Netflix Coming to PS3

[erwos]

I'm still curious if this is a native PS3 disc, or if it's using BD-Live. Definitely keep us informed, folks!

 

[Thraxen]

I just got the email today too. Says it will be here tomorrow.

 

[R Nilla]

I just got the email today too. Says it will be here tomorrow.

Looks like I should be getting mine tomorrow as well.

 

[Full Monty]

I just got the email today too. Says it will be here tomorrow.

Same here.

 

[TheVrolok]

Great news. Just requested my disk. I have my PC connected to my TV to game/stream Netflix but now it'll be nice not to require my power hungry/loud (louder than my PS3) on in order to watch on the big screen. I'm pumped, just requested my disc.

 

[Queasy]

YouTube video of someone using their PS3 Netflix disk. Definitely different from the 360 version and it seems to take a little while longer to load as well.

The video poster also says the following:

I have some real big issues with the PS3 netflix disc.
1) It renders video in 480p. The UI is whatever the res of your PS3 is, but video is downscaled regardless. It does NOT upscale.
2) Also, video ratio does not scale, like, for example, I have to set my screen to stretch for widescreen, and 4:3 for 4:3 content, else things are out of whack.
3) and the worst part of all, is the video looks a fair bit worse than it does on the 360 :x
4) Oh, and the UI sucks

He goes on to say that it does include menus for New Arrivals and Recently Watched.

 

[Dari]

Sounds like a fanboy tom me, Queasy. It definitely does have New Arrivals and Recently Watched. The interface is slick and the streaming quality is really good. I'm not sure about upscaling and downscaling since I have a widescreen tv and the movie I was watching was widescreen.

 

[JTsyo]

Hopefully it gets better int he coming months. It would seem silly to stream to the PS3 if you can't get HD. I know netflix charges extra for blu-ray, maybe there's another plan for HD streams?

 

[Queasy]

Hopefully it gets better int he coming months. It would seem silly to stream to the PS3 if you can't get HD. I know netflix charges extra for blu-ray, maybe there's another plan for HD streams?

Nope. If the movie is available in HD and you have a connection that can support HD (6mbps+) then you should receive HD. There is no separate plan.

 

[Dari]

Hopefully it gets better int he coming months. It would seem silly to stream to the PS3 if you can't get HD. I know netflix charges extra for blu-ray, maybe there's another plan for HD streams?

It does stream HD. At least I think it does. The HD is listed. However, when I clicked on the 'display' button on the PS3 it showed as 3.4Mb/s, just like the PlayOn. This was nothing like the 25-35Mb/s I'm used to seeing for Blu-ray (although I never expected that).

EDIT: My connection is regular RR in NYC (not sure on the speed).

 

[Queasy]

It does stream HD. At least I think it does. The HD is listed. However, when I clicked on the 'display' button on the PS3 it showed as 3.4Mb/s, just like the PlayOn. This was nothing like the 25-35Mb/s I'm used to seeing for Blu-ray (although I never expected that).

EDIT: My connection is regular RR in NYC (not sure on the speed).

Netflix HD doesn't come close to matching Blu-ray HD. It's better than DVD but not quite the same quality as a true 720p HD feed.

 

[R Nilla]

It definitely streams HD. Probably hard to tell when you only check out Netflix's anime selection...

This looks much better than my component 360.

EDIT: And here's a more legitimate look at Netflix on the PS3 courtesy of Joystiq.

 

[zerocool84]

Anyone that has both a 360 and PS3 with Netflix comment on it? I just ordered mine today. Have a 360 that I stream on. Just want to know if anyone here can compare them both since I'm sure I won't get my disc for a while.

 

[thomsbrain]

Just watched an episode of Heros on my PS3 using the disc that arrived today. The UI seems okay. It is easy to use. You can only watch movies that are on your queue, but you can select anything from your queue (not limited by order), and you can select individual TV episodes from within a series. Playback has a resume function. FF and RW are handled similar to the current PC version, with a scrolling filmstrip of still images.

Audio playback was 48 khz 128 kb/s. Video ran as high as 7 Mbps on high-motion scenes. Initial buffering was pretty short, and the video played with no stuttering or additional buffering. This was an "HD" show.

Load time is no different than a regular Blu-Ray.

Overall I'm a happy camper. People can whine about having to put the disc in, but you have to do that for any other movie, too, so this isn't any worse.

I wish there was a way to monitor bandwidth usage on the PS3, but that's only to satisfy my curiosity.

 

[randomlinh]

Just watched an episode of Heros on my PS3 using the disc that arrived today. The UI seems okay. It is easy to use. You can only watch movies that are on your queue, but you can select anything from your queue (not limited by order), and you can select individual TV episodes from within a series. Playback has a resume function. FF and RW are handled similar to the current PC version, with a scrolling filmstrip of still images.

Audio playback was 48 khz 128 kb/s. Video ran as high as 7 Mbps on high-motion scenes. Initial buffering was pretty short, and the video played with no stuttering or additional buffering. This was an "HD" show.

Load time is no different than a regular Blu-Ray.

Overall I'm a happy camper. People can whine about having to put the disc in, but you have to do that for any other movie, too, so this isn't any worse.

I wish there was a way to monitor bandwidth usage on the PS3, but that's only to satisfy my curiosity.

I watched heroes too =) You can also watch pre-populated feeds, like "what's new" and add to your queue from there. I had comedy as a tab too, I don't know why.

And it looked damn good. Princess Bride looked terrible tho, heh. Well, ~SD on 1080p it looked like.

 

[thomsbrain]

Oh yeah, regarding whether this is a PS3 game disc or BD-Live, it appears to be BD-Live because it shows up under the "Video" menu, and if you press "options" you get the standard BD playback options overlay. Pressing "Back" gives you the PS3 "Do you want to stop playback?" screen. If it was an game-style application the message would probably have been something like "Do you want to quit Netflix?"

 

[sonoma1993]

Just watched an episode of Heros on my PS3 using the disc that arrived today. The UI seems okay. It is easy to use. You can only watch movies that are on your queue, but you can select anything from your queue (not limited by order), and you can select individual TV episodes from within a series.
.

I was able to watch movies outside of my queue, I had tabs for action, comedy, drama, thriller, horror, television, cartoons, and few other tabs

 

[LittleNemoNES]

just watched a streetcar named desire.

Unfortunately, it doesn't upscale the picture
It was @ 480p

 

[Childs]

I tried it out last night, and it works pretty well. I watched an HD episode of Lost and its on par with the 720p downloads that are floating around. AVC with VBR from 1-7Mbps, and AC3 2.0. Quality as you would expect was the same. I dont recall seeing a search function, but the UI as is is pretty good. Adding videos to your queue is quick and easy, minus a search feature. Also, they should have an HD tab/filter. Being able to see reviews and "similar movies" when browsing individual movies would be nice as well.

I didnt check out any SD movies, but so far so good.

 

[techwanabe]

Just got my disc and tried it out. Works great and an added value to discs in the mail.

 

[Kanalua]

Just signed up for the free two-week trial. Will see how it goes. Don't really know if I need it with DVR and Torrents. But for $9/month, might fill a niche in our family's entertainment arena...

 

[Malak]

Should be getting my disc soon. Loading up my queue with tv shows to watch.

 

[zerocool84]

just watched a streetcar named desire.

Unfortunately, it doesn't upscale the picture
It was @ 480p

It'll say if it's HD or not.

 

[techwanabe]

The one thing I would like Net Flix to do is make it so you can browse from your PS3/TV rather than have to load up the queue from your PC. My sister pointed out that annoyment when I was describing how it works. I've got my queue loaded up pretty well now anyway. Look like only the top four will show up when you turn on the PS3 to NF.

 

[Childs]

The one thing I would like Net Flix to do is make it so you can browse from your PS3/TV rather than have to load up the queue from your PC. My sister pointed out that annoyment when I was describing how it works. I've got my queue loaded up pretty well now anyway. Look like only the top four will show up when you turn on the PS3 to NF.

You dont need a PC to load up your queue, I do it from the PS3. Just browse, find something you like, and either watch it then or add it to your instant queue.

EDIT: When the app first starts you view your instant queue, but then to go to the left or the right and you can browse categories and then do the above.