Is PlayOn viable for the long term?

[wayner]

I just started using netflix and I want to be able to use it from Sage extenders. I have it working with Playon but it is, at best, a half- assed solution and I am not crazy about the price, especially if someone were to write a native Netflix plugin for Sage.

And I am worried that Playon may not have a viable business model. I don't know about Hulu but now that there are proper Netflix viewers for Xbox, PS3 and Wii, plus iDevice apps then who needs Playon, other than Sage users that want Netflix?

And I would also guess that some of the services available through Playon may not like what Playon does as well.

Anyone else have thoughts on this issue?

[pjpjpjpj]

If you read the PlayOn forums, specifically the plugins/scripts section, you will see that netflix and hulu are far from bring the only focus of PlayOn. It's the ability to have PlayOn plugins/scripts that get you lots of other content from the internet - from movies to sports to, well, p0rn, that people are using PlayOn for. And while a lot of that is not discussed here - and dubiously-legal uses are not to be discussed here - I suspect that a lot of Sage users are using PlayOn for these same things.

[jphipps]

I have been using it with sage for about 6 months and it has worked pretty well. I too wish the interface in sage was a little nicer, but since sage has to go through playon to get to the content I guess it will never be perfect. When I first started using it I thought it was a bit clunky, but after just getting a new 3d bluray player with hulu and netflix built in, it is even more clunky than the current sage interface and doesn't work all that well. Actually, so far my IPad and my Wii seem to have the best interface for Netflix since it allows you to skip forward/backwards and restart playback.

I guess it is a toss up, if you want a one solution, than I think using playon with sage is the best solution and should work until the industry comes around and makes something better... If you want the best functionality for each service, you will probably end up with 5 different devices and have to switch back and fourth...

Thanks,
Jeff

[wayner]

I have found the Xbox and iPads to have the best interface so far. I haven't bothered trying it out on the Wii since it is attached to the same TV as my Xbox and it can't do HD.

But Sage via Playon is very slow in retrieving lists compared to the other apps.

[PLUCKYHD]

Originally Posted by wayner

I have found the Xbox and iPads to have the best interface so far. I haven't bothered trying it out on the Wii since it is attached to the same TV as my Xbox and it can't do HD.

But Sage via Playon is very slow in retrieving lists compared to the other apps.

So use the auto importer and diamond Playon comes into your tv and you can even filter by it. Of course limited to hulu and netflix.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by PLUCKYHD

So use the auto importer and diamond Playon comes into your tv and you can even filter by it. Of course limited to hulu and netflix.

How do you use the Auto importer? I am using Diamond and I have the Playon option under TV but it doesn't show any recordings.

I hope this doesn't involve the Netflix Queue as that isn't available as part of the Netflix Canada site.

[jphipps]

Originally Posted by wayner

I have found the Xbox and iPads to have the best interface so far. I haven't bothered trying it out on the Wii since it is attached to the same TV as my Xbox and it can't do HD.

But Sage via Playon is very slow in retrieving lists compared to the other apps.

My connection isn't that fast, only 1.5mbs so I am lucky to get SSD ( Substandard standard definition...)

My list retrievals all seem about the same, so maybe with the slower connection it isn't noticeable comparing PlayOn to other clients...

Thanks,
Jeff

[PLUCKYHD]

Originally Posted by wayner

How do you use the Auto importer? I am using Diamond and I have the Playon option under TV but it doesn't show any recordings.

I hope this doesn't involve the Netflix Queue as that isn't available as part of the Netflix Canada site.

Yup que on both hulu and Netflix sorry.

[Suntan]

Personally, the only time I watch Play On through the Sage extenders anymore is if sage didn't record a favorite in the first place (Most likely cause being that the PC was not on) and we want to catch it through free hulu. this only happens once in a blue moon though.

Personally, my suggestion to anyone thinking about putting money up for Play On just to access Netflix On Demand is to just get a Roku and put it next to the extender. Netflix through the Roku is so much more enjoyable than through Play On.

-Suntan

[wayner]

Originally Posted by Suntan

Personally, my suggestion to anyone thinking about putting money up for Play On just to access Netflix On Demand is to just get a Roku and put it next to the extender. Netflix through the Roku is so much more enjoyable than through Play On.

A little more expensive if you want to do this at multiple TVs - the advantage of PlayOn is that the license is based on the server so you can attention many Sage extenders.

[SWKerr]

I have an HTPC so I multiple options for playing back Online content but I still end up using Playon because it is integrated into the Sage UI. My Netflix and Hulu, TV and movies show up just like all my recorded content and I just click on them and they play. That is a great feature. The video quality may be lower but the viewing experience is not so bad as to be worth it to switch interfaces.

[clayfree]

Playon through SageTv is very patchwork but I love it! It is the best method right now for streaming through SageTv. I would suggest you look at the Plugins and .Lua scripts that are available for Playon and it will change your viewing habits. It made me realize that the broadcast/dvr system is an inferior way to deliver entertainment.

For my needs I would prefer News & Sports live feeds and that's it. Everything else can be streamed from servers.

Btw, I wrote Playon & asked for a discount so I got lifetime for about $55.00. I tried it for few weeks and then showed the family how to access it. Since then it accounts for about 75% of our viewing time. My guess is I've already gotten my money's worth. Playon is scheduled to release a new API soon an I think we will see even better plugins.

[wayner]

Well I got a 6 month free sub to PlayOn by participating in a Valentine's Day offer for chocolate from Ghirardelli! Shipping was way expensive to come to Canada but a big bag of Ghirardelli squares + Netflix via Sage extenders for $40 is still a good deal!

[scm]

My biggest gripe with Playon is that if you cannot watch a Hulu show all the way through (or if your internet connection fails 10 minutes from the end of a show!!), Playon will not remember where the show left off. Starting from the very beginning is the only option, as far as I know. Is there a plugin or setting that will allow Playon to remember where shows stopped like Hulu does when watching online?