Movie Streaming Services

[kevhed72]

We are officially "banning" Blockbuster and looking into the following services to download / stream movies via an internet connect at our house via DSL:

1. DirecTV Movies "On-Demand" (movies can be downloaded to their newer HD DVRs and saved)
2. Netflix has a similiar service using an actual TIVO box or seperate stand alone box.
(side note - DirecTV no longer offers the TIVO service, just their version of DVR)

Anyone have good luck with either of the above? please advise...

[Knucklehead]

IMO, any form of Blockbuster is a rip off. Ive heard good things about Netflix streaming although ive never tried it. Another option for some older movies that are free to stream is hulu.com.

[SCompRacer]

Blake (blakeh) introduced Doug (dkg99) and I onto the Roku box at an RAS get together. We both got one the following week. There are also several threads about it. I didn’t have a Netflix account and set one up. Also set up an account at Amazon to rent/stream movies. You don’t get the latest and greatest movies timely, but that doesn’t bother me. I could revisit Dexter season one and two, but season three is currently still a rental. Everything was in two channel sound, but recently some rentals from Amazon are available in 5.1 sound. I just load up my Netflix queue with what I want to watch that night or weekend and enjoy.

Netflix lists all the devices you can use here.
http://www.netflix.com/NetflixReadyD...lnkctr=nrd-l-n

[dkg999]

The Roku box is great! If you have to have the latest and greatest shows and movies, might not be for you. For those of us who can't ever be home when a show we like is on, and a DVR is a wasted effort, being able to drop something in my queue from work, then watch it that night, is just the coolest thing!

[kevhed72]

Thanks for the info. guys. One of the things that caught my eye about DirecTV On Demand is some of the movies are avaiable in 1080p.

Do your Roku boxes / services offer movies in HD?

[SCompRacer]

HD yes, but no 1080p with the Roku.


Roku Video Modes:

16:9 HD (720p)
16:9 anamorphic (480p)
4:3 standard (480i)

[Kex]

Please note also, the Netflix Roku (or similar device) service allows you to watch the DVD rental version of movies and/or shows. This means there are NO commercials! It's a huge advantage IMO. Just using a DVR records the shows as they are broadcast, including commercials.

Also worthy of mention, to effectively use Roku (or similar device), you may need to (1) upgrade your internet service to a premium account, for extra speed, and (2) upgrade your wireless router, if you intend to use one, to a higher speed. The latter will not matter if you intend to use a hard wired internet connection.

[SCompRacer]

Good points Kex. I already had high speed DSL and a Linksys WRT54GL in place, and my Roku is via wireless connection. Doug has cable. He was over the other day and said his would load a bit faster, but I haven't experienced any drop outs or hang ups while playing. Even with the wife on the wireless laptop.