A decade ago most people would still be relying on their local video rental store to provide them with the latest films a few months after they arrived at the cinema. Now with the age of broadband internet there is no need to rent a physical copy of a movie if you want to enjoy it in your home as you can stream content from the internet in high quality and, more importantly, high definition. There are a number of different streaming services available, but amongst them Netflix is the most well-known, so let us take a look at what it has to offer and whether it can live up to your expectations. 

Netflix is a subscription-based DVD/Blu Ray rental and internet streaming service and it has more than 10 million people on its books, so it must be doing something right. If you are a subscriber to its DVD rental service you can typically watch much of its streaming content without paying extra. There are a number of ways to access this content, with the simplest being directly from your PC or Apple Mac via your web browser. Netflix support has been expanded to other devices, including games consoles like the Xbox 360 and smartphones for watching movies and content while on the move.

There are three distinct qualities of video streaming available via Netflix and whether you can access them is dependent on your broadband connection speed. The most basic video streaming requires a 1.5Mbps download speed and will give you quality that is equivalent to a standard DVD. The second requires 3Mbps to operate and is classed as better than DVD quality. The third is high definition and needs 6Mbs of bandwidth to get through from the Netflix servers from your home. Streaming in HD can be performed at either 720p or 1080p resolutions, with the Sony PlayStation 3 being the only device capable of full HD 1080p streaming at this time.

The benefits of using Netflix are obvious for anyone who has a compatible games console or a media centre PC hooked up to their High Definition TV as it will provide you with solid streaming capabilities in a high resolution whenever you need them. The down side is that there is a limit to the amount you can stream each month based on the price of your subscription, so you will need to look carefully at the small print to work out just how many films or shows you will be able to enjoy without going over your limit.

Because of the on-demand nature of Netflix it is not a direct competitor to cable or satellite broadcasters but it does make DVD rental firms obsolete as there is no need to wait for discs to arrive in the post and no requirement to post any optical media back once you have watched it. The only limit is your internet connection speed and how comfortable you are on your Palliser home theater furniture as you could be in for some lengthy viewing sessions.