Yes it will need a disc. Source on engadget somewhere. edit: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/13/wii-streams-netflix-coming-spring-world-rejoices/
interesting. I wonder how they're getting that CPU to handle this. They must be using a media player that's much more efficient than Silverlight.
PS3 and Wii are doing Netflix on disc at the moment because Microsoft has a contract with Netflix for download distribution on the Xbox 360. I think that contract expires this year, though, and the PS3 is set to have a download Netflix feature as well.. I don't know about the Wii. The disc is just an interim solution for both console for now. EDIT: Download = refers to downloading the Netflix software via console internet.
It's good, but the streaming selection is a little iffy at the moment. I don't know if there is a bigger selection if you pay the higher subscriptions though.
I don't think there is a bigger selection. Currently, I've got something like 70+ movies in my instant queue. Almost all the current popular tv shows are available. The main thing it's missing is new releases and a lot of the popular movies.
Well on PC with Silverlight you need like a Athlon XP 2000+ or so to get the job done. I've tried it out on all sorts of PCs and a Athlon XP 1800+ can't do it well enough even with the GPU assist that's in Silverlight 3. These CPUs are both faster than Wii's ~750MHz CPU. So they must be using a much more efficient playback method on Wii. Not surprising because they aren't locked into a web browser or have to worry about piracy as much.
I think it's the future. The Internet providers will undoubtedly try to figure out how to charge more and more regardless. Cable providers are obviously going to start getting scared and reacting to the decline of rip-off CATV.
