After work I took a few minutes to hook up the Xbox 360 I bought to play NetFlix on-demand streaming titles. I had purchased a 360 when they first came out, but ended up giving it away to a kid who needed it more than I did (especially since I never have time to play games on it anyway). But when I saw that NetFlix was now available on Xbox Live, and I could get the machine on sale for only $98 new, it seemed like a no-brainer. That's only slightly higher than a dedicated media box, but with extra stuff.
Given that this is Microsoft, the problems happened almost immediately when it wouldn't let me enter my old "GamerTag" because it said my password was wrong. Even though it wasn't wrong. But just in case, I reset the password MULTIPLE TIMES but it still wouldn't let me log-in. The reset works, my email address is acknowledged, but I'm invalid. Typical.
So I created a NEW GamerTag until Microsoft Passport can get their shit figured out. Say hello to Pooferflargen...
Pretty sweet, huh?
I'll give Microsoft credit, their avatar "people" look a hell of a lot better than the freaky-ass avatars you get from the Nintendo Wii...
Which ultimately doesn't seem to make much difference, since I always have more fun playing Wii games anyway. I guess great graphics isn't everything.
Anyway...
Fortunately, the new Xbox purchase was not in vain. It streams Netflix on-demand titles beautifully, and the heavy compression isn't as noticeable as I thought it would be on my television. The only frustrating part is that the program has to "check you connection speed" EVERY FRICKIN' TIME YOU START A TITLE. It takes a lot longer than it should, and you'd think that they'd just remember what your speed was the last time you ran it, but oh well.
Hopefully I'll have time to play with it more one of these days...
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I just got Super Mario Bros. for the Wii last night. LOVE. IT. I’ve always had more fun on Nintendo! Good luck w/your Xbox.
I love it too… though I’ll probably never have time to play it. I like Super Mario on my DS, because I can take it with me when I travel. 🙂
Damn, I thought you were creating an action figure to sell for your next blogiversary. That would’ve been sweet!
Yes. Yes it would. Unfortunately, that would be a reeeeeaallly expensive toy to make!
Pooferflargen is cute! Kinda emo, though. 😉
Which is why I lurves him a lot. 🙂
I lurrrve Nintendo! Super Mario Galaxy FTW!
I loved the LOOK of Super Mario Galaxy… but I never was able to play it very well. I felt like a 2D guy trapped in a 3D world. Maybe one day I’ll have time to practice and get it all figured out.
Does the XBox stream titles in HD?
Only those titles that Netflix offers in HD. It requires an 8 megabit connection to the internet for full-quality though.
When splitting up our assets for the divorce, the big issue was the gaming systems. After having played both for a long time, I took the Wii and ran like a mother fucker. 😉
I LOVE the Wii. Games seem more like games on it for some reason.
Does it connect directly to the Internet or through WiFi?
I bought the separate WiFi adapter so I wouldn’t have to string a cable through the living room. The old “pre-N” adapters can be found really cheap now that the new “N-band” adapter has come out.
Do you have to have xbox Live to stream Netflix? The Boy has a 360 but not a Live account.
You can get a LIVE Silver account for free when you buy an Xbox. Netflix streaming requires a LIVE Gold account. You can buy a one-year membership through Xbox for $50, but I bought a gift card for myself because I found one for $35. I think Amazon sells the same cards for $40.
More importantly… you have to have a Netflix account which allows on-demand streaming. I already had one, so this wasn’t a problem for me… if you don’t, then you have to join up.
I just restarted my Netflix membership and love hooking up the ol’ MacBook Pro to the TV and streaming movies. Good lord I love that.
Such a cool name you gave him 🙂
That was nice of you to give away your system to a kid, especially when they were all the rage! We don’t have a 360, but Hunk has taken to the PS3 and is now asking for a second one so that we can do the Netflix through it and have it in two different areas of the house. You know, kids….
Now that the Netflix is available on the PS3, I expect Watch Instantly to become much more popular. I wonder if this will have a positive or negative effect on the number of titles available. Or no effect at all.
Love Netflix Streaming. Makes watching movies so much easier.
Ooh, I think you can download and watch the web series “The Guild” (always makes me laugh) via your xbox. Enjoy the netflix!
But I want to see a Bad Monkey avatar.