CountryBoy19
Grandmaster
I want to get netflix, but I'm a netflix noob, I need help...Updated
***UPDATE***
Last night my wife and I stopped at Sam's club to grab a few things. We decided to just check out the Blu-ray players. Found a Vizio VMR231 blu-ray play with built in dual-band wifi for $129. That is by far the cheapest web/netflix compatible Blu-ray player with built in wifi I was able to find. I don't really need the built-in wifi but, I wanted it as a JIC feature. Other features are basically the same as all other BR players, upconverts DVDs etc, but this one included the HDMI cable as well (saved a few bucks). We decided to buy it, and I would check out the reviews when I got home (could always return it unopened). Amazon reviews are about 50/50 some like it, some hate it. The most common gripe people had with it was the buttons on the remote aren't soft-touch buttons, they actually make an audible click as you press down firmly on them. I like that feature so there are no "oops" moments while watching a movie etc. Another common gripe was that it loads slowly. I decided to give it a try, and hooked it up. First I tried a dvd (don't have any BRs), and I didn't have any problem with it loading slowly. So we decided to give netflix a try; I signed up for my free trial of netflix and within 10 minutes had everything setup, and my wife added one of her favorite shows to the queue and we were off, watching "Ace of Cakes" I'm not a fan of that show, but I let her watch... because she is my loving wife... and because what happened later made up for it.
Overall, I think I'm going to like netflix. Other than the purchase price of the BR player, our monthly cost is going to be approximately the same. -$22 for comcast cable and +$7.99 for netflix + ~$10 for upgraded net speed. Watching last night with my 768k net speed the video quality was a little better than a youtube video; I'm hoping that will improve drastically with upgraded net service.
Ok, so I know that the video is streamed live through 1 of many different devices. The only problem is that I don't have any of those devices other than a PC. I have a TV with a RGB PC connection. We've used that before to watch movies from the computer. The problem with that though is that the picture quality is "acceptable" and the audio quality coming from the head-phone jack is horrible. I don't look at it as an ideal option.
The streaming video players start at $59.99 for the Roku.
I know there are other options out there, but for a person on a budget, what is the cheapest? Is there a better way to get video/audio from my laptop to the tv? Or are there other products on the market that are a better bang for your buck?
I know there are some blu-ray players that will stream netflix as well, but I don't particularly care to get into blu-rays that much. Should I just bite the bullet and get a blu-ray player anyways?
Any other recommendations? My wife and I aren't really glued to the TV, but we do like to have it on while we're home in the evenings.
***UPDATE***
Last night my wife and I stopped at Sam's club to grab a few things. We decided to just check out the Blu-ray players. Found a Vizio VMR231 blu-ray play with built in dual-band wifi for $129. That is by far the cheapest web/netflix compatible Blu-ray player with built in wifi I was able to find. I don't really need the built-in wifi but, I wanted it as a JIC feature. Other features are basically the same as all other BR players, upconverts DVDs etc, but this one included the HDMI cable as well (saved a few bucks). We decided to buy it, and I would check out the reviews when I got home (could always return it unopened). Amazon reviews are about 50/50 some like it, some hate it. The most common gripe people had with it was the buttons on the remote aren't soft-touch buttons, they actually make an audible click as you press down firmly on them. I like that feature so there are no "oops" moments while watching a movie etc. Another common gripe was that it loads slowly. I decided to give it a try, and hooked it up. First I tried a dvd (don't have any BRs), and I didn't have any problem with it loading slowly. So we decided to give netflix a try; I signed up for my free trial of netflix and within 10 minutes had everything setup, and my wife added one of her favorite shows to the queue and we were off, watching "Ace of Cakes" I'm not a fan of that show, but I let her watch... because she is my loving wife... and because what happened later made up for it.
Overall, I think I'm going to like netflix. Other than the purchase price of the BR player, our monthly cost is going to be approximately the same. -$22 for comcast cable and +$7.99 for netflix + ~$10 for upgraded net speed. Watching last night with my 768k net speed the video quality was a little better than a youtube video; I'm hoping that will improve drastically with upgraded net service.
Ok, so I know that the video is streamed live through 1 of many different devices. The only problem is that I don't have any of those devices other than a PC. I have a TV with a RGB PC connection. We've used that before to watch movies from the computer. The problem with that though is that the picture quality is "acceptable" and the audio quality coming from the head-phone jack is horrible. I don't look at it as an ideal option.
The streaming video players start at $59.99 for the Roku.
I know there are other options out there, but for a person on a budget, what is the cheapest? Is there a better way to get video/audio from my laptop to the tv? Or are there other products on the market that are a better bang for your buck?
I know there are some blu-ray players that will stream netflix as well, but I don't particularly care to get into blu-rays that much. Should I just bite the bullet and get a blu-ray player anyways?
Any other recommendations? My wife and I aren't really glued to the TV, but we do like to have it on while we're home in the evenings.
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