Archived Criterion Streaming Discussion

[jwd5275]

Look on website under recently added or on my roku in hulu under movies, go to studios --> criterion --> recently added

[knives]

I don't have a roku so doing the same on my laptop reveals only two of the three.

[jwd5275]

Try looking in the movie section on the website and then under recently added. I see it there.

[knives]

That works, huzzah. I've been enjoying the ones they've posted so far.

[Flike]

Anyone had trouble streaming Le Havre, or with Hulu in general lately? I've watched dozens of films on Hulu uninterrupted, and all of a sudden I can't seem to watch Le Havre... have tried twice, even had a "date night" set up to watch it and it's been a mess. Terribly disappointed.

[knives]

It worked perfectly fine for me a few days ago.

[jwd5275]

How are you watching? I know my roku will do that every once in awhile and just needs to be unplugged and restarted. Is it only on Le Havre?

[swo17]

So I signed up for a free trial of Hulu Plus to be able to see Grémillon's Le ciel est à vous and it looked awful (even in HD) in a way that only streaming can be, all shaky and "grainy," except that the grain is really compression blocks. I mean, I suppose it looks okay if I minimize it to a 3" x 4" window on my computer screen, but that's not how I watch movies. Great film though.

[knives]

That didn't happen with me. Are you running slow?

[swo17]

Do I have to change a setting somewhere to tell it not to compress as much? I have a fast cable connection and set the resolution to HD before viewing.

[Roger Ryan]

Do I have to change a setting somewhere to tell it not to compress as much? I have a fast cable connection and set the resolution to HD before viewing.

If Hulu operates like Netflix streaming, the image quality will be automatically reduced if the server detects that the connection is too busy to accept the data for a higher quality image. Often, watching streaming films at non-peak viewing times will result in a better, more consistent picture quality. This is the dilemma of film rental companies going to streaming exclusively; the more people streaming material on-line, the lower the image quality for all.

[Perkins Cobb]

This is the dilemma of film rental companies going to streaming exclusively; the more people streaming material on-line, the lower the image quality for all.

Basically the most terrifying sentence a cinephile could ever expect to read. How do we lobby these companies to give us high-quality alternatives before the ship sails?

[HistoryProf]

Do I have to change a setting somewhere to tell it not to compress as much? I have a fast cable connection and set the resolution to HD before viewing.

If Hulu operates like Netflix streaming, the image quality will be automatically reduced if the server detects that the connection is too busy to accept the data for a higher quality image. Often, watching streaming films at non-peak viewing times will result in a better, more consistent picture quality. This is the dilemma of film rental companies going to streaming exclusively; the more people streaming material on-line, the lower the image quality for all.

i don't even try to watch anything via netflix streaming on Friday or Saturday nights anymore. It's definitely a problem they don't seem able to rectify.

[swo17]

FWIW, I was watching on a Saturday morning. But if the only way for me to ensure that I'm seeing a stream with the highest possible PQ is for me to intuit that the rest of the world is taking a breather at the moment...

[Roger Ryan]

FWIW, I was watching on a Saturday morning. But if the only way for me to ensure that I'm seeing a stream with the highest possible PQ is for me to intuit that the rest of the world is taking a breather at the moment.

Not sure if Hulu is the same, but with Netflix streaming you can surmise how good the image will be based on how fast the dark blue progress bar line travels across the screen during the "Testing Connection Speed" phase. If this completes within two seconds, you're getting the highest quality. The longer it takes to cross the screen, the less data the server will send to support the film which means the image quality will decrease to compensate. The problem I run into is that the "test" goes through at the highest speed, but the pipeline gets clogged with users 15 minutes later and the film will keep stopping to rebuffer every minute or so. At this point, I'll exit Netflix and go back in hoping the "test" will take a bit longer so I know the film will continue unimpeded even if the picture quality is degraded. If you're lucky, you hit a happy medium where the film will continue to play with a fairly high-quality image.

I'd like it if I could micromanage the streaming speed so I wouldn't have to play streaming roulette. Better yet, I wish there was an option to simply buffer the entire film or program before viewing. I'd happily wait 15 minutes or so if I knew I was getting a smooth playing experience in the highest quality. However, fear of piracy is probably what would prevent this option.

[yeahimajerk]

Question: Is there any way to turn on subtitles? I'm streaming via PS3.

[Perkins Cobb]

Swo, if you have any better luck in terms of the image quality, please keep us informed. I'm curious about this. Although they sent me another free two-week free trial last week, so I guess I can take another whack at it myself. Those Kinoshitas are tempting.

[yeahimajerk]

Do I have to change a setting somewhere to tell it not to compress as much? I have a fast cable connection and set the resolution to HD before viewing.

There are two things in play here I think. Coming from a video background, my guess is that Criterion has to rip these files into Adobe or Final Cut Pro to compress them in order to get a small enough file to be able to stream online. Then it gets rendered into 720p. So it could be something to do with the way the file was encoded that is causing you some picture problems. If that's the case then there is nothing you can do about it. For me, I noticed "Branded to Kill" was a mess no matter where I watched it, whether on a mobile device via 3g or my computer or on my flatscreen via my PS3, nothing worked. The picture was all pixelated and choppy and there was a lot of artifacts everywhere.

Second, there should be a setting within Hulu that will allow you to choose your Picture Quality. For me, on my PS3 controller, off the top of my head, it is the R1 button. Depending on if you are watching on a Wii or Xbox or Roku or a AppleTV the option will be different but it should still be in there for you, you might have to fish around to find it. When I tap R1 it allows me to select Auto, HD, SD or Low - I usually keep it to auto that way depending on my internet connection it'll run the smoothest. However, I have noticed that some of encoding they've done to some titles is just not good and no matter what speed you are watching it at, you are going to notice compression on the screen.

Are you getting a noticeably choppy, stuttery picture? Or are you just noticing like screen compression within the blacks if you are watching a black and white film?

[Perkins Cobb]

I have noticed that some of encoding they've done to some titles is just not good and no matter what speed you are watching it at, you are going to notice compression on the screen.

Assuming this is accurate, I think it'd be helpful if current Hulu adventurers could note any titles that fall into this category in this thread.

["membrillo"]

I have noticed that some of encoding they've done to some titles is just not good and no matter what speed you are watching it at, you are going to notice compression on the screen.

Assuming this is accurate, I think it'd be helpful if current Hulu adventurers could note any titles that fall into this category in this thread.

I'm curious about this as well. I signed up last week and watched Weekend streaming via PS3. On a 100" screen it was comparable to DVD quality. I didnt have any problems with macroblocking, but did have one stutter about 15 minutes in.

While continuity seems to be more reliable than Netflix, (Pause, Forward, Rewind, etc) I have had much better pic quality on Netflix, streaming HD.

[yeahimajerk]

Assuming this is accurate, I think it'd be helpful if current Hulu adventurers could note any titles that fall into this category in this thread.

I nominate "Branded to Kill" then. Unless it was something with my internet connection or my setup that day, it was a compressed, choppy, artifacted mess.

[swo17]

And yet the Blu-ray of BTK sports one of the most marvelous B&W transfers currently in the collection. Why would someone want to watch it any other way?

[yeahimajerk]

And yet the Blu-ray of BTK sports one of the most marvelous B&W transfers currently in the collection. Why would someone want to watch it any other way?

Heh. When I'm sitting at my desk, hiding from my boss, avoiding work, utilizing my 3g connection and the Hulu+ app for my iPhone and I have 1 1/2 hours to kill!

[Elmyr]

Assuming this is accurate, I think it'd be helpful if current Hulu adventurers could note any titles that fall into this category in this thread.

I watch Hulu+ through a ROKU and, as a rule, the titles that are streaming in HD look lovely, but the SD titles are definitely a mixed bag. Branded to Kill in SD was indeed very choppy, but Tokyo Drifter in HD looked great. The 1.33:1 titles tend to hold up better streaming in SD.

[yeahimajerk]

Oh, wow. I never realized there was a difference between SD and HD on Hulu+. Is there a way to tell somehow before I watch a title?