Sony's DMX-NV1 - Page 2

anyone have any use for an $80 Amazon VOD credit?

If you're giving it away sure. If not maybe.

it like to get something for it, make me an offer

Apparently netflix has now gone live.

Does the DMX-NV1 support Netflix HD?

Some of my titles have the HD logo by them when I look at the instant queue through the DMX-NV1. I played one and wasnt blown away by the picture. Will have to play with it more however to see if it is just showing the logo or if it is actually "HD".

Update: There does appear to be a difference between the HD an non HD content. I can remove the zoom on the image with the left right arrows on my remote on non HD content but HD content does not respond to those keys. Image quality leaves alot to be desired . I certainly wouldn't label the HD content as anything close to HD. The HD content on my AppleTV is far superior ( although still not HD IMHO).

Netflix went online in the DMX-NV1 (BIVL) last week! It's a nice addition. With over 300 titles in my instant queue, it's a little cumbersome to slog through the list 24 at a time, but it works.

Also, Sony will be offering a (free?) stream on the BIVL of its movie "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" between Thanksgiving and New Years Day. This is being offered before the DVD is released. A nice perq for us early adopters.

There's been an addition in the audio section on the BIVL. In addition to Slacker, the list of audio content now includes access to hundreds of NPR podcasts.

I saw a post on the Netflix blog that it's now live on Sony TVs. When I checked a few days ago, it still said "Coming in November".

The post said it required a software update. Was a firmware update required?

The software update was automatic.......happened overnight on the 14th of November.

Well I have it, but I suspended Netflix due to no time to watch it.

Any rumors as to whether DLNA functionality will be added to the DMX-NV1 and other Bravia TVs? I've read that some of the newer Sony Bravia TVs have support DLNA however it doesn't appear to be a feature of the DMX-NV1. I'd love to be able to stream video and pictures from my PC to the TV.

I just started my free trial with Netflix and watched a movie and a black and white tv show(Dick VanDyke Show) and I have to say I was impressed with the quality. While I really don't think it's HD, it still looks really, really good on my Sony 46XBR8 television. It certainly looks better than my crappy cable feed.

It is HD (720p), but the bitrate is only 3.5 mbps which is lower than cable TV HD bitrates. Netflix uses VC-1 encoding though which is better than the MPEG-2 encoding used by cable plus Netflix tweaks their encodings so the video ends up looking pretty good.

I compared the Netflix HD quality between the Sony DMX-NV1, my TiVo and the Sony PS3 (with Netflix disk) and the quality is pretty much identical. The differences are in the interface. The DMX-NV1 lacks the TiVo and PS3's search feature where when you rewind or fast forward it shows still frames of the current spot in the playback stream. This makes finding things when fast forwarding or rewinding a lot easier. Also the DMX-NV1's interface is extremely sluggish.

Still if you are simply watching a Netflix video, it works very well. It might even be my first choice over the TiVo and PS3 considering the TiVo has an issue that can cause it to lock up during Netflix playback and the PS3 requires inserting a disk.

I have Netflix and Amazon VOD setup in 2 locations with BIVL. Connection speed does seem to affect Amazon VOD.

Location 1:
DSL 3Mbps DL

Location 2:
FIOS 20Mbps DL

On my DSL connection:

AMAZON VOD
Title: Superman Returns (HD)
Type: Video: AVC Audio: AAC-LC
REsolution 1280x720
Audio Frequency: 48khz
Bit Rate 2629kbps

Network Speed: 1949kbps

NETFLIX streaming
Title: Californication (SD)
Type Video: VC1 Audio: Unknown
Audio Frequency: 44.1khz
Resolution 720x404
Bit rate: 1488kbps

I'll post HD netflix BIVL content soon, but i haven't gotten above 1555kbps with Netflix HD material.

What kind of bitrates are people getting on there BIVL? HOw does it compare to the Roku box and PS3?

Hey guys thanks for all of the interesting information. I enjoy reading all of the technical stuff even if I don't quite understand it all. Keep contributing and I will keep reading.

Regarding Netflix vs Amazon. Netflix and Amazon both use 720p HD though Netflix is only in stereo while Amazon has 5.1 audio. Based on the bitrates below, Netflix has better video quality, while Amazon has better audio quality (though I don't think the NV1 supports 5.1 audio as other devices like TiVo or Roku do).

Available bandwith is the key though since both Netflix and Amazon will lower the video quality if the bandwidth isn't there.

If you are curious about Netflix's encoding, Netflix posted a lot of detailed information on their blog about a year ago. Netflix has 3 SD encoding levels (375, 500, 1000, and 1500 kbps) and 2 HD encoding levels (2.6 mbps and 3.8 mbps). So if you want the highest HD level from Netflix you need to be able to have at least a 3.8 mbps sustained download speed (I was wrong about 3.5).

Amazon's doesn't detail their encoding specifics, but the individual shows list their encoded bitrates on their web site for individual shows. Simply click on a show and then scroll down to the "Video Format Details" info. TV shows are streamed at 720p HD 5.1 audio with bitrates of 300 Kbps, 600 Kbps 480p, 900 Kbps 480p, 1.2 Mbps 480p or 2.5 Mbps 720p HD. Details about movies in HD aren't listed, but Amazon's help page says that they are also 2.5 Mbps 720p HD (though it says a 3.5 mbps connection or higher is required).

We just got an xb9 that comes with these features and they are pretty nice. I already have Netflix streaming on both my sets (this one plus an xbr4) otherwise I would be thrilled. The feature that I assume they don't have on this "plug-in" DMX-NV1 (vs. the built-in version of the xbr9) is the TV Guide, which I love since I actually use over-the-air broadcast instead on cable/satellite. Does anyone know if this feature exists for the DMX-NV1?

PS my general thought is that these features are expanding and this tool allows for the future integration/convergence of internet/tv (to a point). I watch most of my tv shows on Netflix streaming now, and half my movies.

The NV1 does not have a TV guide nor does it have any overlayed widgets (does the XBR9 have that?)

The NV1's interface is also extremely sluggish and it takes a long time for the screen up update. Once streaming actually starts things are okay, but navigating to choose what you want to play is painful. Is the XBR9's interface quick?

The main downsize of the NV1 and I presume the XBR9 is that neither can do 5.1 audio. Only Amazon supports that currently, but it's still a negative considering the cheaper (and faster) Roku box can do it.

Thanks, Morac!

The xbr9 overlays the widgets, which is nice. The TVGOS is also nicely done, responsive, and overlaid. The internet "channels" aren't the fastest in the world, but they are much better than what you describe for the NV1. I can say that in a direct comparison to my 2 Samsung Netflix streaming players that the xbr9 is a tad faster in previewing the movie list and has a better interface. I can't actually watch Netflix with the xbr's streaming though, because there's some glitch and right when it's supposed to start playing it actually restarts/reboots my set! I just got it last night so I have yet to dig into this further. I suspect a network issue.

The Roku receives 5.1? Does it do that for Netflix? I thought the codec used by Netflix (and others) didn't allow for multichannel. This would be welcome news.

Netflix doesn't support 5.1 though they say they want to. Certain Amazon HD titles have 5.1 audio. According to this thread over at the Roku forums, Roku does support 5.1 for Amazon HD.

I'll mention that the NV1 is slow, but it is usable. It's just painfully slow compared to every other Netflix compatible device I've used (TiVo, PS3, etc).

I have the xbr8 which utilizes the DMX-NV1, and no it does not use the tv guide feature. But the tv itself uses the tv guide feature. It is part of the tv, not the video streaming device. I had the xbr9 for a couple days(I didn't like it and returned it for the xbr8)and to my knowledge the tv guide and internet streaming are two separate features on this tv too that do not work together with each other but are two nice features that Sony integrated into their top of the line tv's.

Can anyone actually get Amazon to stream in HD? I used to be able to get this, but now it's always streams at around 703x363 resolution with a 1.4 bit rate. No matter what HD video I choose that's the best I can get. For whatever reason Amazon doesn't think I have a fast enough connection for HD despite having a 12 mbps connection. This is extremely odd because Amazon's test HD video works with issues and Netflix streams in HD. Also Amazon HD works on my laptop.

Can someone test this? There's a bunch of free HD clips on Amazon. For example the Caprica preview

I have been using the NV1 with a wireless router on my 46XBR8. I have downloaded several HD movies from Amazon with it. Very easy and fast. Latest one was Sherlock Holmes. The sound is another issue. I use the TV sound. The NV1 says my audio system is not equipped for the sound output of the movie. So I use the TV speakers. I am sure that is true because it is an old Bose system connected to my TiVo output via Toslink.

The only problem I have had recently is the Yahoo ? weather does not display when I press the DMex button on the remote. The traffic and news reports are there as normal but the weather that was there when I installed the NV1 is no longer there?? It either says "updating" forever or "not available".

Anyone else having this problem?

I had a problem with Yahoo Weather if I linked to Yahoo on Sony's web site. When I removed the link, weather works fine. I'm not sure why there is even a Yahoo link since it doesn't matter if it's linked or not.

My main problem with the NV1 is that I can't get Amazon videos to actually stream in HD. The speed test apparently fails so all HD videos revert to SD. I used to be able to stream HD, but since the update in November it's worked only once.

Netflix works fine in HD.

Thanks for your response.

Are you connected by wire or wirelessly?

I found the link you were speaking of. I will try turning it off.

wirelessly.

The mention of Sony at this week's Google TV announcement made me wonder if Google TV will become a content provider on the BIVL or if the BIVL will be abandoned in favor of this completely new initiative.

BIVL has been abandoned for some time as far as development goes. It was just a way for Sony to test the waters for the integrated services by appearing competitive in offering a separate device to those who got their HDTV during the boom period before the integrated stuff came along. I imagine they could roll something over to it at some point but I think it's more likely they will just let it be since their new Blu-Ray players all have the same capabilities as the BIVL device and more.

The first time I tried, I found the links but not any more. Logging in takes me to the standard Sony account screen. Can you still find the links?