There seems to be a lot of griping and fist shaking around the internets over the rate hike, as much as 60% for some people.
I can see why they have to do it. They are making money, but they're getting beaten up by expenses. I can also see why people are mad when you raise the rates like this and your streaming library is pretty outdated and your new releases take forever to come out compared to everyone else. Of course if you have no cash flow you can't upgrade your streaming library.
I'm on the two disc package and rarely stream anything, so I just dropped the streaming and ended up saving money in the deal.
A lot of people complain about Netflix, but there is really nothing I hate more than returning a movie. It is one of the most unrewarding tasks in life, so I'm still in ... but boy are some people pissed.
Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoI can also see why people are mad when you raise the rates like this and your streaming library is pretty outdated and your new releases take forever to come out compared to everyone else. Of course if you have no cash flow you can't upgrade your streaming library.
I think this shows the unfortunate catch 22 they are in. If everything was available by streaming, I think enough people would accept that plan and forego the DVD's. But there's too much content that is DVD-only that means to make sure you get the movies you want, you need the DVD plan. Hopefully whatever financial gains they make from this increase can alleviate the issue.
The future is going to be either a premium-streaming tier that allows instant access to new releases, or some movies will come with an added fee (like On-Demand).
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I put a couple of new releases in my streaming queue. I waited a few weeks (maybe over a month) before I tried to watch them, but when I finally went to my queue, they were gone!
Has this happened to anyone else? My immediate conspiracy guess was that Netflix only has new releases available for streaming for a short period of time. But as a conspiracy theorist, once I got the announcement of the rate hike I thought maybe Netflix started removing some of its more popular titles from everyone's instant queues in order to force them to keep DVDs in their plans.
I had someone (a PS3 customer) come in to my video store today and ask me about our online service, which costs less, doesn't charge extra for Blu-rays, and includes games. He's gonna check it out 'cuz he's pissed that Netflix raised their rates. So... we'll see.
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Originally posted by StingArmyA question I have on a possibly related issue:
I put a couple of new releases in my streaming queue. I waited a few weeks (maybe over a month) before I tried to watch them, but when I finally went to my queue, they were gone!
I know there was something with Sony & Starz causing movies to disappear from the store for a time. Not sure if that applies here.
The thing that makes me so mad about the whole situation is that the PR person who put the notice out kept touting this as a "terrific value". Correct me if I'm wrong, but raising prices and eliminating plans does not constitute a "terrific value".
I don't think I would have been so upset had they said that they were doing this because their operating costs are going to skyrocket in the next few years. I would have sympathized, even. Just don't insult my intelligence and make it look like you're doing me a favor.
(edited by The King of Keith on 14.7.11 0236) Am I in Horseville? Because I'm hearing nothing but naysayers!
I'm in the minority, but I actually don't even use the DVD's that are shipped to me, so going streaming-only is a bigger convenience for me. And I like being able to save $2 a month. I don't watch that many movies these days and there's enough quality on the instant titles to keep me satisfied.
Originally posted by ekedolphinI had someone (a PS3 customer) come in to my video store today and ask me about our online service, which costs less, doesn't charge extra for Blu-rays, and includes games. He's gonna check it out 'cuz he's pissed that Netflix raised their rates. So... we'll see.
Your service also charges extra (a whole lot extra) for online streaming.
Originally posted by ekedolphinI had someone (a PS3 customer) come in to my video store today and ask me about our online service, which costs less, doesn't charge extra for Blu-rays, and includes games. He's gonna check it out 'cuz he's pissed that Netflix raised their rates. So... we'll see.
If it's not out of line, what service is that? I'm also interested in at least checking it out.
Originally posted by StingArmyA question I have on a possibly related issue:
I put a couple of new releases in my streaming queue. I waited a few weeks (maybe over a month) before I tried to watch them, but when I finally went to my queue, they were gone!
I know there was something with Sony & Starz causing movies to disappear from the store for a time. Not sure if that applies here.
(edited by thecubsfan on 14.7.11 0015)
Looks like that was it. Thanks! Now, here's to hoping they get that dispute sorted out quickly...
Originally posted by ekedolphinI had someone (a PS3 customer) come in to my video store today and ask me about our online service, which costs less, doesn't charge extra for Blu-rays, and includes games. He's gonna check it out 'cuz he's pissed that Netflix raised their rates. So... we'll see.
If it's not out of line, what service is that? I'm also interested in at least checking it out.
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Originally posted by It's FalseI'm in the minority, but I actually don't even use the DVD's that are shipped to me, so going streaming-only is a bigger convenience for me.
I dropped DVD delivery from Netflix almost a year ago for the same reasons. My moviegoing habits have me seeing 90% of new movies in theaters, there's a Red Box five minutes from my house (and a Blockbuster, but that's now shuttered forever), and I was only using Netflix for Instant Watch anyway. I love Instant Watch. It didn't make sense to pay extra for DVDs I hardly ever watched. The price hike doesn't affect me, so I've no reason to complain.
Originally posted by It's FalseI'm in the minority, but I actually don't even use the DVD's that are shipped to me, so going streaming-only is a bigger convenience for me.
I dropped DVD delivery from Netflix almost a year ago for the same reasons. My moviegoing habits have me seeing 90% of new movies in theaters, there's a Red Box five minutes from my house (and a Blockbuster, but that's now shuttered forever), and I was only using Netflix for Instant Watch anyway. I love Instant Watch. It didn't make sense to pay extra for DVDs I hardly ever watched. The price hike doesn't affect me, so I've no reason to complain.
I'm the same way. I understand the people that want to rent DVDs because they want to watch new releases but one complaint that has spawned is that Instant does not have enough content to warrant a $7.99 charge and that is hogwash. Those people should try and watch something other than the new releases for a change. I don't think I've rented a new release on DVD in the past year because my Instant queue is always full.
Originally posted by The King of KeithThe thing that makes me so mad about the whole situation is that the PR person who put the notice out kept touting this as a "terrific value". Correct me if I'm wrong, but raising prices and eliminating plans does not constitute a "terrific value". (edited by The King of Keith on 14.7.11 0236)
I disagree. It may have been poorly worded but "terrific value" is not untrue. They didn't claim that the prices were better, just a terrific value. You can rent just about anything you can think of and as many movies as you can digest in a month for what? 20 bucks? How much does it cost to see one movie at the movie theater? That's an insanely terrific value even if it is more expensive than it was a month ago.
Honestly, I feel that Netflix's prices have been pretty generous for a while so I don't think it's really a big deal. I'm sure that the studios are going to be pushing hard once it comes to renegotiate too, given the huge popularity of streaming.
I have it for streaming, so it doesn't affect me. My major problem with netflix is that some movies and show are impossible to see all the way through without it stopping to recharge. WWE ones are the worst ones. A half hour documentary turns into three hours. If they are forcing everyone to do the streaming then they need to fix the bugs before they fuck over the DVD crowd.
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We actually ran the numbers, and more than 30 percent of the DVDs/Blu Rays we've received from Netflix since signing up have not worked (i.e. scratched and beat up to the point where our PS3 could not read them or skipped entire sections of the movie to the point where it was unwatchable) ... So that means we have to return the disc, wait for a replacement copy, and that's one less new movie that we can watch during that week (and so we're screwed out of the money we're paying to have one new disc at a time).
That alone should warrant us cancelling the Blu Ray service and go strictly streaming ... but their online selection is so anemic, it would drastically limit the number of movies that we'd actually be interested in seeing (sorry, not in the mood for "Transmorphers", thanks for the offer though).
Not only that, but we do (not always, but on occasion) like to see the bonus content and/or deleted scenes that come with the Blu Ray discs ... Until that content's somehow available via streaming, we'll begrudgingly stick with the physical format for at least a little while longer.
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*shrugs* I've never gotten a single scratched DVD from Netflix. And wow, you think Netflix Instant's movie selection is stuff like Transmorphers? I hope you continue to get scratched DVDs. Good luck.
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I've seen it way too many times. I thought it was hokey the first time and I get more annoyed with each viewing. Have you googled it? Here's some links, hope they help. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&c2coff=1&safe=off&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-01,GGLD: