Timely analyst thought pieces on issues pertaining to digital media, home networks, and consumer electronics.

Having been a Netflix user off and on since 2000, I was anxiously awaiting today's software update to the Xbox 360 that would bring Netflix streaming to the console. I've been a fan of Vudu and while I never tried the Roku Netflix box, I've been fairly consistent in my belief over the past year or two that the gaming consoles have a serious leg up on movie streaming and download services.  Having just downloaded the new Xbox 360 software (with what can essentially be called the Xbox 360 2.0 version) with Netflix, I am even more steadfast in this belief.

First, the experience of downloading the software update was relatively painless. Microsoft must have had some serious CDN resources on call, because the download itself (after a cold boot and network connect after being disconnected for a few weeks) was only a few minutes. The actual software update process took 15 minutes itself, but once it loaded it was fairly quick and responsive. The first thing I did was create an avatar (the avatars are fairly good in terms of choices of looks and outfits).

After my avatar, I downloaded the Netlflix software and was asked to activate my device going online. With the Netflix service on the 360, you can activate through an existing account or create one. I decided to try and create one (since I stopped using Netflix a few months back) through the console and it didn't let me. This was really the only hiccup.  I decided to re-activate my old Netflix account on my PC, and once this was done, activation the 360 went very smoothly.

I decided to try and stream a movie and loaded up Supersize Me online through my browser. When I went to my 360, it was there in the queue ready to watch. I hit play and it started streaming instantly. While the quality is certainly not at a bitrate similar to a DVD, it looked pretty good on my 42" TV. I would compare the quality to that of the Vudu instant streaming standard definition.

The biggest complaint with Netflix instant viewing has been and will continue to be the library. The number of movies available is much smaller than the overall Netflix library, and due to rights issues I don't expect this to change very quickly. However, for someone who is a parent and who is constantly running to Blockbuster on Sunday nights for family movie night, the library is sufficient in size to provide a movie for those who don't want the latest and greatest releases. And even then, there are some decent choices, such as Ratatouille and other kids flicks that I am sure will make most families happy in a pinch on movie night...
 
 
 
 

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