Netflix Streaming Update on 1080p HD, Closed Captions and 5.1 Audio

CNet reported earlier that Netflix was going to roll out 1080p streaming this year, but Netflix later corrected the report stating that "1080p watch instantly is not on the books for this year." Netflix's Steve Swasey did confirm that closed captions and 5.1 sound will be available later this year, but no date has been announced.

The Wire interviewed Swasey about HD streaming, and his comments on HD and the Wii are interesting:

"PS3 and Xbox users have 1 in 17 titles available in HD, and it's streamed in 720... it's not in 1080, and it's not in 5.1 surround sound or anything."

In this sense, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 Netflix users have a 1,000-movie advantage, in which the difference is a change from streaming in 480p to 720p.  This seems to be the company's form of disarming the "HD argument."

"So, the HD experience at Netflix Instant Watching isn't that overwhelming. It's a little bit underwhelming. So the Wii folks aren't going to miss that much."

How important is Netflix streaming in 720p or 1080p HD to you?

Thanks to reader Amanda & Gizmodo for the tip.

Comments

[Bill]

I just want the closed captioning. Some of the audio encodings are terrible. And since there is no way to easily/quickly rewind a few seconds, this would help a lot.

[Todd]

I'm fine with the current 720p HD streams, but I'd love to finally have 5.1 audio.

[Kilroy]

Let's put it this way -- although HD streaming is important to me (especially on computers themselves instead of only over devices), it isn't a dealbreaker. I'm more concerned with Netflix expanding their library of streaming videos -- I don't mind having to watch a movie in SD as long as I have a good selection to choose from.

[Tom Miller]

5.1 audio please!

[Art Zemon]

I use a PS3 to run a projector so the image I see is *big*. Given a choice between two movies, one in HD and one in standard def, I always choose the HD because the picture is so much better. My second pipe dream is to have 5.1 sound on all movies.

[Jacob Neff]

1080P is a must. If I have a choice between streaming in 720P, much less standard def, and getting a Blu-ray, I'll get the Blu-ray every time.

[Seth]

I don't expect HD in streaming from Netflix at this point. And as most American consumers have craptastically slow broadband, I can see why they are being measured in its roll out.

[Dalesd]

720p or 1080p is a red herring. It's picture quality that matters, and PQ is all about bitrate. When I watch a blu-ray disc, I see it has a bitrate of over 30 MegaBits per second, more when there's a lot of action on the screen.

Even OTA I get an average of 16-18 Megabits/s, and that's for 720p and 1080i.

How is Netflix going to deliver that when so few people have broadband that can deliver those speeds?

[Susan]

5.1 audio is on my wishlist. I have a question though - perhaps you know the answer? We have had a mac mini for a while and watched netflix through that on our old HDTV. We recently got a new Sony TV with Netflix built in. We think the picture quality is much superior than when we use the mac mini (whose display is set to 1080p as well) Both are connected via la cable.

IS the Sony streaming somehow done in a better resolution than the mac mini?

[Fred Fredrickson]

5.1 sounds good.. but I'm far more interested in a growing library. Netflix can't keep up with my viewing habits! (And I'm really dying for those new DR WHO movies!! HURRRRYY!!)

[John Dover]

CC is really important to some members of my family, as well as ADA, so I hope that part comes through on all devices.

[Keefer]

720 is fine for now. Bring on 6 channel audio please!!!!

[tsrblke]

There's no 1000 movie advantage, those movies are still available in SD, or I'd never be able to watch them on my SD TV. I imagine the Wii program is going to pull down the SD version (which we know they have for streaming purposes) instead of the HD one.

[GeorgeO]

Closed Captioning FTW!

[Chris O.]

I find 720 to be pretty darn nice on my 42" TV. 5.1 surround sound would be nice but not a must for me. CC would be a very nice feature for my hard of hearing friends.

[Dennis]

@Susan - Yes, Netflix-enabled devices (TVs, Bluray players, Roku boxes, etc.) can access streams at HD resolution (720p), whereas the computer-based streaming is only at standard resolution (480p). So even on your old HDTV something like a Roku box streaming Netflix would look much better than the Mac mini output.

[nk]

Wishlist:

1) closed captions
2) 5.1 audio
3) 1080
4) more movies!

[bob]

720p is the highest res set I own (bigger than 24", where I'd never even think about seeing a difference). I'd be fine with that, if they actually enabled it on computers. Why the hell can't I stream HD through my laptop?

[cj]

720p is fine for me. Bring CC now.

1080p will require a large a mount of data transfer and with Comcast capping it to a 250gb a month i don’t think i can be streaming 1080 for long before i get kicked out. In addition, the difference between 720 and 1080 is not really that much. To me is better for Netflix to concentrate their efforts on getting more content in 720 than spend recourses on 1080 capabilities that few could use due to ISP caps and transfer rates.

[hayj]

I find it very disturbing that we are having a discussion on the availability of a 1080p stream when there isn't even a single HD steam available to the PC. Then again maybe the PC isn't up to the task.

[Brian]

Glad to see that Netflix is finally providing fair accommodation to the disabled.

[PatB]

The importance of this discussion is that we now know that streaming kills DVDs. It happened in Korea in 2007. The management of NetFlix understands this very well. They have profitable business based on a technology that is just about to crash. They deny it of course so as not to hasten the process but they realize that the future is in streaming.

What will the be the final configuration? 1080p and Dolby 5.1. All the lower data rates configurations will be by passed but very high data rate services like 4k video and 7.1 will probably be judged as too much for home viewing. But of course I could be wrong.

Currently the NetFlix/Roku 720p streaming service produces a superior picture to that of the 480i DVD, just as you would expect. Blu-ray at 1080p is a little bit better yet but clearly we are in the area of diminishing returns. Most viewers wouldn't miss much if the Roku streams stayed at 720 but the marketing emphasis on "Real" HD means that buyers will insist on 1080.

Currently I have a 5.1 speaker set up. I know I could upgrade to 7.1 but of course I could go with 7.2 or 9.2 also. Here too there is a serious diminishing returns effect. Some movie theaters have twenty or more speakers but my HT is in my den (third bedroom) which just isn't big enough for all those speakers. Even theaters with dozens of speakers only a few sound channels.

Resolution and number of speakers have gone about as far as they can go, but there are still plenty of other areas where improvements can be made. Closed captioning is one but so is 3D.

I am currently predicting that next year's Super Bowl will be broadcast in 3D - blame Jim Cameron.

The integration of Web content with the movie stream is another obvious area where streaming can see improvement.

Finally we should see much more user interaction with the movie stream. Up until now we have been presented only with the cuts and the camera angles that the director chose. With object oriented movies all that will change.

[Frank Fujita]

Can someone confirm or deny that these streams are running at 30fps? The picture looks very "jerky" to me -- and I'm wondering if it's because they're running at 20 or 16 fps.

Thanks!

[Rigel]

Moderately important, as well as 5.1 sound. Why stream in 720p stereo when you can rent the DVD to get a better picture and sound? 1080p/5.1 streaming would go a long way to convincing me to give up DVDs (as well as bonus features and more titles). Until then, my streaming viewing is limited to the occasional specifically-chosen 2.0 stereo films during gaps in DVD deliveries - and only reluctantly because then I miss the bonus features.

[Cassin]

Priority order for me: (1) 5.1/7.1 [relying on DPL II for now], (2) 1080p, (3) CC/subtitles for English, (4) expand streaming selection to more (older) DVD-only releases. I'm willing to pay another $2/each of these.

Currently I prefer Blu-ray > HD stream > DVD (better sound but costs 1 queue spot) ~ SD stream.

Interestingly enough, SD on PC looks better than SD on PS3 (I have compared Crash Season 1).
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@PatB: I agree with most of your sentiments. However, we aren't ready for 3D TV yet (give it 5-10 years). According to avsforum, current implementation of 3D is lacking (there're 4 distinct technologies BTW, and better ones require special glasses and TV sets -- whereas color shifting destroys the palette). Obviously market penetration and content availability of 3D will go hand-in-hand.

As far as 3D object-oriented free camera shows -- are you aware of story-telling capabilities of interactive media such as PC and console video games? It's already there (can do variation on machinima). The thing is, Kubrick's camera cuts are way better than anything a viewer might do.
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@Rigel: you are correct that DVD's generally have better sound but incorrect about video. DVD's vary between 480i to 576p, below 720p.