Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Netflix

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Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 04-09-2003, 06:14 PM:

Anyone on the board belong to Netflix? I joined them in January and I love the service. I have been able to view almost every Akira Kurosawa movie ever made (something you cannot get in your local store) and I have become a huge fan of movies out of Hong Kong - something else you cannot pick up at the local video store. I pay about $20 a month and I am averaging 12 movies a month - definately a bargain.

www.netflix.com

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 04-09-2003, 06:50 PM:

I signed up last October. It's a great deal.

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 04-09-2003, 10:36 PM:

A friend of mine is a member and likes it a lot. She's been able to get even the silent films she loves via it.

Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 04-09-2003, 11:34 PM:

I've been mostly happy with NETFLIX. I first strarted with one of those freebie start-up offers when I bought my DVD player 3 years ago. One problem lately is that they are getting just a bit more conservative with some titles than they used to be. But still, as a former Home Film Festival mekmber, I find the service and pricing to be great.

Posted by Patrick McDonough (Member # 1363) on 04-10-2003, 09:03 AM:

A friend of mine swears up and down about the service he loves it.

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 04-10-2003, 10:35 AM:

My neighbor gets Netflix.

Only thing I've noticed is that some of the discs are scratched up pretty bad. My crummy DVD player (an RCA) hates them.

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 04-10-2003, 05:37 PM:

I've been a Netflix member since 2000. My usage varies greatly, depending on how bogged down I am with Cinematour, but I recently upgraded to the 5-disc plan so that I could have a wider variety of material at once.

I especially like that I can rate the movies I've seen and the system will suggest titles that it thinks I might like that I would probably otherwise overlook. I've rated over 800 titles so far and it does a pretty good job. My queue currently has more than 150 titles in it.

I happen to live maybe 10 miles from the West Sacramento distribution center and get especially quick turnaround sending and receiving discs. [thumbsup]

Occasionally, I receive a disc that is badly scratched or cracked or broken in half (!), or a disc goes missing in the mail, but I just click on "shipping problems" and a new copy is sent out right away with no questions asked (other than those on the problem report).

Posted by Joe Beres (Member # 678) on 04-10-2003, 06:58 PM:

I love netflix. I've been a member for almost three years now. The selection is fantastic, and I have found myself purchasing far fewer DVDs. (That's a good thing.) I'm also lucky enough to live in a city that has a Netflix depot, so turnaround is unbelieveably quick. I would highly recommend it to anyone that usually has time to watch at least 4-5 DVDs per month. The more you watch, the better the value. [Smile]

Posted by John Lasher (Member # 968) on 06-21-2003, 01:31 AM:

I just joined about 3 weeks ago. already I've rented (and returned)...

UHF
Comedian
The Rutles
and
The 39 Steps

and I still have out...
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
The Twelve Chairs
and
Jabberwocky

and over 40 others are currently in my rental queue.

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 06-21-2003, 07:05 PM:

Replaced my crummy DVD player 2 weeks ago. Now, even the scratched disks play nicely.

All of my problems were due to my having purchased a defective player in December. The new one, the same model and manufacturer, is working nicely. DVD has gone UP several points on my bull [bs]

scale.

I like the Netflix system.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 06-24-2003, 04:18 PM:

And you guys actually HAVE time to watch movies....?How do you fit it in? I'm luckt to get in 10 min oc CNN at midnight...and by then its all yesterdays news anyway.
Mark

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 07-10-2003, 11:07 PM:

My netflix DVD's sit around for weeks sometimes because I have very little time to watch them. Sometimes I stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning to watch them.That is why I joined - no late fees.

Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 07-26-2004, 01:24 PM:

It has been 381 days since the last post.

Posted by Dan Lyons (Member # 1454) on 07-26-2004, 01:24 PM:

I HATE NETFLIX. These people are evil! I started up with them a year ago and everything was great, the return time was fast and i was able to get 6 movies a week!

In the past few months they are soooo slow! I cannot get more than 3 a week due to their slow turn around time. If i send a movie back monday, i'm lucky to get my new one by friday! The shipping depot on the return label is about 5 miles from my house!!

They're trying to screw me over! [fu]

danny

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 07-26-2004, 10:11 PM:

I dropped them months ago.

Not because I had any trouble, but because I discovered DIGITAL CABLE with ON DEMAND.

Cool SH*T.
[thumbsup]

Posted by Dan Lyons (Member # 1454) on 07-27-2004, 12:38 AM:

..but do they have bizzare art films and old silent films? Thats what i rent.. i never rent anything that has played in a theatre in the past few years.

danny

Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 08-03-2004, 02:27 PM:

quote: Dan Lyons
but do they have bizzare art films

NetFlix has a somewhat limited supply of these kinds of titles, but if you really want to find the obscure stuff, try GreenCine, a West Coast based operation that works the same way as NetFlix. Their catalog is much more esoteric, with greater depth in arthouse titles, cult, foreign and the offbeat stuff, and they are huge into anime, if that's your thing.

www.greencine.com

Posted by Eric Webb (Member # 2772) on 12-31-2004, 02:17 AM:

I had started Netflix a few months ago and the service is great and have all ways had quick turnaround only 3 days from when i send one back till when i get the next

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 12-31-2004, 12:43 PM:

Love the Netflix, I have around 300 films in my queue. Latley my watching time has shrunk down to almost nothing...I still have three films that I recieved almost two weeks ago and haven'e even opened them. I personaly love the service...I'm a huge film fan/buff and to be able to see just about any movie I can possibly think of and at a cheap resonable price is just heaven to me. I would suggest this product to anyone who rents more then 4 movies a month, because at Blockbusters rates you can only get 4 movies for $17.95...I can quadruple that amount on a month where I am not bogged down by work and can have the time to enjoy my selection.

Kurt

Posted by Tao Yue (Member # 836) on 01-01-2005, 12:51 AM:

I think Netflix is no longer the unquestioned leader in DVD rental. Blockbuster is getting damn close, still not there yet, but they're making an effort and Netflix seems to be standing still or regressing.

You won't get as many DVDs per month out of Blockbuster due to the slower shipping, but if you live in the right place it's competitive considering the lower price (three-out is about $15, $3 lower than Netflix) and the two free in-store rentals.

Blockbuster's site is getting better in certain respects than Netflix's. In particular, their descriptions are far better. In double-DVD situations (silent versus sound The Gold Rush, 16:9 vs 4:3 That's Entertainment), people on Netflix have been resorting to giving zero stars to lower the rating and make the desired version pop up higher on searches. Blockbuster makes it clearer exactly which disc is what. They also tend to have better selection in case of multiple versions of the same title (e.g. studio vs. Criterion).

However, they have fewer obscure titles than Netflix does. And evidently their marketing isn't working too well since Kurt and probably many other people aren't aware of their lower prices. But I can see them catching up in a year or two if Netflix still doesn't respond to the challenge.

Posted by Eric Webb (Member # 2772) on 01-01-2005, 03:31 AM:

quote from Daily Tribune
__________________________________________________
Blockbuster eliminates late fees starting Saturday

By Catherine Kavanaugh

Daily Tribune Staff Writer

PUBLISHED: December 31, 2004

Ray Gorney of Royal Oak is looking forward to the rental relief Blockbuster customers will get on Saturday when the company drops its late fees.

He took his movie back on time Thursday but still had to shell out an extra $3.50 for one of his nine-year-old son Mack's delinquent rentals.

"He's notorious for returning video games late," Gorney said. "This is my biggest complaint with the company. It seems we always owe a late fee."

Gorney admits he's to blame once in a while. He has checked out new DVD releases and been unable to watch them in the three-day viewing window. Sometimes he holds onto the flick and pays a late fee and sometimes he just returns movies without even having opened the box.

"Then I check them out again a week later," Gorney said. "This new policy will help us a lot."

That's the idea, said Kelly Ciaciuch, manager of the Blockbuster at 27942 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak.

"Late fees are our biggest complaint, especially when people return things a couple hours late," Ciaciuch said. "We hope this brings some of our unhappy customers back."

Blockbuster, the No. 1 video rental chain, has been losing business to mail-order services like Netflix, which lets customers keep movies as long as they want without a late fee.

Blockbuster's policy isn't as generous, but it is a welcome change for customers like the Gorneys, who will save money and the hassle of rushing back movies and games.

Blockbuster products still will have due dates, but customers will get a six-day grace period to return them. They also will get two phone calls and a postcard to remind them their rental is overdue, Ciaciuch said.

"After that, we sell it to you," she added.

When the grace period is over, customers will go from renters to buyers. On the seventh day, the company will automatically charge the person's credit card or membership account for the cost of the movie minus the rental fee, which is $2.99 for DVDs and $6.99 for games at Ciaciuch's store.

The cost of becoming the owner of a Blockbuster product will depend on whether it is a movie or game and whether it is still in print. In most cases, customers will pay the price for previously viewed materials — $10-$17 for DVDs and $10-$13 for videos — and not the retail price, Ciaciuch said.

Anyone who doesn't want to own the movie will have a 30-day period from the point of sale to return it and have their account credited minus a $1.25 restocking fee.

Some customers are worried the more lenient return policy will make it harder to rent the hottest releases, but Ciaciuch said Blockbuster plans to increase its stock of new titles to keep its shelves full of the movies customers want the most.

There will be a drawback, however, for people so eager to get a movie they hang out by the drop box hoping someone brings one back. Blockbuster clerks used to be able to tell customers with some certainty whether it's worth the wait.

"We could say, 'We expect five copies back by midnight' and people would wait," Ciaciuch said. "Now there's no telling. We will have more copies available, however, so that should help."

Contact Catherine Kavanaugh at cathy.kavanaugh@dailytribune.com or 248-591-2504.

Posted by David Yauch (Member # 2754) on 01-02-2005, 03:05 AM:

I've noticed netflix advertising itself a lot more over here, but it seems to be the same old service, nothing new as far as I can tell.

There is a bit of a dilemma here for the end-user though. If netflix goes under, then there is an unmet demand for obscure titles. Does netflix offer one-time rentals at all or is it all subscription only?

Posted by Eric Webb (Member # 2772) on 01-02-2005, 05:41 PM:

Netflix is all subscription only

quote from netflix website
-------------------------
Netflix does offer different rental plans to suit the needs of our customers.

The standard plan is unlimited rentals with 3 movies out at one time. Available plans include:

* 8-at-a-time for $47.99
* 5-at-a-time for $29.99
* 3-at-a-time for $17.99
* 2-at-a-time (4 rentals a month) for $11.99

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 01-09-2005, 09:17 PM:

So is anyone using the brand-new "Friends" feature yet?

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 01-09-2005, 09:40 PM:

Facets Multimedia in Chicago is a good source to rent (or buy) obscure foreign and avant garde or silent films, etc.

Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 01-09-2005, 10:06 PM:

Another good place online to rent the obscure cult titles is www.nicheflix.com . I haven't tried them myself but I read they're great.