DS Could Stream Content from Netflix
- Thread starter Austin MacKenzie
- Start date
But what about streaming Netflix on this?
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=22791
http://kotaku.com/5499697/nintendo-announces-new-hardware-the-nintendo-3ds
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=22791
http://kotaku.com/5499697/nintendo-announces-new-hardware-the-nintendo-3ds
Me don't think so, because STREAMING VIDEO IS NOT FREE. And I don't mean free as in financial, I mean free as in it puts an insignificant load on the hardware, as if you could play OnLive with an iPhone... not going to happen.
One major problem with streaming video that people don't realise it that it is actually a very hardware intensive task to handle such large data-flows and on top of that decompress that with reasonable latency.
It's not free.
Just because the DS can handle 3D games on the screen's resolution doesn't mean it can then handle video of the same resolution.
And they are going to HAVE to use compression, if they send the data raw (i.e. pixel by pixel) lets take a look at the data-flow assuming the transmitter scales it down to DS resolution:
DS res = 256 x 192 pixels = 49'152 pixels
Colour depth = 32 bit = 32 bits per pixel
therefore, bits per frame = 49'152 x 32 = 1'572'864 bits
30 frames per second video, therefore bits/second = 30 x 1'572'864
= 47'185'920 bits/sec
= 47 megabits/sec
that is WAY faster than any broadband can handle, especially mobile broadband and the Wifi 802.11b that the DS uses can only handle 11Mbits/second anyway.
overall, for that resolution it would have to use compression of around 10-times and I'd ask if the DS can handle decompressing video like that. I've seen video in DS games... it is passable at best.
I mean ever played a 1080p video on your laptop that uses only-integrated graphics? If you have a lot of other applications open and running you are liable to experience stuttering and other problems. Scaled down the same problem becomes more apparent on a DS.
One major problem with streaming video that people don't realise it that it is actually a very hardware intensive task to handle such large data-flows and on top of that decompress that with reasonable latency.
It's not free.
Just because the DS can handle 3D games on the screen's resolution doesn't mean it can then handle video of the same resolution.
And they are going to HAVE to use compression, if they send the data raw (i.e. pixel by pixel) lets take a look at the data-flow assuming the transmitter scales it down to DS resolution:
DS res = 256 x 192 pixels = 49'152 pixels
Colour depth = 32 bit = 32 bits per pixel
therefore, bits per frame = 49'152 x 32 = 1'572'864 bits
30 frames per second video, therefore bits/second = 30 x 1'572'864
= 47'185'920 bits/sec
= 47 megabits/sec
that is WAY faster than any broadband can handle, especially mobile broadband and the Wifi 802.11b that the DS uses can only handle 11Mbits/second anyway.
overall, for that resolution it would have to use compression of around 10-times and I'd ask if the DS can handle decompressing video like that. I've seen video in DS games... it is passable at best.
I mean ever played a 1080p video on your laptop that uses only-integrated graphics? If you have a lot of other applications open and running you are liable to experience stuttering and other problems. Scaled down the same problem becomes more apparent on a DS.
And there's netflix for Ipod touch/Iphone(I've used it on my old itouch when my dad has had to borrow my laptop for RC airplane competitions) but yet we don't have it for android- but THEN freaking ten year olds are gonna get to use their mommies' and daddies' netflix accounts? I can see a bonus to it- if a kid isn't allowed to have a TV in their room, the kid could watch endless hours of netflix shows.
That said, Us android users want netflix a heckuva lot more than DS users!
That said, Us android users want netflix a heckuva lot more than DS users!