You can be a Streaming Media GOD! Wii-Netflix

“Two great taste that go great together”

Wii. Netflix.

Here’s the review.

I love this idea. Debuting this month, Netflix, the online DVD rental, now can stream movies directly through your Wii.

First, I’ve drunk the Netflix cool-aid. Yes, there’s Red Box and yes, there’s Blockbuster. But somehow, nothing does efficient, lazy-ass movie rentals like Netflix. The Hubster has been a member since inception in 1997 (one of the first 1000, and all he got was a lousy -shirt!) The basic gist- you manage your DVD list online, you pay for the amount of DVD’s “checked” out at anyone time, once you finish viewing a DVD you return it via snail mail in the pre-paid envelope it arrived in. No late fees ever.  It’s pretty awesome.

Now we get it streaming? Sweet.

First, the Pluses

Instant Gratification. You pop it in. Select what you want and it loads and plays. Hello? This is awesome calling, and I’ve just made your life easier.

Intuitive Instructions. Wii is intuitive. And the Netflix UI (User Interface for the rest of us… the controls) are just as intuitive. Pop the Wii disk, select the movie from Your Netflix “Instant Queue” and it plays. Viola! You are a Streaming Media God.

Feel the Power. You are hero. To the impatient, the overly-tired. The cranky. The obsessed. The forgetful. You feed their insatiable habit for flickering digital images of delight… well, instantaneously. If only you could George-Jettison fresh pizza out the coffee-maker– wow, you’d truly would be all-powerful.

Now, the Sucky side of Wii-Netflix

Selection Spotty. Well not exactly spotty but you’re not going to get AVATAR when it’s released. You can get a lot but just don’t get snippy when it’s not everything. This is all new, so I’m going to give them some time get things i,n order. I got BOLT, but that’s been out for a while. I checked out other titles- for example Entourage, all the past seasons are available except the first– this I don’t get.

But what you can see is where this is going. All streaming all the time. Price points will be altered to reflect. No more driving to pick up a movie ever. No more returns. On-demand: in the home, on the iPad, on your smartphone, on the computer. In your brain… wait.. maybe that’s not such a great idea…

Picking Instant Movies Online Isn’t Intuitive… at first.  I’ll spare you the five minutes it took me to figure this out. Look for the movies you’re interested in and the ones available for streaming will be a part of the “Add to Queue” button you normally hit. Touch and it will ask you if you want to add it to your “Instant Queue” (that’s the list you choose from on the Wii.) And you want to hit yes. You can also go though regular “Queue”- ones available with the “Play” button are the ones you can add to your Instant Queue. Hit the title and again it will be apparent how to add it to your “Instant Queue.” Honest, it was 5 mins before I figured out that out. You can send me a ham later.

And Just So You Know (Extra Bonus Round)

Wii isn’t the only way to stream movies. You can also stream from XBox-360, PS3, Roku Digital Player, Seagate FreeAgent Theater + HD Media Player, a bunch of Internet Connected Blu-Ray Players and HD Internet Connected Televisons, just to name a few.

So don’t think Wii is only way you can be a streaming media God.

But you knew that already.