Slashdot Mirror
Disc-Free Netflix Streaming Arrives For the PS3 and Wii
tkdog writes "Netflix has added Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii to the list of devices that can stream their catalog's content without the need for a disc. On the Netflix blog, VP Greg Peters adds, 'In addition to removing the need for discs, we've developed a new user interface on both applications that significantly improves the experience. The new applications will allow you to search for content directly from the device and you'll also be able to view an increasing portion of our content library with subtitles or alternate audio tracks.'"
What I love most about Netflix is the ability to watch movies online as well as have them send me DVDs in the mail.
But everything seems to play fine on my PS3. One thing that's awesome is that you can push and hold the left and right and scroll continuously through the lists. Also, it shows 2 horizontal lists instead of one list. Nothing wrong with it, but I'd prefer to be able to choose how it's displayed.
Give a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. But light a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Absolutely love streaming Netflix on my PS3. This just made it even easier for me to be lazy and never need to get off my couch!
What exactly does this mean? Does this mean that only a hand-full of content will be streamed or will it be any item in their library? How does the Xbox version compare? Same?
Canada has had this technology for weeks now!
God, I've always wanted to say that.
This is my signature. There are many signatures like it, but this one is mine.
Well, given I haven't updated my 3.15 PS3, but also have a 3.41 update firmware on my hard drive. And given all updates beyond 3.41 were more of ways to stamp out jailbreaks than actual features (well, there's the crippled 3D Blu-Ray support... but anyone with 3DTVs would probably want a better 3D Blu-Ray player that what the PS3 gives you).
This might be the only real reason to lose the jailbreak...
Anyhow, I wonder what Microsoft has to counter this - their Fall Update is due soon. They need to give Netflix out for free at the minimum, but the 5.1/1080p support is also required. Fun times.
I have to wonder if Microsoft was somehow behind the delay since the xbox has had this for quite some time, its a decent part of the reason an xbox is sitting under my projector instead of a PS3, I didn't want to wait for a disk to watch my movies. What can I say, I'm impatient.
Engadget is reporting that the disks will stop working after 31 days, however it's not clear if that's all disks or just those that downloaded the update.
Anyone know for sure for those of us that are holding out for OtherOS?
Losing the disk for the Wii is great, and the search function is something I've pined after for many an evening. However, Netflix has yet to address my biggest concern: Bandwidth usage.
I'd like it if I had more control over how much of my pipes Netflix gets to use. Yes, I know I can diddle my router/modem to fix this, but it needs to be in the interface. Y'see, I play multiplayer FPS games (mostly TF2) during my downtime, which is co-incidentally the same time other people in the house have downtime. They'll load up the Netflix streaming player on their laptops, and my latency will double for thirty seconds. Which wouldn't be so bad, if Netflix didn't continue to hog the entire pipe for three quarters of a second every five seconds after the main load to update its buffer. Mix in the weird lag compensation Valve uses for TF2 and the relatively high latency values I get on my favorite server, and trying to use any strategy but sentry-humping turtling becomes impossible.
Needless to say, this kinda ruins my entertainment. I've come a cease-fire agreement with the other parties in the house about usage periods and times, but the truce remains uneasy.
You should turn signatures off.
On the XBox 360 I'd simply take a client was a bit more stable. Heck, I'd probably even be willing to put in a disk. When I use the Netflix application, trying to fast forward or reverse more than a few seconds leads to probably about a 30% chance of being kicked out of the movie and back to the screen you were on when you selected it. What's more, it seems that most of the time this happens the software loses all record of where you were in the movie.
I'm shocked that the player could have such a basic usability problem on known (locked down) hardware used by so many people. Hardware, I might add, where you have to be signed up for an extra pay service (XBox Live gold) in addition to your Netflix subscription and Internet service just to be able to watch the streaming movies.
"You call it a new way of thinking; I call it regression to ignorance!" -- Operation Ivy
Why did it take them until now to figure out that people might want to search through the selection of thousands of movies?
I was hoping something like this would happen. The CD drive (can I call it a CD-ROM?) failed and was replaced with a new unit. I have not yet had a chance to try replacing the drive... but this means I can add streaming to the TV in the bedroom. While it seems the Wii only plays games when my little one has friends over, it gets used for Netflix on a regular basis.
+++ UGUCAUCGUAUUUCU
It might be a little rough around the edges, but I'm limited only by whatever media I have stored on my FTP server, SD Card or USB drive. Being able to view videos from Youtube and listen to Shoutcast streams is pretty nice as well.
http://www.wiimc.org/
Sure, you need to install the Homebrew Channel first, but that's easy enough.
Does "alternate audio tracks" include RiffTrax? Because I would be all over that.
I credit Apple with the UI improvements - the tivo, ps3 and wii all worked, just not well. With the new apple tv you can search for a movie and then watch it. Leave it to Steve to point out the obvious.
Yeah it's functional.... but search plx? okthxbai!
If there's something I miss transitioning from the disc to an installable app, it's the horizontal scroll bar I could grab with the Wii Remote and quickly scroll through my Instant Queue.
With 100+ entries in my queue, it's a pain-in-the-ass having to hold left/right to get to a movie/show located around the center of the queue. Yes, I know I can "fling" the remote left/right and release the button to "dash" through my queue, but it still doesn't scroll as much as it should, and it's awkward in execution to actually do it in the first place.
Other than that, nice to finally ditch the disc and I have long yearned for the search feature.
And of course you'll get the *.A.As ALL on the side of the duopoly, because they know with no bandwidth piracy will drop to almost nothing in the USA.
True, without bandwidth, there can't be widespread movie piracy over BitTorrent. But without bandwidth, studios in the MPAA can't earn royalties from Netflix either.
the time it took you to write this post you could have googled your router model + set up QOS
Google WGR614 QOS or WGR614 custom firmware shows that the stock firmware doesn't support it, and unlike the WGR614L, the WGR614 has only 1 MB of RAM, into which the vast majority of custom firmwares don't fit.
It does, after all, have a web browser. I use it all the time. You can rather painlessly switch between the Netflix streaming app (for watching movies) and the web browser (for searching for movies to stream).
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
You know they send you DVDs because they're in your request queue, right? Empty your queue and send the disk back. Problem solved!
I have both a PS3 and a Tivo and I'll definitely be using my PS3 more for streaming now. I'm hoping that someone at Tivo gets a clue and pushes for updates to the Netflix client on their devices. I love my Tivo's but the Netflix client is absolutely terrible.
Tivo if you read slashdot update your damn client!!! :-P
I've already solved the Netflix disc problem (and the scratched disc problem... I have kids)
with HBC and USBLoaderGX. The USBLoaderGX channel made it easy for the rest of
the family.
The question I have, and can't find answered anywhere, is will the Wii disc version
continue to work?
Anyone with homebrew setup can install the disc like any game to a usb harddrive and already run disc-less. You can even make main "channels" that directly launch it seamlessly through the homebrew channel like any other game you have installed. I haven't used a disc for any of my wii games since installing the homebrew channel.
Nintendo may be anti-hacking but at least they haven't done anything shady like disable the homebrew channel after it's been installed. That channel is the only reason why my wii gets used (dont own any other game systems or play pc games either).
How big is this update? I'm already saving Rock Band songs on an SD card, having filled my Wii with games and downloads; I don't see how swapping out cards is any more convenient than swapping disks.
This is great news, but it bothers me. As a Linux user I can't use Netflix's streaming content, despite being a paying customer. I've watched many movies and television shows on hulu.com with no problems. There are no technical issues, Netflix just doesn't have a problem with giving the middle finger to some of their paying customers.
Is this slashdot? Aren't we all against DRM? Isn't this thing chock full to the brim with DRM? Just wondering.
And most people still don't have HDTVs.
It was two-thirds by May. A home user can't even buy a new SDTV anymore. In your area, when an SDTV breaks, do people replace it with an HDTV, or do they hit the thrift store for a second-hand SDTV?
And most HDTVs have input for HDMI, which the default PC doesn't put out audio over, requiring a separate cable
What on this page about setting up an HTPC is confusing?
This innovation is due to legal rather than technological reasons. I'm happy Netflix found a workaround to get service to me earlier than this. http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/11/xbox-officially-the-only-console-able-to-stream-netflix-sorry/
When does netflix come to linux?
Hulu.com has no problem streaming movies to linux users, why does Netflix?
To install the Netflix app, the PS3 firmware needs to be up-to-date. So PS3 owners who have not updated their firmware so that they do not loose the "Other OS" option will not be able to install the Netflix app. To make matters worse, the Netflix disc will stop working after 30 days. The only way to use Netflix on PS3 is to update the firmware.
Netflix USA and Netflix Canada are two very different things, as far as content goes.
First, let me say that what Netflix is doing is really great. They offer their services on a lot of devices and their streaming-only service in Canada is only 8$CAD per month. I'm sure all the competition is scared of Netflix, especially the cables companies. I can't wait to see them try to lower our already-low monthly caps to try and stop Netflix from gaining ground. I even bet the CRTC will stay silent and do nothing when it happens.
Second, a quick comment about their use of SilverLight for their computer streaming. A lot of people switched to Mac to stop using Microsoft software. A non-Silverlight native program for Mac OS X would solve that problem. It doesn't have to be in a damn browser window. But since I own an iPod touch, a Wii and the new Apple TV, I still have plenty of choices for viewing Netflix, so that SilverLight problem is easy to go around. Not everyone has that many choices though, so the sooner they can drop SilverLight, the better. Linux users are completely left out for now.
Third, the major problem with Netflix Canada is the selection itself. I don't know if it's the CRTC, the Canadian television networks or some other legal thing but the choice of content is extremely limited. And when I say extremely, I'm not kidding.
How about current TV shows? Not only are these not available, but even the previous years:
- American Dad, Chuck, The Cleveland Show, Doctor Who (except the classic series), Eureka, Family Guy, Futurama, Robot Chicken, The Simpsons, South Park, Stargate Universe, V (original and new series), Warehouse 13.
Would I be happy with older TV shows? Sure, if the list was good enough.
- Better Off Ted, Cheers, Corner Gas, Seinfeld, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis are not available.
The only TV series I was happy to see in the list was Heroes. Too bad NBC cancelled it before we had a proper ending.
What about old movies? A quick search gave me these results:
- 12 Monkeys, Coneheads, Dark City, Dune, Gattaca, Lord of War, Lost in Space, Pitch Black, Shaun of the Dead are available
- Ace Ventura, Aliens, Army of Darkness, Blade Runner, Galaxy Quest, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, Mars Attacks!, Men in Black, The Naked Gun, Office Space, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Predator, Soylent Green, Stargate, Terminator (except T2) and Spaceballs are not available.
So what is available, exactly? Not a lot. Forget recent box-office movies. If it's recent you most probably never even heard of it and if it's old it's really, really old. Go ahead, try to search your favorite movies and TV shows. You'll be disappointed.
As things are now, I cancelled my free one-month membership before it was even over. But as soon as Netflix Canada gets a half-decent selection, I'm restarting my membership.
I tried it last night. It works great. The only downside is that I had to let the wii upgrade its firmware so that I could access the shop. That took it 20 minutes and it will prevent running homebrew apps.
Not having to put in the disk is a big convenience, but it is still very slow to start up. I timed it at 42 seconds, compared to 6 seconds to enter Netflix on AppleTV. A big improvement is that the display of the queue shows 10 titles at once, which is twice as many as most Netflix clients (although AppleTV shows 21), which makes it easier to browse a large queue. The info pop-up for the selected title is a nice touch, although I wish it showed more than 3 lines. Scrolling is very fast, although I found it difficult to control with the analog joystick. It always seemed to be either too fast or too slow--I think the sensitivity of the joystick could stand some tweaking. Unfortunately, the images can't keep up with the fast scrolling, so you have to stop to let the cover pictures catch up. Performance seems fine. I found one title in my queue that had Dolby 5.1, indicated by an annotation on the info screen.
Does it means I can expect Netflix on Linux soon? I can't believe that nobody hacked that so far.
-- Miki Tebeka The only difference between children and adults is the price of the toys.
I haven't updated my Wii yet (and I'm using NetFlix on my Blu-Ray player these days instead of the Wii), but it seems like you could scroll a page at a time using the + and - buttons. Does that work on the installable version?
It looks like they borked their login code somehow since it refuses to log me in, despite the fact that the exact same username/password is working fine for me on my desktop and iPhone. It says it can't find an account with matching information, so I don't know if the issue is with the "+" in my e-mail address (you would not believe how many sites have issues with that) or what it might be.
Perhaps one day you'll understand the issue of a non-geek wife objecting to nerd cables and clutter in the living room.
Then wouldn't an ION nettop have a wife acceptance factor at least as high as that of a Wii console? Khyber, hairyfeet, Cwix, and h4rr4r appear to agree.
Netflix buys the rights with a small, one time payment for streaming content.
I was not aware of that. If that is the case, then please allow me to rephrase:
But without bandwidth, studios in the MPAA can't earn sizable one-time payments from Netflix for new films.
Wii DVD drives aren't meant to stream content, like a movie, from the disc.
Then why is a movie's worth of cut scenes stored on the Super Smash Bros. Brawl disc?
Better to buy yourself a $20 DVD player from Wal-Mart, and call it a day.
I've learned that some people have problems merely hooking up yellow, white, and red, and would have to make an appointment for a geek relative to show up and hook up the DVD player only to find that the TV's inputs are filled with the cable box and the Wii console.