chriscar

iTrader: (24)

This ‘splains it, but it doesn’t make it any less shitty.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388343,00.asp

Well that was a short, fast ride. Netflix, a service that continues to expand at an astounding rate and has arguably changed the way we watch movies at home seems primed for a big fall off the top of the home video delivery heap.
Netflix certainly changed movie night in my home. Less than a decade ago, we all got in the car and visited Blockbuster or a local video store and fought over which DVD(s) to rent. Today, the fighting's still there, but everything else has changed. We don't leave our house to find movies. First, we stopped going out because Netflix would deliver multiple DVDs directly to our home as fast as we could consume them. Now, however, we've cut down our monthly Netflix bill and have just one DVD in our possession at any given time. We rarely watch whatever's on that disc, though. Instead, we turn on the Blu-ray player, select Netflix, and then find something on which we can all agree (hence the fighting).

Netflix, by the way, seems quite ready to do as we did and leave the red-enveloped DVDs behind. Sign out of your account and visit the Netflix homepage. It's devoted to promoting Netflix streaming service. You wouldn't even know it still ships millions of DVDs all over the U.S. (and some to other parts of the world). This makes sense. It's hard to buy a device without built-in Netflix streaming capability. Of course, Netflix is not alone on these devices. My Blu-ray player and Sony TVs also offer a variety of other video-streaming options, including Amazon, Qriocity, and Hulu. Netflix streaming pickings, though, are still not super for the latest movies.

So what's the problem? Netflix customers like me are migrating from the labor- and cost-intensive disc shipping services to the largely all digital streaming option. Netflix's costs must be tumbling and with lots and lots of new $8-a-month, streaming-only subscribers, there should be nothing but blue skies ahead for Netflix. If only that were true.

As this story on CNNMoney explains and even Netflix's own CEO Reed Hastings has revealed, Netflix will have to shell out millions and millions of dollars (if not billions) just to keep the content it currently offers in its Watch Instantly library. During June's D9 conference in California, Hastings readily admitted that it was going to cost money to deliver the kind of streaming experience customers demand: "Part of our goal is to make subscribers happy and part is to make our content partners really happy and part of that is writing really big checks," he said.

CNN reports that many of the contracts Netflix signed with the studios had a user cap. As Netflix blows by those caps, the contracts implode and Netflix loses access to the content. Paying a lot more money is one way to get the movie and TV shows back, but the new deals Netflix signs will be far more expensive than those the partners drafted three or four years ago.

Not that Netflix even has the best library. When I first started using Netflix's Watch Now services, there were virtually no new films, just titles that had come out last year or a few years ago. There were lots B movies, older films, and crummy TV series that no one wanted to watch when they were new.

When Netflix signed with Starz, the service finally gained access to movies that had been in theaters months or just weeks before. That relationship has since imploded, mostly over the fees Starz and its parent Sony wanted and what Netflix was willing—or able—to pay. Hasting's has explained that "[You] can't have all the new stuff and have the $8-a-month price we have."
For me, the result has been that I now look to Apple TV or Amazon for most of my streaming needs. They at least have a selection almost comparable to what I might find if I allowed Netflix to send me more DVDs or visited one of the remaining video stores. Granted, I pay $5 per movie, but that's still far less expensive than taking the whole family to a movie theater (at $9-to-$12 a head).

And this is where it gets real sticky for Netflix. Hastings said at D9 that, even though the DVD business will eventually go away, Netflix's streaming business is, for now, still "complimentary." That could change fast. Netflix is obviously working to counter the shrinking, but probably more lucrative, shipping business by expanding globally into places like Canada and Latin America. Over time, the world will walk away from physical media. Broadband access (wired or wireless) will reach every part of the U.S. and further and further around the globe, and consumers will get their HD video content exclusively from the Web.

Netflix should be well-positioned to take advantage of this trend, but it's clear to me that that's not the case right now. As CNNMoney notes, Netflix does not have the cash or, possibly, even the buying power of competitors like Google, Amazon, and Apple. What's more, switching from one service to another is inconsequential. I can switch back and forth in my home right now, searching for the best movies on the service of my choice. With Netflix making almost no headway in accessing first-run films for instant streaming, and no hurdles to stop consumers like me from switching, Netflix's future looks very dire indeed.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

I only went to Netflix because my local Blockbuster and Hollywood video went out of business. I have no movie stores close to me within a 5 mile radius.

I signed up for a free trial on a whim cause I wanted to start watching How I met your Mother from season 1. I logged in, found the show and was surpirsed that only like 1/1000000000 of the movies/shows are available for streaming. I was REALLY pissed and canceled the service about 15 minutes after signing up.

I decided to give it another shot maybe a month or two later when the Redbox and Blockbuster Express kiosks popping up all over the place were just not quite enough...while they are awesome for new movies, I cant watch anything older or on a whim.

So I signed back up and again, wasn't incredibly happy, but started streaming some TV shows and getting older movies I've been wanting to see for a while. But I still find myself sitting through the HORRIBLE browsing system for hours, just trying to find a movie I can stream or even add to my que. There's no lack of straight-to-video bullshit softcore **** choices and comedy specials that looked like they were ripped straight from cable through an antenna...but try to find one mainstream movie and you're **** out of luck.

So again, that pissed me off. But I did get to stream Mr. Baseball

Then I added a few movies that I knew were coming out the following Tuesday...when I got my email saying XYZ movie had shipped, I was pissed ot find it wasn't the newest ones I put on the top of my list...then to find out that new releases are delayed over a month to Netflix.

So **** that. It's a shitty service...I'll just stream movies and shows for free through other channels available online, I just wont have the ease of sending them straight to my blueray player...so wasn't played a blu-ray disc in a quite a damn while now.

I doubt I'll ever sign back up. I already thought it was a waste of money, now it's a joke. I honestly never unstood why it was so great ( I had it years back before streaming) and now I'm completely perplexed by all the postive reviews.

miatauser884

iTrader: (11)

I'm pissed as well, plan on lowering my service to a lesser teir. I can understand charging new customers, but ******* existing customers with an ~ 25% increased is stupid. The streaming quality isn't good enough yet to charge a premium.

kdizzfsho!

iTrader: (5)

This is complete bullshit. If I could find another website that streamed videos that I liked and was easy to use via my Xbox 360 then I would drop Netflix in a heartbeat. I had JUST switched to getting one DVD a month about two weeks ago for the extra $2 because I'm running out of documentaries to watch, and then I saw that damn email last night. Such bullshit. Ugh.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

No, it was sort of a subtle joke. You can either pay Netflix for streaming, or you can use an... alternative method of acquiring media via the internet.

elesjuan

iTrader: (11)

I bought a TV specifically because it had a netflix streaming application. It also has 4 or 5 other HD streaming applications for other services, most of which have a better selection anyway.

My service is ending on August 31st as I refuse to pay more for the shitty selection of streaming movies and shows they have. If more than 1/10th of the catalog was available streaming it might be worth it. Bittorrent + USB Hard drive + LG TV == WIN. The TV doesn't need netflix, you can plug a usb drive in the side of it and watch HD movies off flash media.

Wonder if the extra revenue will balance out with all the customers they're about to lose.

FRT_Fun

iTrader: (19)

I never got this email.... hrmm.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

you think they are going to email you first?

my bank charged me $12 maintence fee this morning on one of my checking accounts...they swore up and down that it was in my last three statements, they have been warning of an upcomming change to the checking account fees.

I went through them, and made the customer service rep look at them too and there was no mention all the way back to Jan...suffice to say my $12 fee was removed.

FRT_Fun

iTrader: (19)

I actually think I've been on the 7.99 a month for streaming only since I got it. Sooo guess it doesn't matter. I have been noticing I don't have much to watch on NF anymore. Don't really know why I have it to be honest.

elesjuan

iTrader: (11)

My bank tried to pull the same ****. After they credited me back I removed every penny I had in the bank and closed the account. Walked across the street and opened a new free account.

They're picking a really bad time to raise their rates with the current economic state and I think they're going to pay for it. This has the potential for serious financial trouble to the company due to the nature of their product.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

I have three other banks. they didnt seem to care that I threatened that with the first rep I talked to. BOA is only convienent to me in that my CC and main checking accounts are all linked online. I dont have a CC at the other banks so making payments and monitoring the accounts isn't as easy.

Eveyrone knew it was going to happen. When the gov't dips its hand into the economy, forces banks to stop issuing fees for X, they just make up the funds with Y.

rleete

iTrader: (21)

They don't care if you move small savings or checking accounts. Hell, most banks lose money on checking accounts anyway.

However, if you move all your IRAs as they come due (instead of rolling them over), then you'll get a reaction. When M&T told me I'd be paying for checking, I started the process of moving the IRA (CD's) as they came due, and I was offered free checking.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

that reminds me I need to roll-over my 401K from my last job, thanks!

elesjuan

iTrader: (11)

Well that was only the "straw that broke the camels back" in my case. They charge you a monthly service fee for "overdraft protection" which claims that if you overdraw your account with a check they'll cover it without returning the check (charge you a 25$ service fee too) and supposedly if you're attempting to make a purchase that will overdraw your account using the visa or debit card it'll just decline the transaction. It does not. It'll approve the transaction, then they'll jew you for another 25 bux. That isn't really a problem with me, but has happened before.

Didn't really have any credit when I was 20 and wanted to buy a motorcycle. Had about $5000 in the bank and figured, "hey I'll go get a small loan from my bank to build some credit.." They approved me for a loan in the amount of $2800.00 at an interest rate of 18.2% on a 24 month loan for $3k. That started my disdain for the particular financial institution.

I digress.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

My credit score last I checked was 820.

samnavy

iTrader: (7)

I use Pandora ($36yr) for music and RedBox ($2 for BluRay) for movies. The RedBox always have what I want because I wait until they've been our for a couple months. All Navy bases have a RedBox, usually in the food court right outside the Exchange, so I can take a look a couple times a week at what's out. I'll grab something on the way home when the mood strikes.

As for "shows", we have DirecTV and DVR a couple series, but I have no interest in watching shows from years ago, with kids/job/house/life, there just isn't time for that ****.

I get home from work around 1630, play with kids, minor chores, dinner, park, etc... until about 1830 when it's bathtime. Kids asleep by 7pm or 730 at the latest. Then take the dog for a run, come home and shower. By 9pm, it's time for an hour of BlackOps or kick it with the wife... then bed. Repeat for many years.

I've seen a few Franklin & Bash episodes lately and that **** is funny, but I can't see revisiting it "streaming" a few years from now. Seriously, who has time for "shows", get a hobby.

elesjuan

iTrader: (11)

Jesus I am never getting married...

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

I walk the walk.

elesjuan

iTrader: (11)

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

Jesus, you bunch of broke *** people. I don't understand why a few more dollars a month is a big deal? Especially if you use it regularly as I do.