Thanks for the response. That is a good test. 1080p video on Youtube does stutter a very little bit, most noticeably on sweeping shots. Definitely not as bad as NFLST though. I tried deactivating the other add ons but to no avail.
For example, right now watching the Red Zone trailer replay itself indefinitely, NFLST stutters a bit on the laptop. More than HD Youtube. When I connect it via HDMI to the TV and watch "standard" (not full screen) it looks about the same and no audio issues. Then when I go full screen, which is how I want to watch it of course, it becomes unwatchable and stutters a lot including the audio. I would like to know why there is such a difference when going to full screen via HDMI because that might help me figure out what's going on.
For comparison, my desktop PC (older, 2.4Ghz quad core, on XP) stutters a little too. Interestingly, it too stutters more in full screen and the quality looks SD, not HD.
Bottom line, the laptop isn't perfect but NFLST doesn't play as smooth as Youtube HD. And, stutter gets worse in full screen.
Thoughts?
Does the Roku play smooth?? Roku 4 has an optical out, which I need for my, you guessed it, older receiver.