Netflix Streaming Expanding Into Canada

7:00 PM - July 19, 2010 - By Marcus Yam - Source : Tom's Guide US

Now if only Netflix could stream hockey games...

Ah Netflix, a true convenience of modern technology. With Netflix Streaming, that's dialed up another notch, thanks to the Internet. Currently, it can only be enjoyed by those in the U.S., but starting this fall, it'll be headed up north to where I am in Canada.

The subscription service today announced it will expand into Canada this fall offering unlimited movies and TV episodes streamed instantly to TVs and computers for one low monthly fee.

This won't mean that Netflix will be shipping DVDs and Blu-ray Discs cross-border, however, as the company is keeping this a streaming-only deal. I can already hear the sighs of relief from rental-mail services such as Zip.ca.

Canadians interested in Netflix can go to www.netflix.ca and sign up to receive an email from the company when the service launches in Canada this fall.

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Comments

ilockitdown 07/20/2010 1:15 AM

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This is really great news.

danimal_the_animal 07/20/2010 1:16 AM

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bpladirector 07/20/2010 1:49 AM

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I suppose this is nice for some Canadians, but I for one wont be enjoying this service due to a low bandwidth cap. I don't want to use zip.ca as apparently they have horrible customer service and "lose" discs then charge the customer for the "lost" disc.

Are there any mail DVD services in Canada that are not rubbage?

I am curious though, how much bandwidth does it take to stream a typical movie with netflix?

KrisMRT 07/20/2010 1:57 AM

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Too bad my ISP will foreclose my house if I go over my cap.

danimal_the_animal 07/20/2010 2:01 AM

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Try this link

http://www.google.com

dogofwars 07/20/2010 2:06 AM

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Damn it's about time

Teen Geek 07/20/2010 2:42 AM

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danimal_the_animal :
That's nice.WHERE IS MY NETFLIX FOR IPHONE 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who gives a **** about your iPhone?

captaincharisma 07/20/2010 3:45 AM

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Teen Geek :
Who gives a **** about your iPhone?

i know i don't

mavanhel 07/20/2010 4:12 AM

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Any news on pricing? As well, I would be interested in how much bandwidth is required to stream a standard 45 minute show.

cloakster 07/20/2010 4:50 AM

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Amazing news...can't wait!

scione 07/20/2010 5:06 AM

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I want hulu too

guidoq 07/20/2010 5:42 AM

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The streams are 500kbs to 2.5mbps. 1.5mps is watchable but more is better.

3600 seconds in an hour * 1.5 mbps = 5400 mbits / 8 bits per byte = 675 megbytes per hour

About 1.3 Gigabytes for a 2 hour movie. Double that if you have the bandwidth.

dimar 07/20/2010 7:36 AM

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I'm with ZIP.ca for almost 2 years and never had support issues.
Got scratched disks two or three times, and they replaced those and shipped an extra movie for reporting. Nothing got ever lost.
2.5Mbps is not enough for my pleasure :-) I'll sign when they up it to 30-60Mbps, even if I have to wait until it's cached to my comp or NAS...

techguy378 07/20/2010 8:15 AM

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danimal_the_animal :
That's nice.WHERE IS MY NETFLIX FOR IPHONE 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Netflix has temporarily stopped all development of their iPhone 4 app so they can focus on developing an Android compatible version. People who want a smartphone use Android because Apple isn't very smart when it comes mobile phones.

iammalkav 07/20/2010 3:12 PM

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Are there any mail DVD services in Canada that are not rubbage? No.

With respect to those with bandwidth caps in Canada, there is little to no competition depending upon where you live. I'm stuck with Rogers, but Teksavvy.com looks interesting.
http://teksavvy.com/en/res-internet.asp

Maybe one day I can leave the Rogers BS behind me. /hope

iammalkav 07/20/2010 3:18 PM

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Oh one other thing, I contacted Zip.ca and mentioned that they don't have any comparable streaming services, and that Netflix would probably just enter the Canadian market and be the defacto standard if they didn't get one. They replied that they were working on it...

I'm guessing they weren't. Now, Netflix will be entering the market and... lol

P.S. The media link seems to be missing from Zip.ca's website so now I can't even send them a link to this article -- for shame.

r_pad 07/20/2010 4:54 PM

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Too bad there are more and more caps on a lot of ISP.

Probably still better than paying for cable though

victomofreality 07/20/2010 5:01 PM

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I still don't understand why it took so long to do this! You'd figure they'd be trying to get all the subscribers they can, so open it up to the world.

gm0n3y 07/20/2010 6:31 PM

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I didn't realize that ISPs here in Canada have bandwidth caps. I just looked up my ISP (Shaw) and my plan comes with a 125GB / month cap. That's enough for a couple of movies every day and still plenty left over. What kind of caps do other people have?

gm0n3y 07/20/2010 6:35 PM

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Wow, I didn't realize that Shaw has services up to 100mbps.

I am interested in Netflix if they:
1) Get movies within 24hrs of retails/rental release
2) The price is reasonable, say $10-15 / month

And I would definitely sign up if they have TV shows that are available within 24hrs of their initial air date.

borisof007 07/20/2010 6:52 PM

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I WISH Netflix could stream hockey games! /sigh

gm0n3y 07/20/2010 7:23 PM

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borisof007 :
I WISH Netflix could stream hockey games! /sigh

You can stream them online, but I think its pretty expensive. Hockey is one of the only reasons I have cable (and CBC HD is included in the basic package), too bad some of the game are PPV only.

ksampanna 07/20/2010 9:07 PM

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Like I care

domenic 07/20/2010 9:24 PM

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ksampanna :
Like I care

You cared enough to post. Thank you for caring!

eddieroolz 07/21/2010 2:23 AM

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Great news for those who watch movies often. Wonder if this means the death of Blockbuster and Rogers stores in Canada?

gm0n3y 08/18/2010 6:09 PM

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flex77 :
HEY I JUST FOUND A SITE NAMED ********.CA WHICH ALSO PROVIDES ONLINE RENTAL DVDS. JUST GO AND HAVE A LOOK. THEY REALLY HAVE A GOOD COLLECTION OF MOVIES,BLU-RAY MOVIES PS-3 WB AND SO ON. ITS ALSO VERY USER FRIENDLY

THANK YOU FOR SPAMMING THIS SITE WITH YOUR GARBAGE. TYPING IN ALL CAPS IS ALSO APPRECIATED. I HAVE REPORTED YOUR LINK TO THE MODERATORS.

buwish 08/18/2010 11:27 PM

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Calm down. It's been taken care of. Just report it and we'll take care of it in a timely manner.