My $.02:
I was very excited to get this up and running, as I’ve been having problems with the Netflix discs (as described at the bottom of this thread I started when the disc-based service launched). Basically, the BD laser was apparently burning a faint ring in the Netflix disc after repeated or extended viewing - Netflix had no qualms sending me several discs at a time, but I must’ve gone through twenty discs over the past year, and was very eager to stop using discs. On the plus side, now I have a matching coaster collection!
Anyway, when I first installed the Netflix app last night, it hung at 100%, but once I ejected the old Netflix BD (d’oh), it completed just fine.
Firing it up for the first time was a bit of a shock, since the interface is a completely different paradigm (instead of a strictly horizontal, single pane interface, it’s a dual pane interface with a sidebar - kinda sorta like Boxee). But I like it - especially since they offer continuous scrolling, and a title grid. Previously, scrolling one title at a time was a drag, but now, I can zip through the 200+ titles in my instant queue in a flash.
As for quality, when I fired up a Bones episode, it didn’t take long to buffer, but the quality was awful. But then it reloaded after a minute or so, and the quality was as good or better than the disc-based version with no stuttering or bad artifacting. A few other eps that we’ve watched so far have done this, but not all - some will load right up at high quality and play without rebuffering.
I was a little frustrated by this, since the disc-based service would take a while to buffer, but would always start up at high quality. But my brother has a Roku box, and he said he’s seen similar behavior on certain HD titles, so I’m not feeling shafted if I’m at parity with other Netflix devices.
Overall, I’m quite pleased. Some things I’d like to see:
[ul]
[li]The ability to reorder the instant queue (even alphabetically would help), although the new scrolling interface helps a bit.[/li][li]The ability to browse only my queue by genres (TV shows, action, family movies, etc.).[/li][li]The ability to manage my DVD queue - you can add titles to the DVD queue but not access the queue itself.[/li][li]An advanced option to configure how much of a buffer to run up before starting playback - this might resolve the startup quality issues I mentioned. I’d rather wait a minute or two and have uninterrupted playback.[/li][/ul]
And these two are more general gripes about the PS3 than anything else:
[ul]
[li]I’d really love Sony to come out with an iPhone and/or Android app that allows one to control the PS3 via wi-fi, with full keyboard use. With Netflix now ready for prime-time and Hulu Plus coming down the pipe soon for general release, the PS3 is becoming a device that can compete with Apple TV and other media convergence boxes, but text searches, usernames, passwords, and web searches (for when you really need to look up that guest star actor on IMDB while watching a TV show) are a chore.[/li][li]Following on this, I’d like Sony to allow tighter integration of its browser capabilities with other apps - for instance, I’d love for Netflix to hyperlink its titles and cast listings with an IMDB or Google search, so you could pop into a browser and go right to the corresponding page.[/li][/ul]