Netflix

[KoPP]

The last three dvds I've had have had marks on them to make them unplayable. If they want to switch to streaming, they need a lot better selection of movies.

[Chocoholic]

I have gotten a lot that were unplayable.  I always took a soft cloth and some cleaner to the play surface, the back, for those of you who are blondes like me.  ;-)  After I do that, 8 times out of 10, I'd say, they are fine.

What happened to the streaming collection being so much larger starting in early 2011?  It seems that it never materialized.

[KoPP]

I tried the cleaning routine, and still nogo.

After looking at the lists for the streaming services and the lack of reliability of the DVDs, I think I'm just going to stick with the occasional rental from xfinity.

[Lorenzo]

As much as the price increase ticked me off, I have been satisfied with their relatively easy process for returning bad discs and getting a replacement.

[FlyinBrian]

I tried the cleaning routine, and still nogo.

After looking at the lists for the streaming services and the lack of reliability of the DVDs, I think I'm just going to stick with the occasional rental from xfinity.

I'm with you KoPP.  While I enjoyed Netflix, we were paying so much for cable already it was hard to justify another subscription.  We dropped Netflix a while back.  On occasion we will buy a flick on demand.  Recently I picked up 'Harry Potter - Deathly Hallows Pt.1' from Redbox.  It was $3 cheaper than Comcast on demand.  If I didn't already have a compelling reason to be in the vicinity of a Redbox (Kroger), I would have stayed at home and spent the $4.

[LizR]

Looks like we are a pretty good reflective microcosm of Netflix users!

Stock price has fallen and they are losing more folks than they expected. Kind of funny that this link is from the NYT, which has had its own issues lately.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/price-hike-sends-netflixs-stock-downward/?nl=afternoonupdate&emc=aua22

[LizR]

Wow, seems like they are totally imploding from within. According to a story on NPR this evening, the CEO publically apologized for the recent price increase but didn't change it and then went on to announce that they were splitting the mail-order from the watch instantly, and that customers would now have to access two websites in order to have access to both more-expensive services. This seems monumentally stupid to me, and annoying, as a customer. And I was so happy with them before I used to recommend them all the time.

Oh, and they lost their contract with Starz : http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/09/netflix-to-lose-starz-its-most-valuable-source-of-new-movies.html

[The_Scientist]

http://www.slate.com/id/2304131/

An interesting perspective on the story says there's method to the madness. Netflix has made a calculated move to de-emphasize DVD rental, slough it off into a new business entity, and keep the new "disruptive technology" under its old name.

Once upon a time Netflix was the disruptor and ultimate destroyer of Blockbuster. According to the source article that's evidence that Blockbuster was listening to its customers, who weren't so keen on waiting three days for movies or using the Interwebs to order them. That wasn't how most folks bought things ten years ago. Netflix doesn't want to fall victim to that fate, so the management figures it will take its lumps now and survive in the long run.

Footnote: the Twitter account for @quikster has as an avatar a photo of Elmo smoking a joint.

[LizR]

Thanks. I think I get where the mgmt is coming from, but the way they are doing it seems crazy. Maybe they are just ripping off the bandaid of the DVD mail business, but it seems like they should have arranged for that stuff to be instant first. So, for example, we get some cable shows like Big Love, Rescue Me, Entourage, In Treatment, from their mailing service, and other, older things from their instant service. Seems like it should be the other way around but it is not. If I can't get both of those without subscribing to two sites I'll seriously look at other options. Not that there are many...

[jonnymack]

I'm surprised that Netflix is making such bold moves while their streaming service is still very "meh".  They are smart to realize and accept that the future is the streaming service but they are foolish to do this now when their streaming selection is weak at best.  I'm also not very impressed with the HD stream as it currently is but I envision improvements to both.  If they don't turn everyone off and improve their selection they will look great, if not, they could get taken over at a bargain price.

I watch so few movies these days that Redbox suffices for me.  Spend about $2-3/mo.

[Larkemon]

I'm surprised that Netflix is making such bold moves while their streaming service is still very "meh".  They are smart to realize and accept that the future is the streaming service but they are foolish to do this now when their streaming selection is weak at best.  I'm also not very impressed with the HD stream as it currently is but I envision improvements to both.  If they don't turn everyone off and improve their selection they will look great, if not, they could get taken over at a bargain price.

I watch so few movies these days that Redbox suffices for me.  Spend about $2-3/mo.

I think it comes back to what you are looking for.  Probably 90% + of what I watch streaming are TV shows that I missed.  I've been able to re-watch the entire Battlestar Galactica (great series), Buffy The Vampire Slayer series, Lost, 4 of the 5 seasons of Friday Night Lights (great series btw), all the Stargate series, all the Star Trek series, all the Veronica Mars, BBC Sherlock Holmes Series 1.... I think you get the point.  There's still more that I have queued up and just haven't had the time.  Kids love being able to watch their PBS kids shows on demand as well as other educational Nat Geo stuff.  I did all that at a fraction of the cost and time it would have taken to go to a brick and mortar store or to wait for any dvd mail system.  Even at the current pricing, I saved a ton of money and time versus alternatives.

Now if you are looking strictly for movies, then yes the selection is not nearly as robust.  It is getting better, but who knows how that is going to change with all the new developments.

[bettylouski]

And if you are just looking for movies, go to your public library.  The Dekalb county system has tons of movies, many very esoteric ones, and you can check up to 10 out for a week.  Can't beat the price, either.

[Larkemon]

For those who are still Netflix subscribers, I recently found an RSS feed for new instant streaming releases.

http://www.netflix.com/NewWatchInstantlyRSS

They do seem to be releasing quite a few new/old streaming shows.  I've found several shows and movies that I would have missed because they don't show up on the Netflix new release web page or user interface.

[The_Scientist]

http://news.yahoo.com/netflix-kills-plan-split-off-dvd-rentals-122346041.html

Netflix is reversing itself and no longer plans to split its DVD rental and streaming businesses. Its stock price immediately got a bounce. It didn't reverse the decision to change its pricing, however, and it expects to lose 600,000 customers over it, about 2.5% of subscribers.

[Chocoholic]

As if they hadn't destroyed a lot of goodwill already, now they reverse themselves.  I'm still bitter that they promised almost unlimited streaming content and never delivered.  If they had just explained the financial and contractual challenges they faced a lot better in the beginning, I think many of their subscribers would have been more understanding.

But as it is, the classic case of over-promising and under-delivering.