About two weeks back I happened to receive a free Netflix disc for the Nintendo Wii that came with a perk of a free month of service from Nintendo themselves. I already had a Netflix account so the free month of service actually was pretty cool perk. I was in doubt about how well the service would work on the Wii; seeing as how I already use Netflix on my Xbox360. My mom on the other had, has never tried Netflix and keeps her own Wii in the living room on the only flat screen TV we have. So I thought why not let her test out Netflix on the Wii… I mean it couldn’t be confusing and as bad as the PS3 Netflix disc right?
After a very simple and quick set up, which consisted of entering a code here and there and selecting some movies and tv shows, we got it running pretty smoothly. Surprisingly, the quality wasn’t all that bad or choppy at all. We even watched a few episodes of TV shows, and a movie. Everything was working great!
However, after a few hours of watching we did encounter a slight problem. Since the entire thing runs of streaming the data through WiFi the connection would occasionally de-sync and we would lose the connection or have the video slow down. This would bring up some error codes… but this only happened after extended periods of watching shows/movies (8-9 hours plus [watching a complete TV season in one sitting is pretty hardcore]). This was usually fixed after giving the Wii a quick rest or a full reboot.
Overall, I have to say Netflix on the Wii is pretty awesome. Compared to the other systems out there I would say it’s close to being on par with the 360’s Netflix service, but far superior to the PS3’s service (which I would call the clunky and freezy cousin). So if your looking to get into the streaming of TV shows and Movies and have never tried Netflix; plus you have a solid Wifi connection and a Wii you should really consider giving Netflix a try. I mean, what do you really have to lose.
Netflix Disc and coupon for free month of service provided by Nintendo for Review
Order a Netflix Wii Disc