can u watch hd (blu ray quality) movies on your console?

yes i own a ps3. HD video up to 1080p from file,stream and disc.

ditto.

edit: Too bad it doesn't play games... I kid, I hear there's a bunch of games that I don't have time to play... Burnout Paradise is sweet.

To be fair, 360 can too (if you're a believer in Netflix HD streams, and the 360 needs a bit 'o lovin' in this thread so far), just not Blu-Ray disks at the moment.
And yes, my PS3 serves that funtion very well.
I prefer HD games though tbh; they're far more interactive than most movies.

do the movies come up on sale at same time as retail dvd/blu rays? are they premanent? how mcuh are they?

Netflix HD streams (which I watch on my computer) are mostly old movies that you don't want to watch anyway... there are some good ones mostly because Netflix has a deal with Starz on demand, NBC, ABC, and TBS.