Windows 8 - Netflix App or WMC plug-in?

You can not use the Windows 8 app with a remote. You need a mouse.

How about just your browser and the Netflix website?

well I was going to say xbmc and xbmcflix but it seems that is no more.

Not sure

Windows 8 App gives you bettery PQ streaming (HD and DD 5.1 )compared to other ways. The news from CES 2013 is that you can also get 1080p and 3D streaming on Win8 metro app if you are either Cable Vision or Google Fiber customers.

In my opinion, the Windows 8 app interface is also a million times nicer than the WMC version, if you can get past the fact you can't use a remote.

You are using a PC after all. So a wireless keyboard and mouse is a must. 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.

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.

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.

Nope, that's with a standard MCE / Philips eHome remote and reciever.

Still, I think a touchpad with Win8 gesture support probably is your best bet.

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?

I just tried it on my desktop, so no such capability.

granted I can't boot up into wmc via win8 but I can launch wmc with my remote. why wouldn't anyone be able to do that?

it works for me on two different computers using a generic wmc remote.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

i prefer the win8 app as it offers captions.
overall a better experience aside, possibly, from the remote. i'n not sure about that - i use a keyboard/trackpad.
i only use WMC for TV now. i'd LOVE to see a good TV/DVR app!

yeah, I'm running an integrated ATI HD4200 and the ATI HD4670 as a discrete card.

I really need to upgrade my graphics card. It's served me well for years but is showing serious warts with Windows 8. It's been retired by ATI to the legacy card section and there'll be no more updates for this card. Which would be fine if it worked but the latest ATI driver for my card doesn't work with any streaming apps which I'm now figuring it due to the HDCP issue. I had to go back to the ATI driver included with Windows 8 to get any streaming apps to work.

With the latest driver, the Windows Store app will either just load and then minimize/crash. Or it'll try to start the stream and then fail.

However, while going back to the Windows driver for my card fixes the Windows Stores apps issue, it borks any OpenGL programs. If I install the latest drivers, my OpenGL apps work, but then my Windows Store streaming apps fail.

on a side note, what's your impression of the Surface? I was playing with it at the store for like half and hour and loved it. But the inability to run x86 apps really kills it for me. I'm going to seriously consider the Surface Pro with Windows 8. The Surface RT was really sexy in the hand and the keyboards were awesome. I was even impressed by the thinner keyboard. I was typing fast after only a couple of minutes. Probably around 70-80 wpm. Though with the bigger keyboard, I was definitely typing at my normal 80-90 wpm.

Though I'm wavering between the Surface or a tablet with a clamshell dock. The cool thing is new form factors are coming out. My brother is getting the Lenovo Yoga thing but I can't imagine having the keyboard on the bottom side, exposed.

My Green Button startup seems stubborn as well, but my remote fires off the command twice when turning on my system anyway so this isn't an issue. Since WMC is usually running I consider it a non-issue. One thing is for sure, the WAF rating will let me know if there is a problem.