Netflix....

[Vigo]

So I may be alone here, but I have been very pissed at the path Netflix has been going down. I received an email today stating that my Netflix price is going up 3 bucks a month. (All DVD plans are going up) That, combined with that half of their movie releases now coming out a month after the release date, is really pissing me off.

Their excuse for raising rates? So they can offer me more streaming movie choices. I don't want more streaming movie choices!  Then they say if I don't like the rate change, I can go to a streaming only plan. I'm thinking, where is the DVD only plan?

I know they are trying to push me towards a streaming plan, but I think I'm just going to cancel my Netflix completely. I don't use streaming much at all, I only have my wii as a player which means just 480 definition and my wireless connection is spotty, so movies freeze every ten minutes. Plus, I don't watch so many TV shows (which would be the biggest reason to use streaming). I'm just a movie guy.
 

Phew! Sorry about the rant. I am just pissed about this. I used to be a big fan of Netflix 

[Malenko]

Yeah, I'm not real thrilled about the rate changes either.  The e-mail was really trying to push me to streaming only...

Kinda funny how someone on this forum was telling me NetFlix was making money hand over fist, damn all those licensing expenses.   

I think its to make up for the postage. I got an email saying it was going up a whole dollar. from $8.99 to $9.99  or a stream only for $7.99   AND they gave you more then a month advance notice. If you dont like it, get the blockbuster DVD plan or go to a red box? Im the exact opposite of you, Im going to the stream only plan because the DVD I got 2 weeks ago I still haven't watched.

Dear Thomas,

We want to let you know about two important changes to the Netflix service.

1.      The price of your current plan is changing from $8.99 a month to $9.99 a month. This new price will be effective with your next billing statement on or after January 2, 2011, and will be referenced in your Membership Details. With your current plan you can both instantly watch unlimited TV episodes and movies on your computer or TV and receive unlimited DVDs by mail.

2.      We now also offer a new $7.99 a month plan which lets you instantly watch unlimited TV episodes and movies on your computer or TV. This plan does not include any DVDs. All the titles you can watch instantly on your current plan are also available on this new plan, and as a reminder, not all titles on DVD are available to watch instantly. This new plan is available immediately – if you'd like to switch to this new plan at any time, simply visit Your Account.

Why the changes? Our selection of TV episodes and movies available to stream has grown dramatically, and as a result most members want us to deliver unlimited movies and TV episodes two ways: streaming instantly over the internet plus DVDs by mail. The price change will allow us to continue to offer the popular plan choice of unlimited TV episodes and movies streaming instantly along with unlimited DVDs. The new plan, which does not include DVDs, is a great option for the increasing number of members who only want to watch instantly. The $7.99 a month price reflects no DVD shipping costs on this plan.

We hope you're enjoying great TV shows and movies from Netflix, and that you'll continue to enjoy Netflix on whichever plan you choose. We realize you have lots of home entertainment options, and we thank you for your business. As always, if you have any questions, please call us at 1-800-715-2146.

–The Netflix Team

[yotsuya]

I use the streaming WAAAAY more than I do the physical DVDs (in fact, I signed up this summer and STILL have the initial disk they sent me! )

Once they expand their streaming selection to include more films, I'd be happy to drop the disk option altogether.

[Ginsu Victim]

Only a buck increase for me. I'm still saving compared to renting individually or buying. I buy WAY less DVDs now.

[Vigo]

I understand that some people love the streaming. It doesn't work for me. If they gave me a Netflix player with my subscription, I might think about it.

I think its to make up for the postage. I got an email saying it was going up a whole dollar. from $8.99 to $9.99  or a stream only for $7.99  AND they gave you more then a month advance notice. If you dont like it, get the blockbuster DVD plan or go to a red box? Im the exact opposite of you, Im going to the stream only plan because the DVD I got 2 weeks ago I still haven't watched.

I would think that if offering streaming costs Netflix money, then we should be able to go to a DVD only plan for the same price as before. The cost of streaming options would negate the cost of shipping. I don't know the cost of streaming, but if they are charging $8.00 a month for Streaming service, then it sounds like it would be at least comparable to shipping for DVDs for a month.


Also, I tried a free trial of Blockbuster. It took two more days than netflix to get my movies, and I live in a metropolitan area. I don't have a blockbuster location nearby, but their store swap program sucked as well. I don't quite remember all the issues, but they had tons of stipulations. I think we were not able to pick new releases, we could only swap one of our movies, and then we had to wait for Blockbuster to get it to the distributer before we could get another movie. It was messed up.

Redbox? Meh, that defeats the whole purpose, doesn't it? I have to go somewhere to get a dvd. Its pretty much a movie rental store stuffed into a vending machine. No matter what, my complaint isn't about other options, its just about why I dislike netflix for shutting out a sector of their customers.
 

[javeryh]

The Netflix CEO said that they view themselves as a streaming media company primarily.  I love the streaming features but I wish they offered a better selection.  It seems like every time I do a search it says "DVD Only" which is annoying.  That said, the streaming quality is decent through the 360 and PS3 - it's nowhere near blu-ray but it is better than standard definition.  If they get it to blu-ray quality (which will happen eventually) the service will be great.

FYI - stream The Spectacular Spider-Man ASAP.  This might be the best superhero cartoon I've ever seen.  The animation is awesome and the presentation is  16:9 and in HD.  The storyline is continuous from the first episode and it appeals more to adults than kids.  It's just a great great show and I can't recommend it enough - if it wasn't for Netflix streaming I never would have heard of it.

[Vigo]

Well, I think we all knew that the $9/month for unlimited everything was too good to last.  NetFlix is bleeding money out all orifices paying for streaming rights and getting all the streaming customers to "no DVDs" accounts is probably going to free up a lot of money.

Yeah, I felt would come as well....it wasn't really a surprise, it just came sooner that I had hoped, and I am not really ready to shell out $20 a month (I have 3 DVD unlimited service, the only "cable TV" I really watch is football).

I'm not going to pretend to fully understand the inner-workings of the Netflix company, but I think they could make a DVD only package with similiar rates. It might take them having to set up a new legal entity to put those users in to avoid being obligated to pay for streaming charges for them, but it should be doable. I think its more of a case that Netflix wants to separate from DVDs all together in the next few years, and would rather push their customers into that direction rather than wait for the trend to lose popularity and become outdated over the course of the decade.

[Bootay]

I tried the Blockbuster Online one before and it sucked. I didn't have any of the issues that Vigo stated though. I was able to have 3 dvds from online, then when done, trade them in at any store and get 3 free rentals plus they would send out my next 3 online dvds. So basically it was 6 at a time.

The problems that I had was they often sent broken dvds, or the wrong dvd all together. I will give you an example. I am a big fan of old horror films....I put "John Carpenter's The Fog" in my que around Halloween time of last year....they sent me the crappy 2005 remake, I sent it back and tagged it as "wrong movie" and even wrote in the comments box that it was the remake when I clearly qued the one from the 70s. They reshipped it, but when it arrived it was the remake again. So I shipped it back again, wrote the same thing in the comment box, this time they shipped me "The Fog: Bollywood Edition"?!?!?!?!?!?! At this point I think they are messing with me. This movie had nothing to do with the John Carpenter movie and it was evident by the cover where everyone was dressed like they just stepped off the set of The Matrix. So I sent that back and decided to forget about The Fog. But this happened on numerous occasions.

One time they sent an empty envelope and when I reported it they tried to charge me "full price" for the movie. Their version of "full price" is $39.99. What a jip. So I went down and argued with a Blockbuster manager until they wiped this from my record.

Then they changed their policy via email (I never read their emails because they were always spam about new dvd releases) to where there was now a late fee (oops I mean "restocking fee") on all rentals including the online ones that were more than 1 week late. I tried to return some movies I had for a month and the guy at the counter said "Sorry sir but those were auto bought out by your account, this means you own them now and we aren't allowed to take them back." I said "What do you mean you aren't allowed to take them back." He said "You have to keep them but you cannot rent from us again until you pay the balance of $180 which is the "full price" of the movies plus restocking fees." I said "I am not paying that, here's your movies" the guys says "Sir I cannot take those and if you refuse to pay we will have to take you to collections." I got into another heated 2 hour argument with management and the only thing they would do is reduce the fee to $40...so I payed it and vowed to never use their service again.

[Mikezilla]

FYI - stream The Spectacular Spider-Man ASAP.  This might be the best superhero cartoon I've ever seen.  The animation is awesome and the presentation is  16:9 and in HD.  The storyline is continuous from the first episode and it appeals more to adults than kids.  It's just a great great show and I can't recommend it enough - if it wasn't for Netflix streaming I never would have heard of it.

Is that the one with the Lizard? I want to watch that show, but I caught an episode and I cant STAND the animation. It looks too hokey, and I hate their eyes. The problem is, a friend of mine watched it, and said what they DO in the show is awesome, ie spideys moves, fight scenes etc. Maybe Ill check it out since you recommended it.

Yeah, that sounds like something Blockbuster would do. I had the same problem when I rented Fallout 3. I had to leave town on a work emergency, forgot to take the game back, and when I tried to take it back when I returned to town, they gave me the same ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- they gave Bootay. "you own it now blah blah blah". The thing I dont get, is that they charged me the price for renting it (around 10 bucks) then they charged me full retail of 59.99! Not to mention it didnt come with a book, and it was in a crappy BB box. I was pissed! The bummer was they had my credit card on file so it was automatically taken out. Im also with Vigo though on the DVD's. Im a movie guy myself, and I dont like the streaming of some, and DVD only on others. My GF and I recently got into Dexter, the 1st and 2nd seasons are streaming, and then the rest are DVD only. I wish they would make up their mind and pick a side. There should be DVD only plans and streaming plans, not a mix of both.

[shateredsoul]

streaming is the future.. don't fight it 

yeah we keep dvds for a month or two, hardly use them.  I want to go to streaming only but the wifey wants to keep the dvd option, not sure why.

[HaRuMaN]

More streaming / less DVDs means they can lay off some of their staff, too.  More $$ for the CEO.

[JeepMonkey]

I use the hard copy for new releases, and that is about it.  Most everything else I get from streaming.  The streaming only option sounds good, but they would have to increase options to include new movies and tv shows.

[Mikezilla]

I tried but man, this particular manager was one of the biggest D Bags ever. I wanted to fist fight the guy. Ultimately I let it go, but was still irritated. Dont go to that one anymore. I wish Blockbuster didnt run out all the little mom and pop video store places. I like actually going to a store to peruse the titles and read the backs etc. Im a tangible kind of guy. All this streaming stuff leads to too many chances for errors.

[Vigo]

I'm totally a tangible kind of guy as well. I wont ever buy an mp3, I have to have it on CD, even if all I do is sit and rip the CD. I miss the old video rental places as well, I end up going to Target just for ideas on what to rent.

Also, I know the demographics on this forum is on the hi-tech end. I could adjust to streaming if I had the correct equipment to play on to begin with. I really have to wonder how many customers they will lose that are not tuned to online streaming. I know my parents, even though they have Netflix and a Wii, would never use bother streaming. Not that its too hard, they would just never have the desire to do that.

[JeepMonkey]

I could adjust to streaming if I had the correct equipment to play on to begin with.

What do you consider "the right stuff"?  Can't you buy TVs and DVD players that have Netflix built in?  Cheap DVD player and internet connection and you are up and running.

[Vigo]

I could adjust to streaming if I had the correct equipment to play on to begin with.

What do you consider "the right stuff"?  Can't you buy TVs and DVD players that have Netflix built in?  Cheap DVD player and internet connection and you are up and running.

Well, I have a 50" TV and a $500 home theatre DVD player that are both Samsung and both 3 years old, and both don't have internet hookups on either. (Its a purchase from back when I had money  ) I have no plans to swap either out. all I have is a Wii to connect to netflix, which is what I call "the wrong stuff"! 

[shateredsoul]

wait, streaming means we can't copy rip them! 

Streaming really is the lazy man's way of having a collection handy.. the quality and pauses really distract me sometimes. Sometimes I wish it would just stay in the middle rather than going up and down every time the speed fluctuates.

[javeryh]

FYI - stream The Spectacular Spider-Man ASAP.  This might be the best superhero cartoon I've ever seen.  The animation is awesome and the presentation is  16:9 and in HD.  The storyline is continuous from the first episode and it appeals more to adults than kids.  It's just a great great show and I can't recommend it enough - if it wasn't for Netflix streaming I never would have heard of it.

Is that the one with the Lizard? I want to watch that show, but I caught an episode and I cant STAND the animation. It looks too hokey, and I hate their eyes. The problem is, a friend of mine watched it, and said what they DO in the show is awesome, ie spideys moves, fight scenes etc. Maybe Ill check it out since you recommended it.

Well, the Lizard is in it (for one episode so far) unless you count Dr. Connors who is in the first few episodes.  Not sure why you wouldn't like the animation - it looks great to me.  I guess the eyes are a little unusual but I never really thought about it.  Your friend is right - the action scenes are great!

Here's a shot of the cast:

[Mikezilla]

I guess I dont like the goofy way things look. Their clothes, the shape of their heads, their eyes etc. Ill take a look though.

[Vigo]

Meh, I don't know...I am not a fan of the Animation either. That kind of animation looks like those progressive e-surance commercials, or some cheesy action cartoon on the Disney channel. The kind that would be titled something dumb like "Toby Dragonfingers: Super Secret Spy Ace"

Edit: I don't know my insurance companies...

[Malenko]

the right stuff? Wii, PS3, XBOX360, Iphone, etc there's a metric ton of ways to stream

[Mikezilla]

Meh, I don't know...I am not a fan of the Animation either. That kind of animation looks like those progressive e-surance commercials, or some cheesy action cartoon on the Disney channel. The kind that would be titled something dumb like "Toby Dragonfingers: Super Secret Spy Ace"

Edit: I don't know my insurance companies...

Damn Vigo. You and I need to hang out 

[javeryh]

I guess I dont like the goofy way things look. Their clothes, the shape of their heads, their eyes etc. Ill take a look though.

You can't possibly tell me you prefer the old animation style with Ice Man and his giant tighty-whities and Firestar and her camel toe?!?!?  



OK, enough Spiderman - back on topic...

[Bootay]

I am also not a big fan of the way the characters are drawn. It looks like it is trying too hard to be hip with the baggy sagging pants and backwards baseball hats. I think that it is suitable for one or 2 of the younger characters but they also do the same to JJ Jameson with eh saggy baggy pants. Also it looks like it is trying too hard to be anime like which I also hate. I like Anime, but hate when American animators try to be Anime. That's what turned me off of Teen Titans.

Anyhow...despite everything I said the show is good and the stories and action are good. I just do not care for the way the people are drawn.

[shateredsoul]

really?



Or did you mean happiest?

[Vigo]

Meh, I don't know...I am not a fan of the Animation either. That kind of animation looks like those progressive e-surance commercials, or some cheesy action cartoon on the Disney channel. The kind that would be titled something dumb like "Toby Dragonfingers: Super Secret Spy Ace"

Edit: I don't know my insurance companies...

Damn Vigo. You and I need to hang out 

Haha, yeah. I'd say we are cut from the same cloth. Too bad it looks like you don't live anywhere near Minnesota. 

[Mikezilla]

Meh, I don't know...I am not a fan of the Animation either. That kind of animation looks like those progressive e-surance commercials, or some cheesy action cartoon on the Disney channel. The kind that would be titled something dumb like "Toby Dragonfingers: Super Secret Spy Ace"

Edit: I don't know my insurance companies...

Damn Vigo. You and I need to hang out 

Haha, yeah. I'd say we are cut from the same cloth. Too bad it looks like you don't live anywhere near Minnesota. 

Sure are. I know, I noticed that too.  Well, if you ever feel like coming out, hit me up, Ill show you the sites, buy you a beer... or ten. 

[Vigo]

Meh, I don't know...I am not a fan of the Animation either. That kind of animation looks like those progressive e-surance commercials, or some cheesy action cartoon on the Disney channel. The kind that would be titled something dumb like "Toby Dragonfingers: Super Secret Spy Ace"

Edit: I don't know my insurance companies...

Damn Vigo. You and I need to hang out 

Haha, yeah. I'd say we are cut from the same cloth. Too bad it looks like you don't live anywhere near Minnesota. 

Sure are. I know, I noticed that too.  Well, if you ever feel like coming out, hit me up, Ill show you the sites, buy you a beer... or ten. 

If I ever have the chance, I'll be sure to take you up on that offer. The free beer seals the deal. 

[Mikezilla]

Meh, I don't know...I am not a fan of the Animation either. That kind of animation looks like those progressive e-surance commercials, or some cheesy action cartoon on the Disney channel. The kind that would be titled something dumb like "Toby Dragonfingers: Super Secret Spy Ace"

Edit: I don't know my insurance companies...

Damn Vigo. You and I need to hang out 

Haha, yeah. I'd say we are cut from the same cloth. Too bad it looks like you don't live anywhere near Minnesota. 

Sure are. I know, I noticed that too.  Well, if you ever feel like coming out, hit me up, Ill show you the sites, buy you a beer... or ten. 

If I ever have the chance, I'll be sure to take you up on that offer. The free beer seals the deal. 

Hell, it better! Who could say no to free beer? 

[Ed_McCarron]

streaming is the future.. don't fight it 

yeah we keep dvds for a month or two, hardly use them.  I want to go to streaming only but the wifey wants to keep the dvd option, not sure why.

I hear that some people get a dvd in the mail, have it ripped to their server to watch later,  and put it back in the mailbox the same day.

[Ed_McCarron]

the quality and pauses really distract me sometimes.

I stream over a 3M dsl connection and am yet to see a skip.

[javeryh]

streaming is the future.. don't fight it 

yeah we keep dvds for a month or two, hardly use them.  I want to go to streaming only but the wifey wants to keep the dvd option, not sure why.

I hear that some people get a dvd in the mail, have it ripped to their server to watch later,  and put it back in the mailbox the same day.

Are there site out there for BYO media server or something?  I'd love to set something up in my house...

[boykster]

streaming is the future.. don't fight it 

yeah we keep dvds for a month or two, hardly use them.  I want to go to streaming only but the wifey wants to keep the dvd option, not sure why.

I hear that some people get a dvd in the mail, have it ripped to their server to watch later,  and put it back in the mailbox the same day.

Are there site out there for BYO media server or something?  I'd love to set something up in my house...

Here's a massive thread over at AVS Forum re: building a media server. 

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1071162

[jamesjones626]

even though the price went up........... i still love netflix

[boykster]

even though the price went up........... i still love netflix

I have to agree - for the price and convenience, it's tough to beat.

[shateredsoul]

Yeah, it's still way better than renting from a video place.  Man I hated those fees.

[Ed_McCarron]

streaming is the future.. don't fight it 

yeah we keep dvds for a month or two, hardly use them.  I want to go to streaming only but the wifey wants to keep the dvd option, not sure why.

I hear that some people get a dvd in the mail, have it ripped to their server to watch later,  and put it back in the mailbox the same day.

Are there site out there for BYO media server or something?  I'd love to set something up in my house...

Here's a massive thread over at AVS Forum re: building a media server. 

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1071162

AVSForum guys will overcomplicate everything.  I just use FreeNAS and an old PC with a handful of drives in it.  I have 1TB in RAID1 - 4 500G drives.  Boots off CD, stores it's settings on an old usb flash drive.

[crashwg]

I just use FreeNAS and an old PC with a handful of drives in it.  I have 1TB in RAID1 - 4 500G drives.  Boots off CD, stores it's settings on an old usb flash drive.

Same here. I've only got single 1TB and a 400GB drives installed.  But setting everything up was not overly complicated (you will need to read a couple things) and once it's all set up you almost forget it's there.

[AtomSmasher]

I stream over a 3M dsl connection and am yet to see a skip.

Same here.  I stream movies and tv shows all the time over dsl, and get 480p quality with no pauses or skips when watching them over my wireless network.

[Ed_McCarron]

I stream over a 3M dsl connection and am yet to see a skip.

Same here.  I stream movies and tv shows all the time over dsl, and get 480p quality with no pauses or skips when watching them over my wireless network.

It actually shocked me to see it stream as well as it did; youtube and hulu can't pull it off.

[CheffoJeffo]

I've been test-driving Netflix streaming (only option we have in Canuckistan) for the past week and have been fairly impressed by the quality of the streaming over my puny 5Mbit DSL (I haven't upgraded because I am one of the few left still on the original unlimited usage contracts). Last night I watched a movie in my office while my daughter watched one in the living room. No skips or pauses.

I look forward to better selections, but have already watched a couple of really good movies that I would never have heard of otherwise.

For the same price as I will pay for a month (on free trial now), I could get a total of two rentals at Blockbuster. No brainer.

[Benevolance]

Is the Canadian selection getting any better? I looked when it was first released, and none of the videos I wanted to see were available. I'm tempted to sign up anyway, because they won't grow the library without a subscription base. And I really like the idea of a streaming video service.

[boykster]

streaming is the future.. don't fight it 

yeah we keep dvds for a month or two, hardly use them.  I want to go to streaming only but the wifey wants to keep the dvd option, not sure why.

I hear that some people get a dvd in the mail, have it ripped to their server to watch later,  and put it back in the mailbox the same day.

Are there site out there for BYO media server or something?  I'd love to set something up in my house...

Here's a massive thread over at AVS Forum re: building a media server. 

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1071162

AVSForum guys will overcomplicate everything.  I just use FreeNAS and an old PC with a handful of drives in it.  I have 1TB in RAID1 - 4 500G drives.  Boots off CD, stores it's settings on an old usb flash drive.

Yeah, and a forum dedicated to building and restoring arcade cabinets isn't overcomplicating playing old video games 

That particular thread is probably the most comprehensive resource for all options out there for media servers, and yes, it includes some pretty over the top setups, but by reading about the uber-setup, you can often pick and choose the parts you want for your own realistic one.

I run fedora linux with 3ware hardware raid cards in a Norco 4220 case with removable SATA caddies.  Is it overkill?  Probably, but I dinked around with 'an old pc with a bunch of drives in it' for a while until I lost a software RAID setup and all of my data/media/a bunch of time fiddling. 

There's no one right setup - many many good ones out there.  Limetech's UnRaid, Drobo, FreeNAS, etc.

[pointdablame]

Kinda funny how someone on this forum was telling me NetFlix was making money hand over fist, damn all those licensing expenses.   

Or maybe it was you who said they were "bleeding money."  And you're still completely wrong.

[shmokes]

I don't use streaming much at all, I only have my wii as a player which means just 480 definition and my wireless connection is spotty, so movies freeze every ten minutes.

Do you pay extra for Bluray?  You only mention DVD, which is also only 480.

[SavannahLion]

You can't possibly tell me you prefer the old animation style with Ice Man and his giant tighty-whities and Firestar and her camel toe?!?!?  

And camel toes are bad because....?