Netflix Canada Review

After having used Netflix Canada for a few months, I thought that I would post my thoughts about its offering and the quality.

There are a few devices that have Netflix capabilities. I've seen Netflix enabled televisions, blue-ray DVD players, game consoles, and smartphones. I access Netflix mainly on my television set using a small box called the "LG Smart TV Upgrader box ST600". I've written a few reviews about this box which based on the number of hits when compared to the hits of my other blog entries seems to be a popular search feature. I've also accessed Netflix on my Chromebook, my Windows netbook, my iPhone 3GS, and my Android Samsung Nexus-S. I'm able to access Netflix content very well using the devices that I've tried.

When I first decided to try Netflix Canada, I wasn't sure what movies and television shows they offered. The reason for this is that there is only a partial list on their website of the available content. I heard that the offering in Canada was not as good as it is in the United States. Luckily, Netflix Canada offers a 1 month free trial (credit card required) in order for users to see whether Netflix is right from them.

Having gone to Las Vegas in January 2012, I was able to access my Netflix account on my laptop as well as on my smartphones while in the US and I can say that the offering in Canada is extremely limited when compared with what is available to Netflix US customers. When I went to the US, my Canadian Netflix account automatically gave me access to what American customers have access to watch. There was a warning/disclaimer message when I accessed my Netflix account informing me that I would be accessing country specific media. Because of time constraints, I only managed to watch 2 Netflix movies while in the US and both of these movies are currently not available to Netflix Canada customers.

While the Canadian Netflix content does not compare with the US Netflix content, I do notice that there is new content added on a somewhat regular basis. I would estimate that every 2-3 weeks, there are new movies and new television series that are added to Netflix Canada.

Because I've seen a lot of movies in the theatres, most of the content that I watch on Netflix Canada are television programs. I would say that 80% of the content I watch from Netflix Canada are television programs and 20% of the content that I watch are movies. There are a lot of television programs available using Netflix Canada. I've personally watched Heroes, Dragon's Den, Early Edition, and Family Guy. Movies that I've watched include a few of the Star Trek movies (as of the date of my post, all the Star Trek movies including the 2009 Star Trek movie are available), Unstoppable, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Next, and Thor.

To access Netflix on a Netflix capable smartphone or on your computer, it requires logging on using the e-mail address you used to sign-up for Netflix and your Netflix password. To access Netflix on the blue-ray DVD players or Netflix enabled television sets that I've seen as well as on the LG Smart TV Upgrader box, it requires that you add the device to your Netflix account. You do this by logging onto your Netflix account on your computer and entering a code which displayed by your device. Your computer will then display a code to enter into your device.

Once you log into your Netflix account, you are able to select what quality you want the media to stream to your devices. There are 3 settings: Good (up to 0.3 GB per hour), Better Quality (up to 0.7 GB per hour), and Best Quality (up to 1 GB per hour, or up to 2.3 GB per hour for HD content). Since I have unlimited internet, I keep my setting at Best Quality but I have tried the other qualities as well and the quality is comparable to what you can get with the different settings in YouTube.

The big question is whether Netflix Canada is worth the money. At the time of this blog entry, the monthly subscription cost is $8.00 per month. Netflix gives a 1 month trial subscription (valid for new subscribers only) so that users can see the type of content available and whether the service is right for them. Even though the Canadian content doesn't compare with the American content, because I currently have unlimited internet and the cost is only $8.00 per month for unlimited viewing (which is comparable to ~3 DVD rentals at a DVD/video store), it is worth it. The only thing that I would advise users if they don't have unlimited internet is that they should actively monitor their internet usage and reduce the Netflix video quality settings if necessary.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section. Please note that comments are moderated and any comments that contain a URL link will automatically be flagged as being spam and will not be posted.