Off to see the Wizard? Netflix streaming the classic in HD today only
By Richard Lawler 
posted October 3rd 2009 5:13PM
posted October 3rd 2009 5:13PM
posted October 3rd 2009 5:13PM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
hd lite. Just say no
I did a direct comparison between the Blu-ray and the stream on Netflix (via an xbox 360) and the difference was extremely subtle. No macro-blocking or anything obvious like that. And since the sound is forward heavy remix of a mono source there was not a whole lot of difference in that department either.
Netflix HD doesn't look bad and if you're already a Netflix subscriber, it's free to watch. I'll definately be watching it tonight.
Hold on there Engadget, "the colorized land of Oz"??? Are you implying the original 1938 film was not in color and "colorized" like the notorious Mr Turner did to many classics? Then you'd be wrong.
The implication was that the picture looks "more dramatic" during the Oz scenes which are colored, as opposed to the Kansas scenes which are black and white.
Even black & white in this movie aren't actually black & white. Technically they were, but they were colored to a sepia tone. For some odd reason for TV broadcast they reverted back to black & white.
I almost forgot to mention that the 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz was a technicolor flick from the get go. They even changed the color of Dorothy's slippers to ruby just to exploit this new fangled color process back in those days.
I believe they are implying that Oz is in color...
Technically no movies were ever black and white. They're all grayscale. ;) Could you imagine watching something with only the colors black and white? Talk about trippy.
its not even in widescreen on my pc, much less hd. what is the trick?
IF you want Netflix HD, you need to do it through a non-computer device. For example, I'd be using my XBOX360. Lame that I can't watch HD in Media Center's Netflix
Wizard of Oz was filmed in a full screen aspect ratio as were most films of that time. Ever checked out Pinnochio on Blu Ray? It's full screen for the same reason.
fyi "Wizard of Oz" is native 4:3....just like such other classics from Disney....it was a different time
Why "today only"? I'm a Netflix subscriber and this is exactly why I don't even bother with their streaming service. 95% of the shows that I've wanted to see isn't offered in streaming. Why?
Because unlimited Netflix streaming can be had for 10 bucks a month and there is no studio in the world that is going to give up their premium content for pennies on the dollar. Its a problem Netflix is going to have to overcome if they ever want streaming to become as ubiquitous as their disc service.
With physical discs the more you consume the more you pay and the postal service is the great equalizer to stand in as the middleman. All that goes out the window with digital delivery.
minimalist,
i can get two netflix movies by mail at one time and the turn around time, if i am prompt about putting it back in the mail, is never more than 2 days. So, under the current model i can watch roughly 8-10 movies a week if i really wanted to. even if i could stream all new movies, i don't have time for more than 8-10/week, and those that do would probably pay more. Exchanging the media in the mail is just a silly hassle that only affects honest or technically unskilled people. i see this as the same issue the record companies ran into, they are over committed to the model for its own sake.
Though I didn't catch the Netflix stream yesterday, I did watch it in blu-ray this week and it looked fantastic for being as old as it is. Watching old films on blu-ray is just awesome, it makes me want to re-watch every old movie again.
I tried to stream last night from my Tivo (8:00 PM CDT) and it couldn't even connect to the servers. Too much demand? They may have made this available for 1 day only as a stress test of their infrastructure. Maybe "day and date" streaming will someday be available :)