IMO the netflix HD looks significantly worse than my FIOS HD package. Time Warner looks far better as well. Not to mention cable almost always has 5.1 sound now.
My main point is that streaming (or even over the air HD) can’t touch Blu-ray, which is why I consider the Blu-ray rental from Netflix to be their only real value.
This is the same argument I had with someone about mp3 files a decade ago.
He said mp3 music files would never catch on, because the quality was so much lower than CDs (which is true). Well, mp3 music did catch on, and if anything is the standard today.
There is a quality threashold beyond which most people dont’ care.
The reason blu-ray hasn’t caught on big time is most people (95% of people) don’t care enough about the extra picture quality to pay the extra.
For me, the streaming quality of Netflix is fine for everyday viewing. I’m not willing to pay the extra for a better quality picture.
It’s like music. There’s the best (CD quality) and there’s good enough (mp3 quality). For 95% of people good enough is all they’ll pay for, and it’s good enough.