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April 21, 2008
bring on the next sick day
Sensing that 1) on-demand video is the very near-future and 2) DirecTV doesn't much care about my having access to anyone's programming but their own, I decided to experiment. I went to the Dell web site and maxed out an Inspiron box, and a week later it was hooked up to my TV. "If I write documentation again, I'll need a test machine," I rationalized. But really, it's about streaming video. Netflix "instant movies" look fine on my laptop, for instance, but how will they look on my plasma TV?
I was skeptical. And now I'm stunned by the results.
Here's how it works. Using a wireless keyboard, I access Netflix on the new box. I tell it to play Jerry Maguire. The movie starts immediately—no lag whatsoever. It's full screen, and it looks like a freaking DVD. There's no pixelation. Truly, the only way of distinguishing it from a letterboxed DVD is that rewinding, etc. is a pain in the ass. But the audio and video quality are amazing, and if you're already a Netflix member, all of this programming is free.
Hulu, the joint NBC/Fox venture, has a ton of free programming but is slightly less successful technically. When expanded to full size, the new episode of 30 Rock is sub-standard def. It basically looks like the Zenith TV from the 60s my Mom still had in the 80s. But the HD Gallery feature shows me the future—here, you can watch movie trailers in glorious high def. I'm stunned to see that the experience is exactly the same as on NetFlix. You click Play, the thing immediately starts, and the quality is immaculate HD audio and video. It's like I'm watching a Blu-Ray disc.
I feel a cold coming on.
View of Jerry Maguire from the couch
posted by john at 8:50 AM • permalink