6 replies to this topic

[George35]

Is there any way to implement parental controls on the Netflix Channel? I find it hard to believe that Nintendo wouldn't have required it. I would feel more comfortable if I were able to block my 2 year old from stumbling onto R rated movies while he's looking for the next Thomas and Friends to watch.

[raskar42]

i tried everything as well. the only way is to set parental controls on netflix itself , but that would keep you from adding r rated movies to your dvd or instant queue.

I hope they will allow multiple streaming queues or better parental controls in the future. for myself i put all the childrens movies at the top of the instant queue and all the r rated movies at the end, so i don't have to go through a bunch of adult stuff to get to their lists, but i still can't allow my children to use netflix unattended. sad.

[DEBRO]

Hi there,

raskar42, on Tue Nov 16, 2010 9:49 PM, said:

i tried everything as well. the only way is to set parental controls on netflix itself , but that would keep you from adding r rated movies to your dvd or instant queue.

I hope they will allow multiple streaming queues or better parental controls in the future. for myself i put all the childrens movies at the top of the instant queue and all the r rated movies at the end, so i don't have to go through a bunch of adult stuff to get to their lists, but i still can't allow my children to use netflix unattended. sad.

To handle this, I turned on the internet security for the Wii. Now they can't access Netflix unless I unlock it. I then will proceed to choose their movie so they can't access the entire library. I also only add age appropriate movies to the instant queue so that is pretty much what they see. I know you can see all the movies but they just really stay focused on the instant queue.

[donssword]

Yes, you can do this in a rather simple fashion from your PC.

Netflix allows you to set-up multiple cues (sp?) for each each account. If you are on a 2 disc per month plan, you can have 1 cue for adults, and one cue for kids. You can then enable parental controls on the kids account, setting it to G, PG, PG-13, R, and a few other settings.

You will need to have the kids account attached to your Netflix Wii account--this is all managed in the same administration screen.

In this way, you can limit the Wii Netflix account to display only movies and shows that are only of the ratings you specify. Movies that end up in your cue but exceed the approved ratings appear as a grayed-put box with a lock on it.

The system is not without fault though. Many all-ages TV shows are not properly rated. For example, we limit our Wii account to PG, or sometimes PG-13, but vintage Doctor Who episodes from the 70s are not viewable unless I remove all restrictions. This is really the only shortcoming, that, and not being able to enter a password to override the setting from the Wii--you must be on your PC to change settings.

On the plus side, you can change the restrictions all you want. If you want to watch "Zombieland," you can change the restrictions via your PC/Mac, and the change is mostly instantaneous--I usually have to return to the Wii System Menu and relaunch Netflix, and then I can watch more mature content, change the parental controls after viewing, and things are back to restricted again with "gray locked boxes."

Edited by donssword, Wed Dec 1, 2010 10:57 PM.

[raskar42]

multi disc huh?i may have to spring for the 2 disc option.

[vdub_bobby]

donssword, on Wed Dec 1, 2010 10:56 PM, said:

cues(sp?)

"queues"

And thanks for the great post.

Edited by vdub_bobby, Thu Dec 2, 2010 11:43 AM.

[donssword]

Just an FYI--multiple disc queues only allow 1 queue to stream, so make sure that is the kid queue.