Posted Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 12:40 PM PDT by Dick Ward
Other devices will see similar updates in the near future, but Sony gets it first.
If you're a Netflix fan with even a basic home theater setup, you've probably been chomping at the bit for 5.1 surround. Lucky PlayStation 3 owners will be the first to get it, helping to make up for having to use discs to stream for all this time.
On October 18 – that's Monday – if you've got a PS3, you'll be able to stream Netflix movies with 5.1 channel surround with Dolby Digital Plus. You'll also be able to watch videos in 1080i, an upgrade from the service which formerly capped out at 720p. What's more, you won't even have to use a disc to do it.
The folks at Netflix say that other devices like the Xbox 360, Roku streamers, Blu-ray players and receivers will be getting the 5.1 channel treatment too, but a date hasn't been set. Netflix hasn't publicly stated whether or not we'll see 1080i streaming on other devices, but it's almost surely on the way.
Update: It looks like the PlayStation Blog was wrong on this one. PS3 owners will actually be getting 1080p instead of 1080i. Thanks to the forum goers and emailers for pointing this out!
Source: Official Playstation Blog
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