A first hand look at the Netflix Movie Parties on the Xbox 360
Like any true HD fan would, we took some time out of our crazy busy Friday night to get a group of HD fans together and test out the new Netflix Movie Party feature in the latest Xbox 360 update. At first we thought the idea is kinda cheesy, but we admit that we did actually like it -- when it worked. We're not sure what the cause was, but during the two hour movie, it stopped to re-syncing about 10 times because someone was disconnected and then rejoined. This is way too often, but hard to know if it is because of a bad connection or if the service just isn't ready for prime time. The other problem we experienced was all on us. The movie we watched was way too serious, and most people weren't talking. Honestly it just seems unnatural to talk during a movie, and we have to say that the novelty of avatars and emotes wore off rather quickly. That being said, we'd like to thank everyone who helped us test it out though, as their chit chat during the interruptions ended up being the best part of the experience.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rob @ Aug 16th 2009 10:17PM
So...if one person's connection goes down, does that glitch the movie for everyone else?!
Ben @ Aug 16th 2009 10:17PM
Not when it disconnects them, but it does when they rejoin.
Peter F @ Aug 16th 2009 10:29PM
Sorry I didn't make it Ben. Sounds like the cliche XBL disconnect from games. One person quits and everything tanks while it reconnects.
I don't see myself doing this with many of my friends. But I'd love to see more EngadgetHD setups so I can join in!
cap BD @ Aug 17th 2009 12:30AM
I wonder how this compares to BD Live "Cinechat" features. I've done some of Warner's community screenings on Dark Knight and Watchmen, and they glitched only occasionally. Perhaps they devote more bandwidth to VIP Screenings?
It would be interesting for the EHD guys to host a movie chat on a BD Live movie to compare.
Mitchell @ Aug 17th 2009 9:49AM
I think the main diff with the BD Live versions is they dont try to sync you up. With Live they want all movies playing at the same point. therefore if someone drops they need to handle that rejoin in some manner and resync.
when you have a thousand ppl watching a live screening via bd live you are not so concerned to have everyone at the same speed.
~Mitchell
UncleCheeto @ Aug 17th 2009 1:37AM
Yeah to me this actually seems like a really stupid idea. Talking during a movie is annoying in the first place...but now you have to wear a headset to do it.
Pencreus @ Aug 17th 2009 4:28AM
This gives it a Mystery Science Theater feel. I tested it out with some terrible horror flicks and it was spectacular cause we made smart ass comments throughout. I lost audio once, but it came right back. I love the emotes... especially the one where I picked my nose and flicked it! I appreciate the feature, but agree that it's probably not appropriate for serious/brainy movies.
Jon @ Aug 17th 2009 7:23AM
Holy Crap that's me : ) (the dude in the Grey Halo Shirt)
Except for losing the crew for awhile i had a great time .. Would deff do it again , also before the movie i had a blast chatting w/ everyone
aaron @ Aug 17th 2009 9:19AM
I tried it as well... not sure exactly where the issues were coming from because even when we got disconnected we didnt drop from the party (we were still able to chat). It had to be on the netflix side somewhere.
I do agree we need to do some more of these as well to see if it was just something that will be fixed eventually (even a issue that night possibly) or if it is a ongoing flaw. I dont think they had much opportunity to test it with 8 people watching a HD feed from all over the country. Just to test one time do a SD movie (I know) and see if it has the same problems or if its more prone to happen on HD movies with 8 people.
And next time it should be a less serious movie to make it more open to for talking.... serenity is a really great movie but it would work better if it was a movie where you can make snarky comments about the movie.
Larry @ Aug 17th 2009 10:11AM
I think I should point out that you can make the picture in full screen so once the thrill of avatars is gone you can simply watch the movie with a party.
Jon @ Aug 17th 2009 10:43AM
I was wondering about that .. how ?
Josh @ Aug 18th 2009 1:51AM
Hit A, I think, the transport control bar comes up... there's a button that looks like a film strip. Tap that to scroll through the various screens.
jose suarez @ Aug 17th 2009 10:28AM
don't really see why anyone would want to do this. the concept is cool, but inviting a friend to watch a movie with me doesn't seem like something i would want to do. no one talks during movies (or at least no one should), so it's like i am watching it alone anyways.
my friend can't stay over for dinner after the movie... i just don't see the point.
Sica @ Aug 17th 2009 12:33PM
It was a good time even if I did get replaced for a girl half way through the movie.
HD Bros before Hoes
ATM94 @ Aug 17th 2009 3:55PM
It worked flawlessly for my friend and I. You definitely don't want to do a drama. We picked an hour-long stand-up routine by Daniel Tosh. It was perfect material for something like this. It was so fun, we decided to start a weekly internet movie night among our online friends.