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Netflix (and Others): Does the "Box" Matter?

post #1 of 7
3/17/13 at 9:34am
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Does it matter if I stream Netflix, Hulu, etc., through a Roku, Apple TV, PS3 or Smart TV? Does the picture quality vary?
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post #2 of 7
3/17/13 at 6:29pm
Yes it does vary quite a lot. Roku, who knows, I have no idea what model you have. Same story for your TV. Apple TV was only 720p for Netflix last time I checked. PS3 is 1080p, so that's probably your best bet. Then again, if you can't tell any difference, then it doesn't really matter.

In my experience, Hulu stinks no matter what the device.
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post #3 of 7
3/17/13 at 8:57pm
Roku 2/3 and WD are top tier Netflix players, they will stream the 1080p DD5.1+ audio feeds. There are others but these are the most popular. And yes, the difference in quality is visible. From glancing at other threads I'm not sure I'd go the PS3 route.
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post #4 of 7
3/18/13 at 9:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdavej View Post

Apple TV was only 720p for Netflix last time I checked.

The Apple TV 3 is 1080p with Dolby Digital 5.1 (but not DD+).
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post #5 of 7
3/18/13 at 9:47am
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Originally Posted by Dstone001 View Post

Does it matter if I stream Netflix, Hulu, etc., through a Roku, Apple TV, PS3 or Smart TV? Does the picture quality vary?

The only way to get decent HD resolution for Hulu is the Hulu+ ($8/month) subscription.
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post #6 of 7
3/21/13 at 12:43am
I've definitely seen some very sharp material on Hulu Plus. I used it to watch Breaking Pointe (which, for unknown reasons, they have all but the first episode of its brief first season). Their top quality HD is 3.2 Mbps, which is a higher bit rate than Netflix's highest bit rate 720p. Of course, Netflix is using a special encoder, claimed to deliver same or better quality at lower bit rates.
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post #7 of 7
3/21/13 at 1:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by michaeltscott View Post

I've definitely seen some very sharp material on Hulu Plus. I used it to watch Breaking Pointe (which, for unknown reasons, they have all but the first episode of its brief first season). Their top quality HD is 3.2 Mbps, which is a higher bit rate than Netflix's highest bit rate 720p. Of course, Netflix is using a special encoder, claimed to deliver same or better quality at lower bit rates.
I also found the some of the recent ABC shows like Scandal and Body of Proof look good on Hulu Plus, not as good as OTA but possibly better than some
cable systems.
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