Netflix on the PS3

I’m a fan of Netflix. I enjoy the concept of being able to have the video store just mail you a DVD instead of going to the nearby Blockbuster. I watched my absent minded mother rack up several hundred dollars in late fees over the course of my childhood. Now, couple this with the ability to stream movies from my home computer, you’ve got a product I’m sold on.

My Platform of Choice

Hardware and Disk

I don’t think I’ve ever purchased a DVD player. These days, it’s an incidental purchase coupled with a gaming platform. I own a PS3 and a Wii. The Wii cannot play DVDs, so the PS3 is my player. Hell, it even plays Blu-Ray! Rock on.

I’d already tried the version for the X-Box 360, but my access to that was drying up. I hated the fact that a Gold Membership was required to access your Netflix account. Felt like a fee on a fee on a fee. Nothing quite like requiring your hardware, the service, another service, and your ISP just to get what you’ve paid for.

When Netflix for the PS3 was announced, I was excited. The day it was released, I fired up my PS3 and went to download the application. Wait… you require a disk? Why, pray tell, do you require a disk? Perhaps there’s a legitimate reason! Regardless, I’m not going to get it to work until I get my disk. So, I wait.

Problems Already?

The Main Interface

When it does arrive, I realize that the interface makes me motion sick. There’s something about the way that the images change focus that makes me sick to my stomach. Getting past that and browsing around, I notice a few other stickler points.

The controls are not as intuitive as I would have hoped. For example, holding down the left analog stick provides no additional scrolling. After the initial tick sideways in the direction you pushed, nothing happens. You must flick your stick for every movement you’d like to make. The triggers can be used to accelerate the scrolling, but this only jumps you a set number of titles, rather than scrolling faster.

Another little oddity popped up as I was attempting to select the next episode in a series. When you complete an episode, the interface automatically updates to the next episode. Just click play.

If you exit the episode before the credits have finished, you’re at less than 100% completion. That means you have to select the option to select another episode, select your episode, and then hit play. This seems a lot more complicated than it needs to be.

The Need for Communication

If there’s a single thing in the world I think is necessary, it’s communication. Without the desire for communication, your house would not look like your house does now. Your car would be different. Books, movies, and telephones would not exist (not to mention a whole host of other things). So, when a program forgoes communication, it perplexes me. You should tell your users every bit of useful information you can.

Now, this leads me to my biggest problem with the PS3…

How Netflix.com Deals with the Issue

I have gone along happily watching the first few episodes in a series when you discover something terrible. A single episode requires a disk. Naturally, this is the second or fourth episode. You get absorbed in a series and then the ability to watch it is whisked away.

While I don’t have a problem with ordering disks, I do dislike seeing a requirement I wasn’t informed of. Netflix may not have the power to put the films up for viewing, but they do have the ability to communicate.

On the web, if you look at the film’s details, you’ll see a list of episodes that tell you which are available and which you require the disk for. The PS3′s interface is not so forgiving. You have to delve down into the choosing of the episodes. There, you will find the culprit. It’s there, when I’m switching episodes, that I discover I require a disk. Blah. Just tell me before hand.

What could be a beautiful is a warning. I’m not worried about getting the disk. Just warn me.