and Netflix panicked over its falling stock prices.
jfg wrote:If you guys haven't watched the IT Crowd, all the seasons are on Instant Watch. I think it's pretty funny... kind of a cross of the British Office and Big Bang Theory.
I didn't read the first couple of pages and only noticed this. Yes, IT Crowd is good, inconsistent but definitely has its moments. First season isn't that impressive (even if Chris Morris was cast as Denholm), but the next three seasons pick up well. The gay musical and the "Internet" episodes crack me up to no end. I try asking this at the local pub during soccer matches, and to my dismay, even the British expats don't follow along.
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