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Verbena Reynoso
It is inevitable. CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays will go the way of the Dodo. The popular storage mediums of today will become no more important than 8-Track tape players or 5 floppy disks. A recent change to Netflix is one of the many catalysts for the impending obsolescence. You no longer need a disc to launch streaming video on your Wii or PlayStation 3 gaming consoles. Instead, you can simply download the Netflix software directly to the machine. I tested out the new software. The convenience was impressive.
Once you insert the Netflix Streaming Disc, it shows up in the XMB in the video section. Select Netflix from the XMB and the experience is largely identical to streaming Netflix on other devices, with a few new features.
The main interface shows you the cover art of the movies in your instant queue, arranged horizontally. If you select a movie, it will show a screen with more detailed information, a summary of the plot, and a star rating. You're also able to scroll horizontally within the more detailed view, without having to return to the main screen. If you stop watching a movie, you're able to resume where you left off or start again from the beginning.
The step-up over standard streaming Netflix devices are the tabs at the top of the interface. With other devices, like the Roku Digital Video Player, you're only able to access movies that you've added to your Instant Queue using a PC. On the PS3, you're given some additional tabs that allow you to browse new arrivals, movies Netflix thinks you'll like, and categories you use often. That's not quite as good as the Xbox 360's Netflix interface, which allows you to add new titles to your instant queue without using a PC, but it's a welcome addition to the basic Netflix streaming available on other devices.
While we've seen some reports that the image quality of streaming Netflix isn't quite as good as it is on the Xbox 360, we didn't notice any significant quality drop-offs in our testing. In our experience, the image quality of streaming Netflix movies is basically identical across devices. We've commented extensively on the image quality in previous hands-on reports, but the main takeaway is that the content labeled "HD" is nearly DVD quality. The other content is watchable, but videophiles will definitely notice plenty of compression artifacts.
The major frustration with Netflix on the PS3 is that you need to insert the special disc to use the service. That's not the case with Netflix streaming on any other device so far and couch potatoes will complain about that extra trip to the PS3 every time they want to stream a movie.
That being said, we're willing to live with the compromise. As we understand it, the use of a disc is simply a workaround for Netflix's prior agreement with Microsoft to be the only game console with Netflix streaming as part of the software. In that case, we definitely prefer having this optional workaround to no streaming at all. (It appears that Microsoft's exclusivity deal ends in late 2010, at which time Sony can properly integrate Netflix into the software, so you won't need the disc.)
Netflix is a streaming service (previously a rental company) based in California. It allows people to stream movies and TV shows, and has been available on multiple different Nintendo consoles. Before Netflix was a streaming service, people could rent DVDs and Blu-ray movies. In January of 2010, Nintendo announced that they were partnering with Netflix so that Wii owners could stream movies on their console to watch on their television by ordering a disc from Netflix. In October of 2010, it was announced that Wii owners could download the Netflix Channel for free using the Wii Shop Channel without using discs. The new channel included a new UI, along with a search feature, replacing the Instant Queue in the older disc version. In order to watch movies and TV shows, users must already have a paid subscription to Netflix. The channel was released in the United States and Canada on October 18, 2010, and service was expanded to include the United Kingdom and Ireland on January 9, 2012.
In November 2018, Netflix announced that it would no longer be supported on the Wii effective January 30, 2019, which is the closure date of the Wii Shop Channel. A new version of the Netflix app is in development for the Nintendo Switch.
When Netflix and Sony announced the Playstation 3 would be getting the former's "Watch Instantly" streaming-movies feature, but that the PS3 would require a special Blu-ray disc, PS3 owners were bummed.
One possibility, depending on the cost of the Blu-ray discs and the number of users signed up: Netflix could offer interface changes by just sending everyone signed up for the program a new disc. Pricier and less convenient than a firmware download, but better than the alternative.
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Back in the day I would run over to my local Hollywood Video or Blockbuster video to grab a DVD rental for the evening. I got so tired of both company's insane late fee policies that I switched to Netflix and never looked back. Netflix mails the disc to my house and I can keep it as long as I want. Once they added Blu-ray discs I was totally sold. At one point I was on the 3-Discs-At-Home plan. Then I noticed that they would sit for days and weeks on end before I had a chance to view them. I went all the way down to 1-Disc-At Home. Over the holidays I started looking at all of my home entertainment gadgets and it seems that just about every device I own now (TiVo, Playstation 3, XBox 360, Wii, Apple TV, iPad, etc.) can stream movies from either Amazon, Netflix or iTunes. I also noticed that the one Netflix Blu-ray disc I had at home had been sitting there for weeks. I finally watched it. However, before I sent it back I adjusted my account once again, this time to eliminate the discs altogether.
There's no debate when it comes to the quality of Blu-ray movies over ANY of the popular streaming technologies. Blu-ray wins in the quality category hands down. However, I've decided that for my regular movie viewing that it's just not important enough to keep getting discs. Here's my rationale:
If a movie is available on Netflix instant streaming, it's a win for me. I can watch it on just about any of my devices. The quality is decent for the most part and it's a part of a monthly fee I'm already paying. If it's not available on Netflix I'll price compare it on Amazon (via the TiVo HD or Premiere XL) or iTunes via the Apple TV.
While the quality of Blu-ray is better, I just can't get past the convenience of streaming these days with my current schedule. My local Hollywood Video closed its doors two years ago and Blockbuster is barely hanging on. Times have definitely changed.
For some older movies I'll watch via HBO. The problem with HBO is, they are never playing the movie I want to watch when I want to watch it. Sometimes I wonder why I still have HBO as most of my favorite HBO series have all but died?
We love Netflix. We dropped Charter (Yay!!! they sucked!) and have the 3 disk plan while saving $65 per month in the process. I would love to see more programing for streaming, but until then the 3 discs just get rotated for the shows we are following. We just start a show at the beginning season and watch in order until the end. Works great for us and our schedule.
ORIGINAL STORY: Today we received what many Wii-owning Netflix fans have been waiting for: the disc that allows instant streaming. We opened the sucker up, took some pictures, and tried it out to see what's in store for anyone eagerly anticipating this disc.
Here's the classic Netflix DVD packaging we've all come to know and love. Seeing this thing arrive in the mailbox is always like a mini-Christmas, and it's even better when it contains the infinite gift of instant streaming.
Inside, we find the sleeve for the Wii disc. It says that the disc must be inserted every time you want to watch streaming content like the consistently awful The Legend of Zelda: The Complete Animated Series or the History Channel documentary Video Games: Behind the Fun. Also, the disc should never be returned to Netflix. The all caps, emboldened font sort makes me wonder what would happen if I returned it to Netflix...
There is also a little voucher for 3 months of free Netflix, so be sure to hang onto this puppy. Not too shabby a deal. This way you can try out the instant streaming and have enough time to burn through the entire first season of Joey.
We popped the disc into the Wii and were immediately greeted by a screen pointing us to netflix.com/Wii. We were also given an activation code to pump into the site. Upon visiting the designated Netflix page, however, we were presented with this bit of disappointment.
It appears we are only halfway to instantly streaming Netflix on our Wiis. So we're still left with the ambiguous three month release window of Spring... Hopefully more concrete news surfaces soon, but until then make sure to secure your Wii instant streaming disc on Netflix's website.
So, who among you is looking forward to some non-HD quality video action?
For I am only human, and the convenience of streaming services has most certainly turned my head. All that content at the touch of a button and for a relatively low, sign-up-and-try-and-forget-about-it monthly fee.
The devil is in the detail. Aside from the whole argument for the value of physical media over streaming - which, in the case of vinyl, I'm very much on board with - 4K Blu-ray discs have still clung on in my mind as the superior choice when it comes to performance. For not all 4K pictures, nor all next-gen audio formats, are equal.
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