Netflix

[Green Gaia]

I know we have a few Netflix subscribers here, self included. Since I don't have cable anymore, movies are the only thing I watch. Anyone here checked out the new "Watch Now" option? Pretty cool, I think. I wish they had more to choose from though. Presumably they will be adding more movies over time?

I have a few family members set up on my Friends list and it's fun to go in and see what they think is good and not so good. One of my sisters and I have almost identical taste in movies, so if she likes something, I know I probably will too. Anyone else here use the Friends option? Do you like it?

Yes, I'm a little bored today....

 

[Booko]

I know we have a few Netflix subscribers here, self included. Since I don't have cable anymore, movies are the only thing I watch. Anyone here checked out the new "Watch Now" option? Pretty cool, I think. I wish they had more to choose from though. Presumably they will be adding more movies over time?

My "high speed" connection is really more like "mediocre speed." Would that have an effect on my ability to use this function?

Sometimes with Youtube videos (which are short) I just get 'em started and then go get a cup of coffee, and then replay them once they've loaded fully. I don't know if that would work for Netflix or not.

I have a few family members set up on my Friends list and it's fun to go in and see what they think is good and not so good. One of my sisters and I have almost identical taste in movies, so if she likes something, I know I probably will too. Anyone else here use the Friends option? Do you like it?

I only have one person in my Friends list, and that's the person that I see movies with all the time. We know each other's taste pretty well. I'm not going to chick flicks, inspirational true story films or anything that's bloody just for the sake of bloodiness. She, otoh, will not see films like Borat or watch shows on teevee like Mencia or scifi/horror flicks on the level of 28 Days Later.

We use it a little, but mostly because we sometimes forget to mention what we've been watching on Netflix lately.

 

[Green Gaia]

[/color]My "high speed" connection is really more like "mediocre speed." Would that have an effect on my ability to use this function?

Maybe a little. My high speed isn't the best either, but I've found that if I pause the movie when it starts, let it completely load and then start it, it plays fine. The bad thing about that is though, even though you get one hour of free movie watching a month per $1 of your monthy bill, (example, $18 per month you get 18 hours of free online watching), it counts the time you're paused too. Or at least it seemed to with the first movie I watched and had to pause a lot during it.

Otherwise the movie quality is good. I guess my only compliant about it is that it only works in an IE browser, and I hate IE.

 

[Booko]

I guess my only compliant about it is that it only works in an IE browser, and I hate IE.

Oh, that does it for me right there. I won't use Microsoft AIEEE! for any price. It's the worst spam/popup/spyware magnet I've ever seen.

I can just wait for the movies to come to the house.

I'm on RF too much to watch that many movies anyway. :biglaugh:

 

[cardero]

I know we have a few Netflix subscribers here, self included. Since I don't have cable anymore, movies are the only thing I watch. Anyone here checked out the new "Watch Now" option? Pretty cool, I think. I wish they had more to choose from though. Presumably they will be adding more movies over time?

I have a few family members set up on my Friends list and it's fun to go in and see what they think is good and not so good. One of my sisters and I have almost identical taste in movies, so if she likes something, I know I probably will too. Anyone else here use the Friends option? Do you like it?

Yes, I'm a little bored today....

I put my friend on my friends list and I was able to grab a few choice selections from his list. The Netflix friends list is a lot like viewing the "Who's Online" section of RF. You would be amazed at how many great threads other members are visiting that one didn't know about if they had looked. Also wanted to say that I love Netflix, I love receiving movies in the mail and i love their program. God bless Netflix.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

My most recent happiness came through the mail in the form of the "Full Metal Alchemist" movie- I don't think I would've been able to find that anywhere around here at a rental store. I've never used the friends feature- it sounds interesting!

 

[evearael]

We're on Netflix because we don't have a lot of time to watch movies and we certainly don't have time to drive to the video store and wonder about for thirty minutes. I haven't tried the Watch Now or Friends option. I'm on Firefox and will not part with it. I've not found anyone with similar tastes in movies so I don't think I'm likely to use the Friends option.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I use to have a Blockbuster online subscription. I really want to renew it, as I miss having an extremely large selection to chose from, and not having the movie in stock almost never existing. I'll probably compair Netflix before I re-subscribe though.

 

[Booko]

I use to have a Blockbuster online subscription. I really want to renew it, as I miss having an extremely large selection to chose from, and not having the movie in stock almost never existing. I'll probably compair Netflix before I re-subscribe though.

Ah, but does Blockbuster have the wide selection that Netflix has? When I compared them before, they really didn't. Oh yeah, I can get all the "popular" stuff -- but try to get a DVD on belly dancing lessons or Noam Chomsky interviews sometime.

They didn't have a lot of the British stuff I watch either. I'm nearly done watching the "Sharpe" series (yay Sean Bean!), which wasn't available anywhere else, and I didn't even know it existed until by chance I took a look at the other work that Sean Bean has done.

I find a lot of cool things to watch by going to look at a movie I really like and then seeing "Others who watched this also watched..."

 

[NoahideHiker]

Two things I can't do on a computer; heavy reading and watch movies. I would end up having running in the background while I chatter with you freaks. LOL!

One thing I HATE about Netflix is their 'throttling policy'.
for the first few months the turn around time is great. They go to the nearest place and then right back. But after a while they start sending them to and from further places to cut down the number of movies you can fit into a month thus cutting their shipping costs. My wife made little labels that look just like theirs and if we get a return envelope that's going states away she sticks the label on and we keep a good turn around time. My wife's sneaky like that.

 

[cardero]

Ah, but does Blockbuster have the wide selection that Netflix has? When I compared them before, they really didn't. Oh yeah, I can get all the "popular" stuff -- but try to get a DVD on belly dancing lessons or Noam Chomsky interviews sometime.

I have never explored Blockbuster's selection but if is anything like their store's I don't think I would be interested in a in store or online membership. I am truly amazed and astonished by Netflix's selection. Truly obscure movies, films I have been waiting years to see just crop up on that site. If it is a film I just read about and it is available on DVD that looks interesting there is a good chance Netflix has it.

 

[Booko]

One thing I HATE about Netflix is their 'throttling policy'. for the first few months the turn around time is great. They go to the nearest place and then right back. But after a while they start sending them to and from further places to cut down the number of movies you can fit into a month thus cutting their shipping costs. My wife made little labels that look just like theirs and if we get a return envelope that's going states away she sticks the label on and we keep a good turn around time. My wife's sneaky like that.

My business partner and I have overcome this problem by complaining that we'll drop their service. Funny how after we do that, things speed up again. :sarcastic

I should try the return label trick, though. I didn't realize they had an actual policy like this. Hm!

 

[Booko]

I have never explored Blockbuster's selection but if is anything like their store's I don't think I would be interested in a in store or online membership.

I would expect Blockbuster to have a deeper catalogue online, at least by now.

I may start a "trial" for my Mom's for when I'm staying there after her hip surgery later this spring. There's a Blockbuster nearby where I can return things easily. I have no use for the stores themselves. :sleep:

I am truly amazed and astonished by Netflix's selection. Truly obscure movies, films I have been waiting years to see just crop up on that site. If it is a film I just read about and it is available on DVD that looks interesting there is a good chance Netflix has it.

I just got the cult film "I Was A Zombie For The FBI" from Netflix.

I haven't seen that since...sheesh...sometime in the 80s? I've been wondering if it would ever come out on DVD. I have an old Betamax videotape of it. :eek

 

[ChrisP]

[/color]My "high speed" connection is really more like "mediocre speed." Would that have an effect on my ability to use this function?

Sometimes with Youtube videos (which are short) I just get 'em started and then go get a cup of coffee, and then replay them once they've loaded fully. I don't know if that would work for Netflix or not..

A lot of Youtube videos are hosted on servers with poor bandwidth (thirdparty ones anyway)

I don't use netflix but have been considering it... what's the cost and how's the picture quality for LCD HD?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I have never explored Blockbuster's selection but if is anything like their store's I don't think I would be interested in a in store or online membership.

It has, or I thought it was, a good selection. I don't know if they have DVDs about belly dancing lessons, but it was a large selection. I even found a British movie called "Eat the Rich" that has Lemmy from Motorhead in it (which is why I rented it), along with the rest of the band. I laughed pretty hard during a formal party scene, were everyone is dressed formally, and Motorhead plays a song on the small stage dressed in street clothes.

 

[NoahideHiker]

Surprisingly enough we watch more tv shows on dvd than movies. We get all the great HBO series like Rome, The Sapranos and Deadwood.

 

[cardero]

NoahideHiker writes: One thing I HATE about Netflix is their 'throttling policy'.

I have always suspected them of this but my turnover rate is fairly lenient. The only thing that really screws me up is postal holiday closings. If I get 8 movies a week out of a “4 out at a time” account I consider myself ahead of the game. This may have something to do with the type of movies that I rent, in other words since, they are not current releases, they are probably always in stock. I also do not answer their “Has “such and such” movie arrived yet?” e-mails because I think that this information is irrelevant and none of their business.

Booko writes: My business partner and I have overcome this problem by complaining that we'll drop their service.

How did you ever get a hold of them? One time they sent me a broken disc and I returned it clicking on all the appropriate buttons to report a damaged disc and requesting another copy and they would just re-send the broken disc again. This happened 3 times in a row and I wanted to contact them to let them know that they were doing this and that they were tying up the account but there was no e-mail address to write into.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I also do not answer their “Has “such and such” movie arrived yet?” e-mails because I think that this information is irrelevant and none of their business.

Blockbuster didn't send those kind of emails. If something was comming in slow, which happened a couple times, but wasn't that bad, they would send an email letting you know it was sent. They also sent a coupon to your email for 1 or 2 free store rentals each month. I can't remember how many it was exactly

 

[NoahideHiker]

Here in Ohio we have Krogers grocery stores and they have dvd vending machines there for a $1 a day.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

The Krogers in Indiana, or at least in Kokomo, stopped renting movies and videogames years ago.