Media Review - Wii PlayOn

---

You may want to read our first PlayOn review before this one.

So I'm going to preface this entry by saying there are two possible reasons I got such poor performance. Either the wi-fi connection or the fact that Wii PlayOn is still in beta may account for my issues. That said, Wii based PlayOn sucks.

So let's start off with the interface. Simply open up the Opera web browser on the Wii and go to http://playon.tv to see a list of PlayOn servers on your network. Unfortunately, it seems that the same server showed up multiple times. Not a good start.

So I loaded up Hulu (I did like the interface here) and pulled up "Married... With Children." After a few seconds of buffering the TV show started. I picked a SD show, as PlayOn says that the Wii handles HD poorly.

Let me just say based on the performance of the SD picture, I'd hate to see HD. The video stuttered through the show. The forward/back controls I was used to were basically non-existent. Pausing caused the stream to break. The Wii has no digital sound, and the analog wasn't any better than analog broadcast TV.

Wii based PlayOn earns Full Frontal Gaming's first Epic FAIL.

Ratings:

• Video Quality - Bad (Jerky, Stuttered)
  
• Audio Quality - Marginal (Analog Stereo)
• Controls - Non-existent
  
• Selection - Wonderful (Almost enough for me to give up cable)
• Streaming Issues - Yes (Streams break, SW Updates)
  

Overall Rating 3/10

Media Review - PS3 PlayOn

---

Today I'm going to review one of my favorite pieces of software PlayOn. It's a piece of software that runs on a computer which gives you access to Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube and other online video sites on your XBox360, PS3 or Wii. While it works with DLNA-compatible devices, the focus has been on consoles. In this review I'm going to focus on the PS3 version, and leave the Wii for another time.

If anyone wants to donate their XBox360 to me so I can review on that platform as well, I'd be more than happy to take it.

Getting back to the review, there are a few sites PlayOn does out of the box, including Amazon VOD, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, ESPN, CBS and now "My Media". "My Media" allows you to add local files, music and pictures to stream to those other devices, so you can have one version of the truth (rather than copies of every picture on every machine).

But let's suppose you wanted to watch video from the ridiculously named "SyFy" website? While the program doesn't support every site out of the box, there's a site with third party plug-ins, including Crackle, SyFy, Cartoon Network and so on.

PlayOn is written in .Net and MediaMall has opened up their APIs to developers so they can make plug ins for any site that's not supported by default.

Great so now we have an idea as to what PlayOn does, how does it work?

Well, like I said, PlayOn runs on your computer. It is important that this computer is hard wired to your internet connection and your console to get proper performance. Additionally the computer has to be reasonably beefy, as here's what happens. The computer plays the video, and in real time re-encodes it into a mpeg stream. It streams that to the PS3, allowing you to watch just like any other video (using the same controls I might add). Since this is a stream FF/Rev don't always work properly and you can have issues where the computer hasn't streamed enough (or the connection to the website is dropped) leading to playback issues. Also, since everything is done on the computer, you don't have to worry about DRM issues on your console.

So on the PS3, PlayOn integrates into the video list. It acts like a folder, letting you browse which service and then the different ways a site has organized their video. While for Netflix I'll stick with the PS3 Disc, it does fairly well on sites such as Hulu and YouTube.

The problem comes in when Hulu or YouTube changes their site. Every time the site changes, there needs to be a new update to your PlayOn software and it may not always work properly. That said, when it does work, you could almost leave cable and other TV services behind for this.

Oh and did I mention, because it is a stream you can at least fly through the Hulu commercials at 1.5x speed? As for picture quality, the HD video is indistinguishable from over the air HD to me. And the audio for HD on Hulu? For now it seems to be stereo, but that could change in the future easily enough.

PlayOn is not free, but you do get a 14 day trial.

Oh and the next review of PlayOn will be through the Wii. It accomplishes this through the web browser.

Ratings:

• Video Quality - Superb
• Audio Quality - OK (Stereo)
• Controls - Great (Just as expected)
  
• Selection - Wonderful (Almost enough for me to give up cable)
• Streaming Issues - Yes (Streams break, SW Updates)
  

Overall Rating 7/10

Media Review - Netflix on the PS3 - A Second Look

---

In my haste to review Netflix on the PS3 I didn't wait for the second disc. Upon testing with the second disc, several new items came to my attention.

Good news every body!

First the good news, streaming to both PS3s seemed to work just as well as streaming to one.

The other shoe drops.

Now here's the bad news. So the first test was removing the disc while a movie was playing. When hit eject, I immedately got a screen saying "invalid disc". Not the worst thing in the world, since Netflix will send you multiple discs, but annoying none the less.

Now we hit a sore spot with me, I have on PS3 connected via HDMI and one via component to different TVs. If I play a BluRay disc or game I get at least 720 p resolution. The Netflix disc loads up in 720 p; however, on the TV with component connections when I played a movie, the resolution dropped to 480 p, and the aspect ratio changed. Not only did I not get full screen video at a supported resolution, but the image was wrong (forcing a 16:9 image to 4:3 by stretching). I looked for an option on the PS3 to explain this and failed to find anything. The only explanation I can come up with is that Netflix wants an encrypted signal to the TV and won't do analog HD. A crying shame for customers, and I'm removing a full point from my last review.

Ratings:

• Video Quality - Superb over HDMI, Crappy over component
  
• Audio Quality - OK (2 channel DD, No different than standard Netflix streaming)
• Controls - Meh
• Selection - So so (Missing new releases)

Overall Rating 6/10

Trailer Review - Final Fantasy XIII

---

Once again it is time for a trailer review. This time it's the new hotness known as Final Fantasy XIII. They decided that title fit on the box better than "Consume Every Free Moment of Time in My Life for the Next Three Months."



After the requisite title screen we get a nice intro from our MC for this trailer.



Next we get a little information about the characters, first comes the heroine, lighting.



Next is snow. At this point I'm wondering which character will be "Heavy Drizzle".



Then they seem to break from the theme with a spice like name, Vanille (Extract?).



Finally, we're introduced to Hope. Wait, I thought someone else brought us hope, with change we can believe in.



Like it says, he's sensitive. Don't make fun of his weight, he'll start pouting in the corner. Once again they say they changed the battle system. To me it looks like an incremental improvement.



Finally, we get to the explosions. It seems every trailer needs one of these.



The battle commands stack up and are removed right to left as your players beat on those nasty beasts.



The next image is why I say this is an incremental improvement. They still have the same hand pointer that's been used for years. You mean you couldn't find a better way of highlighting the command yet?



Of course there's riding the bird. I'm surprised PETA hasn't taken Square-Enix down.



Finally, the piece everyone was waiting for, a release date for the US.



So time for the scores.

• Explosions - Yes
• Game Play - Yes
  
• Pre-rendered Video - Yes
• See the trailer - Yes
  
• Overall Rating 13/15
  

• Buy, Rent or Skip the game - Buy (for now)
  

Trailer Review - Modern Warfare 2

---

What is a trailer review?

Since this is the first one I feel an introduction is in order. As it stands now, there's a better chance of winning the Powerball than getting a game early to review here, so instead we here at Full Frontal Gaming will be reviewing the latest trailers and telling you which ones to watch. Oh and don't take this too seriously, this meant to be fun.

Onward to the review!

Call of Duty 6 - Modern Warfare 2

Producer - Infinity Ward

This trailer starts off showing a smart bomb camera going down, transitioning into a pre-rendered explosion of a building. Next you see guys getting into Humvees and manning the minigun on top. The vehicular scenes continue blowing up what looks to be houses in suburbia America. There's a flash of an airport and then back to suburbia where you see houses on fire.

As this jumbled train wreck of pre-rendered video continues you see helicopters taking off, characters fighting in the tundra, scuba diving, guys fighting with night vision googles and people reloading their guns. Finally it seems we get to our first look at non pre-rendered video but still no actual game play.

It appears to be a squad defending an airfield against terrorists. Followed by a tunnel collapsing on you and your fellow squad members.

Despite the fact that all you've seen are jumbled images put to music the trailer continues on to rocket launcher on pillars and then back to snow mobiles on the tundra. After you watch the snow mobiles explode you see guys launching rockets from a castle and guys using a riot shield to deflect bullets. Back to the airfield, suburbia, and then outer space as you watch a space station blow up.

Once the second of space video is done, on to the jet skis and then the airport again. The repetition continues until you see a guy with green flares. Start the explosion scenes. You see at least three helios go down, with big explosions. Then the cut back to the title.


Overall, I say skip the trailer it'll only confuse you.

• Explosions - Yes
• Game Play - No
• Pre-rendered Video - Yes
• See the trailer - No
• Overall Rating 6/10
  

• Buy, Rent or Skip the game - Buy
  

Media Review - Netflix on the PS3

---

Movies on demand

Getting Started

So I got my disc yesterday in the mail. Came with the same speed as normal Netflix movies. The envelope was a little different to help keep people from sending back the disc.

I set out on getting provisions for my movie night.

With the proper provisions secured I put in the disc and was presented with the standard loading screen. After the disc loaded up, I had to take a code from the disc and entered using a computer to link the accounts. While entering that information I also ordered the second disc for my second PS3. In talking with Netflix, they are not placing any restrictions on the number of PS3s which you can stream on. You can request another disc when registering your current disc.

So with the code secured, the menu loaded up.

Video

The picture quality is awesome. Even in SD the picture is far better than standard cable. Also, I have yet to see any streaming/buffering problems. All video playback has been smooth.

Audio

Like any other Netflix streaming the audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. That said, it still sounds good.

Control Scheme

This leads me to the first place I wasn't impressed. This doesn't use the standard PS3 video controls. Irritating to say the least, I frankly expected forward and back to fast forward and rewind. Instead it goes into a paused mode where you can select the scene you want. Using L2/R2 rewind and fast forward work, but the interface is a little funky.

Additionally, hitting pause can take several seconds to pause the stream which is annoying.

Finally, using up while video is playing will take you back to the menu, saving your position. Quite clever if you ask me, so that earns a thumbs up.

Watching a Series

So here's another annoyance. Netflix will go to the next item in a series only when you run though to the end credits. You'd think if there was less than 3 minutes left when you exited playback the next show should be automatically selected.

Selection

Netflix doesn't put the latest releases up to stream on demand. I can't even get the latest X-Men movie. I can get them through the PS3 video store, though it'll cost me a lot more.

Ratings:

• Video Quality - Superb
• Audio Quality - OK (2 channel DD, No different than standard Netflix streaming)
• Controls - Meh
• Selection - So so (Missing new releases)

Overall Rating 7/10

Comparison with PlayOn

I've used play on for months. I've had streaming problems with Netflix and the audio isn't as good. That said, the control scheme is standard using PlayOn.

Other Items

Remember for ~$10/month you can get unlimited streaming + Blu-Ray discs.