Posted on 10/10/2011 5:41:23 AM PDT by TSgt
I just did a search on BlueRay based on your comments. Does it access wireless over your router? I’m looking at a Samsung BlueRay from Sears (we have a local Sears store here in the boonies) that says it will Internet stream Netflix or Blockbuster, TV shows from Hulu Plus, videos from YouTube, music from Pandora. How good is the streaming quality?
Yep. I cancelled my account the day I got the email announcing “Quixter.” If their prices drop, I might re-up, but probably not.
I’ve tried Netflix and Hulu Plus and find that Netflix has an easier to navigate interface for TV series and, while it’s streaming selection for movies is limited to the point of bein frustrating, Netflix still has a better selection of streaming movies than does Hulu Plus.
When we want to watch a movie, we look first on Netflix to see if it is available via streaming. If it’s not available on Netflix we just rent it from Amazon on Demand.
Netflix misteps have helped Blockbuster return from the grave... how utterly stupid this executive management team has been.
Lucas Arts lost my business after SWG. Not sure if SWTOR will be better.
At present, I jump between my Steam games: Civ V, Torchlight, Half Life 2, and TF2, but since I built a liquid-cooled rig for my uncle, we’ve both been religiously playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for the last month.
I played the BF3 beta as well, and I loved it. I’m praying they fix the hit recognition system, as that was my biggest gripe. Nothing like firing from an M1A1 Abrams right at a berm hiding 2 soldiers and get nothing more than a puff of sand and return fire from an M135. I hope to buy the game on 10/25, but I might wait a few weeks to see how they iron everything out.
Right now, my biggest wait is for Diablo 3. Torchlight is an exceptional replacement for the earlier graphically-challenged Diablo series, but Blizzard knows how to make games!
Samsung is the best in that arena, from my research. I have a Samsung BRD Player, and I love the built-in extras. My model only came with NetFlix, Pandora, and YouTube, but subsequent firmware updates have given me Blockbuster as well.
The streaming quality is great! I spent $200 on a Linksys E3000 gigabit router with Wireless N, and it’s def. worth the money. I changed my firmware to open source stuff for more customization, but the stock Linksys firmware does a great job prioritizing traffic to your streaming devices.
The Samsung BRD players come with built-in wireless that’s very easy to configure, and once you’re setup, you can stream high def video from your player without any issue, provided the video you’re watching IS in HD. A lot of NetFlix’ streaming media isn’t in HD to prevent streaming bottlenecks, but the stuff that is shows up real nice on a well-configured home theater. Of course, a wired connection is best for high-throughput, and if you have that ability, I would recommend you connect your player directly to your router. Otherwise, wireless works great.
Scratched DVDs may well cause a dvd to “freeze” while playing,in my experience; most severely scratched dvds result in massive SKIPPING and some freezing while playing.
This also can happen when playing movies burned on very poor media..that is, poorly manufactured blank dvd media.
Perhaps..rather than blame the FREEZING on scratched dvds, I would suspect that when a newer release (especially from SONY) either on standard dvd, or Blu Ray, FREEZES while playing.. it simply means that the manufacturer of that dvd or blu ray disc (Sony, or any other studio) has UPGRADED the COPY PREVENTION “features” on that disc..which means that your DVD player or Blu Ray player REQUIRES a FIRMWARE update to be able to PLAY these new releases.
I had the worst time playing the newer releases that I got from NETFLIX, on my Blu Ray player..I complained to NETFLIX..then I also consulted the various video forums to see if anyone else had this problem. I found this to be a common problem, regardless of who manufactures the Blu Ray player. Most people on the video forums recommended that a FIRMWARE update is needed for the player.
The solution to my specific problem was found when my Blu Ray player manufacturer issued a new FIRMWARE update.. I installed the new Firmware Update, and have had no problems since that time.
So; I would suggest that perhaps if you install new firmware in your Blu Ray player..this might well solve the freezing problem. It’s worth investigating.. simply go to your Blu Ray Player manufactures website to see if they have a new firmware update available for your specific model. Just a suggestion.
Ahhhh a fellow uber geek.
Well Diablo III is what we’re all waiting for I suppose. So wake me up in 2015 when the beta is announced lol.
I liked BF3 in some regards but I think I am looking for more arcade like action as in the MW series. I appreciate a more tactical game, it’s just not what I’m looking for.
I have a friend who was in the SWOTR beta this weekend. We have a guild meeting tonight on Vent so I will get some juicy details, NDA be damned.
On another related note. I finished reading Ready Player One last night. If you haven’t read you really really should. Fantastic Sci-fi that is gamer and geek focused. I loved it.
We stream from Netflix with our Samsung BlueRay and have never had any streaming issue whatsoever. I highly recommend the Samsung.
They didn’t revoke the price hike. They revoked the STUPID plan to make people go to two separate websites to manage their queues.
RE: The Walking Dead
Starts up again this Sunday! Really looking forward to it!
How are you able to get Youtube on a Roku? I've had a Roku XDS box since the Spring but I haven't seen a Youtube channel app in their selection. That's been my only negative about Roku, and in browsing the online discussion forums about this it seems to be impossible to find a straight answer as to why. I presume it's a licensing issue.
Roku needs to address this. I'm considering adding a streaming box to a TV in another room and as much as I've been pleased with everything else about the Roku product, if they don't fix this I'll be getting one of the Sony Blu-Ray WiFi players from Sam's Club instead (and I don't even use Blu-Ray).
Thanks, both of you. No, I’d have to go wireless instead of wired. My Linksys router sits on my desk, and the BlueRay would be in the LR in the TV cabinet. So...
I have to go out so I’ll stop at the Sears store and look at it. Maybe...
D3 is supposed to drop early next year, but while Blizzard has a habit of pushing back go-lives (SCII was over a year delayed), they never release an unfinished product.
On the other hand, you have outfits like EA who regularly release partially-finished betas as full and then patch like maniacs for the first few weeks, much to the consternation of gamers.
I never could get into the MW/COD series games. I absolutely DESPISE sniper-only mentality kids who get into BFBC2 games and do nothing but snipe and drop mortar strikes. You cannot play cooperatively with those people, and that the real heart and core of the Battlefield series. It is a game that is intended to be squad-warfare based.
When I get into a really good game with a heavily diversified squad, we can own the map for long stretches of the match by simply playing cooperatively. My impression of the MW/COD franchises is that they are geared toward those who like to play multi-player games with a more solo twist.
Let me know what you find out about SWTOR. I played EVE Online for a few years, and I absolutely adore the space-based sci-fi MMO genre. Sadly, there is not much to it anymore with games like WoW owning the MMO market.
“I’ve been using Netflix’s by-mail DVD service for several years. Their customer service is without peer. I wish every company I deal with was as good as Netflix.
But their big downfall seems to be predicting what their customers want. They’ve backtracked on Quixter. ‘Bout time!”
Yes—I’ve been really impressed with Netflix’s DVD efficiency. They’ve done a really good job at this. However, their latest venture has been tantamount to taking a round wheel and making it square.
Did you go into the channel store to add YouTube? I have an XDS and use YouTube on it all the time.
I know, me too!!! And this season will be 13 episodes!!
My best friend hacked his Roku box and installed some open source code.
I don’t personally have Roku, so I may be speaking out of turn. I personally built a PC in a custom modular case and installed Linux with MythTV. Windows 7 uses Windows Media Center to much the same effect, but I like the freedom of Linux.
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