Topic: Netflix Hopes To Bring Services to Wii

[NWR_pap64]

Netflix CEO divulges eventual plans to bring streaming movies to Nintendo's console.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=20023

 In an interview with Reuters, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has mentioned that, while they have no plans at the moment, they wish to eventually bring their movie streaming services to the Wii.  Their ultimate goal is to have all consoles supporting the service. The CEO explains, however, that they have signed a deal with Microsoft for Xbox 360 Netflix exclusivity that remains in effect.  Regardless, they are currently working towards achieveing this goal.

[Mop it up]

Could the Wii handle high-quality video streaming? The Internet Channel can barely run YouTube...

[that Baby guy]

The Wii can handle just about anything, Mop_it_up.  The Wii's internet Browser, well, can't.

It's an issue with memory, in most cases, and half a gig, when you take out what's used for saves and game data, doesn't really cut it.  It would work better if they used something like an SD card to hold the buffer.

The Wii itself can play DVD quality media, like movies and video files, you just have to give it a method to do so :/

[Mop it up]

So how could it work then? Would you need to buy a disc to be able to stream the movies?

[BlackNMild2k1]

I didn't click the link to the news story, but isn't this news like 6+ months old already?

[TJ Spyke]

No, that story was only about a survey asking consumers if they would be interested in Netflix on their PlayStation 3 or Wii. This is the first time Netflix has actually said they plan on putting their service on systems other than the Xbox 360.

[that Baby guy]

So how could it work then? Would you need to buy a disc to be able to stream the movies?

It could just be a channel, really.  The issue is truthfully storage, the Netflix channel would just need a good amount of memory available to buffer with.  No disc necessary, that wouldn't provide any extra memory to online streaming.

[Jonnyboy117]

A disc wouldn't do anything but store the video player software, which otherwise would have to live in the system's flash memory. Whether there's enough space for a buffer is hard to say without knowing all the technical details, but certainly there should be some open RAM for buffering, and that would be much faster than flash memory. Keep in mind that Wii can't output HD video, and the buffer needed for 480p (max) is not that large. Also, you don't really need a buffer at all if your connection is fast enough.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Unless they get a channel dedicated to Netflix, it's gonna have to run through the Internet Channel, which means that the browser is gonna be using precious memory resources in addition to the silverlight player and needing to buffer the movie for a guranteed smooth play rate.

Instant Watching System Compatibility
Complete System Requirements

To watch instantly, you'll need a computer that meets the following minimum requirements:

    * Windows
          o Windows XP with Service Pack 2, or Vista
          o Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher; or Firefox 2 or higher
          o 1.2 GHz processor
          o 512 MB RAM
    * Mac
          o An Intel-based Mac with OS 10.4.8 or later
          o Safari 3 or higher; or Firefox 2 or higher
          o 1 GB RAM

I figure Windows uses most of that requirement and IE/Ff uses a nice chunk of whats left to also load the Silverlight player, but is whats usable out of 88MB of Wii memory really gonna be enough? even for 480i streaming picture?

It works well on the Nintendo Channel and I havent checked to see how full screen Youtube works on the internet channel, but I guess anyhting is possible as long as it's coded specifically to work with the Wii