[mythtv-users] OT: I'm abandoning Netflix (WD Live Hub too.)

Kris B. krisbee at krisbee.com
Fri Aug 26 19:21:12 UTC 2011


On Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:59 -0600, "linux guy"
<linuxguy123 at gmail.com> wrote:

  Just a little update on my Netflix situation.
  I was going to put a Netflix enabled "box" in the service room
  and connect the component out to an HD-PVR connected to my
  Myth back end.  I know there would have been issues doing
  that, but I thought it was worth the effort.
  So... I bought a WD Live Hub and tested it out, connected
  directly to my 55" Samsung.
  The first issue is the picture quality with Netflix.  Netflix
  might advertise the movies as HD on their menu, but the stream
  quality is far less than that.   On the component out on the
  WD box, they had a resolution of 480 lines.  HDMI out had a
  resolution of 1080i, but the quality was pretty much the same
  as the 480 output and there were many visible encoding
  artifacts.
  The second issue is that a lot of the services on the WD Live
  Hub hardly worked.  Shoutcast, for instance, had far fewer
  stations than it does in a browser on a PC and half or more of
  the stations on the WD box failed to connect.
  So... I have basically given up on Netflix.   I'll rent a Blu
  Ray DVD or watch HD satellite feeds instead of using Netflix.
  I've also given up on "media streamers".  Somehow I thought
  they would be slicker and easier.  I can do anything they can
  do better on a PC.



Well I have heard that the WD Live does have issues with netflix,
but most people seem to be happy with the Roku and its' HD.  I
only have SD here, so I can't complain - it looks great through
my 3mb connection.  That is the other aspect, you must have a
beefy connection - and sometimes these are throttled by your ISP,
and sometimes the DNS server causes the servers at Netflix to
"think" you have a lesser connection than you actually do - on
the Roku forums anytime someone complains about PQ, they are
instructed to switch to a google DNS or an open DNS, and that
always seems to fix the problem.

The Roku setup for me was minutes, and I am well pleased.  The
Roku "channels", especially the private ones add lots of great
content for cheap (ie, free!).  The WD Live, from what I
understand, only really excels at local content you through at
it.  The Roku is exactly the opposite.

With the roku (if you do want to experiment), you can control the
device via telnet very easily, issuing commands as if you were
using the remote - so if you are going to experiment, you can
certainly hack something together that way.

Also, it only costs $60, of course you can do more with your
computer! :)  It can't be everything to everybody, otherwise it
would cost much, much more.


--
Kris B.
[1]krisbee at krisbee.com

References

1. mailto:B.krisbee at krisbee.com
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