Netflix should allow downloading streamed vids. I never get them in HD.

In My Humble Opinion
1

Oh, I can get HD if I want to watch TV shows at six in the morning, but at night, when everyone else is streaming, too, I cannot.

I’m fed up with Netflix, but what else am I going to do? In addition to streaming, I like getting Blu-Ray discs. I have a friend who pays for Hulu Plus, but it has commercials! Commercials! At least it always streams in HD, but if Hulu ever gets big enough (and they advertise enough to lead me to believe they will some day), they might end up with the same server problems as Netflix.

I Googled the problem, and obviously I’m not the only person with the problem, but does ANYone get to stream in HD? It’s not my internet speed. Not by a long shot.

When I first got my TV four years ago, I never had a problem. Then, about a year ago, programs began stopping in the middle to switch to LD. Eventually, shows stopped streaming in HD altogether. After my research, I tried when I first got up in the mornings, and there’s no problem. All HD on anything. But never at night any more.

If they let me download a video, I would happily wait the time it would take. It shouldn’t take long, and if they let me store up to three hours, that would be enough. I imagine, though, that you’d have to have a device that would even allow that.

Of course, it would be even better if Netflix’s server’s could handle what they promise and what I pay for :rolleyes:

2

It’s not Netflix, it’s your ISP. I have RCN which took Netflix up on their “Open Connect” offer and I get nice, pretty HD all the time, with about 4 seconds of loading time.

Article Here, using Boston as an example. I’m in Chicago and I can say my experience is the same:

3

To be fair, yes, the articles I read said it isn’t entirely Netflix’s fault.

And I have Comcast…

4

Here’s the ritual I go through with both Netflix and Hulu:

1.) I start with the Netflix/Hulu that is built in on my TV. If it starts giving me buffering issues, I exit completely out and then reopen the app. This usually fixes it 80% of the time. (Or just turn the tv completely off.)
2.) If that doesn’t work, I’ll start watching on my laptop and connect the laptop to my TV via hdmi cable.

3.) If that doesn’t work, I’ll try watching through my Google Chromecast.
Really, Chromecast should be my 2nd option as it’s less of a pain in the ass to set up. I’m just using my laptop 2nd because that’s what I was doing before I had Chromecast.

I haven’t the slightest clue why I don’t have buffering issues on my laptop when my TV seems to struggle with it.

5

I’ve had Netflix for a couple years now and can’t say I’ve had this problem. Yes, once in awhile there’s a glitch, but nothing’s perfect. Are you sure it’s not your ISP?

6

Comcast throttles Netflix-do a Google search and you’ll see that you’re not the only one. I’ve also had it happen.

7

We have UVerse, and I get Netflix in HD (after a few minutes of buffering). But oddly enough, I have the worst luck on my desktop. Going through the Netflix app on my TV, through the PS3 or through the Apple TV, Netflix is HD. I haven’t tested my Chromecast all that thoroughly, but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t.

8

:rolleyes: :stuck_out_tongue: Duh. Netflix could have the fastest connections in the universe … but if your ISP or Internet connection is throttled or just not fast enough, there’s nothing Netflix can do to fix your problem.

9

Getting back to the OP and downloading. This would fix a lot of problems for a lot of people plus the companies involved.

I did a free trial of Netflix a while back via my DVR. Egad, it was miserable. If they just let you slowly download a show a 3am to watch later, it would have been a huge improvement. But that is apparently Too Scary for the content providers because it’s Just Like Piracy! (Nevermind that my DVR allows recording of HBO and such and uses a copy protection flag to prevent* simple copying. And nevermind that what I ended up doing was recording the shows at off-hours on my server to watch later anyway.)

Letting people download Netflix stuff at off-hours to watch later would spread demand all around: better for Netflix and ISPs. And then the customers can watch in better quality. A win-win-win.

*Unless of course …

10

I had issues with stuff not streaming at all, even though my Time Warner connection was, by all accounts, plenty fast. Switched to U-Verse and lo-and-behold, all of my streaming problems went away.

But I wholeheartedly agree with the OP about skimpy streaming buffers in general. I have problems listening to Pandora when my 3G coverage is spotty. Content providers need to relax their grasp on streaming rules and allow a certain amount of content caching on client devices. After all, memory is cheap now, and like ftg says, it’s better for everyone.

11

That would be handy, especially in this age of tablets and such when you’re mobile but away from wi-fi. Amazon Instant Video manages to do this - you simply get a warning that once you start watching a downloaded video you’ve got 24 hours to finish before it self-deletes. There may be a hack to keep it, but it seems just as likely there’s a way to capture stuff you stream.

12

The problem with downloaded videos (from the point of view of Netflix and the copyright owners) is that people will share them with non-subscribers.

13

The streamed videos are already DRM’d. The downloaded ones would be too.

If someone could break the DRM, then they could do it on a streamed video as well as a downloaded one.

I am also waiting for this feature. I want to tell Netflix which movie I’m going to watch next and get a notification when it’s ready for me to watch in HD. My ISP sucks, and there isn’t another option where I live. I’m already paying about $50/mo for the crappy speeds I get. It doesn’t make sense for me to pay an extra $30 for fast internet plus the netflix streaming. I’ll just stick to DVDs for $12/mo instead.

14

We’ve had Netflix for years and have only had streaming problems twice and that lasted only a couple hours.

15

The Amazon scheme prevents that - why can’t Netflix?

16

I have heard that PlayOn’s companion software, PlayLater, acts as a DVR so you can timeshift streamed video. Not sure if it works with Netflix, but you can check it out?

17

How many of you having trouble are using Sony equipment? Netflix on my Sony Blu Ray worked like pure shit, but works much better on everything else I have (Roku, Chromecast, Samsung smart TV).

It may be that all their equipment uses a Sony proxy, for some stupid reason.
http://downloadlinuxfree.com/sony-netflix-streaming-choppy-design-proxy/

18

Sure there is…and it’s even in the title to this thread.

19

As pointed out, with DRM this is just a psychological problem the content owners have. They think that if you have a copy on your DVR/computer/tablet that means you have bought it therefore you should be charged more.

They also want to directly be the source for “buying” their content. No Netflix/Amazon middlemen. So they are pretty harsh in deals with them since they view them as competitors rather than retailers. And they hate Netflix more than Amazon so they put more restrictions on them. (Amazon, after all, makes them money by selling new, physical discs.)

It’s like the early days of VCRs. First the studios wanted to put them out of business, then they ended up making more money via rentals and sales than in the theaters. Took them a long time to learn their lesson then, going to take just as long this time. Bureaucracies don’t learn.

20

It took me 3 tries to not read that as a couple years. :smack:

I’ve had Netflix and Charter since 2007 or 2008. The only times I lose my ability to stream anything from Netflix is when the internet is having issues. When I was in NY, this was a constant irritation. Now it’s rare. If the internet is working, the Netflix is perfect.