Question: Netflix on a Wii

[lykaon78]

So I see from Netflix's website that this can be done. I have a Panasonic 50" plasma with 720p.

Anyone doing this?

What kind of picture can I expect?

Will movies from my Wii be comparable to my upconverting DVD player?

 

[NutBucket]

Well, considering the max output of the Wii is 480p, it should be very similar to a normal DVD. Remember, a TV will upconvert just like your dvd player does.

 

[thomsbrain]

Be aware that the compression quality of Netflix's SD material (the only versions the Wii will play) is noticeably worse than DVD quality. For stuff that isn't super visual, it's not a problem, but if you are watching a movie you want to see clearly, you're going to want to get the disc. Bitrates hover around 1.5 Mb/s, bursts up to 2.5 or so.

Their 720p "HD" streams not only have more resolution than the SD versions, but far less compression artifacts. They look noticeably crisper than DVD's, but still noticeably worse than Blu-Ray. You'd need another kind of playback device to play the "HD" versions, though. Bitrates hover around 3.5 Mb/s, bursts up to 6 or 7.

Regular DVD is usually around 8-9 Mb/s, with very little compression artifacts but not much resolution. Blu-Ray hovers around 25-35 Mb/s.

 

[ch33zw1z]

It works ok for me so far. ISP tests 12/2.5, Using a Linksys WRT54GL w Tomato, Wii is wireless with WPA2 AES. If you have a Wii and Netflix, give it a shot...it can't hurt, it's free.

 

[0roo0roo]

hd nation recently tested, its about dvd quality..probably slightly below considering the streaming bitrate.

 

[Gibson486]

I have done it on a 46 HDTV. The HD is better than DVD, yes, you can notice it. It is worse than BluRay, but it is still alot better than DVD. SD....I thought it was fine.....although, in both cases, there was some syching issues with the audio if it had to buffer mid stream.