Netflix is ​​on my Wii

I’m always a little behind when it comes to gadgets and stuff, and it’s not for lack of interest. Frankly, it’s so hard to keep up with everything. Everything becomes obsolete in the blink of an eye. Video games, for example, change faster than anyone can keep up. Personally, I think that most video games are something that is wrong with our families and society today. It’s not just the kids, either. I see adults sitting in front of the TV tapping on stupid games instead of being active and going out.

That is, until I saw the Nintendo Wii my brother bought for his kids two Christmases ago (sorry guys, the Wii Santa brought). I found after playing around a bit, “Wow, this thing really makes you stand up and move.” And with certain games, well, you’re going to break a sweat, especially boxing and baseball. So, three months ago, I bought a Wii on eBay pretty cheap. I like it, I use it a little. That is, until I joined Netflix last week.

I ordered the Netflix CD-ROM for the Wii console and installed it, excited to be able to stream movies live from my Wii. Mind you, I only have the $8.99/month plan which allows you one DVD at a time. When I started scrolling through the movies, I noticed a few things. First of all, if you have an HD (high-definition) TV, like my 51-inch plasma, you won’t be blown away by the picture or sound quality of this thing. I literally had to turn the volume up to 46 to get decent audio on my movie. And the image was not very good, a bit grainy and pixelated. It’s certainly not Blue Ray! The problem is that I don’t think the Wii has an HD port to improve this, although I may be wrong. Please suggest a solution if you know one!

Also, the movie selection was a bit disappointing. I thought it was because I chose the cheaper plan instead of the more expensive one, but when I called and spoke to a representative, I was proven wrong. The movies I apparently have access to are the same as everyone, no matter the plan. If that’s the case, you’ll definitely find better movies on Blockbuster. And new releases, basically the most wanted and in-demand movies, aren’t usually available for instant streaming on your computer or Wii console, so you’ll still have to order them and wait 1-2 days for shipping to receive them. . Somehow it defeats the purpose.

Another annoying issue I found with this system is that movies would frequently “freeze” or fail altogether. This happened several times this weekend and it was frustrating because the only category that really kicks ass here is kids/family movies. My little two year old daughter was captivated by Barney the Dinosaur when all of a sudden, CRASH. Retrieving data. I literally had to shut down and reboot to get it working again, at which point she lost interest. Now, I don’t let the TV take care of my son, but sometimes it helps if your son is interested in something educational on TV while you do things around the house, and that put a damper on our plans.

So I like the idea of ​​Netflix on my Wii console, but there needs to be some improvements. My internet connection is pretty fast, and my PC and laptop never have any problems loading or crashing. The overall movie selection was a bit underwhelming and new releases were virtually non-existent. The kids movies had a pretty good selection overall, and my daughter was excited to see Elmo, Barney, and Little Orphan Annie. However, the crashes and lags were annoying. And finally, something needs to be done to improve the overall quality of the audio and picture.

In general, I recommend it, but don’t be surprised by these themes, that’s all. This concept is still emerging and will provide more viewing freedom for consumers and eventually hopefully make Blockbuster out of existence! Until next time, have fun watching!

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