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As a long-time Netflix user, I was one of the many Mac users who were peeved by the delay in getting a version of their stream “Watch Instantly” (WI) service for Macs, and even more peeved when I found out that when the Mac version was available, it was going to be a slow rollout focusing on new users. So, naturally, as soon as I found out that users could opt-in for the beta, I clicked over as fast as I could.

I’m not a complete novice to the service, having installed it on my Boot Camp partition (Windows XP). Having tried the new service, I can say that while one aspect is much, much better on the Mac, the service isn’t yet perfect.

First, the good; installation is a breeze. When installing the WI software (and the Silverlight DRM) on the Windows side, I recall long waits to download the software, install it, authorize it, and being able to walk to the kitchen and fix a snack while waiting for the streaming of the film to actually, you know, begin. And this is on both a wireless network (cable) and a high-speed ethernet connection.

Installation on the Mac, however, is simplicity itself. You download the Silverlight DRM package, install it, then restart your browser (Safari and Firefox, though I’ve tried it on the Flock browser and it works fine). Go into Netflix and find the film you want to watch, and Watch Instantly starts…almost instantly! The long waits for authorization I experienced on the Windows side simply did not happen. Plus, when I went back to rewatch a film I started (under Windows), WI remembered the point at which I’d left, and started playing from there.

Another great thing: Netflix has recently partnered with Starz, meaning that there is a greater assortment of popular movies and TV to watch. I don’t want to be unkind, but a month or so ago, WI’s programming resembled the UHF station on the edge of town. A few fun, wonderful, or just plain weird selections, but most of it was what you’d probably find in the dollar bin at your video store (if it wasn’t already in a bag out back).

Now for the bad (and the ugly); the same as when I used Windows, the video quality could politely be called “adequate.” On my 17” iMac screen with a high-speed ethernet connection, there was heavy artifacting. Like, huge chunks of blocky, discolored video. Forget DVD quality, I’d be happy if the movies and TV I watched were better than YouTube. This problem can be mitigated on other sites (like Hulu) by resizing the window (and playing it off to the side while doing something else), but with WI, you’re limited as to how small you can make the screen (and blowing it up to full size just makes matters worse).

Still, I’m excited about the service, which makes it much, much easier to take a chance on a film or show that I’ve heard good things about, without having to “risk” one of my discs to see if I’ll like it. If Netflix can add more top-tier programs to the service, and most importantly improve the quality of their streams, they may well have the killer app that the entertainment industry is looking for in home delivery.