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I first came across PlayOn a few weeks ago. The PC-based software streams several Internet video site’s content to DLNA-compatible devices. PlayOn is still in beta, though the promised Netflix Watch Now support has just hit. Like most of the PlayOn experience, it continues to be rough around the edges - which is not unreasonable for pre-release software.
There’s a lot of promise here… Folks would much rather watch long form content from their couch and PlayOn leverages existing hardware platforms, such as the Xbox 360 and PS3 with Wii support on the way. While I am hopeful, thus far my experiences have been mixed. Check out the list of folders below right. That’s how you (try to) navigate Hulu. My Netflix experiment this AM wasn’t so successful either. While I could bring up my playlist (above), no movies would stream. And after a few minutes of futzing, PlayOn decided my Netflix credentials were no longer valid.
If they can tighten up the experience, both interface and reliability, while keeping up with any changes these sites will periodically throw at them, PlayOn will be well worth the $30 software fee. But not yet.
- Netflix Demos Silverlight Watch Now
- Netflix Watch Now On 4+ PCs
- Netflix Adds Streaming Video (PC only)
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Twitter Microblog
- @cksthree The HDMI-induced blanking/flickering kills me. I went back to component on Xbox 360 (and got rid of PS3 entirely).
- Guess Yahoo didn't like my negatory comments. Mail's been down nearly 30 mins now. :/
- Dear PR People, If you must send embargoed materials a month before CES *include photos* with the news. And do it in ONE email.
- Hm, doesn't sound like Amazon in HD is imminent on TiVo. HOWEVER, Netflix streaming is coming soon...
- I forgive the UPS man for not climbing the four flights *this time* - the Neuros LINK is a real computer, weighs 15+ lbs.
- @om Twitteriffic, ofcourse. I use the paid version. And I love the special feature that mixes & matches usernames with incorrect photos. ;)
20 Responses for "PlayOn: Netflix on your PS3?"
I’ve been using the playon solution for a couple months now, but hadn’t in the past week or so. Nice to see they added the NFLX support.
What I don’t like is having to have a vista or xp3 pc running all the time to support it. But, that IS how it works, so I won’t complain.
Quality of HULU is pretty darn good, so I imagine NFLX won’t be far behind.
Did anyone get the current beta, the site is suspended, any other sources?
It was working earlier this AM, when I was prompted to download the new update. Let me think about hosting the file…
Does anyone know if it supports fast-forwarding, rewinding, or random-access seeking in Hulu and Netflix videos?
Honestly, i just let things play. I’ll boot up the WMC and check it out again.
It does support FF/RW, but it flakes out on the PS3. I downloaded the latest update (.3196) last night and haven’t been able to play NetFlix since. I’m hoping the site comes back up and provides some answers.
Anyone with the latest version able to play NetFlix?
I downloaded last night and was able to stream netflix to my Dlink DSM 520. Had to download an add-on for WMV which I assume is some sort of DRM module. Still a little flakey which is ok for a beta but picture quality was surprisingly good
I downloaded PlayOn a few days ago, and have been able to watch netflix movies on my xbox from my instant watch queue ever since. Sometimes i have to start the movie 2 or 3 times before it plays, but it always starts playing. Not bad!
this has been down all day? 30bucks for that?
Kindly let us know when they work out all the bugs. I’d pay $30 to get hulu/netflix on my ps3 or 360, but don’t feel like having to troubleshoot or try a half-dozen times to get stuff to play.
Hmm…anyone else think they might have gotten a cease & desist?
Portions of their site are back up this morning. I have a feeling they didn’t realize how much bandwidth it would take to serve application downloads once the Netflix news got out. Alexi, the software has a 60 day free trial - so you wouldn’t have to pony up $30 right away. I’m about half way through my trial. If it ended today, I wouldn’t pay. (Unless it were for blogging purposes.)
Dave, can’t you write it off
I probably could. But I separate operational expenses (hosting fees, shipping etc) from products that offer entertainment value. My taxes are probably f-ed up as it is. And PlayOn should just give me an additional 30 day eval license once the product is complete.
Rustedwreck - where did you download the add-on you mention? I am trying to get Netflix to work on a DSM 520 with PlayOn, but so far, no success…
It was the explorer add-on that is required to watch netflix instant movies. After I loaded that, it worked, although I am still having problems with movies timing out on me.
oh yeah, it popped up on the netflix website. I had not watched instant movies in my browser before. Once I downloaded the required add-on it worked on my DSM 520 as well. The guys at media mall are helpfull as well if you send in a support request.
Dave,
Mediamall is restarting the evaluation period today due to the download problems and their site crashing. It was posted on their blog. So you have 45 more days to decide….
Anyone had any success making this work on the Mac, via virtualization software such as Parallels/VMWare Fusion?
If this really worked, I’d pay for it.
I had the exact opposite experience with video quality. I was able to stream movies from my queue (sorry not sure what version I’m running) but the quality wasn’t good enough for living room viewing on a 50″ Kuro. For me, it was stuck-somewhere-where-any-video-will-do quality. I was really excited when Netflix announced they’d be serving up Starz movies on the watch now service but I’d rather watch the movies on Starz OnDemand. I really want to like this service!
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