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Netflix

Started by M Knight, August 21, 2011, 09:32:24 PM


heater


BOOO!!




<rant>
Netflix did not succeed because they fought the good fight.  They won the battle against the rental box stores because they were cut throat.  They offered less selection, lower quality (streaming), and less service for an extremely low price.  Their customer accept a low standard because the price is was so low.  Everyone with an internet connection could tell that internet streaming TV and movies was the future...it was just a matter of who was willing to lose millions to build up the infrastructure to *maybe* profit from it one day just like amazon with online book sales. 


That image really annoyed me because of the false history is represents.  Netflix won by being cut-throat and now they'll lose because they are treating their customers just like they did Blockbuster.  Someone else, maybe Amazon or ironically Blockbuster will figure this out and set up a service for the right price vs selection and will be standing on the ashes that once was netflix.
</rant>


BTW that is a cool avatar pic.

Quote from: analog kid on October 11, 2011, 11:55:42 AM
http://i.imgur.com/4FRxU.png

analog kid

I'm not too familiar with Netflix, and have only been a customer for a few days, but I think Amazon has already eclipsed them, in terms of selection of streaming movies and value. They have a client that runs on Linux, supposedly, but I don't like their bloatware.

Avi

I don't know, themudking. Netflix eclipsed Blockbuster through convenience. You no longer had to drive to a free-standing store, wait in line while movie previews screamed at you from 100 seizure-inducing, flashing flat screens and pay your fines or rent your films. Netflix did away with late fees and actually, offered a much broader selection of titles, in many respects. That's how they shut down Blockbuster, which was very late out of the starting gate in terms of internet movie rental. It's Amazon that's going to provide a real challenge to Netflix, at least in the area of streaming content, and I think that's what is behind the recent weirdness at Netflix.

In any case, if you're looking for corporate malfeasance, both Amazon and Blockbuster put the mom&pop book (now even the book chains) and video-rental stores out of business. Netflix was a later development.

heater

Avi, I totally agree that Amazon was not our friend in terms of the local book store and is why I referenced them in my rant.  You make valid points about the annoyance of a trip to blockbuster but if Netflix had not priced Blockbuster and the local video store out of the game people would have still gone there.  The average video consumer needed the flat screens with previews running to decide what to rent.  I bet if you were to look at the raw data from netflix a majority of their dvd by mail subscribers keep the same movie for 2-3 months at a time.  Since they don't have the local video store and late fees to push them to act on anything.  I was not comparing the blockbuster internet movie system to netflix...blockbuster probably overreacted to netflix and spent too much $$$ on trying to compete and screwed their box stores in the process.


Don't get me wrong even though I hate what Netflix has done recently I love streaming movies and the rental model.  I recommended it as a christmas gift on the podcast just last year (before price increases, major studio spats). I just can't wait for a company to come along and do the whole thing right.  Probably GoogleTV at some point will end up the real winner. 


*Full disclosure my parents owned a video rental store when I was younger and I grew up in the video rental business*

Avi

My wife and I used to rent videos from a local mom&pop store (which we really enjoyed for the social aspect of talking about what we liked and hearing their suggestions), but Blockbuster moved into the neighborhood not with one, but with two outlets within walking distance - kind of like the way Char Yucks put locally-owned coffee houses out of business, deliberately and with malice aforethought. They didn't last too long after that.

I always feel conflicted about purchases from Amazon, but then, times change. I am nostalgic for the way things were (I mean, those algorithms that Amazon and Netflix use to make suggestions are terribly sucky) and I miss the salespeople who know what they're talking about when they offer suggestions (where I'm from, salespeople get snooty if you don't take their advice seriously). I finally told myself that, just as I greatly appreciate the new technology that finally allowed the pick-ups on harps, and other acoustic instruments, to reproduce their sound faithfully, I have to recognize that technology changes things - sometimes in good ways, sometimes in not so good ways. I'm not really happy with my conclusion, but I've eschewed being a complete Luddite, because then, I'd just be a hypocrite. Waah!

slipstream

This past month I switched from streaming to the two DVD plan.  Streaming just does not offer the selection I need.

analog kid

Haven't tried this, but you can use Expatsheild to assign yourself a UK IP address, and get access to a lot of content unavailable here in the US.

onan

Quote from: analog kid on August 15, 2012, 01:59:51 PM
Haven't tried this, but you can use Expatsheild to assign yourself a UK IP address, and get access to a lot of content unavailable here in the US.

Thank you... I had no idea this was even possible. I really like a few BBC shows and can't watch them. I am hoping this will allow me to do just that.

analog kid

Just tried it and it was a different selection of movies and TV shows than what I normally see - stuff from the UK and the US.

MV/Liberace!

Quote from: slipstream on August 15, 2012, 12:18:26 PM
This past month I switched from streaming to the two DVD plan.  Streaming just does not offer the selection I need.


it's not hard to imagine how someone could come to this conclusion. 


did you add the dvds to your streaming package?  or did you drop the streaming and go dvd only?


over the course of the last 3-4 months, i've started feeling netflix is lacking as a streaming service.  it's just not quite where i want it to be as someone who gets by with no cable or satellite tv.  i frequently am hard pressed to find something i'm willing to watch.  that seems like something unimaginable in the past.  either their streaming service is withering on the vine, or i've watched everything and/or i'm imagining it all.


all of that aside... netflix's position in the market is so precariously perched that i think anything could topple them.  for instance, just their loss of stars as a content partner represented a whopping 8% reduction in the streaming library.

coaster

netflix lost a few licenses. their ceo was fucking their customers over with price changes while losing licenses. he raised the price to fix his wallet/. one was disney, who owns rights to a lot of great movies, not just oldtimey cartoons. netflix's streaming service is nil. but a few months ago they did pick up a new license. this is why you may see a ton of old british movies and tv shows...

coaster

dust off any old blockbuster stock. i imagine blockbuster will skyrocket in the next few months.

b_dubb

Quote from: coaster on August 16, 2012, 02:20:11 AM
dust off any old blockbuster stock. i imagine blockbuster will skyrocket in the next few months.
joking right? blockbuster used to be everywhere.  i can't remember the last time i saw a store. 


slipstream

Quote from: MV on August 16, 2012, 01:35:18 AM

it's not hard to imagine how someone could come to this conclusion. 


did you add the dvds to your streaming package?  or did you drop the streaming and go dvd only?


over the course of the last 3-4 months, i've started feeling netflix is lacking as a streaming service.  it's just not quite where i want it to be as someone who gets by with no cable or satellite tv.  i frequently am hard pressed to find something i'm willing to watch.  that seems like something unimaginable in the past.  either their streaming service is withering on the vine, or i've watched everything and/or i'm imagining it all.


all of that aside... netflix's position in the market is so precariously perched that i think anything could topple them.  for instance, just their loss of stars as a content partner represented a whopping 8% reduction in the streaming library.


  I completely dropped streaming.  I could find things to watch with the streaming service, but I wanted to do a marathon of certain movies and were not available, only DVD.  I got rid of cable more than two years ago, and life is great without.  I don't watch as much TV as I used, for sure.  I still have my Roku, and even without Netlix, I can find things to watch.


The studios are holding hack A LOT of content they simply don't want Netflix to have for streaming.

onan

i had netflix in the past but dropped them when the split in service and double cost came about. I recently rejoined because of some promo for Adaware. I hope netflix goes belly up. I had hoped during my absence the company had at least kept their streaming at the level it was when I left... nope it is severely lacking and the streaming quality is poor.   

pate

I think I started the free first month trial about a month ago, so I am about to pay $8.99 for it if I choose to continue it...  Anyone still using Netflix or am I behind the times yet again?  I noticed someone mentioned Amazon streaming earlier in this thread, and I recall looking at Amazon Prime a few months back but I was afraid that it would be the same deal I see with Netflix/Hulu:  Lots of crap, very little of it that I care to watch, at least Netflix doesn't have the repeat ad nauseum commercials.

I've been streaming to a cable-box:  my own, sort of like TiVO but not TiVO because the one I have doesn't have monthly fees...  It's called MOXI, and they only made them for a few years before the cable companies (TWC/Comcast the same now...) figured out they would be losing big money in the form of the $19.99(as of a few years ago)/month for the DVR service...

You can still find the MOXI's on e-bay if you are patient, they sort of suck as a cable company provided set-top box.  Hell, I had been a TWC employee for three years when I got mine and it took quite awhile to get it all set-up and working properly with the cable signal, more difficult than the TiVO's even. 

I also have a Roku, it came free with the DNLA media server I bought a lifetime license to (it's called PlayOn, and I recommend it, and not just because I want the company to stick around so my lifetime license might actually last a lifetime).  The Roku I got for free was wireless only, and I prefer good old Ethernet cable...  I haven't cared enough (because the MOXI works even without a cable signal to it) to look into the Rokus to see if they have an Ethernet capable box.  Note:  when I got the Roku I naturally set it up and ran it through some tests, seemed to work just fine, even with the PlayOn media server, I found the Windows Media Player DNLA server to be unworkable...

So, now that everyone knows my life's story about Media servers and PC to TV stuff, the real questions I have are these:

Anything good on Netflix, is it worth the ~$9/mo?  I watched a few movies but most of them seemed to be bad SciFi Channel original type garbage (Iron Sky the Director's Cut comes to mind, among others)...

Is Amazon Prime worth it, or is it the same suck available on Netflix/Hulu/Crackle?  At least Hulu & Crackle are free, so I am not really complaining too much about those two.

Is Hulu Plus worth it, or is it the same suck available on Netflix/Amazon/Crackle?

Amazon has HBO shows I'm seriously considering making the flip.

You think Noory's ratings would go up over last few months sense there's nothing on Netflix.  What else is there to do at 3 am? Even with horrid streaming shows Noory's ratings fell from 3.25 million to 3 million.

Quote from: pate on June 25, 2014, 08:42:47 PM
Anyone still using Netflix or am I behind the times yet again? 

Still using Netflix, old school. DVDs via blue snails***  The quality is great and the volume is acceptable.

(***thanks for that postal slang, WIRED Magazine issue number 6 or so, from so VERY long ago)

If I were to stream Netflix, I think the temptation to watch something everyday would be irresistible. I would get no writing or eating done whatsoever.


pate

Snail-mail, I feel like it's the eighties again!

Am I in the Way Back Machine or something?

eddie dean

I love netflix streaming. I rarely have issues with poor quality or drops. I've cut my direct tv service to the lowest package available (plus HBO, for the HBO Go on demand streaming app) due, in part, to netflix & free Roku channels. It's true the blockbuster or newer movies are limited to some extent. Doesn't bother me at all. If you enjoy documentaries and tv series, you'll like NF. There is a wide variety of movies from 5-20+ years old. 

Huge selection of all kinds of documentary films, so it's perfect for me.
I use an older model wii, roku and my tablet app for streaming and it works fine.
I tried Amazon prime for the 30 day free trial and I had issues with streaming and I dropped it.  The selection wasn't all that great either.
I haven't tried hulu yet.

eddie dean

Quote from: nooryisawesome on June 25, 2014, 08:52:25 PM
Amazon has HBO shows I'm seriously considering making the flip.

You think Noory's ratings would go up over last few months sense there's nothing on Netflix.  What else is there to do at 3 am? Even with horrid streaming shows Noory's ratings fell from 3.25 million to 3 million.

I hear it's a very limited selection of older HBO series, not full access unfortunately.
I'm hoping HBO will someday offer a stream only package so people don't have to go through a cable company. Pay a monthly fee like all the other streaming services offer and bypass cable/satellite completely if the customer chooses.
I'm sure HBO is contracted to be exclusive to the CC's & DTV. Someday it will happen. It's probably a huge market.

One thing I hate about Netflix streaming is if you watch just one kid's movie, more than half your recommendations become kids' movies and animations. It's annoying as hell because once in a while I'll stream a movie as a treat for my class and then I pay for it for weeks until my recommendations are back to normal. But for the selection, the old fashioned DVDs can't be beat. I'm about to binge watch Game of Thrones as I recuperate.

I also use Amazon but find streaming is choppy even with good wireless so I don't use it as much. Hulu is also good to work your way through the Criterion catalog. They have a very wide selection of Japanese films.

I don't use cable at all.

Quote from: eddie dean on June 25, 2014, 09:46:05 PM

I tried Amazon prime for the 30 day free trial and I had issues with streaming and I dropped it.  The selection wasn't all that great either.


Yep, the complete Alf series didn't do it for me either. Overall shitty content and the good stuff is 10 years too late.

eddie dean

Quote from: Unscreened Caller on June 25, 2014, 10:49:02 PM
One thing I hate about Netflix streaming is if you watch just one kid's movie, more than half your recommendations become kids' movies and animations. It's annoying as hell because once in a while I'll stream a movie as a treat for my class and then I pay for it for weeks until my recommendations are back to normal. But for the selection, the old fashioned DVDs can't be beat. I'm about to binge watch Game of Thrones as I recuperate.

I also use Amazon but find streaming is choppy even with good wireless so I don't use it as much. Hulu is also good to work your way through the Criterion catalog. They have a very wide selection of Japanese films.

I don't use cable at all.

If you log in to your netflix account on a PC, you can change your preferences to only suggest certain genres and sub-genres. Everything is still available when you search for a title, but the kids content or anything else you don't want to watch won't show up.

Hope you feel better UC!

paladin1991

I'm still using Netflix.  STreaming and by mail.  *shrug*  Works for my family

Quote from: Unscreened Caller on June 25, 2014, 10:49:02 PM
I'm about to binge watch Game of Thrones as I recuperate.

A perfect plan.

paladin1991

I haven't seen a single episode of 'GoT'  I have to find the time to watch seasons 2 of 'Lilyhammer' and 'House of Cards.'

MV/Liberace!

I've been a Netflix subscriber since 2009. First they lost 8% of their movie catalog in one fell swoop (Stars deal came to an end). Then they took my DVDs away. Now there's just not much to watch on there. Between youtube on Xbox and BTguard, I'm turning to Netflix less and less.

onan

Quote from: MV on June 26, 2014, 11:39:15 PM
I've been a Netflix subscriber since 2009. First they lost 8% of their movie catalog in one fell swoop (Stars deal came to an end). Then they took my DVDs away. Now there's just not much to watch on there. Between youtube on Xbox and BTguard, I'm turning to Netflix less and less.
Pretty much this. I had netflix for a short while. They charged me a fee to rent DVD's and stream. The streaming was frustrating at times, other times the film I wanted to stream wasn't available. Two to three days to get a movie by mail when I could find it through a torrent seemed counter intuitive. And then they wanted to double my price for the same amount of less than average service.

I cancelled and have not noticed any loss.

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