Comments on: Streamlining Our Netflix Subscription

By: Andrew @ Earn Give Save

Andrew @ Earn Give Save — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:40:04 +0000

Great post! Media consumption is always something we are trying to figure out. I have to believe that Netflix is currently where it’s at, and the Roku option is a great choice. It would be great to see Apple/iTunes get on board with some kind of subscription option integrated with AppleTV as well. It seems cable/FIOS providers are going to have to work much harder to keep our TV business!

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:01:07 +0000

Just a heads up for those wanting to investigate streaming online video content:

Make sure you’re internet connection is FAST.

I believe HD video requires at the very least 6mpbs. And that’s assuming you aren’t doing other bandwidth consuming activities.

By: Shane

Shane — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:17:03 +0000

Quit Satellite service in March. Bought a Dell studio system with HMDI output. I am able to watch Hulu, Netflix and Itunes on the 46″ LCD. Also have Microsoft Media Center and with a USB tuner able to get all my local channels. Computer output is 1080p so can’t complain. I too have the basic plan with Netflix and like the streaming video. Just wish that they would increase video streaming to HD quality to at least 480 like Hulu. I wish they would include the option of captions other than that very Happy.

By: LiveCheap

LiveCheap — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:44:24 +0000

Netflix streaming is the best and why I keep my subscription. The only problem is going to one DVD is that we tend to watch in bunches, like 3 in a weekend. Almost every new device in the future is going to have ability to stream from Netflix so it makes sense to keep at least the minimum. We watched 2 seasons of Dexter through streaming and it was great.

LiveCheap

By: John

John — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:29:42 +0000

Are the movies streamed through the TV or computer in high-def formats? I have a computer hooked to my TV with Blu-Ray drive and I’ve thought about using online access to netflix or similar. Is the quality equal to that of Blu-Ray disc media?

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:09:24 +0000

Does anyone have a solution for porting Ipods to your TV or a projector?

Thanks,

Mike

By: John DeFlumeri jr

John DeFlumeri jr — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:21:34 +0000

Dollar movies are rated 4-stars by me!
Even when you get one you dislike, it’s almost free!

John DeFlumeri Jr.

By: almost there

almost there — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:15:30 +0000

I will have to look into running a cable through the wall and upgrade tv to the 21st century. We mostly rent dvds at redbox but it seems that there are many horror low budget movies at our redbox locations. Also lots of Cuba Gooding Jr. movies. He either has come down in the action world or is like Gene Hackman and doesn’t get picky about roles and likes to keep busy with acting.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:04:32 +0000

The only TV I watch is through NetFlix — no cable. I really like their selection of prior year shows, and like the ability to watch episode after episode with no commercial interruption.

We were supplementing our subscription with RedBox, but I wasn’t finding much I liked. So, we upped our subscription from 3 to 4 at a time. I might drop it down to three when I get the streamer to work with my TV

To Roku or not Roku, that is the question. (And if Wii gets streaming access any time soon, I may not need a Roku.)

By: Craig

Craig — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:53:04 +0000

I stick to one at a time, I don’t think you need more for that, especially with the streaming. Now when you are waiting you can watch even more movies. It’s great.

By: Blaine Moore

Blaine Moore — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:13:18 +0000

Yup. There’s an RJ-45 in the back, so we tested it by running a cable through the hallway. I was hoping Netflix integration would be coming soon but didn’t think they’d already have it since Sony just recently signed the deal with Netflix, but the first time we hooked it up all we had to do was update the firmware on the TV.

So, now that I’ve got a patch going through the wall, I just plug the router into the wall plate in the office and the tv into the wall plate in the living room and it’s all set.

Our home theater system also has a network jack but I haven’t bothered hooking that up yet. I figure that I can move the cable if I ever want to hook it up rather than putting to jacks in the wall plate. If we want to use it regularly then I’ll just put a hub in the living room.

By: Nickel

Nickel — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:58:44 +0000

Blaine: When you say “we just hook the television straight into our home network,” what exactly do you mean? Does your TV have a network jack?

By: missjulied

missjulied — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:48:59 +0000

Tivo streams Netflix as well. Not a financially smart choice to go out and buy one for that purpose, but if you already have one it’s a great perk!

By: Blaine Moore

Blaine Moore — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:47:42 +0000

We’ve been hooking my wife’s laptop up to our old TV w/an S-Video cable for a long time to watch Netflix or Hulu on it. Quality wasn’t great but it was convenient.

We recently replaced the TV w/a new Sony Bravia, which allows us to hook up my wife’s laptop using VGA cables and allowed us to hook up the audio to it as well, which is much better but still not great since her laptop is pretty old and at the higher resolution the video skips now and then.

We are waiting for a mini-display-port to HDMI cable to show up in the mail so we can hook up my newer laptop to the TV which will probably fix those problems when watching Hulu.

For watching Netflix, we just hook the television straight into our home network and stream directly to the TV, which looks way better than even using the VGA cables did and is very convenient.

In fact, this weekend I made installed wall plates into the wall between the living room and office so that we didn’t have to run the cable through the hallway now that we know Netflix is available directly on the television.