Serious Question.....

[runrobotrun]

Our DVD player crapped the bed last week. We own a lot of DVDs and are hoping to start working our way through all of them. We are setting aside those we aren't really interested in owning. Movies that were gifted or bought in $5 bins at Wal*Mart. Anything we get for them goes to the next gen fund

Comments

[oakfellow]

LG (BD300) and Samsung (BD-P2550) both have $350 Blu-ray players with Netflix streaming. No idea about the quality of Netflix streaming, but it's an option that's between the console price-points.

[runrobotrun]

Yeah for the price difference we would probably go PS3 if we go blu-ray. Then we can buy games if we want and its upgrade proof.

The thing is, I'd much rather have an XBox since thats what all our friends have. I wish microsoft would just put the blu-ray player in the box.

[lghawaiian]

I love streaming Netflix through my 360. I don't like Blu-ray, and I don't think the technology is going to last. It's just a bunch of hype and crypto-crap to prevent pirating. And yes, I've watched a blu-ray version of a movie then previewed the standard-def, and while there's a difference on a huge projector screen, it's not enough to help me enjoy the movie anymore.

Anyway, HD streaming is fine through my cable connection. It takes a couple minutes to buffer, just enough to pour the popcorn in a bowl and get comfy. You can also play games while you're waiting the couple minutes, and the XBox will let you know when the video is ready to play. Crisp visuals and no stutter when I watch. My tv broke so I haven't watched in a couple months, but when I did, awesome.

That's just my two cents. You should really be killing Nazi zombies with me in Call of Duty: World at War. Seriously.

[runrobotrun]

I think the only reason blu-ray hasn't completly replaced dvd yet is because of the economy. That and the machines are still kind of pricey. I think you'll see blu-ray become standard disc format within 3-5 years.

[daedaleandeus]

Xbox Netflix streaming is sexy.
Also remember that it is a Windows Media Center Extender so you can play your video files from your PC on the XBox. I don't know if you can install a Blue Ray player on your PC and then leverage the HD outputs on your XBox in this way, but if you can I bet you could find an article about it and blue ray drives are cheap compared to actual players.

[runrobotrun]

Have you been able to stream any HD movies through netflix/xbox? Or is it only regular dvd versions of the film right now?
Unfortunately the windows media center aspect doesn't help us. I'm still running a pre-intel iMac, and the wife works off of a MT laptop.

[daedaleandeus]

Yes, a few of the movies I've watched have been HD

[philanthropyman]

You could always buy an upconverting dvd player it will play your dvds in 720i which will make the picture look more crisp and they only go for around 40-50$. I have a blu-ray player and a ps3 and honestly I don't think blu-ray is worth the 'investment' and that's coming from a guy who sells them. The blu-ray will also upconvert but I don't see the point of spending 10-20$ more per dvd just on blu-ray, I'd say get the upcoverting dvd player cheap and wait a year-4 years when sony tries to 'man-handle' the market and making dvds 'blu-ray exclusive'

[nightskyre]

Netflix streaming is awesome the way Napster was awesome when we were back in college. If you were hanging out with friends, and you didn't have a song you all wanted to hear, hit up Napster for a copy, and sing along. In the same way, you can look over at M. and say "Hey, let's watch X

[runrobotrun]

We do have a high def set already, and we definitely want a high def player. Someone else suggested an upconverter, so I'll have to look into one of those. Right now, my dvd collection is upwards of 300 films. I'm hoping to pair that down considerably as I've bought a lot of crap.

Are you paying a XBox Live subscription fee and a Netflix fee on top of that?

[nightskyre]

Yes. In order to use NetFlix streaming, you're looking at $50/year (discounts available) for X-Box Live Gold and at least 8.99/mo for unlimited steaming Netflix.

[theball]

I did not know about how much electricity that thing consumes! The mystery of my absurd electric bill is now being solved..