I watch Netflix every day. I'm just about finished with the whole Star Trek Voyager series. For 8 bucks a month, it can't be beat. The movie selection is decent, but all the old series are what I generally watch. There's tons of Family Guy and that sort of thing, too.
It'll only cost you 8 bucks to give it a shot, I think you'll like it.
The HD stuff is pretty much non-existent. You can order bluray discs at a premium if you want the mail service. The old tv shows are cropped for tv and they're in standard def, just like they're supposed to be. The video quality depends on your connection. I have my downstairs tv hard-wired but the DVD player upstairs is wireless. That picture is a bit less resolute, but well within a decent range.
So your laptop/hdmi will work, but don't expect HD from an analog recording from 15 years ago.