Film bandwidth

Bill · Oct 05, 2012, 21:35:46

Quote from: psp83 on Oct 05, 2012, 21:15:33
HD all the way, no point in spending all that money on my HD tv otherwise

I've been looking at Netflix and Lovefilm reviews and I'll probably go for Lovefilm.

Netflix seem to have better quality, but a lower proportion of films available- I'm not greatly interested in old TV programmes except for the occasional documentary I might miss, and I can use iPlayer or 4oD for that.

pctech · Oct 05, 2012, 22:22:28

Bill, be warned.

Lovefilm will automatically use as much bandwidth as is available and for HD that might be about 1.7Gb an hour but yes I do agree Netflix is a tad more limited, I queried this with their support (0800 number but routeed to the States) who were very pleasant but told me that 'the studios often make us wait'

pctech · Oct 05, 2012, 22:25:48

Here's the figures for Netflix

Good quality (up to 0.3 GB per hour)
Better quality (up to 0.7 GB per hour)
Best quality (up to 1 GB per hour, or up to 2.3 GB per hour for HD)

Bill · Oct 05, 2012, 22:28:21

Quote from: pctech on Oct 05, 2012, 22:22:28
Bill, be warned.

Lovefilm will automatically use as much bandwidth as is available and for HD that might be about 1.7Gb an hour...

That's OK- iPlayer on my PVR does that (haven't tried it on the PS3). If it takes me more than 5 or 6 minutes to decide I don't really want to watch the hour-long HD documentary I've just selected then it's too late- 2GB up the spout

pctech · Oct 05, 2012, 22:37:28

The downside of superfast broadband eh?

Bill · Oct 05, 2012, 22:39:29

Yup... but I can live with it

Simon · Oct 05, 2012, 22:42:49

Quote from: pctech on Oct 05, 2012, 21:11:18
Looks to me as though its one product for all.

Now I've seen the website properly, yes, I would agree.

psp83 · Oct 05, 2012, 22:45:08

Is there a big diff in HD quality between Netflix & Lovefilm?

I signed up to Netflix through Quidco. you get £5 back just to sign up and then an extra £15 back for becoming a paying member for 3 months.

Can cancel any time though, so can easily change over to lovefilm

pctech · Oct 05, 2012, 22:47:40

I don't know Paul

When I used Lovefilm to stream a couple of films I saw about 4 GB disappear.

Steve · Oct 05, 2012, 22:48:30

I think that they both do 1080p, the key for me would be the film libraries.

Bill · Oct 05, 2012, 22:50:06

Quote from: psp83 on Oct 05, 2012, 22:45:08
Is there a big diff in HD quality between Netflix & Lovefilm?

I really don't know- I'm just going by the Netflix vs Lovefilm reviews I read, but they were all several months old.

I wouldn't expect Amazon to let themselves get left behind though... They've got a free 1 month trial offer on at the moment, maybe worth giving them a try?

psp83 · Oct 05, 2012, 23:02:07

Just signed up, will stream a film later and let you know.

Steve · Oct 05, 2012, 23:07:08

HD quality from iTunes is 1080p, the resultant PQ is excellent and it's about 4-5Gb per film. The other bonus is the surround sound. I presume Netflix and LoveFilm is similar.

Bill · Oct 05, 2012, 23:22:03

I need to get myself a new AppleTV, mine will only handle 720p... but the bank account is still trembling from having the garden landscaped from scratch

And I want to upgrade my speakers too, got my eye on a couple of KEF Q900s

Technical Ben · Oct 05, 2012, 23:24:13

Quote from: Bill on Oct 05, 2012, 18:40:17
I've decided to stay, and requested a move to the 100GB package as soon as it's convenient

Funny thing is, my usage for the last few months has dropped to the point where I could safely have dropped to a lower (old) package- for various reasons my intentions to do a lot more movie streaming etc didn't pan out as I expected.

But I still think it's likely to happen and 100GB should be plenty.

More HD nature programs!

(With the sound off, cos I get annoyed at some of those commentators)

Bill · Oct 05, 2012, 23:36:59

Quote from: Technical Ben on Oct 05, 2012, 23:24:13
More HD nature programs! (With the sound off, cos I get annoyed at some of those commentators)

I've got a technique for those... I watch in HD, record in SD and if I really like it, buy the Blu-Ray and delete the recording. I've only got 2.5TB of HDD on the PVR and it's filling up!

psp83 · Oct 05, 2012, 23:46:12

Quote from: Steve on Oct 05, 2012, 23:07:08
HD quality from iTunes is 1080p, the resultant PQ is excellent and it's about 4-5Gb per film. The other bonus is the surround sound. I presume Netflix and LoveFilm is similar.

Xbox 360:
Netflix = 1080p, 5.1
Lovefilm = 720p, Stereo

PC:
Netflix = 1080p, 5.1
Lovefilm = 1080p, Stereo

Sony Bluray:
Netflix = N/A
Lovefilm = 720p, Stereo

So for quality and sound, Netflix wins.

I will look through the library soon to see what lovefilm offer.

pctech · Oct 06, 2012, 17:55:05

Lovefilm do have some obscure stuff in their library.

Watched a film called Rubber about a tyre that goes on a killing spree.

Rik · Oct 06, 2012, 17:56:58

I knew I shouldn't have split the tread.

Glenn · Oct 06, 2012, 18:02:33

Your smiley is bald

pctech · Oct 06, 2012, 18:04:51

This thread is really running on flat now.

Bill · Oct 06, 2012, 18:12:24

Quote from: Rik on Oct 06, 2012, 17:56:58
I knew I shouldn't have split the tread.

Brought to light an interesting "feature" of the forum software- I wasn't subscribed (for email notifications) to the new thread even though I apparently started it!

Bill · Oct 06, 2012, 19:02:12

Quote from: Bill on Oct 05, 2012, 22:28:21
That's OK- iPlayer on my PVR does that (haven't tried it on the PS3).

Tried it this pm- the PS3 buffers the programme rather than downloading the whole lot as fast as it can, so less worries about changing my mind after watching part of it.

Oddly, iPlayer on the PS3 won't let me select the BBC HD channel (says that "HD is not available"), but if a programme on one of the other channels is also in HD it will happily let me play it that way. Anyone else seen this or, more importantly, know any way to fix it?

Niall · Oct 06, 2012, 19:20:21

Quote from: psp83 on Oct 05, 2012, 22:45:08
Is there a big diff in HD quality between Netflix & Lovefilm?

I signed up to Netflix through Quidco. you get £5 back just to sign up and then an extra £15 back for becoming a paying member for 3 months.

Can cancel any time though, so can easily change over to lovefilm

Oddly enough, a lad in work posted on Facebook last night about the Lovefilm quality. I won't repeat what he said here

Basically he said that if Lovefilm call that HD, he must have cataracts

psp83 · Oct 06, 2012, 21:02:05

Lovefilm HD quality is worse than Netflix HD and you can notice it.

I've also had a good look through the Lovefilm library and to be honest, I liked more films on Netflix than I did on Lovefilm.

So I think at the end of the month I will be cancelling Lovefilm and keeping Netflix.

Bill · Oct 06, 2012, 21:10:36

Thanks for that Paul.

Looks like I'll have to take up the free membership period on both and see which one suits me better.

psp83 · Oct 06, 2012, 21:14:24

Quote from: Bill on Oct 06, 2012, 21:10:36
Thanks for that Paul.

Looks like I'll have to take up the free membership period on both and see which one suits me better.

That's the best option, everyone likes different things..

I find the TV section on Netflix has more content as well.

But sign up via Quidco (if you have an account) for Netflix, you will get money back (£20 after X amount of months)

Steve · Oct 06, 2012, 21:15:50

Indeed, although I've only used iTunes so far and I've been impressed with their 1080p offerings (I probably only watch a couple a month). Maybe with the potential loss of peak restrictions Netflix is something I might find cheaper.