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On Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:59 -0600, "linux guy" <linuxguy123@gmail.com> wrote:</div>
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Just a little update on my Netflix situation. <br />
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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.<br />
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So... I bought a WD Live Hub and tested it out, connected directly to my 55" Samsung.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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So... I have basically given up on Netflix. I'll rent a Blu Ray DVD or watch HD satellite feeds instead of using Netflix.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.</div>
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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.</div>
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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.</div>
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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.</div>
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Kris B.</div>
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<a href="mailto:B.krisbee@krisbee.com">krisbee@krisbee.com</a></div>
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