Netflix on Xbox 360 is extremely disappointing.

It could be my fault.  Perhaps I had my expectations set too high.  I guess I fully expected to sit down at my Xbox 360, browse through Netflix’s amazing collection of movies and TV shows, click a few buttons and finally enjoy the ultimate home theater on-demand experience. Unfortunately Netflix on Xbox 360 is not that at all.

1. The browsing experience does not take place on the Xbox 360 at all.  Instead you have to browse and make your movie selection on a PC and then wait for the Xbox 360 to sync with your Netflix Instant Queue.
2. While browsing the Netflix Watch Instantly movies available, you will quickly find that the selection – well the selection sucks.  The currently listed New Arrivals include 2000’s Frequency, 1996’s Swingers and 1990’s Pretty Woman.
3. No HD quality videos available as far as I can see.  You will have to settle for DVD.
4. The delivery is actually pretty good.  Once you select a movie, it syncs to the Xbox in a matter of seconds, and you are up a and watching in under a minute.

To be fair, my disappointment is not Microsoft’s fault; unless you consider that they chose to partner with Netflix which seems like a really good idea on the surface.  Microsoft and Netflix could have done a better job of integrating the browsing experience into the Xbox Dashboard so I don’t have to bounce to a PC to select movies and them back to the Xbox to watch.

The real issue is with Netflix’s Watch Instantly selection, which they have touted on the PC for quite some time, and now on the Xbox 360.  The truth is the movies available are either very old, or films you probably haven’t heard of.

The Xbox 360 Video Marketplace on the other hand has a good selection, but you have to plan ahead as the download times ar way to long to consider “on-demand.”

Has anyone else had similar or better experiences with Xbox 360 video?

By the way, as revolutionary as this seems its not really new. I recall seeing at least 2 other prototypes like the one that the Redmond camp is showing off. Take a look at the Sony Revolution I blogged about on my ExtremeTech blog back in 2005 and Jeff Han’s demonstration at Ted in February 2006.

Still, its cool to think of how these technologies will enhance human/computer interactions in the future. I assume there will be an API and SDK? Anyone?

As a side note, several savvy bloggers are pointing out that the Microsoft site is actually using Flash. Interesting given they are pushing Silverlight so hard.

From the Prologue:

As you have undoubtedly gathered from the title, the story contained in these pages involves one of the most successful business ventures in recent decades and the very heart of high-tech, corporate multinationalism: Microsoft. I was employed by Microsoft in various capacities for eight and a half years—from March 1988 to November 1996—during which time the company underwent its most important phase of expansion. When I began, Microsoft had six buildings housing about 2,500 employees; its minimal market-share products were hardly given serious consideration by industry pundits. When I left there were at least thirty-six buildings plus countless domestic and international locations housing well over 30,000 employees. By then, Microsoft generally ruled the personal computer software market and got more press than many other Fortune 500 companies combined. Technology, success, money, power…all of these defined much of the Microsoft experience during those years.

I certainly shared in that success, achieving a fair degree of wealth, fame, and influence. Professionally, I made important contributions to some of Microsoft’s flagship products, wrote two wildly popular programming books, and became a highly-respected industry expert. On the material side, my wife Kristi and I acquired all the trappings of “the good life” and had enough investments set aside for quite a bit more.

All this is a moderately interesting story in itself—I think you’ll enjoy the many anecdotes about Microsoft’s coming-of-age. What makes it much more fascinating is the added spiritual dimension of my experiences during that era. I won’t be saying much, however, about the role that spirituality played in that success. Nor do I have much to share on how I might have brought God and spiritual principles into my work without sacrificing success. Why? Because for most of the time I was at Microsoft I wanted nothing whatsoever to do with God or religion!

Ben has posted a great summary of each chapter on his personal blog and you will find the code from the book posted at the book’s page at Wrox.com.

From the Back Cover
Get ready to tap into the full potential of your system and dramatically improve your development and testing environment. From installation and configuration to clustering and performance enhancements, this book shows you how to get the most out of Microsoft Virtual Server. Written by a key member of the Virtual Server product team, it focuses on maintaining and developing Virtual Server environments so that you can get up and running quickly.

Some of the critical features you’ll learn how to take advantage of include integrated backup support, offline virtual hard disk manipulation, and the Virtual Server COM Interface. You’ll also discover how to get the best performance out of your virtual machines while creating a secure system. And you’ll find expert tips and techniques on how to use Virtual Server for general development and debugging of applications.

What you will learn from this book

• All about the new features of Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1
• Steps for creating a virtual machine library for rapid and flexible deployment
• How to build applications that control and interact with Virtual Server using Visual Basic.NET, C#, and ASP.NET
• Ways to perform a P2V migration using Microsoft tools
• Methods for clustering and configuring virtual machines
• How to automate virtual machine operations using VBScript and PowerShell

This book is for system administrators who want to implement solutions with Virtual Server as well as developers who are trying to build end-to-end solutions with Virtual Server.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.