CNet reported earlier that Netflix was going to roll out 1080p streaming this year, but Netflix later corrected the report stating that "1080p watch instantly is not on the books for this year." Netflix's Steve Swasey did confirm that closed captions and 5.1 sound will be available later this year, but no date has been announced.
The Wire interviewed Swasey about HD streaming, and his comments on HD and the Wii are interesting:
"PS3 and Xbox users have 1 in 17 titles available in HD, and it's streamed in 720... it's not in 1080, and it's not in 5.1 surround sound or anything."
In this sense, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 Netflix users have a 1,000-movie advantage, in which the difference is a change from streaming in 480p to 720p. This seems to be the company's form of disarming the "HD argument."
"So, the HD experience at Netflix Instant Watching isn't that overwhelming. It's a little bit underwhelming. So the Wii folks aren't going to miss that much."
How important is Netflix streaming in 720p or 1080p HD to you?
MovieMiguel.com
