[guitz]

If and when netflix capability gets added to the wdtv live, I'm wondering if it will be worth watching on a high definition tv....Seems netflix movies that can be streamed are not in HD, which I'd guess would take a fair amount of bandwidth....I've tried netflix using the free 14 day trial of Playon as a media server, and the picture quality is so bad, it's not worth watching....worse than the standard definition channels on dish network which are also pretty crummy. I'd always heard SD channels on a HD set could be poor. When watching a netflix streaming movie on a pc monitor however, the results are better..... I've read some people using either playon or a dvd player with an ethernet port for netflix capability, and I'm wondering if those who have it are satisfied with their picture quality. I have a Samsung 50" 720p HD plasma TV.

 

[Mach1_8]

I'm not sure, but is it possible that Playon was transcoding the video to a lower resolution? At any rate, my wife and I watch the Office, Heroes and a few other TV shows on Netflix via my Xbox. The HD quality (in these instances), while not up to Blu-Ray standards, is on par with the broadcast version of the show. Heroes is in particular very good. In some cases, it has been better than broadcast. Bottom line, the HD can be very good. It all comes down to the source material though.

 

[mbryanr]

What Mach1 said. I have Netflix for the blu-ray and through Playon on the WDTV Live. After a few views with the Playon, I always use my BD player for Netflix viewing.


No comparison in quality. The Playon version does not get Netflix HD, you should be satisfied if/when the WDTV gets Netflix or through a blu ray player.


ps...you should get Directv. ;-) ;-)

 

[Dunbar]

Ditto, my parents have a Roku and all the streaming Netflix movies (not just HD) look better than the WD TV Live through PlayOn. Quality is probably DVD at best but IMO the convenience of streaming makes up for the slight drop in quality. I watch mostly independent movies through Netflix streaming so the video quality isn't usually that great to start with.

 

[vferrari]

I have WDTV Live and Play On as well as a net connected blu-ray player and the blu-ray player interface, lack of playback hiccups/freezes and picture quality vs. Playon/WD TV Live for NETFLIX is the winner hands down. That being said, I use Playon/WD TV Live for Hulu, Amazon, and many of the other plug ins and love it.