high def netflix will require a good cpu and vid chip. I built up a previous gen htpc using a dual core socket 939 cpu and a reasonably up to date AMD low power vid card, and netflix would drop to lower definition until I found the exact right combination of drivers and codecs.
Don't waste money on a single core atom... Go for dual core, or at least ION chipset.
Last, for predicting whether a netbook is actually USABLE, there is no substitute for putting your hands on one and seeing how you like the keyboard and mousepad. Go to best buy or any other store that has a few of those things side by side, and see which keyboard you like. I think this is just as important as any other consideration because for any particular price range, the rest of the features are nearly identical. All the single core, dual core, or ION netbooks will cost within about $50 of each other, and sometimes the only difference in price is based entirely on the battery size. So the distinguishing features are really just how the keyboard feels, and whether they put access panels on the bottom so you can swap out ram and hard drive easily. And yes, you care about that because if you care about performance in a netbook, the main things you can do to help that out is to add more memory and put in a faster hard drive. The WDC caviar black I put into my 9" eeepc netbook made a significant difference, and with 2gb of ram it actually runs win7 fairly nicely.
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