# Does Netflix suck, or just the version in Canada? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 29, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415 "2010-09-29T00:35:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415/21 "2010-09-29T15:27:32Z")
I love netflix. We ditched cable and got a Roku to watch streaming. We are happliy going through TV shows from 2007 and earlier. This does not bother us as we hadn’t seen them before. As for current shows, I guess we’ll watch them in 2015. We used to go through 3 discs a week. Now we finish one a week, sometimes. I guess that’s what they wanted. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415/22 "2010-09-29T15:35:15Z")
If you want actual DVDs, try [Zip.ca](http://www.zip.ca), which has been in business as the Canadian equivalent of NetFlix for several years. I don’t think they do streaming video, though. ---
**Author:** ![elninost0rm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ed655f/32.png) [@elninost0rm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elninost0rm)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415/23 "2010-09-29T16:06:49Z")
> [@Shadowfyre](#): > > > [@elninost0rm](#): > > > > Coverage of TV show episodes is spotty at best. Great, I can watch Season 1, 5, and 8 of Family Guy… > > I just checked and Family Guy Seasons 1 through 8 are available for streaming in the U.S. If you are using a Wii, Xbox, or PS3, you may not see them on the menus that you browse with the console, but you can go to [netflix.com](http://netflix.com) and add them to your instant queue from there and they will show up in your instant queue on the Wii, xbox or PS3 ready for you to watch. > > I love it. In the U.S. we have the disk renting option as well, so we can get anything through the mail that we can’t get streaming. I’ve watched Arrested Development, Aeon Flux and Pillars of the Earth. I’m working my way through The Tudors and BBC’s Robin Hood series. I have Carl Sagan’s the Cosmos in my queue as well as a few MST3k’s that I haven’t seen (there are still a lot of MST3k’s not available by streaming yet but available by DVD through the mail). > > I have a pre-HD 63" widescreen projection TV. With our comcast internet, the picture is fine. It was unusable with our AT&T DSL, but that was because our house is rather far from their hub and the DSL signal was too degraded. > > It seems like netflix can’t go streaming only until the studios license everything for streaming. The Wii explains it. I wish everything would show up on there. It can’t be that hard to do, no? Anyway, I’ll have to check it out further. ---
**Author:** ![sharding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@sharding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharding)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415/24 "2010-09-29T16:20:36Z")
The Wii’s output isn’t HD, so if you **do** have an HD TV, you’re degrading the picture even more by watching it through the Wii. You’ll get better quality if you watch with a TiVo, PS3 or Roku box. ---
**Author:** ![elninost0rm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ed655f/32.png) [@elninost0rm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elninost0rm)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415/25 "2010-09-29T16:34:39Z")
> [@sharding](#): > > The Wii’s output isn’t HD, so if you **do** have an HD TV, you’re degrading the picture even more by watching it through the Wii. You’ll get better quality if you watch with a TiVo, PS3 or Roku box. None of which I have, so Wii it is! I’m not an audio/video nut anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415/26 "2010-09-29T16:36:46Z")
There’s also a search option on the ps3 netflix. I use it all the time (on my iPhone as well) and love the streaming. I’ve never actually ordered a disc from them. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415/27 "2010-09-29T18:08:03Z")
I enjoy streaming Netflix and can always find something worthwhile to watch, but if I search for a specific movie it’s almost never available. Think of it like walking around a video store to see what jumps out at you, rather that going with a particular title in mind. If you like foreign films, documentaries, and TV series, the library is impressive. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415/28 "2010-09-29T20:41:38Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > What they have done is opened an Italian restaurant and started with serving Chef Boyardee. In time they may work up to that refrigerated stuff from the grocery story, but they are a long way from homemade. True. But the people are flocking to it. No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public. Redbox tried stocking some of their machines with DVDs other than the latest hits, and it failed miserably. People don’t appear to want to think about it - too much choice confused them. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415/29 "2010-09-29T22:33:53Z")
I love the Netflix streaming. The “HD” is definitely 720p, so my TV is still upscaling to 1080, but the picture is great to me. I’m using a desktop computer in my entertainment center, with cable web service, so maybe that makes a difference. I’ve found the HD streaming information to be spotty, though. Some are listed as HD but aren’t, and some don’t have HD streaming listed as available but it loads in HD. Yes, perhaps it’s frustrating for some that stuff that was recently released to DVD isn’t available for streaming, but that’s not the fault of Netflix, and since my queue has 250 movies listed, I guess there’s plenty of other stuff! One thing I have found, though, is to make sure to put new movies into the DVD queue anyway, and as soon as they’re slated to be released for streaming, there’s a column for the streaming release date (usually within 30 days), so you can take it out of the DVD queue if you don’t want it shipping to you and just wait for the streaming release. I’ve had a few movies that were pretty new do this. ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415/30 "2010-09-30T00:49:20Z")
People do realize that in the US, the whole streaming thing just started out as a free bonus, right? When Netflix started, there was no “Watch Instantly.” It’s doesn’t cost anything extra, and Netflix has, IIRC, actually _dropped_ the minimum price required for a Netflix subscription since it has been offered. Netflix in the US has improved constantly since it started, adding all kinds of good stuff. They have an especially good selection of TV shows. In the past month or so, I’ve watched the following: The Office (US & UK versions) Veronica Mars Robin Hood Arrested Development Futurama Pushing Daisies Dr Horrible’s Singalong Blog They have a great backlog of old stuff, in particular. I’m pretty sure the premium cable networks don’t allow them to license their stuff, though, so you won’t be seeing Mad Men or whatever. Now, on the other hand, I can understand Canadians feeling ripped off, though, if it’s all they get–especially if they don’t have the selection that we get in the US. Man, how far we have come that we now complain we cannot instantly see new DVD releases on our televisions for $8 a month… it’s a strange new world out there. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Violaceous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Miss\_Violaceous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Violaceous)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415/31 "2010-09-30T00:53:23Z")
I used Netflix streaming a couple of years ago when it was brand new, then cancelled when I moved and didn’t start it up again until recently. The choices back then were extremely limited, and at the time I thought it had potential but I had trouble finding anything I even remotely wanted to watch. Now, I’m amazed at how much better the selection is, and I can find all kinds of stuff to mindlessly watch. Give it time. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415/32 "2010-10-01T05:09:18Z")
I really like Netflix’s streaming service, but I’m comparing it to cable TV or satellite, not to renting movies. There’s a lower cost for the amount of content you get, but in exchange you don’t get to choose from everything. However, you do get much, much, much more choice than those TV services and spend a lot less to boot, so it’s a good deal as far as I’m concerned. The biggest negative for me is the quality of the video – but that’s by no means a Netflix-specific issue. Try browsing, rather than searching. I can always find something interesting to watch. The selection changes frequently. If that’s not what you want, and there’s a short list of specific things you really want to watch, then dump Netflix and buy a DVD or two every month. Of course, I do like the option of getting a DVD if I care to, but I haven’t bothered in over a year. There’s plenty to watch. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415/33 "2010-10-01T05:25:08Z")
Hard core Netflix addict here. I’m a copious consumer of both disks and streaming. We haven’t had TV service in our lives for going on 3 years now, though occasionally we’ll pay to download fresh stuff via iTunes/Zune/Amazon/Ps3 Marketplace, or online with web commercials. With a 3 year backlog of TV content to dip into at our whim, we watch a lot of recent-but-not-fresh TV programming on streaming. It enables my preference to watch marathon style. Also, increasingly, there is some fresh programming made available to stream within 24 hours of airing on Starz (Spartacus, Pillars of the Earth). I’m was already happy with Netflix disks, but once streaming launched, we started sucking in more entertainment through the value-added service than with the disks. Being a couple of years late to watch TV has not felt like a sacrifice at all, especially considering the blissful lack of commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415/34 "2010-10-01T05:39:35Z")
While I haven’t bothered to sign up yet (I have more TV to watch than I can deal with already) people have the wrong expectation for the streaming service. The comparison for Netflix Canada is with a cable movie channel, not with a movie rental store with new releases, except it’s on-demand. For $8 a month, that’s pretty cheap. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-netflix-suck-or-just-the-version-in-canada/555415.md?page=1)