http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/09/microsoft-srs-team-up-on-surround-sound-for-silverlight-will-t/#disqus_thread
Why don't they fix the crappy video in MC first.
ChiWaxHDNation (www.revision3.com) claims that Netflix doesn't take advantage of Silverlight's ability to use GPUs in decoding. Doesn't explain why it looks so good on Xbox though. Q.
I believe it uses a different stream, probably the same one as the Roku or PS3. The Roku, PS3 and the 360 have crystal clear quality.
I would think they would fix the video before upgrading the sound.
Regardless, I welcome 5.1 sound in Netflix. I agree the video isn't perfect but if 5.1 sound comes before any PQ improvements, I still see it as an advancement.
I dug around in this a while back. Silverlight doesn't actually have any GPU acceleration for decoding video. The only GPU acceleration built into Silverlight is for Silverlight specific elements. So while you can create a video frame to hold the video, and the frame can be accelerated, the video itself cannot use the GPU. Kinda pointless for video applications like Netflix, but I'm sure it has a purpose with animations and things of that nature.
SoylentGreen Why don't they fix the crappy video in MC first.
SoylentGreen I believe it uses a different stream, probably the same one as the Roku or PS3. The Roku, PS3 and the 360 have crystal clear quality.
My brother has a roku HD and a broadband connection 4x the speed of mine, and netflix video looks better on my HTPC than his roku box. Fast-moving scenes on the roku HD got choppy in some places, and some parts of the picture would freeze for a moment while the rest of the screen moved to the next frame.
I have no problems with netflix on my machine.
brantmacgaSoylentGreen I believe it uses a different stream, probably the same one as the Roku or PS3. The Roku, PS3 and the 360 have crystal clear quality. My brother has a roku HD and a broadband connection 4x the speed of mine, and netflix video looks better on my HTPC than his roku box. Fast-moving scenes on the roku HD got choppy in some places, and some parts of the picture would freeze for a moment while the rest of the screen moved to the next frame. I have no problems with netflix on my machine.
What's important to understand is this:
While those are all true statements, the following statement is not true:
Therefore, nobody can accurately state "Netflix on an HTPC looks better than on a Roku". Also, nobody can say "Netflix on an HTPC looks worse than on a Roku". It's all subjective and depends on the hardware in the HTPC. The PS3, Roku, and 360 all have a set hardware specification. Every HTPC is different. So while Person A might say "Netflix on my HTPC looks better than on the Roku" and Person B can say "Netflix on my HTPC looks worse than on the Roku", the two statements are basically useless. The two HTPC's are different, so it is to be expected that perhaps one is more capable than the Roku while the other is not.
Also, trying to compare what Netflix looks like in Home A that uses an HTPC with a Panasonic TV with Netflix in Home B that uses a Roku and a Pioneer TV is a useless comparison. If you want to compare the two, you need to make everything the same...the exact same internet connection, the same network traffic, the same display device, the same cables, the same AVR, the same everything....except the device used to receive the Netflix stream. When that is the only variable, a valid comparison can be made. Until then, comparisons are worthless.
You guys are comparing apples, oranges, bananas, and pears. Try comparing apples, apples, apples, and apples.
richard1980 What's important to understand is this: ALL PS3's use the exact same hardware. ALL Roku's use the exact same hardware (by model). ALL 360's use the exact same hardware. While those are all true statements, the following statement is not true: ALL HTPC's use the exact same hardware.
That I can certainly agree with.
richard1980Therefore, nobody can accurately state "Netflix on an HTPC looks better than on a Roku". Also, nobody can say "Netflix on an HTPC looks worse than on a Roku". It's all subjective and depends on the hardware in the HTPC. The PS3, Roku, and 360 all have a set hardware specification. Every HTPC is different. So while Person A might say "Netflix on my HTPC looks better than on the Roku" and Person B can say "Netflix on my HTPC looks worse than on the Roku", the two statements are basically useless. The two HTPC's are different, so it is to be expected that perhaps one is more capable than the Roku while the other is not. Also, trying to compare what Netflix looks like in Home A that uses an HTPC with a Panasonic TV with Netflix in Home B that uses a Roku and a Pioneer TV is a useless comparison. If you want to compare the two, you need to make everything the same...the exact same internet connection, the same network traffic, the same display device, the same cables, the same AVR, the same everything....except the device used to receive the Netflix stream. When that is the only variable, a valid comparison can be made. Until then, comparisons are worthless. You guys are comparing apples, oranges, bananas, and pears. Try comparing apples, apples, apples, and apples.
This I cannot agree with.
While certain parts of your statement are certainly true, the type of TV used has nothing to do with the choppy picture or parts of it freezing as I stated in my post. For pure picture quality, yes, but for actual video playback problems, no.
What I was alluding to, and have stated before, its all about hardware, just as you said.
I disagree with anyone that says the roku or ps3 will always be a better experience than a HTPC.
brantmacgaThis I cannot agree with. While certain parts of your statement are certainly true, the type of TV used has nothing to do with the choppy picture or parts of it freezing as I stated in my post. For pure picture quality, yes, but for actual video playback problems, no. What I was alluding to, and have stated before, its all about hardware, just as you said.
You stated in your previous post "fast-moving scenes on the roku HD got choppy in some places, and some parts of the picture would freeze for a moment while the rest of the screen moved to the next frame." Based on that statement, and the fact that every Roku HD has the exact same hardware, you are implying that your statement applies to ALL Roku HD's. But that is not true, as cVariable has pointed out ("Beautiful Netflix on the PS3 and Roku HD"). The point I was trying to make is that there are a number of factors that could cause comparison differences. It might be the HDMI cable. It might be the internet connection. It might be the router. It might be the other traffic on the network. It might be a faulty Roku. And yes, it might even be the internal parts on the TV. That incoming signal gets processed by many parts of the TV, and any one of them could possibly mess up the signal. Although the chance of that being the problem is very small, it can't be completely ruled out. You said it yourself..."it's all about the hardware". That includes every device that the signal goes through from start to finish.
About the only way I think you could make a valid comparison is if you borrow the Roku and hook it up in place of your HTPC and do a direct comparison under the exact same conditions. If you do a comparison any other way you are throwing way too many variables into the mix.
brantmacgaI disagree with anyone that says the roku or ps3 will always be a better experience than a HTPC.
I completely agree with you there. I think you could make a direct comparison using a specific HTPC, but since there are a billion different possible HTPC configurations it's not possible to lump all HTPC's into one category and make a direct comparison that way.
Why not Dolby Digital? How many people have receivers that can handle SRS 5.1? This was the same issue with ESPN years ago...
I was thinking about that... Doesn't SRS stand for simulated rear surround?