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Cord Cutting
Cord Cutting Netflix: Now Streaming In HD
Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 7:50PM 
Until a few days ago, Mac and PC users were unable to stream high definition video from Netflix's Watch Instantly selection of titles. Stand-alone Netflix streaming devices including some net-connected Blu-ray players, televisions, and game consoles have supported HD-quality streaming for some time now. Brent Ayrey, Director of Product Management at Netflix, posted a brief update on the company's blog highlighting this recent change, and he listed some of the requirements for experiencing an HD stream on a personal computer:
- Install Microsoft's Silverlight 3
- A "sufficiently" fast Internet connection
- A "sufficiently large screen size"
Of course, access to Netflix's Watch Instantly selection requires a subscription package that includes video streaming. I successfully tested Netflix's HD streaming using a relatively powerful Windows 7-based workstation connected to a 22-inch widescreen monitor that features 1,680 by 1,050 pixel screen resolution - note the HD icon at the bottom of the Watch Instantly window (below).
Further testing using my recently completed home theater personal computer (HTPC) and its energy efficient CPU/GPU hardware revealed mixed video streaming performance. Some HD content streamed smoothly after some initial buffering - CPU usage averaged 30% during playback of a Lost episode. However, all other Netflix HD video streams that I tried consumed almost twice as much CPU power (about 45%-55%) while constantly dropping frames resulting in an unwatchable viewing experience. The majority of my Netflix video streaming tests were performed using Google's Chrome web browser, but I did rerun the tests using Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 with similar results. I also evaluated image quality when using Netflix in Windows Media Center and found that it too had been given the HD upgrade although it lacked an on-screen indicator for when HD video was being viewed.
Microsoft's Silverlight technology currently lacks hardware accelerated video decoding, but the Silverlight team recently demonstrated accelerated video decoding using Atom/ION hardware similar to what I used in my HTPC. I suspect that the next Silverlight update will help soothe my HTPC's hiccups when streaming Netflix's HD video - I want the 600+ other titles that are currently listed to look and perform at least as good as those Lost episodes.
For anyone with a Netflix unlimited subscription, broadband service, and a computer with more raw power than an Atom/ION setup (i.e. most modern computers and notebooks), there is now another means of receiving Netflix's streaming content in glorious HD quality.
Reader Comments (13)
Hi Robert,
I'm a Netflix subscriber from Puerto Rico. We pay the same packages as the people in the continental US, but Streaming is blocked for us. Can you put the word out there and see if Netflix can take out the location streaming restriction to Puerto Rico? Or can they lower our monthly payments if they will still blocking us?
I've been a Fan of HDNATION and Revision3 since the beggining!
Do I have to upgrade my Netflix account?
William: any Netflix subscription (inside the Continental United States) includes Watch Instantly streaming, however, Netflix's least expensive (Limited) plans includes only 2 hours of streaming per month. The other (Unlimited) plans include unlimited video streaming. You can click on "Change Plan" in your Account Information to see what plan you currently have.
Sorry Robert, I should have been more explicit. I have the $8.99 plan with unlimited streaming and 1 DVD at a time. The reason I asked was that I noticed it cost an extra couple of bucks a month for Blu-Ray and it wasn't clear to me whether or not the same was true for HD. After your review, I may not even bother. If you have unsatisfactory results with your set up, I doubt that mine would be any better with my Comcast 12 Gig hookup. I have a WiFi connection with my HTPC that has a ZOTAC GF9300-D-E 775 GF9300 MB and a Core2 Duo E7500 2.93GHz Processor. I don't have a Blu-Ray player, but I thought the one you reviewed on your last HD Nation looked interesting.
William: your HTPC's CPU is significantly more powerful than the Atom CPU I was running (your GPU is probably more powerful as well) - you should have no problems streaming Netflix's HD content with your hardware/broadband connection. Give it a shot and let me know what you think.
Hi Robert,
I too have the same hiccup problem you experienced on the ION platform. I mentioned it to Netflix support. I tested it with Silverlight 4 instead, but still no luck.
Do you know of any way to turn off HD streaming so that I can at least watch the shows?
Hi Robert
add 1 to the netflix streaming hiccups with the atom/ion platform. Seems odd there wouldn't be enough power but maybe the atom's just not up to the job without hardware accelerated decoding? My xbox360 streams netfilx HD like a champ on the same network.
Jeff
I second (third? fourth?) your experience. Have an otherwise flawlessly functional htpc using the Atom 330/ION combination (an ASRock cots box). Plays bluray with win7 mce and third-party plug-in perfectly. Have upgraded to SL4, bringing up the diagnostic overlay shows GPU acceleration is True/True, but clearly things aren't yet working as they should with ION since the thing renders and displays maybe one frame in 26-28 if I read the diagnostic data correctly. The link to the Silverlight team blog and their demo on the ION platform is tantalizing, but since I already have Silverlight 4, I'm wondering when and with what they will finally fix this issue. Is it purely Silverlight? Does one need to update to a yet-to-be-released version of the ION drivers?
I have mixed feelings about Netflix and their adoption of Silverlight, since it's forced me onto Windows for my HTPC rather than Linux and something like XBMC. But if the streaming, and HD streaming, would work properly, I could at least continue to choke back my rage at being railroaded onto a platform and enjoy the show.
Any idea when and how the ION thing will be fixed? It's the perfect solution for a small, quiet, low-power HTPC,and thus far I've had few regrets.
I just saw a Silverlight update and jumped for joy. But sadly I was let down after testing it and finding that it has no effect on the Netflix streaming issue with the ION platform. Estinky.
I have Lenovo S12 w/ Atom/ION and also am experiencing the same problem. Looks like still no solution after 40 more days.
I'm waiting for Silverlight to just die, already. One Flash is bad enough. We don't need two.
I have a question... Now that we have internet enabled tv's what exactly is the point of spending $700 on a HTPC when you can put that towards a mega sweet internet enabled tv?
I recently got one of the new Samsung LED LCD. I got it part of a packaged deal on dell that came with the Tv, 3D Bluray Player, Xbox 360 Elite, Samsung 3D Starter Kit... The main selling feature? The internet@tv.
With Internet@TV on the Samsung I have access to: Napster, Pandora, Netflix, Vudu, HuluPlus, Blockbuster, Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, Google Maps, Tv Guide Etc. Etc. Etc...
You also get usb ports on these Tv's that can play just about anything. Hell this Samsung even plays my 1080P files in MKV containers. So paired with my 2TB NAS drive...
The future is only looking brighter too, with companies launching android powered tv's. What is the point of HTPC's?
Yea I need to just post on here even if its old. I have an ION gpu in my netbook and it's pissing me off that HD content isn't running smooth on neflix. Luckily the HD option isnt on many of the instant watch selections. I'm going nuts with all of the incompatibility of silverlight. GEE LETS NOT USE THE GPU BECAUSE EVERYONE HAS PROCESSORS THAT CAN HANDLE IT DERRRRR DERRRRRR