3DS owners got a lovely surprise last Thursday. Along with the 2 uninteresting looking Game Boy Advance games, owners of the system were treated to a Netflix application. I have spent the last 5 days doing 2 things with my 3DS, playing Links Awakening DX, and watching anything Netflix while I work on various projects, and here is my final decision on the app.
The app itself runs beautifully but is hindered by the power of the 3DS. Load times are a bit longer than I’d like to see while pulling up your recently watched, instant queue, recommendations, and other channels that Netflix tries to entice your senses with.
Once your film begins streaming the resolution is crystal clear. It never once stopped to buffer, and the audio came in perfectly. I also found it noteworthy that the more I used the app the faster my load times and search times became. I’m assuming that the device was caching important files to help alleviate the painful load times.
In the 5 days I watched a good 30 hours of media on the app and only had to reboot the system once. The reboot didn’t happen during normal app operation either. I was trying to fumble between Links Awakening DX and the app, and I’m pretty sure the system stopped caring what I wanted and decided to take a break. The app itself is beautifully, If you need a great way to watch Netflix while your wife is assaulting you with desperate housewives, or haven’t been driven off by the recent Netflix price change you can rejoice! Put in your headphones and escape the horrors of programming you tell your wife you like only to get laid.