Netflix streaming video to be available on Wii | Hacker News Reader

Netflix streaming video to be available on Wii

sfgate.com

25 pointsgibsonf119 comments

That's pretty cool, but I recently got a HDTV and the Wii is the worst-looking input into it at 480p. The $99 Roku player looks fantastic at 720p, even when the video you're playing isn't specifically in HD.

Keep in mind that much of netflix content just isnt available in HD -- because it was never made as such. For this stuff it doesnt matter as much and is very nice.

It's true that much of the streaming content is not HD, but Netflix goes to interesting lengths to get the original sources and re-encode them for a better streaming experience. http://blog.netflix.com/2008/11/encoding-for-streaming.html has the details. They're not just taking the original SD broadcast signal and digitizing it. So even though it wasn't made in HD, in many cases it looks better than it ever did when it was first broadcast, or even than seen on DVD.

Most of Netflix's films were filmed on 35mm film, which in most cases has a similar resolution to HD.

Im not arguing that point. Im arguing that untill Warner Bros, Fox, et al get around to releasing on blu-ray the only way to get that contet is dvd. Netflix is not in the biz of scannning film, so they are stuck with what they are given. Most of that is DVDs

According to the Netflix blog entry I mentioned already, DVDs are a minority when it comes to video sources.

Yeah, I see that now. At the time I posted I was operating under incorrect assumptions and info.

Netflix might be able to get films that are unlikely to make it to Blu-Ray in HD though just like HDTV channels get them.

Does your PC have HDMI-out? This is another easy solution for getting Netflix streaming onto your TV in HD resolution.

I can't wait for this. For the most part, I don't care about the quality of it (at best 480p). As long as it's not choppy, I could care less if Burt Reynolds' mustache is pixelated.

Even if this is true, I imagine the video quality will be less than spectacular. Back when I was trying to finagle the Wii into a media center, I could never get videos to playback above a certain bitrate/resolution. My guess would be 480p at best.

That said, I will be very happy if/when this happens. A macbook does not a media center make.

I'm not sure the Wii qualifies any better than a macbook. Struggling to do 480p, which you concede could possibly be the highest resolution it will output, does not make it better than a macbook IMO.

The real winner this generation is Netflix. They now have streaming video on all three consoles.

If you saw them at CES last week, Netflix is on pretty much any device that will take them. TV's, roku, boxee (more I'm sure).

Pandora and Skype seem to be following in the same vein.

And will be available in Canada about the time Avatar becomes technically possible

does the xbox already have this?

Yes - and my experience is it works quite well.

Like everyone else though, I just wish the streaming catalog were larger. I'm hoping that's what the recent deal with Warner Brothers will result in.

So does PS3, and many Samsung Bluray players. My experience with both is: if you have a decent internet connection they work pretty well.

Time to dust off the Wii!

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