Netflix in Canada
Saturday, October 2, 2010 at 7:48PM Well, it was a long time coming but Netflix is finally in Canada. There was a similar option called Zip.ca but they did not do streaming content. Netflix is going the other way about it and is only streaming and not renting discs. I know this posting is going up a little after they have launched but I have actually been able to use it and so has my wife and son so I have a more realistic feeling about it all
Frankly, I believe the streaming only service is the best choice they could have made as there are just so many devices out there that can show Netflix content that the penetration level is fairly high even though the XBox and the Roku player are not yet working in Canada. And make no mistake, they will be updated so they work. Other devices and software like PlayOn are also updating themselves to work in Canada so we will all soon have just about every route to Netflix you can imagine.
As it is, the list of devices that will eventually play Netflix streaming in Canada is massive. This is thanks to the US market of course. When we are all caught up, we will have BluRay players, all the current game consoles, Roku boxes, the BOXEE box, All the Apple portable devices and many more. Very importantly, every Windows and Mac PC on the planet will play content as well.
We have the disc from Netflix to play content on the Wii and it works surprisingly well. There are no real issues to speak of. Using the Wii only has one compromise, that being the device has a max quality output of DVD but that is not a horrible place to be for casual content viewing. My son uses the Wii the most so what I can say there is that the user experience is super simple and was not hard at all for him to learn.
My wife got her trial run in when on a weekend, she had a good deal of baking and cooking to get done. She usually brings her big 17” laptop to the kitchen and puts in a disc but with Netflix in trial, I got her to use it instead. About 5 hours later, she came in and said “$7.99/month? I can handle that. This is a very convenient service!”. Sp that sealed it right there.
I have been using the service right from the first day that it launched here in Canada. I happened to have my netbook at work the day it went live so I signed up ASAP and then started watching Terminator 2. The very first thing that I learned with Netflix is that regardless of the device, the service will bookmark where you left off and then you can pick up from there at some other location. Another thing that was interesting to watch was that the streaming service does a decent job of delivering the best quality image for the connection speed that you have available. This is not a competitor to BluRay but it does still deliver a reasonably good image considering. We only have a 5 mbps service so the faster your service, then likely the results you get will be even better.
After almost 2 weeks, and all 3 of us in the house really liking the service, here are the only real gripes I have left:
Parental Controls - This is a MAJOR pain in the butt. There is no way to manage the restrictions for differnt kinds of devices or specific devices. This means that I have to open it wide when I want to watch something and if I do not remember to set it back, my 7 year old can then get into things that I do not want him into. This needs to be adjusted bigtime.
Selection - I can only assume and hope that the reason that there was not a full library release to Canada when they went live here due to some stupid hollywood crap. If this was not the case, then they need to ramp up FAST with what is available. The selection is far from crappy but it is also not near large enough. I know that this issue will be adjusted for the better as time goes on but it is currently annoying.
PC Client - This is more of a geeks gripe but there is no standalone client for PCs. This is annoying for those of us that use HTPCs for everything. PlayOn is the solution once it is working in Canada but for the time being, us geeky people are all out in the rain on this. The only route to playing on your PC is in a browser window.
As these issues are put to rest, this service will only get better. Here is to the Blockbuster killer coming to Canada!!!
HTPC, Home Theater, Netflix
Reader Comments (3)
Any updates to the comments above? Currently trying to find best way to stream to a new TV. I have read conflicting accounts of which devices support the most online content. Although both the aquos 810 series TV and sony bdp-s370 claim on the box to support these kinds of services, I don't have anything set up yet and have had difficulty figuring out if it will actually work with these devices. That said, what would you recommend as a content device - a gaming system, something like the apple TV, or a blu ray player that is explicitly supported by netflix canada (toshiba, samsung)?
Well, the biggest issue with TVs and BluRay players is that they need to support the Canadian IP address ranges. So far. Netflix only states that Toshiba and Samsung have BluRay players that support it in Canada.
That being said, I would look at a small set top like the Apple TV or the Western Digital TV Live Plus (If it supports Canada). I like the idea of these tiny boxes due to their portability if you like to travel. Otherwise, I would say that a BluRay player with support is more functional for the average person. As for which one to get, either demand that the sales people show you that it works or only buy where there is a zero hassle return policy so you can take it back if it does not work.
If you are looking at or already have an XBox 360 or PS3, they make really good players. The Wii is also fine but is not HD at all so that may be an issue for you. We use our Wii and computers and are hoping that SageTV adds support for Netflix to the HD300 soon (There is no support in it at all yet).
As usual, the frustrating fact at hand is Canada is always ignored. Annoying seeing that we are as big as California, we are not going bankrupt and we are not in recession.
I think the enabled BDP might be best for this particular application. Both the existing TV and Sony BDP are splashed with every conceivable online content logo, however, neither will actually do Netflix in particular.
I'm hopeful that the trend towards streaming content continues!