Really? I honestly wasn't that impressed with their online catalogue. It mostly seemed to be recent films and TV shows; not that different from what we already have from several sources.
Netflix To Launch in the UK
- Thread starter Bob The Skutter
- Start date
Really? I honestly wasn't that impressed with their online catalogue. It mostly seemed to be recent films and TV shows; not that different from what we already have from several sources.
Netflix's DVD selection in America is very extensive. I have to try hard to find something on DVD that they don't have. I rent new and old movies as well as fairly new (mid 90s onwards) TV shows (haven't bothered checking whether they have old TV shows.)
Streaming is very spotty, because they can't get some key players like HBO to cooperate.
Streaming is very spotty, because they can't get some key players like HBO to cooperate.
I guess I'm just not that picky. All of Star Trek, Farscape, BSG, The X-Files, and tons of movies from the 20's to today.
Actually, Tesco's DVD rental service is provided by LoveFilm, which is itself owned by Amazon. I thought that this new Netflix offering was streaming only, which is something that neither LoveFilm nor Tesco offer.
There might be some people attracted by that prospect if Netflix can offer unlimited viewing at the sub £10 per month level with a better choice than LoveFilm - particularly in TV shows. The nearest equivalent LoveFilm package is 1 disc at a time plus unlimited online viewing at £9.99 per month.
^Netflix didn't break up the services, so I assume it's the same as LoveFilm. I didn't realise Tesco were provided by Lovefilm, I assumed since they were trying to get in the content business themselves it was their own venture, along with their part ownership of BlinkBox.
Yeah, I used to belong to Tesco's service, and then when I switched to LoveFilm, I saw that the freepost code and postcode were the same on the envelopes. Tesco's version is slightly cheaper, but I've noticed with LoveFilm that the turnaround is a lot faster, unlimited streaming is included, and I'm much more likely to be sent an item from my high priority list.
It all depends on what you put in your queue. Before Netflix made me choose between DVDs and streaming, I noticed that maybe a tenth of my DVD titles were also available via streaming. Other people have reported more like 90% streaming.
I'm sure their DVD selection is excellent, but I'm not interested in getting discs through the post. I did do Netflix in the States when they first started out and it was good, but I cannot really be bothered with that any more.
I certainly think there's room for another player, but I'm not part of their target market.
The problem with streaming is that Hollywood studios and premium cable channels won't allow it to happen for cheap. They know it's the future of entertainment and that once everything goes digital, the perception of content value will go downwards in a spiral towards the endgame: people expect everything for free.
That's their nightmare scenario, which might not destroy their business but will certainly change it beyond recognition. They'll fight like hell to stave off the inevitable. It's inevitable that they will lose, but meanwhile, we won't be able to get what we want: everything available thru streaming, cheap & easy, all in one place.
I'm not holding my breath waiting for this to sort itself out. DVDs are fine for now.
That's their nightmare scenario, which might not destroy their business but will certainly change it beyond recognition. They'll fight like hell to stave off the inevitable. It's inevitable that they will lose, but meanwhile, we won't be able to get what we want: everything available thru streaming, cheap & easy, all in one place.
I'm not holding my breath waiting for this to sort itself out. DVDs are fine for now.
If you want everything available on streaming in one place for a cheap price, don't worry, you're part of their target market. It's not the consumer whose the hold-up, it's the content providers.
