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Windows 8 - Netflix App or WMC plug-in?

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39K views 134 replies 44 participants last post by  mholgate 
#1 ·
Can anyone tell me which is the better way to watch Netflix on Windows 8, the Metro App or Windows Media Center plug-in? I read one forum that said WMC remotes don't work with the App...true or not? But another said the App runs with less load on the processor.
 
#8 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Foxbat121  /t/1450722/windows-8-netflix-app-or-wmc-plug-in#post_22805888


It is not like you can launch WMC automatically via remote. WMC 8 no longer supports auto boot up like WMC7 does.

Not automatically, but you can use a remote to navigate the Start screen. It's just within apps that there's no remote (or even basic keyboard / arrow key) support.
 
#9 ·
That must be the remotes that simulates keyboard and mouse, not the WMC remote. I don't believe WMC remote can let you do that.


A wireless touchpad like Logitech T650 is a better remote than anything else in Windows 8 interface, IMO.I use one currently and love it.
 
#11 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by pirspilane  /t/1450722/windows-8-netflix-app-or-wmc-plug-in#post_22806292


Sure you can. Just press the green button with the WMC logo on it and it launches. At least on Vista. It doesn't seem to work on W8 for some reason.

What are you all talking about? WMC starts up in Win8 just fine using the remote "Start/Green Button" command.


What is missing for WMC startup in Win8 is the boot into WMC option that was found under the Tasks settings. In my setup Win8 simply boots to the desktop. On my remote I hit Start and WMC starts. However, most of the time WMC is already running since I'm not rebooting every time I turn on the TV. Maybe I'm missing the problem here.
 
#15 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jhoff80  /t/1450722/windows-8-netflix-app-or-wmc-plug-in#post_22807299


Regardless, it's kind of off topic. The answer is that if you don't need remote support, use the Windows 8 app, it's much better. If you do need remote support, you're stuck with the WMC version.

I just installed it and tried it. What's the benefit it offers over just using your browser?
 
#20 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Karyk  /t/1450722/windows-8-netflix-app-or-wmc-plug-in#post_22807386


I just installed it and tried it. What's the benefit it offers over just using your browser?

Besides the fact that you don't need Silverlight installed to run the app, because the app has a better interface, and Search charm support, mostly.


To find a movie in the browser version you have to either manually enter the URL or open your shortcut, click on the search field, and then enter what you're looking for. With the app, you press ctrl-Q from anywhere (or swipe or use the mouse), type what you want, and then click the big Netflix button, and you're already at your list of results.
 
#21 ·
note that the Windows Store Netflix app (the Metro app) requires an HDCP compliant card and monitor to work. I have a 3 monitor display, 2 of which are DVI and 1 is VGA. I can play Netflix on the DVI monitors but not the VGA. I get an error message when trying to run the app on the VGA monitor.


with Windows Media Center or the web browser, I can run Netflix on the VGA monitor.
 
#22 ·
The HDCP requirement is enforced probably due to the fact that you can get HD stream (and the new Super HD) from the metro App and your browser app only allows SD stream. Not that you can tell much difference with such a low bitrate (Super HD may be different but you have to be lucky enough to use one of the few ISPs).


As for audio output, I did a test yesterday. My receiver reports LPCM 7.1 signal whenever I play a movie from Netflix app. But from what I can tell, sound only comes out from two front speakers. So, 5.1 surround sound is not there yet but it is interesting that Netflix app will switch to LPCM 7.1 mode. Not sure if it is due to the limitation of Metro API or just the limitation of the current app.
 
#23 ·
the weird thing is the error message is generic and incorrect:


in this picture, the left monitor (DVI) is set as the secondary display while the middle monitor (DVI) is set as the primary display. the third monitor (VGA) is set as the start screen/metro monitor:


netflix error saying something about internet connection problem now (error code: W8157-80004004) but it's not at all related to the Internet connection at all (well, I guess it's "sort of")




in this picture, the left monitor (DVI) is set as the primary display. the middle monitor (DVI) is set as the start screen/metro monitor and the third monitor (VGA) is set as the third display:


netflix success
 
#24 ·
I got something similar this morning when testing Netflix app on my Surface RT connected to the TV. First of all, in Win8, if you have multiple monitor, they all have to be set to the same resolution. And for a tablet or laptop, that means your external TV or monitor need to be set to the lowest common denorminator. Which will be 720p in most cases because low end laptop and Surface RT are 768p and a lot TVs don't support this resolution. And a lot of the video apps won't work in 720p mode (1376x768 minimum). So I learnt to disable touch screen and use second screen only. When I was testing Netflix this morning. I guess there is some handshake problem and when playing a movie, Netflix give me this generic error message indicating something wrong with my video card and video card driver. I unplugged the HDMI cable and re-inserted couple times and the error cleared out.
 
#25 ·
that's not my experience so far with multiple monitors. in the above image, there are 3 monitors going. The far left is 1280x1024. The middle is 1080x1920. The right is 1600x1200. The Netflix is running on the 1080x1920 display.


The Netflix app will also run on my 1920x1080 display and my 1280x1024 display, in addition to my 1080x1920 in the above example.
 
#26 ·
Probably something to do with the graphics card. Both of my laptops won't let me chose different resolutions on different monitors. One is surface RT with NVidia Tegra 3 chipset and the other is an old Gateway Core i5 laptop with intel IGP. I'm pretty sure when I was running Win7 on that laptop, I can select different resolutions.
 
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