Netflix (Canada) & s-video output...?

Hi folks, I'm hoping that perhaps someone has had some exposure to this...

I'm trying to help out a relative who has a somewhat complex (and older) video setup. To cut a long story short, I'm looking to find a Netflix (Canada) compatible device (not a TV, either blu-ray or a 'media/Boxee' style box) that has s-video outputs.

I totally know that the video quality is sub-par (480i) and I mentioned that to him, but he's a senior and he likely can't perceive much of a difference anyway. He's happy with his current video quality (he already has a DVD player connected via s-video to a Plasma TV) so improved video quality is not an issue here. The issue is that his devices are all linked through a matrix switch, and it only has s-video/stereo inputs. What's worse is that I know there are many players that work for Netflix in the United States and not in Canada, so I can't be sure that a player I find on the net will actually work in Canada.

Now I know my alternative is to get an HDMI to s-video converter box, and I have seen some on eBay, but for the money I know it won't be good quality hardware. It's a last resort.

Ideally I'd love to get a blu-ray player with a s-video output, which would greatly simplify matters. The problem is that I have gone though about 20 of the players listed on the Netflix Canada website, and none have s-video jacks. I've done a search on the website here as well, and I spent a good hour reading over threads. I found a thread (digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=132681) that listed Netflix Canada compatible hardware, but after checking all the blu-ray devices listed there I didn't have any luck.

My hope is that I might run across someone who actually owns a device that plays Netflix in Canada and that has a s-video jack, and they can offer up their knowledge of it. I'd also be happy with names of any other devices that people know of. What I'm thinking is that there may be older models out there with s-video that I could source as used if need be.

I've seen blu-ray players with s-video, so I know they exist. My problem is finding one that will play Netflix in Canada. While I may be out of luck, I figured I would ask around and see.

Thanks in advance.

Yeah I've seen the same converters on eBay, and it's what I'll probably end up doing. Have you used that one in particular yourself? How bad is it...?

I know s-video is a dead format, but it's so hard to link all these devices from the different eras together. Some only have composite, some also have s-video, but then some only have component/HDMI or even HDMI alone. I considered suggesting an HDMI matrix switch, but even then you have the issue of needing s-video/composite to HDMI converters on the older devices. (Although in that situation there is less chance of signal quality issues I would think.)

Either way I guess I'll end up having to cobble something together...

I've always wondered why most every blu-ray player has a composite connection when the output signal would be no better than had they watched the DVD version on a DVD player. While DVDs will soon become extinct, it's going to be years before that happens. So why bother with composite on blu-rays? That has always perplexed me.