Nintendo Wii: How to View Netflix Instant Streaming Movies

A few years ago, Netflix quietly added the ability to watch some movies instantly on your computer to its DVD-by-mail service. Slowly but surely, Netflix has been rolling out the ability to stream these "instant viewing" movies to devices besides for computers, like Tivo boxes and video game consoles. In the spring of 2010, Netflix announced that instant viewing would soon be available on the Wii console--a feature that has since been rolled out to all Netflix members. So, if you have a paid Netflix membership and a Nintendo Wii, you are ready to stream movies directly to your television, and the whole process is pretty simple.

First, you'll need to request a special "Instant Viewing" disc from Netflix for use in your Nintendo Wii. The Wii disc will need to be inserted any time that you want to watch a streaming Netflix movie. The disc you get from Netflix is yours to keep--you don't need to return it and it doesn't affect how many physical DVDs you will get from Netflix at any one time. You'll also need to make sure that your Nintendo Wii console is connected to the internet. This functionality is available on all Wii consoles. The Wii can connect to wi-fi networks without any accessories, or you can buy a special adapter that will all you to plug the Wii directly into a router via ethernet cable. Once you have the Wii disc from Netflix, and your video game console is connected to the internet, you're good to go!

To start watching movies instantly, insert the Netflix disc into your Wii and select the Netflix icon from the Home menu. You'll see an activation code on the screen, and you'll need to go to an internet-connected computer, log into the Netflix website, and type this activation code into the box. This is a one time process and takes just a minute or two. Now, your Netflix account and your Wii will be "synced," and you'll see all the movies you have in your Instant Queue available to select on your TV screen using the Wii remote. You can remove movies from your queue, or give them a star rating, right from the Wii interface. You can also browse through a list of categories and see selected movies which you can add to your queue to watch instantly.

Having been able to use the Wii instant viewing service for a few weeks, I have to say that I am very impressed. The initial activation process was easy and the menus load quickly. The movies require just a few seconds of buffer time before they start playing, and the picture looks flawless on my standard definition television. I can say for certain that my Netflix membership has become a much better value since they have added the ability to stream movies straight to the television, and I am much more likely to stay a Netflix member for a long time because of this service. To learn more about watching Netflix movies instantly on your Nintendo Wii, visit the website listed in the resources section of this article.