Netflix streaming quality - Page 50

I rarely game on my PS3. But I recommend Uncharted 2.

Get Red Dead Redemption, one of the best games released in years.

meh. It's definitely a taste thing. I have it and I can't get into it.

For a brand new older gamer, I would not recommend RDR at all. Uncharted 2 is much more straightforward and is an exclusive game that takes full advantage of the PS3.

For a new old-gamer, I'd suggest starting with Uncharted, then stepping up to Uncharted 2 if you liked that. Also try Gran Turismo if you like cars/racing. Then maybe try a few of the more casual games like Little Big Planet or Modnation Racers (different type of racing than GT). Actually, your best bet is to download the demos of all of the suggested games, then decide which ones to buy based on playing those. One other thing is don't be afraid to play games on the Easy setting if you're new to gaming -- they can still be fun that way. Remember that many games are made for twitchy youngsters. : p

Yeah, but the user interface is sooooo nice. I bought the PS3, but am keeping the ATV as well just to view my iphoto library from my TV. I can do this on the PS3 as well, of course, since I have the Mediatech server running on my imac, but it is sorely lacking compared to the Apple browsing experience.

It is a shame about the 720p cap. The photos look so much better at 1080p via the PS3, just too much trouble browsing for them. Apple's real strength is simplicity and smart UI design.

The 720p cap makes no difference for Netflix. The PS3 just plain looks better, even at 720p. It's the streams (or processing), not the cap.

I love it. I always admired Rock Star Games' Grand Theft Auto series for its innovated sandbox RPG design, but having tried one I quickly found that I don't really want to pretend to be a thug. Red Dead Redemption has the same go-anywhere-do-what-you-like sandbox mechanic, but lets you be kind of a good guy seeking redemption from his former life as an outlaw. The story and dialog are well written and voice acting is very, very good. I'd played a rented copy on my PS3 (my housemate rented it to play on his) and declined to buy it full price cause I had a big stack of unplayed stuff. I recently bought it as a game downloaded to my Xbox's HDD (XBL "Games on Demand"). Being too lazy to get up and change discs, I'd buy all of my games that way if I could .

I also strongly recommend the Uncharted series. They're Indiana-Jones/Tomb-Raider-like action adventures and sort of like playing your way through a movie. Little Big Planet's graphics are amazing, but the game itself is too bizarre for my tastes.

Since you only have a PS3, I can recommend some multi-platform titles that I like. The Prince of Persia series is one of my all-time favorites. I've played all of them since Sands of Time appeared on the last generation of consoles, except for the latest, which didn't review particularly well and seemed like something I could wait for. The Bioshock games are also big favorites (really, really well written sci-fi horror with a heavy philosophical core). I'm starting to get heavily into the Assassin' Creed series. All of these are heavily story-based single player games.

I'm also a big, big Rock Band fan who's spent a small fortune on instrument controllers. In the latest version, you can get controllers that are actual instruments--the game will roll charts which require that you shape real chords on guitar fretboards or play a two octave keyboard one-handed or play a drum kit with cymbals. The original five-button guitar/bass controller and four-pad-plus-kick-pedal drum kit are still there. The game has introduced me to a ton of music that I now love but would probably never have otherwise heard. I unashamedly plan hours of this every week .

I think the reason for lack of 1080p output is lack of processing power. While some 1080p video plays back on hacked atv2, it doesn't do so reliably. Apple's philosophy is to provide a product that always works and works without fiddling by the user.

Geeks might be ok with 1080p playback that works most of the time or even some of the time. However the majority of buyers likely prefer a 720p limited product that is guaranteed to play video smoothly.

This isn't saying whether that design philosophy is right or wrong. Rather, just pointing out the motivation behind it. The good thing is that there are a ton of video steamers on the market! We can all pick one that meets our own needs. Or at least we can all pick one that is closest to our own needs. It seems that none of them are perfect yet.

I would recommend Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 over Grand Tourismo 5. I find sims like GT5 boring, while NFS is much more fun. I also recommend Battlefield Bad Company 2. The grafix and sound are fantastic.

Not sure if it was in this thread but re: Netflix streaming being comparable to VHS, check the start of "Sam Kinison: Breaking the Rules". It appears to literally have been transferred from VHS, complete with dropouts and bad tracking at the bottom.

Did the NF app change on you as it has for several others? Example of the various apps can be found here..http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...2#post19362762

Just got a PS3 this week, and on the first day of use, I had the first UI posted. Then it switched to a cumbersome alternate version of 2nd one on that list. I hate it, there are small icons next to 4 covers that go to 5 cover rows in the video here, but mine interface only displays the 5 covers and the summary box to the side. It also appears 'Zoomed in', with the borders along the side MIA.
I wish after spending so much on this system, that the original app had remained.

Yes. Mine did change sometime last week. I didn't realize it was a widespread change. I used to have #1 now I have #2. I too prefer #1, but it's still nowhere near as nice as Apple's UI.

I have a inexpensive Belkin N router and cable modem from Comcast. When I stream in HD from NF, the PQ is not even as good as DVD quality. Would any of the Roku devices help? I have the Sony S570 BD player.

I went back to NF recently to try streaming BTW moreso than getting movies mailed as I have the cheapest plan possible!

I've had Netflix for quite awhile now, and view my movies through a Wii, and Verizon DSL. About 4 weeks ago we had a tech come over and put a Digital recorder within a new Direct TV box. he also stated he needed to adjust the dish as it had gotten out of alignment, and we may or may not have been getting full HD. We had been getting constant messages saying we had not received ant communication for sometime up to 6 hours.
It was right after this that our Netflix streaming movies slowed to a crawl. It took sometime up to 5 to 10 minutes to get the red bar all the way across, and sometime the movie would stop again after this and reload, only to stall halfway across the bar.
Before it took only a few seconds to load the entire movie and I could watch it all the way without any interruptions at all. I called Netflix and was told i need a minumum of 1.5 Mbps. I did a test today and got a download of 1.855 and upload of .721 Mbps. Right now I cannot watch any Netflix at all. Could the streaming service have sensed I improved something and upgraded my streaming to where I can't watch any longer?
I would upgrade to Fios but our mayor I think has it in with Comcast and won't let Fios in at all. Comcast is out as I had it before and the price went through the roof, with no increase in service.
Any suggestions, how to get at least watchable Netflix streaming?

That is still pretty slow. Do you have any idea what the speed was before the tech came out and messed with your stuff?

The streaming service wouldn't "sense" anything...it just bases the quality of the stream on how fast your connection is. So anyways, there are two things I would do, if I was you.

1. I assume you have your Wii connected wirelessly, so run a speedtest on a wired connection, and then if you can, on a wireless connection. This would tell you if you're having a problem with your wireless network. With speeds that slow, your wireless network should be about the same as your wired connection. If you notice a big difference, then there's something wrong with your wireless network.
2. Check to see what your DSL speeds should be. Call Verizon and complain about the slow speed, and explain the situation that you had no problems streaming prior to the tech coming out. They might be able to identify something wrong with your setup.
3. Do you have a neighbor on the same service? If so, have them run a speedtest and see what they get.

How do you think the two are related? The dish has ZERO to do with DSL. The only possible link would be if the DVR is hooked to the network as D DVRs can be for VOD. There would be an initial download of content, D like to push movies to a hidden portion of the hard drive so you don't have to wait for them to load. Other than that the two are totally unrelated. If the DRV is connected to the network try disconnecting the CAT 5 cable and see if that helps.

Can you up the DSL speed? It depends on how far you are from the switching location, the distance will limit your speed. Did you ever do a speed test before all this happened?

I am using the RCA jacks actually, and no never did a speed test before this, because I had no need to do one.Even If they do actually have no relation to one another, it sure is one strange coincidence that right after I had the tech come out for DirectTV, the issues with streaming occured. It is a Wifi connection btw, I'll try a direct connection. One other thing now DirectTV required a phone connection to there box for updates. I wonder If that is taking some of the signal away from my streaming? have to disconnect it and see. It tends to screw up my phone with static anyways.
Still wish I had Fios, but wishing don't make it so.

There shouldn't be any static on the phone lines as a result of DSL service or any other devices in your home. Check to make sure a DSL filter is installed on every phone as well as the dish box. The DSL modem should be the only device plugged into the phone line without a filter. If the dish box isn't filtered, then it is very likely interfering with and slowing down the DSL connection.

With that said, I'm not familiar with dish, but it seems like it would be better if the dish box were connected via ethernet to your home network rather than with a modem on an old analog phone line. Depending on the age of the dish box, this may not be possible.

Beyond that, the DSL itself or wifi could be the problem. Try running a bandwidth test with a computer on a wired connection (instead of wifi).

If possible I'd run a home run. This way you don't need to any filters and you never have to worry about either stepping on the other. In a lot of cases your vendor will install one for free if you report performance issues. AT&T installed a home run (with separate jack) from the D-Mark to my electronic closet for free. I just never like the thought of those silly filters... even if they do their job which they do fairly well.

Many thanks for that link, UNDECIDED. Very interesting results for me! I pay for 1.5 Mb D/L, 256 Kb U/L. VUDU reports my speed at 677K/238, dslreports shows 811K/235. and speedtest.net (to Atlanta from my N. Georgia location) shows 1.64M/240! AND, the local telco likes to use speedtest.net! No wonder my NF Instant Play is interrupted so often!

A filter is needed even with a home run.

The optimal setup is to install a splitter where the telephone line enters the home. One leg of the splitter is connected to the dsl modem. The other leg requires a filter and can be used to supply all other phone jacks in the house. The advantage of this setup is that you don't have to remember to put a filter on every phone or other device. But that's only because the filter is already installed earlier in the wiring chain.

But to address the bsmooth's actual problem, it is simplest to make sure a filter is installed on every device which is plugged into a phone jack. (Except for the dsl modem which shouldn't have a filter) If a filter isn't being used on the phones, it is possible that a filter exists earlier in the wiring chain. Either way, all phone-line based devices require a filter.

This may already be the case and all the required filters could be in place. But from what was described, it is worth double checking.

Actually optimal is no splitters or filters. Simply run DSL on its own pair from the D-Mark to your electronic closet (or inside telephone wiring box). Plug your DSL modem/router into the jack and the rest of your house doesn't even know DSL exists. If for some reason you want the modem/router elsewhere simply connect that jack's line to the DSL jack instead.

Sort of like this.

http://blogging-sites.com/blog/wp-co...2/DSC04991.jpg

Thats a very modern phone box.Mine shall we say looks much different and could be the cause of all the problems. It basically looks the same as it did, probably back in the 1930's or 40's. I'll have to post a picture.
Not sure what a D-Mark is, but the first thing that comes in contact with the phone line is my PC.

I think we will likely confuse the quy seeking help by trying to nitpick this subject. My advice is still to make sure that every device has a filter (except the dsl modem). Unfiltered devices will cause problems with DSL no matter what. There are no exceptions to this rule.

And even if we're going to be technical, a splitter and a filter is still always required if you want to use both DSL and a telephone. Some DSL modems have an internal splitter and filter. However, this tends to confuse the issue because very few people have a home telephone wiring topology that makes it possible for the modem to function as the only splitter and filter. It is only feasible when there is a low voltage wiring panel as the hub for all wiring runs. Or it is feasible if there is only one telephone and it is plugged directly into the DSL modem.

See... much simpler to just say "make sure everything plugged into a phone jack has a filter (except the DSL modem)". It is true from the layman perspective as well as the technical perspective.

I agree it might be of little or no help for the original poster. However if his provider comes out he might hit a home run. I only commented based on others reading the thread. I know when I started with DSL I knew nothing about it outside of needing to address my other devices and alarm system. Installing a home run makes it hassle free as the house doesn't know DSL exists and there is nothing to do if I ever punt DSL.

The D-Mark is where the telephone line(s) become your responsibility... typically a box on the outside of your house. In most cases you will have plenty of pairs (wires) free which they can use to run DSL into the interior box (where the lines are distributed).

It can also depend on the age of the building. mine is only 25 years old and we only have two pairs run. My brothers place is around 15 years old and they have a 25 pair cable run by every location. My friends house is 11 years old and he has a 4 pair cat5e cable home run to each location.

There are probably more installations than we want to troubleshoot here. Hence the simplified advice.

For example: My 115 year old home came with telephone wiring from who knows when, maybe the 1940s. It consisted of two cables, each with three 16 gauge wires and still intact party line filters. There was no box for demarcation either on the inside our outside of the home. There wasn't even a wiring splice at where the demarcation point should have been. Internal wiring was daisy-chained rather than star/hub topology.

Apartment dwellers are another issue entirely...

But to get us back on track, if the Dish technician recently serviced the dish box and the DSL is now having problems, the first thing to check is that the DSL filters are in place. DSL is barely fast enough to stream netflix. So if the DSL is getting any interference from normal telephone service, streaming would be next to impossible.

And just to re-iterate before you go installing all kinds of things, just give Verizon a call and tell them you are disappointed in the speeds you are getting and see what they say. Do you have options for higher speed DSL?

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

this movie is squished to 2.35 on Tivo. Looks fine on PC and PS3.


also I need to rant that the change in PS3 Netflix menus I kept hearing about but never experienced happened today and I'm not happy with it. I want my old menu back

Bsmooth, is there a filter at the Direct receiver? If the guy just plugged it into a phone outlet and called it good it would cause problems -both on the phone line and with the DSL. Make sure there is a filter there or simply disconnect the box, no need for a phone line unless you order PPV... I have a number of Directv boxes without phone lines.

Actually that judder is really noticeable to me and it's not obvious what cadence that is. I tried viewing it at multiples of 24, 50 and 60 Hz and could not get it to smooth out. Cool looking movie though.