Hi all; I've got a couple of quick(?) Netflix-related questions and I'm hoping you can help me out.
On #1, I've been digging through the threads for various players but there are so many threads and so many different posts in each one that I thought I'd bring this up here:
1) Are there any of these Digital Media Players that play Netflix movies "directly", i.e., without using PlayOn on your computer? I think the Roku box does this but it's "online only" if I'm not mistaken (won't play my local content).
It looks like the PopBox will play Netflix directly, or am I reading the specs wrong? Are there any other media players with this capability?
2) Does anybody know what Netflix's deal is? I would think that they would be trying to get "Netflix-playing" capability in every electronic device out there, from Blu-Ray players down to toasters. Their business model from day one has been to transition from mailing DVDs out to streaming digital content.
Yet it seems like they're being very picky about who they "partner" with (or else there's something else going on that I just don't understand -- always a possibility!).
The fact that Netflix isn't available on a cheap Blu-Ray player like the Panny BD-60 makes me think that Netflix is playing "hardball" with hardware manufacturers, but that seems like it would be counterproductive to me.
A little background, for anyone who's interested:
I recently bought the aforementioned BD-60 blu-ray player, primarily so we could watch home movies in AVCHD format. I just wanted a cheap player that would play those movies reliably.
When my wife found out I had a networkable blu-ray player, she said she wanted to have Netflix available. I could care less, but she said that we could scrap the cable TV if we had Netflix, so that's an incentive to me.
I told her that I was also planning to buy "a box" (i.e. a media player) to play my Xvids and other video files, and that I would get one that had Netflix capability, but now that I've looked into it for a couple of days, it looks like most (or all?) of the units that play media files will only play Netflix by using the 3d-party PlayOn product.
Is this correct? Or have I just not dug deeply enough?
I know I could just get a Roku for a hundred bucks and get Netflix -- that plus the BD-60 would still be cheaper than a lot of netflix-enabled BR players -- but then I'd still have to get *another* box for the media player (along with my blu-ray player *and* my old Oppo upscaling DVD player) and that verges on the ridiculous (five different input boxes including the cable).
I'd prefer not to build my own HTPC if I can avoid it. Not my area of expertise and not something I really want to spend much time on.
Thanks in advance!
On #1, I've been digging through the threads for various players but there are so many threads and so many different posts in each one that I thought I'd bring this up here:
1) Are there any of these Digital Media Players that play Netflix movies "directly", i.e., without using PlayOn on your computer? I think the Roku box does this but it's "online only" if I'm not mistaken (won't play my local content).
It looks like the PopBox will play Netflix directly, or am I reading the specs wrong? Are there any other media players with this capability?
2) Does anybody know what Netflix's deal is? I would think that they would be trying to get "Netflix-playing" capability in every electronic device out there, from Blu-Ray players down to toasters. Their business model from day one has been to transition from mailing DVDs out to streaming digital content.
Yet it seems like they're being very picky about who they "partner" with (or else there's something else going on that I just don't understand -- always a possibility!).
The fact that Netflix isn't available on a cheap Blu-Ray player like the Panny BD-60 makes me think that Netflix is playing "hardball" with hardware manufacturers, but that seems like it would be counterproductive to me.
A little background, for anyone who's interested:
I recently bought the aforementioned BD-60 blu-ray player, primarily so we could watch home movies in AVCHD format. I just wanted a cheap player that would play those movies reliably.
When my wife found out I had a networkable blu-ray player, she said she wanted to have Netflix available. I could care less, but she said that we could scrap the cable TV if we had Netflix, so that's an incentive to me.
I told her that I was also planning to buy "a box" (i.e. a media player) to play my Xvids and other video files, and that I would get one that had Netflix capability, but now that I've looked into it for a couple of days, it looks like most (or all?) of the units that play media files will only play Netflix by using the 3d-party PlayOn product.
Is this correct? Or have I just not dug deeply enough?
I know I could just get a Roku for a hundred bucks and get Netflix -- that plus the BD-60 would still be cheaper than a lot of netflix-enabled BR players -- but then I'd still have to get *another* box for the media player (along with my blu-ray player *and* my old Oppo upscaling DVD player) and that verges on the ridiculous (five different input boxes including the cable).
I'd prefer not to build my own HTPC if I can avoid it. Not my area of expertise and not something I really want to spend much time on.
Thanks in advance!
