Audio Video News

Netflix regards streaming as a major component of its future survival when online delivery eventually takes over from disc rentals. But until now, Netflix streaming has been limited to 720p resolution. That's high-def but not the highest-def. And so Netflix streamers' hearts were glad when a report slipped out that Netflix was about to go 1080p. Unfortunately that report has since been retracted.

Why 1080p is not on the Netflix agenda is unclear. The Microsoft-originated Silverlight streaming technology Netflix uses began supporting 1080p in March 2009. Plan to catch the 2010 Winter Olympics on nbc.com? That'll use Silverlight 1080p.

But for users of Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Roku, and other Netflix streaming devices, 1080p is still a distant hope on the horizon. This little snafu highlights the fact that streaming is still an immature technology in a nation that really hasn't come to terms with broadband as well as many European and Asian nations have.

See original story and retraction on c|net.