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Netflix - News & Discussion

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Netflix - News & Discussion

Old 01-03-14, 06:01 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Originally Posted by DJariya
I wasn't intending it as an insult. I was just surprised that Lorenzo would rather watch a show from over 50 years ago than say Nikita, Arrow, Strike Back or the new season of 24. I mean to be perfectly honest, if I was seeking to watch something older, Dick Van Dyke wouldn't be first on my mind. I know that thousands of hours of new stuff comes out each year and it's almost impossible to keep up with everything new.
I didn't take your comment as an insult. My wanting to watch The Dick Van Dyke show, came about as this show was released as a complete set on Blu-ray and wanted to know if it was worth the investment to buy it as is fairly expensive set. I'm fairly fond of the Mary Tyler Moore Show and was curious to see how she was in this early show.

I used to be fairly active in the TV Forum watching and creating threads for current shows but I started not watching them in real time and just keep them stored in my DVR for long periods of time. That's the reason why I don't create threads anymore. I have so many different ways to watch shows now (DVDs, Blu-rays, Netflix and Hulu+) that I usually watch shows that are not easily accessible or I'm intent on purchasing.

P.S. I have Nikita and The Walking Dead on my fairly large backlog of shows.
Old 01-04-14, 08:02 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Hope anyone can help with this. I signed up for Netflix after a few years away & am really disappointed in their picture quality. I have AT&T U-verse with an average download speed of about 11 mbps. That should be enough right?

But the picture quality varies from hideous to almost barely watchable on the 'Super HD' titles. I'm watching primarily on my Sony BDP-S590 & have tried on other devices as well, with the same result.

I got on their help chat & changed the setting to 'best' and re-booted everything. Other than that they were no help.

Is Netflix really just that bad? I have great streaming results on VUDU & Amazon Prime.
Old 01-04-14, 08:37 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Originally Posted by Eddie W
Hope anyone can help with this. I signed up for Netflix after a few years away & am really disappointed in their picture quality. I have AT&T U-verse with an average download speed of about 11 mbps. That should be enough right?
How long are you letting the video play? They use adaptive streaming. So it starts out at the lowest setting the ramps up to HD. It can take a minute or more for HD to kick in.

Watch this video. It will tell you the bitrate and resolution. You'll see it starts out around 200kbps/320x240 and works it's way up. Mute the sound because it does some weird audio signals.

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Ex...3.976/70136810

Sometimes during prime hours Netflix gets clogged. I just ran a speed test and clocked in at 33 Mbps. But this Netflix test video isn't reaching HD. Usually it takes me less than a minute to reach 1080p.
Old 01-04-14, 09:53 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

It also depends on your streaming device. Your Sony is not indicated but here is the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...atible_devices
Old 01-05-14, 09:45 AM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Originally Posted by Eddie W
Hope anyone can help with this. I signed up for Netflix after a few years away & am really disappointed in their picture quality. I have AT&T U-verse with an average download speed of about 11 mbps. That should be enough right?

But the picture quality varies from hideous to almost barely watchable on the 'Super HD' titles. I'm watching primarily on my Sony BDP-S590 & have tried on other devices as well, with the same result.

I got on their help chat & changed the setting to 'best' and re-booted everything. Other than that they were no help.

Is Netflix really just that bad? I have great streaming results on VUDU & Amazon Prime.
I've had Netflix for about six weeks now, streaming on my Roku. I'm so disappointed, the PQ is crap most of the time. I also use Amazon, Vudu and M-Go for TV shows and movies -- and the PQ on those apps is spot-on perfect 98% of the time. But Netflix and its adaptive streaming is a failure as far as PQ goes.

Last night, I watched an ep of Being Human on Netflix, with its normal soft, wavering, unfocused PQ. I then watched the same ep on Amazon, and the PQ was perfect.

Netflix' library has a lot of things exclusive that I want to see. But I'm considering just dropping it, it's so bad.
Old 01-05-14, 10:01 AM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

It definitely depends on the device. For me, PQ is pretty poor on the Xbox 360, but great on PS3 and PS4.
Old 01-05-14, 11:10 AM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

i get great PQ through Sony Bravia.
Old 01-05-14, 11:49 AM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Thanks for the input everyone, I tried watching an entire movie & did notice the picture quality improves after a while. But it never reaches the same quality of VUDU or Amazon streaming. And it continually randomly degrades and then improves. This same result across about six different devices (laptop, blu ray players, smart TV's, tablet, cell phone, etc).

At any rate, I've got a free first month so I guess I'll just cancel if this is what Netflix has become. I though since their primary business model is now streaming that they would do it better than this.
Old 01-05-14, 12:15 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Originally Posted by Groucho
It definitely depends on the device.
Last night when I was running tests, both the Roku and PS3 would max out at 1000kbps/480p. When I tried the Apple TV 2, it went straight to 3000kbps/720p and remained steady. I wonder if the ATV2 forces 720p (which is the device's max resolution)? Maybe there's a way to override adaptive streaming on the other devices?

Anyways, about 2 hours later (11pm EST) I ran the tests again and it went to 4000kbps/1080p within a minute on Roku and PS3.

Right now, I'm running the tests a 3rd time. The Roku got 720p in a few seconds and reached the highest setting within a minute. The PS3 is struggling to achieve/hold 720p. And the ATV2 once again starts out at 720p and holds steady.
Old 01-05-14, 12:29 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Originally Posted by TheBigDave
Last night when I was running tests, both the Roku and PS3 would max out at 1000kbps/480p. When I tried the Apple TV 2, it went straight to 3000kbps/720p and remained steady. I wonder if the ATV2 forces 720p (which is the device's max resolution)? Maybe there's a way to override adaptive streaming on the other devices?

Anyways, about 2 hours later (11pm EST) I ran the tests again and it went to 4000kbps/1080p within a minute on Roku and PS3.

Right now, I'm running the tests a 3rd time. The Roku got 720p in a few seconds and reached the highest setting within a minute. The PS3 is struggling to achieve/hold 720p. And the ATV2 once again starts out at 720p and holds steady.
You are right! ATV2 is only 720p. You need to get ATV3 in order to get 1080p.

The PS3 should be at 1080p. I'm not very familiar with Roku but if you have Roku 3, it should be set at 1080p.
Old 01-05-14, 12:46 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

In regards to Netflix, has anyone been experiencing problems connecting with their ATV3 today? I'm unable to connect at all and I know is not my connection since Hulu+ and other apps work fine.

I restarted, unplugged it and all other trouble shooting steps and still giving me the message that "Netflix is unavailable. Try later.". I called and the CSR are not much help.
Old 01-05-14, 12:50 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Yep. ATV2 is 720p and Roku3/PS3 are both 1080p devices. But Netflix reacts differently on each device. It seems that ATV2 doesn't use adaptive streaming and just goes straight to max resolution (720p). The other two devices use adaptive streaming and can be hit or miss on reaching max quality.
Old 01-05-14, 01:34 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Originally Posted by TheBigDave
Yep. ATV2 is 720p and Roku3/PS3 are both 1080p devices. But Netflix reacts differently on each device. It seems that ATV2 doesn't use adaptive streaming and just goes straight to max resolution (720p). The other two devices use adaptive streaming and can be hit or miss on reaching max quality.
I have a Roku 2XD, which is 1080p.

That adaptive streaming that Netflix uses is BS. Why do they do that? It's crap. Everything else I use on the Roku (Amazon, Vudu, M-Go, PBS, a lot of others) that doesn't use adaptive streaming is great.
Old 01-05-14, 01:49 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

i think my Sony Bravia only transmits NetFlix in 1080i ...is that bad?
Old 01-05-14, 01:49 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Netflix plays great on the new Roku 3. I also own the old Roku 2 XD and it plays fine on that as well.

I tried playing it on my Sony BD and the picture quality is definitely inferior on that. I think Netflix works better on dedicated streaming devices and looks like crap on devices that have it as an app.
Old 01-06-14, 08:04 AM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Originally Posted by otmetrud
I have a Roku 2XD, which is 1080p.

That adaptive streaming that Netflix uses is BS. Why do they do that? It's crap. Everything else I use on the Roku (Amazon, Vudu, M-Go, PBS, a lot of others) that doesn't use adaptive streaming is great.
Allows people with unreliable internet connections to watch movies without constant stalls and buffers. Are you running over Wireless? That tends to be a big factor in Netflix running in less than optimal conditions.

Generally I have a couple seconds of poor video quality at the very beginning of a show/movie but it goes to crystal clear within seconds.
Old 01-06-14, 10:18 AM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Originally Posted by RichC2
Allows people with unreliable internet connections to watch movies without constant stalls and buffers. Are you running over Wireless? That tends to be a big factor in Netflix running in less than optimal conditions.

Generally I have a couple seconds of poor video quality at the very beginning of a show/movie but it goes to crystal clear within seconds.
I do use wireless, and I experience the same thing Eddie W described a few posts earlier.

My internet connection is rock solid reliable, so obviously adaptive streaming is not for me. I've decided to drop Netflix and stick with Amazon, M-Go, Warner Archive Instant and Vudu, which don't exhibit these problems.
Old 01-06-14, 12:24 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Originally Posted by LorenzoL
In regards to Netflix, has anyone been experiencing problems connecting with their ATV3 today? I'm unable to connect at all and I know is not my connection since Hulu+ and other apps work fine.

I restarted, unplugged it and all other trouble shooting steps and still giving me the message that "Netflix is unavailable. Try later.". I called and the CSR are not much help.
I was finally able to figure it out what was wrong with my Netflix on the ATV3.
Old 01-06-14, 02:03 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

And then?

Also, some ISPs *cough* Comcast *cough* has been known to intentionally deprioritize Netflix traffic.
Old 01-06-14, 02:19 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

The worst thing in the world is googling a problem, finding a thread on some forum where somebody had the exact same problem, and then getting to the bottom and find a note from OP along the lines of "Nevermind, fixed it."

Relevent xkcd: http://xkcd.com/979/
Old 01-06-14, 04:29 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Originally Posted by RichC2
And then?

Also, some ISPs *cough* Comcast *cough* has been known to intentionally deprioritize Netflix traffic.
Originally Posted by Groucho
The worst thing in the world is googling a problem, finding a thread on some forum where somebody had the exact same problem, and then getting to the bottom and find a note from OP along the lines of "Nevermind, fixed it."

Relevent xkcd: http://xkcd.com/979/
I'm sorry for the lack of details. At first I thought it was Netflix and then Apple but it had to do with my DNS and the reason why I didn't go into detail is because it had to do with streaming US Netflix here in Canada and I don't know if its allowed in this forum. I'm not sure about the legality...
Old 01-06-14, 08:14 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

I haven't heard anything about legacy devices supporting Netflix 4K. I assume you need a device that support new codecs?
Old 01-06-14, 11:38 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Not many devices support 4k resolution, I assume that'd be a must.
Old 01-07-14, 06:07 PM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

Is there any fix for the Comcast issues? It seems I'm capped to 720p @ 3000kbps even on a wired PC with the Blast (50/10) plan. A couple months ago I was getting superHD no problem. It's been frustrating watching tv and movies that are usually coming in at under DVD quality, and neither Comcast nor Netflix will admit wrongdoing.
Old 01-08-14, 08:41 AM
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Re: Netflix - News & Discussion

It's Comcast, and it seems to be very prevalent in the Chicago/IL area right now.

http://www.reddit.com/r/netflix/comm...he_midwest_us/

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