# Tivo streaming Netflix



## Shado1 (Mar 28, 2009)

FIRST POST!!! WHOHO...

I just got my first Tivo HD today after dropping Dish Network. Got the box up and running and everything is going good. I'm just waiting for all the firmware updates to try the Netflix. I was just wondering what peoples experiences are with Netflix on the Tivo. I'm on AT&T DSL Elite (6meg).


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

Check out the threads in the S3/HD section.

A few people are having problems but for the most part it's pretty cool. Actaully getting a program to stream in HD and stay in HD is pretty rare, but the next lower quality is still pretty darn good.

If you lose your internet connection while watching Netflix your TiVo will lock up and you'll be unable to restart your box until your internet connection is back. The worst thing was a couple of months ago when the Netflix servers crashed and anyone who was watching Netflix at the time couldn't reboot until they fixed it.

And, Hey! Welcome!


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

pdhenry said:


> If you lose your internet connection while watching Netflix your TiVo will lock up and you'll be unable to restart your box until your internet connection is back.


Just an aside--that problem was apparently fixed in 11b.


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

We use NETFLIX all the time. Just watched Pirates of the Carabian with my kids. The whole system works great for us!

Scott


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## tombonneau (Mar 26, 2009)

I just got my TiVo and have had the Roku. Thus far, the Netflix queue is easier to browse in Tivo, but the first movie I tried watching on TiVo Netflix (Return of the Pink Panther) had a way distorted aspect ratio. When I played it in the Roku, it came through properly letterboxed.

Not sure if this is a common problem with Netflix movies in TiVo (I tried hitting the aspect ratio on the TV remote but I got the this-button-doesn't-work-right-now BONG).

I'll probably stick to watching Netflix on the Roku, just because it's easier to navigate to on my TV vs. having to click mulitiple screens on Tivo, plus the aforementioned aspect ratio image (my guess is it will be a problem more often than not).

Once Roku sorts out their navigation, it'll be the clear choice for me.


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## eaglestvo (Dec 27, 2008)

Based on all the initial negative posts on Netflix, I held off on trying it. I did not want to end up with a box that could not be rebooted. But I finally gave in and signed up for a Netflix account. I watched the whole first season of Heroes in HD. The video was awesome, and I did not have a single skip of glitch in viewing.

I wish they could make Rhapsody work this well.


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## Daghain (Feb 12, 2009)

I've had barely any problems with Nexflix streaming on TiVo. I did have one night where The Office simply would not stop going back to get the stream, but I suspect one of my neighbors is a bit-torrenter, because it seems like problems don't occur until around 10pm. You can almost set your watch by it. 

Other than that one bad episode, I usually get the stream right away with no problem.


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## Len McRiddles (Dec 21, 2002)

I have never had a problem streaming NetFlix.


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## Shado1 (Mar 28, 2009)

Well I finally got the 11b firmware update, and now just waiting to get a 50' patch cable, which I will have tomorrow. I hope this works good because I'm going through channel withdraw just having OTA since I dropped Dish. Thanks everyone for the input...I should not have a problem.


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## RS4 (Sep 2, 2001)

Shado1 said:


> Well I finally got the 11b firmware update, and now just waiting to get a 50' patch cable, which I will have tomorrow. I hope this works good because I'm going through channel withdraw just having OTA since I dropped Dish. Thanks everyone for the input...I should not have a problem.


Good luck with your Netflix. We really enjoy the service on our Tivo.


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## blacknoi (Jan 23, 2006)

Never had an issue. I have a 16.5/2 cable connection.

Can't comment on the HD staying HD because I haven't found anything in HD that I actually wanted to watch yet.

But SD always works great.

I'm LOVING the South Park recent additions (seasons 1 through 9!! woo hoo).


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## Shado1 (Mar 28, 2009)

I just got the cable and have broadband connected. I now see the Yahoo and YouTube, but when I go to the Video on Demand it says that I have to go the my account settings and check for Video Download...but it was already checked. With it take another update overnight for the Netflix to show?


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## Granzella (Sep 13, 2006)

Shado1 said:


> I just got the cable and have broadband connected. I now see the Yahoo and YouTube, but when I go to the Video on Demand it says that I have to go the my account settings and check for Video Download...but it was already checked. With it take another update overnight for the Netflix to show?


Did you activate your Tivo HD to Netflix? http://www.netflix.com/Activate

Also, you can force Tivo to connect to the internet if you want any software updates immediately.


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## Shado1 (Mar 28, 2009)

Yea, I had to force an update and restart my Tivo box. Only tried one movie so far...works. pretty good. PQ is not too bad, and I have no network slowdowns. I'm fairly happy with it.


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## Joe01880 (Feb 8, 2009)

I have a 20/5 internet connection via FiOS to my TiVo HD using ethernet. I have watched a lot on Netflix and have had no problems at all. Best of luck!


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## Daghain (Feb 12, 2009)

blacknoi said:


> I'm LOVING the South Park recent additions (seasons 1 through 9!! woo hoo).


What? Really? *goes to look*


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## BarryD99 (Mar 30, 2002)

I've had mixed results. I'd estimate in 1 out of 7 videos, the sound is out of sync with the picture.

If you call Netflix, they correct it quickly although they say it could take a week.

Sitll, I like the service.


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## timckelley (Oct 15, 2002)

Are all these comments I'm reading involving netflix streamed in HD quality? I just noticed the other day that I have a Netflix item on my Now Playing on my HD TiVo, but I'm not currently nor have I ever been a Netflix customer.

I have a few of questions about this Netflix feature:

1) I have only SD TV's even though my TiVo supports HD. So if I were to sign up for Netflix, I'd be completely happy with an SD type transmission of the content. Will they do that, or does it have to be in HD format?

2) I hear that for people who get DVDs mailed to them, that as soon as they watch a flick, and mail back the DVD, then the next movie on their list gets mailed to them. With this new streaming option, mailing delays are cut out. Does that mean that if you watched a movie every day, you'd get a new movie from them every day? What's the turnaround time for getting your next movie, once you've watched one?

3) Is this streaming of Netflix the same price as the traditional get-DVDs-in-the-mail method? You'd think it wouldn't be more expensive, since Netflix now gets to save in postage costs.


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## rcoates777 (Jun 29, 2005)

Gang -

My Netflix experience with TiVo has been pretty good. I have noticed that when watching "The Office" that if I hit the 8-second rewind button that it starts to have problems every minute or two and pauses while it starts "retrieving." It doesn't have a problem until I do this. Yeah, I know, don't do that. Anybody else experience this?

Bob


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

timckelley said:


> Are all these comments I'm reading involving netflix streamed in HD quality? I just noticed the other day that I have a Netflix item on my Now Playing on my HD TiVo, but I'm not currently nor have I ever been a Netflix customer.


See? The red folder sparked an interest in Netflix Watch Instantly in someone in a way that a message might not have.


> I have a few of questions about this Netflix feature:
> 
> 1) I have only SD TV's even though my TiVo supports HD. So if I were to sign up for Netflix, I'd be completely happy with an SD type transmission of the content. Will they do that, or does it have to be in HD format?
> 
> ...


Answers:
The vast majority of the available streaming titles (about 15000) are standard def. They have only a few hundred high def streams.
I don't understand. Streaming is not "rental"--it's an ancillary service. Disc rental turnaround depends on how close you are to a distribution center; for me, it's been a couple of days. You can watch streams at any rate that you please. When you finish one stream, you can immediately start watching another. You can finish part of one streaming title, stop and start watching another, then return to the first one later--it'll save your place. Depending upon the rental plan that you subscribe to, you can simultaneously stream to multiple devices (one for every disc that your plan entitles you to hold).
Streaming doesn't cost extra. I've been a Netflix subscriber for years and they did not increase my monthly charges when they added streaming.
As I told someone else recently, I wouldn't necessarily advise subscribing to Netflix solely for Watch Instantly. The selection of streaming titles is such that if you're into recent release mainstream film, you're going to continue to rent discs. You can try the free trial to see whether or not it suits you.


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## Turtleboy (Mar 24, 2001)

timckelley said:


> 2) I hear that for people who get DVDs mailed to them, that as soon as they watch a flick, and mail back the DVD, then the next movie on their list gets mailed to them. With this new streaming option, mailing delays are cut out. Does that mean that if you watched a movie every day, you'd get a new movie from them every day? What's the turnaround time for getting your next movie, once you've watched one?
> .


This question makes no sense.


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## elwaylite (Apr 23, 2006)

I have a TivoHD, their wireless dongle and a Cox Cable 10mbps connection. I have no problems watching each item, and i full quality on the HD shows.

We watched Ghostbusters last night


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## TDoodle (Mar 23, 2009)

I'm also new to Tivo (HD version) and the Netflix base plan (2 week free trial). So far, we have watched 3 movies on Netflix (via the internet) and they have played very well. Not even so much as a hiccup and you would think they are playing locally. We have Comcast high-speed internet for our connection.

Before signing up with Netflix, I had mistakenly thought that we could select movies from Netflix via menu from our couch within the Tivo. I didn't realize that I have to go select them with a PC and put them into the "instant queue", but that has been easy too. I also didn't realize that Netflix doesn't make all movies available to me for the Tivo download and that some are only available via DVD mail order. I really got the Netflix thing to compensate for the loss of Comcast "On Demand" service when we moved to the Tivos. I also wanted to drop the Comcast "Premium" channels because they are so repetitive and add cost well above the Netflix base plan. So far, I think that Netflix has been a good solution and I think we will stay with it.

Rick


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

Having an SD TV connected to the HD TiVo probably helps gloss over the minor video degradation seen on an HDTV when the Netflix stream is at less than HD quality - it's win-win.


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## timckelley (Oct 15, 2002)

timckelley said:


> 2) I hear that for people who get DVDs mailed to them, that as soon as they watch a flick, and mail back the DVD, then the next movie on their list gets mailed to them. With this new streaming option, mailing delays are cut out. Does that mean that if you watched a movie every day, you'd get a new movie from them every day? What's the turnaround time for getting your next movie, once you've watched one?


I'm confused by people's confusion of what this question means. It could be that I don't understand what netflix is actually offering to TiVo users. I just assumed that there was an option to, instead of receiving discs, the movie just shows up on your TiVo NP list. I assumed that it was somehow delivered in a way similar to how guide data is delivered. IOW, this streaming would replace the actual receiving of discs in the mail. (Oh, but it just now occurs to me that "streaming" might not really mean that a movie is stored on your hard drive, but that it's "streamed" from a remote location as you watch the movie.)

Since I would think a movie could be transmitted to a TiVo faster than snail mail, that a natural consquence might be a shorter turnaround time between movies. With snail mail, you watch a movie, then put it in your mailbox, and then you eventually receive the next one on your list. (I've never been a Netflix customer, but I thought I heard that's how it works.) With this electronic transmission, cutting out the USPS (or FedEx, or whomever they use), this seems a lot faster, and so I figured that maybe you could get your next movie instantly.

Potentially this sounds like a lot more value to the customer than the old way, but I wanted to clarify/inquire.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

The Netflix streaming to Tivo is just a bonus with their service.
The main service is physical DVD rentals, and you have to have at minimum, the unlimited one disk at a time service to be able to stream to a compatible device.


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## Daghain (Feb 12, 2009)

The streaming Netflix doesn't take up any space on your TiVo, and so far, there is no limit to what you can watch.

I currently have over 100 items in my queue, and I could conceivably lock myself in the house for a week and watch everything on there if I wanted to. As soon as you finish watching one program, you can access another one in your queue. You don't necessarily have to watch them in the order you have them queued up, either. For example, last night I watched an episode of The Office, then an episode of South Park. I did not remove either series from my queue as I wasn't done watching it yet. 

So, unlimited streaming is...unlimited streaming!


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## stevieboy (Sep 27, 2007)

Are some of the movies widescreen (16:9) that netflix offers? Thanks


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## gonzotek (Sep 24, 2004)

stevieboy said:


> Are some of the movies widescreen (16:9) that netflix offers? Thanks


Many, I'd say most movies are 16:9. The split might be 70%/30% widescreen to fullscreen. Some content (such as most older tv series) was originally shot/shown in 4:3 and is naturally streamed in the same aspect as the original. And some things were widescreen but have been cropped to fullscreen(I haven't found a good reason why, but really haven't looked for one). Enough are widescreen that I'm happy.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

mahermusic said:


> My wife and I tried the Netflix free trial on our Series 3. We're not interested in doing the "one DVD in the mail at a time" thing, only the "instantly watching" part of Netflix. We actually cancelled the Netflix free trial after 4 days because of two things: 1) We had to use a computer to use the instant download feature, and 2) the lack of movies available in the instant download was surprisingly small. Actually, we watched two movies and then there was nothing else that we were interested in. We've been using the Amazon On Demand, and it works great (and we can browse through the TiVo for our movies), and Blockbuster should be a little more of that as well, so we're looking forward to that too. As for paying a monthly subscription for the Netflix, we opted not to.


I'm thinking of canceling my sub with Netflix for the 2 reasons listed above. I don't really care to get DVDs by mail, opting for the streaming option. I'll probably subscribe when the selection increases.


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