Is Netflix a Rip-off?

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Admiral James Kirk, Mar 4, 2008.

  1. Professor Zoom

    Professor Zoom Admiral Admiral

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    the total also consists of those in the "saved" portion of the queue as well.

    It's because I have that many, I could care less about the 30 day wait period.
     
  2. Sparky

    Sparky Commodore Commodore

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    At least you Americans have a queue. As a Canadian I had to use this device called a "keyboard"....how quaint. It is also streaming only. No physical media shipped to your door.

    I have to add to this strange thing called a "text file" to keep track of shows I want to watch. Seriously. We don't have a queue here in the Great White North and it is the second most frustrating thing about Netflix in Canada.

    The most frustrating thing is the lack of content compared to the US. You can search for something and dozens of results show up. Only a couple of items will be available though. The rest of them are not viewable in Canada.

    Even with the restrictions I find the $7.99 per month price quite a bargain. I have already watched/written down so much content that it would cost me hundreds of dollars on iTunes to rent/purchase. Hell the BBC library alone will keep me busy for months.

    For my viewing habits there is nothing else legal out there that even comes close to the value per dollar that Netflix offers.
     
  3. Nowhere Man

    Nowhere Man Commodore

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    Simple answer, no.
     
  4. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Wow, I had no idea there was a queue limit. I'm only a bit more than halfway there (278).

    I'm proud of the fact that I've been signed up for Netflix for years and my queue has never dipped below 200. Why I would be proud of such a thing, I can't really say. :rommie:
     
  5. Warp Coil

    Warp Coil Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Re: RedBox competition streaming

    I'm not worried. I'm not a fan of the Red Box, Amazon and iTunes business model where you have to pay for each viewing. I'm very happy with Netflix's flat-fee pricing. I can stream as much as I want for one low rate, plus still get physical DVDs in the mail.
     
  6. Brikar99

    Brikar99 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    The new app for streaming to the PS3 is a huge step up from using the disc. I watch something nearly every day from Netflix. I think I get more value out of it than my cable package.
     
  7. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    ^Absolutely. Not needing the disc is much more convenient, and I love the new layout of the program. I never watch regular TV anymore.
     
  8. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I wouldn't call Netflix a ripoff by any means. However, like anything else, it's a question of your personal viewing habits and dollars and sense. If you rent and watch enough movies to make the price worth it it, it's great. But if you're one of those people who gets a movie and lets it lay around the house for a month you'd probably be better off not subscribing.
     
  9. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    The late fees alone, on letting a video lay around the house for a month, would be a year's worth of Netflix service. The service pretty much pays for itself.
     
  10. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Good point. I was referring more to the idea of netflix vs an on demand service or just not renting stuff. Part of the problem with netflix for some people is that it doesn't take into account that sometimes people get busy with other shit and don't have time to watch a movie. Those people often wouldn't bother to rent a movie during that period. However, with netflix that sucker is there, it showed up in the mailbox, it isn't going anywhere and even if you send it back another one is showing up during the same busy time period.
     
  11. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Ah, well I am one to leave a movie lying around for 3 weeks before returning it, as I have so much Instant Watch stuff, but it's still great to watch "Up in the Air" (great movie) on DVD and then watch the entire "Family Guy" series on Instant Watch, and still pay the same fee every month. :D
     
  12. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Yeah, don't misunderstand. As I said before, if people actually watch the movies, it's a great service. I was simply pointing out that for some people it isn't.

    I've known more than a few couples that have NetFlix and they end up canceling they realize that they never get around to actually watching the darn things. They only watch one movie a month and, as a result, that movie costs more than buying a used DVD.
     
  13. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    That's why Netflix gives you the option to freeze your account if you know you're not going to use it for a particular period of time. You don't get movies during that time, but you also don't have to pay.
     
  14. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Yep. I constantly change my plan to ratchet back to 2 at a time when there's a decent amount of live TV to watch (via DVR) and then during dead periods (December for instance), I'll bump it up to 3 or 4. If I have disks lying around for more than a day or so, I know it's time to downgrade. But I don't mind constantly futzing with my account like that - I guess I find it entertaining in its own right. Also, it appeals to my cheapskate side. :rommie:
     
  15. Professor Zoom

    Professor Zoom Admiral Admiral

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    I think there's an even cheaper option in netflix, like 5 buck a month or something, it's like 1 movie every two weeks, rather than unlimited.
     
  16. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

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    Netflix is great, but the fact that they're operating without any real competition is troubling. I can't say I ever planned on renting Harmony Korine's TRASH HUMPERS, but Netflix's recent decision to not carry the title doesn't have the grandest of implications. What else will Netflix choose not to carry in the future, now that they've supplanted Blockbuster as the company with a near-complete monopoly on the home video rental market?
     
  17. Nerdius Maximus

    Nerdius Maximus Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I love netflix. And now that you can stream movies and (tons of)tv shows through either your wii or blu-ray player, it's a steal. I use it constantly.
     
  18. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    They just put up the entirety of BSG on Instant Watch. Looks like I have no excuse not to watch now.
     
  19. Nerdius Maximus

    Nerdius Maximus Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Yeah, that's great if you're renting Shrek or Iron Man 2, but say you want to rent all the seasons of any given TV show or something like that? You can't do that at a rental store. Or what about Doctor Who? Those DVD's cost thirty dollars an episode here, and you can't rent them because nobody in America knows what Doctor Who is. Yet Netflix has them all. How about independent films or documentaries? Good luck "walking a kilometer down the street" and finding something like that. Anyway, I refuse to believe that Blockbuster was supporting the economy, anyway. Good riddance to them.
     
  20. 23skidoo

    23skidoo Admiral Admiral

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    Just remember that for every Blockbuster that dies that's at least a dozen people made unemployed and unable to support the economy while they collect benefits from the government (ie taxpayers). Every store that closes means a reduction in a city's tax base that pays for roads and sewers (so that money has to be made up in other areas such as higher property taxes once enough of them close). One shouldn't say "good riddance" to any business going under. Not these days.

    That said, both comments above are valid points. I personally hate it whenever I order something from Amazon, because I would much rather give the money to a local business that provides jobs (and, from a selfish standpoint, gives me some place to go other than the grocery store). Even if it costs a bit more. And whether it's an independent operation or a Wal-Mart, it doesn't matter, it all adds up. Problem is so many "brick and mortar" businesses have decided to not bother bringing in DVD and Blu-Ray titles that I want - in many cases it's not even a case of "won't" stock the title, but that they "can't" because their distributor has its head up it's rear end. This also goes for rental places. Especially as brick-and-mortar rental operations die quickly, they're not going to risk the money on, say, a Doctor Who that might spark a dozen rentals compared with Iron Man 2 that might spark 100 rents.

    So while I honestly feel guilty buying from online sources, at the same time many of the businesses did it to themselves by not providing the product I'm willing to pay for.

    What I have always found weird about Netflix is that what made it so popular was the "rent by mail" option. Ignoring the more recent online streaming option, I always found this counter-intuitive in our "want it in 5 seconds" society. It was weird that a service that required people to wait a couple days for the DVDs they wanted to see would do so well, especially with regards to releases that one could just walk down the street and get in 5 minutes. And unless you have a mailbox out your front door, you still needed to make the effort to mail the discs back, which is no different from going back to the Blockbuster and dropping it in the return slot.

    Now that the online version has taken off (coupled with the anti-consumerism culture that's being promoted where people aren't supposed to own anything anymore) this point is moot, but I honestly expected Netflix to crash and burn at the start because it didn't fulfill the instant gratification requirement.

    Alex