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Print 73 comment(s) - last by chagrinnin.. on Apr 4 at 6:53 PM
Netflix says if you don't like the new rate, don't rent Blu-ray

For many years, renting a movie meant driving to your local video store looking for the film you want to watch. Today we have several alternatives to driving to the movie store including streaming rentals and mail order rentals via Netflix and similar companies.

Netflix was the first mail order video rental service and put such a pinch in the backside of Blockbuster that it ended up offering a similar competing service. Netflix rents both DVD and Blu-ray movies, and before the demise of HD DVD it rented the ill-fated HD DVD format as well.

This week, Netflix announced that it will be modifying the price of its Blu-ray rental option for customers currently on the service and new customer signups. Netflix will be raising the price of the Blu-ray add-on by different amounts depending on how many movies the plan allows each month.

Customers on the one DVD out at a time, two DVD per month plan will pay an additional $1 per month for Blu-ray access making the monthly plan cost $5.99. That doesn’t seem that bad at first glance. However, each tier up in the amount of DVDs you can have out at a time, the new Blu-ray fee grows by $1. That means as you get to the high-end eight DVDs at a time plan for $47.99, the new Blu-ray additional monthly charge is $9 for a new total of $56.99.

Netflix doesn't seem too bothered by the significant price increase on some of the plans and simply tells customers who don’t like the new fees to cancel the Blu-ray add-on. Netflix VP of Marketing Jessie Becker justifies the price increase by saying that Blu-ray discs cost more to purchase, often as much as 30% more.

To provide a better Blu-ray experience Becker says that a price increase is required. What Becker fails to mention is what exactly the extra loot Netflix will be gleaning from its customers will be used for. Many Netflix users that currently use the Blu-ray add-on complain that they are unable to get most of the films they want on Blu-ray because of demand for the titles. That means many users don’t get to watch many Blu-ray films that they already pay for.

One user who posted a comment on the Netflix blog going by the name Chris wrote, "I have no problems paying a little extra for Blu-ray discs assuming you actually send them at the same rate as standard DVDs. I've waited weeks for new releases to ship on Blu-ray, often having to "downgrade" to DVD in order to actually get the title to ship. Use the extra money to stock Blu-ray in higher volume or I will seriously consider canceling my account."

Another ShapeGSX wrote, "I guess I'll be dropping from the 3 DVD plan to the 2 DVD plan. I'm not certain that I feel that the level of service I have been receiving for my Blu-Ray enabled account is worth $4 a month. I mean, if you happen to have a month where you receive nothing but DVDs (by your choice or by Netflix's own choice), you basically end up paying an extra 20% for nothing. That hardly seems fair to me."

Netflix has previously stated that it has 10 million subscribers, and it has seemingly hit a nerve with some of its customers with this new charge.

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Still worth it
By therealnickdanger on 3/31/2009 1:40:34 PM , Rating: 2
I'm on the $8.99 plan ($9.99 w/BD) and I probably get 1-2 Blu-Rays per week (assuming I remember to mail one back in time) while streaming everything else. I definitely get my money's worth from Netflix. Paying an extra $12/year to AVOID Blockbuster is worth it in and of itself.




RE: Still worth it
By quiksilvr on 3/31/2009 1:42:27 PM , Rating: 1
Hear hear. What's a dollar anyways? I wipe my ass with a dollar. (Whoever can guess that reference get's a cookie)


RE: Still worth it
By Hiawa23 on 4/1/2009 11:07:48 AM , Rating: 2
I got the 2 out DVD plan been a member since day 1 & I think I pay $15/month. I think I have the blu ray deal, but I really don't rent Blu ray movies even though I have a PS3. I am fine with DVDs for movies, but I am not surprised by this. Tough economy is the excuse they will use, but even a $1 increase, outside of Gamefly, Netflix is the best service I have ever experienced, movies are at my house the next day, as soon as they go to the post office the next one ships, I have not even step foot in a Blockbuster in atleast 4 years & I think they are fabulous so well worth it. Since having a DVD burner for years now, I don't have to buy movies at the store, as as soon as they come in they are copied & returned. Has saved me tons over the years.


RE: Still worth it
By KeithP on 3/31/2009 1:55:01 PM , Rating: 2
Even with the dolar increase, the one disc out at a time plan is cheaper than the BB equivalent plan. Plus, I rather have the NetFlix streaming library over the 2 in store exchanges that BB offers.

-Keith


RE: Still worth it
By FITCamaro on 3/31/2009 4:01:35 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
Dear David,
You are receiving this email because you added unlimited Blu-ray access to your account for $1 a month. The number of Blu-ray titles has increased significantly and will continue to do so. As we buy more, you are able to choose from a rapidly expanding selection of Blu-ray titles. And as you've probably heard, Blu-ray discs are substantially more expensive than standard definition DVDs.

As a result, the monthly charge for Blu-ray access is increasing for most plans and will now vary by plan. The charge for monthly Blu-ray access on your 3 DVDs at-a-time (Unlimited) plan will increase from $1 a month to $4 a month.

The new charge for Blu-ray access will be automatically added to your next billing statement on or after April 27, 2009 and will be referenced in your Membership Terms and Details.

If you wish to continue unlimited Blu-ray access for $4 a month, you don't need to do anything. If not, you can remove Blu-ray access anytime by visiting Your Account.

If you have questions about this change or need any assistance, please call us anytime at 1-888-923-0898.

-The Netflix Team


Don't know about for you, but for me it went up 300%.


RE: Still worth it
By Lord 666 on 3/31/2009 4:21:30 PM , Rating: 2
Thanks Fit aka Dave ;)


RE: Still worth it
By FITCamaro on 3/31/2009 4:46:15 PM , Rating: 2
I knew I left it in. Just didn't care.


RE: Still worth it
By Type2 on 3/31/2009 6:11:07 PM , Rating: 3
Somewhere out there FATCamaro is foaming at the mouth... probably doing a directory search as I type this.


RE: Still worth it
By 16nm on 4/1/2009 6:11:23 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
I knew I left it in. Just didn't care.

Dear David,

Yet you care if we think you accidently left it in???

Salutations,

sixteen nanometers


RE: Still worth it
By Alareth on 3/31/2009 6:11:29 PM , Rating: 2
The 20% figure is taken from the cost of you total plan, not the $1 blu-ray fee you were already paying.


RE: Still worth it
By phazers on 3/31/2009 7:27:47 PM , Rating: 2
I read elsewhere that Netflix's "increased significantly" number of BD titles amounts to a paltry 1700, whereas the number of DVD titles is over 100K.

I canceled the BD service when they started charging $1 extra a month.

I just wish Netflix would bring back some classic titles like Bogart's "African Queen". Granted there may be minimal demand, but you'd think for archival or completeness purposes they would at least keep those movies available, even if just streaming.


RE: Still worth it
By lightfoot on 4/1/2009 1:35:00 AM , Rating: 2
I received the same exact email... I promptly turned off Blu-ray access.

I use Netflix for three reasons - new releases, old movies, and streaming movies.

Blu-ray disks only apply to new releases, and quite frankly Netflix kinda sucks for new releases anyway.

Old movies for the most part are not available on Bluray.

Blu-ray doesn't matter for streaming movies.

I would easily have accepted $2 per month (fully doubling the premium) but $4 more per month doesn't make sense when less than half my movies are on Blu-ray anyway.

If Redbox ever gets in the business of renting Blu-ray movies (Blubox?), Netflix will really be hurting.

One day when Netflix has a respectable library of Blu-ray titles I might consider paying the $4 more... But I had better be able to get damn-near every title on Blu-Ray.


RE: Still worth it
By sigilscience on 3/31/2009 1:57:37 PM , Rating: 4
The real issue is that BD has been out years (and beat HD-DVD a long time ago) yet prices are going up, not down? WTF???

Also, am I the only one who thinks it crazy that even the THIRD generation standalone BD players take forever to boot up and load a disk?


RE: Still worth it
By therealnickdanger on 3/31/2009 2:08:33 PM , Rating: 3
Yes, it's crazy retarded, but then we all knew from the start that BD had horrible seek times, so it takes forever to load all that random data to construct menus and "interactive" features. That's why I love Universal and WB - most of their movies just load directly with popup menus by command only. That's also a reason I loved HD-DVD more... no BS, fast loading.


RE: Still worth it
By chmilz on 3/31/2009 2:21:19 PM , Rating: 5
I just picked up a new Samsung BD-P1600. Super fast load times, no issues at all. Still don't get why there's copyright warnings on legally purchased material though.


RE: Still worth it
By therealnickdanger on 3/31/2009 2:24:52 PM , Rating: 3
... just in case you forget that it's illegal to legally back up your purchase.

That's good to hear about the BD-P1600. Does that have Netflix integration or is that only the BD-P2000 series and up?


RE: Still worth it
By Lord 666 on 3/31/2009 2:55:36 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, the 1600 is Netflix enabled. Gave up trying to teach my wife how to do it through 360 so this might be a great replacement for my 1500.

http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/detail/detail.d...

About the BD price plan change, it sucks, but if a movie is good enough to watch on BD, then I just buy it. Was very disappointed in the quality of Pinocchio on BD after watching Sleeping Beauty, Cars, or Wall-E in the same format.


RE: Still worth it
By therealnickdanger on 3/31/2009 3:01:33 PM , Rating: 2
Really? All the reviews seemed to be glowing over Pinocchio. I was thinking of blind-buying Pinocchio based upon my experience with Sleeping Beauty. Hmm, I'll move it up to #1 in my queue and check it out first.

Thanks for the info on the 1600, that's great news! I'll have to get one for my parents. I was thinking of getting them a 360 so they could also stream music/pictures from the new server I built for them, but I'm sure they would be happy with just Netflix streaming.


RE: Still worth it
By feraltoad on 3/31/2009 7:26:45 PM , Rating: 5
Have you seen those critics' noses?


RE: Still worth it
By Moishe on 3/31/2009 3:15:05 PM , Rating: 5
I rarely buy any movie, and at the price of BD I certainly won't be buying those. I think the $25+ price tag for a single movie is insane.


RE: Still worth it
By Lord 666 on 3/31/2009 4:35:52 PM , Rating: 2
BDs are pretty kid proof and don't scratch (haven't tried sandpaper though) so its worth it for the Disney and other movies that get high usage. Everytime we are asked to watch Sleeping Beauty, the quality and colors are amazing. Is the $25 price justified, no... but its the best option at the moment. My toddler was upset when "Madagascar" on DVD was scratched on the first day of opening package and skipped. The cost of the initial disk and subsequent replacement cost more than one BD.

On a side note, if Disney released Snow White (coming fall 09), Finding Nemo, and Lion King on BD all by the fall, there would lead to greater sales of both BD hardware and disks. With this format, it does not make sense to stretch out the vault re-releases.


RE: Still worth it
By therealnickdanger on 3/31/2009 7:00:10 PM , Rating: 2
Blu-Ray only costs $25 if you're impatient and/or don't shop around. For the most part I never pay more than $20 for any Blu-Ray. Cars (possible the best ever) was only $19, Rambo 4 was $15, Transformers was $14, 300 was $14, Terminator and T2 are like $10 (but T2's transfer sucks and is being replaced soon). Sales on Amazon.com or Buy.com, Reward Zone at Best Buy, craigslist.com, woot.com... there's no reason to pay MSRP or anything close to it. Some savvy and some patience will save you a lot of money when building your BD collection.

I recently broke one of my own rules though... the most I have paid for any one high-def movie so far is ~$26 for "Bolt". But check this out, it comes with the Blu-Ray, the DVD (for the kids to destroy), and a Digital Copy (streamable from server to Xbox360 or to my phone via Orb). Did I mention the absolutely stunning picture and audio quality of the BD? It was worth every penny, IMO.


RE: Still worth it
By Alexstarfire on 4/1/2009 1:39:50 AM , Rating: 2
I've never paid more than $15 for my DVDs, most being $10 or under. Does it really prove anything? no.


RE: Still worth it
By Chocobollz on 4/1/2009 2:22:22 AM , Rating: 2
I've never paid more than $1 for any DVDs. And yes, it doesn't prove anything other than the DVDs I bought are illegal XD


RE: Still worth it
By callmeroy on 4/1/2009 9:15:16 AM , Rating: 2
Not that I don't agree with you about BD discs being expensive at $25+, BUT does anyone remember back when VHS was the rave and to buy a movie was $80 and above PER movie? I am fairly certain I remember some movies even being in $100 or more....

all for that high VHS quality video and sound...lol


RE: Still worth it
By callmeroy on 4/1/2009 9:15:55 AM , Rating: 2
Sorry I meant "BR" not "BD" discs...


RE: Still worth it
By glennpratt on 4/1/2009 10:23:00 AM , Rating: 2
Actually, you had it right the first time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc


RE: Still worth it
By Aquila76 on 4/1/2009 12:13:12 AM , Rating: 2
I agree, evil master. We own the previous Pinocchio edition (wife is a bit of a Disney freak, but she also likes to wear the costumes so I allow it), and honestly I can't see any noticeable PQ difference except that they used the artist's concept background drawings to 'matte' the 4:3 movie on a 16:9 screen. Also, making a 7.1 HD stream from an originally Mono movie is an odd choice.

I can't believe this is the same studio that made the Sleeping Beauty BD transfer. That looks like it was done in 3D! It was enhanced and transferred flawlessly. Can't win 'em all I guess.


RE: Still worth it
By callmeroy on 4/1/2009 9:12:33 AM , Rating: 2
Related to standalone blu-ray players...

I'm in the market for my *first* player...

Any particular features I should insist on a player having before I make a purchase decision?

Also, I've seen that some players have YouTube feature and some Pandora (something like that I'm sure I spelled that wrong) service....I assume the Youtube feature is simply watching Youtube on your TV with an interface that works with the blu ray remote...and what the heck is that pan--whatever service ....are either worth it?


RE: Still worth it
By Moishe on 4/1/2009 9:48:31 AM , Rating: 2
Pandora is online radio where you can design your own radio stations... pretty good idea. Very good if you like indie music.

pandora.com

Personally, I wouldn't pay anything extra for those features on a BR player. My computer and home theater are completely merged.


RE: Still worth it
By MrSmurf on 3/31/2009 3:43:05 PM , Rating: 2
No, it's illegal to break any copy-right protection. You can backup any disc you own though. ;)


RE: Still worth it
By RamarC on 3/31/2009 2:21:26 PM , Rating: 2
movie studios are not budging on retail bd pricing and i'll bet they are charging more for bd rentals also (compared to dvd). also remember that bd production required re-tooling so there are far fewer bd mastering/duplication facilities than dvd facilities (hd dvd didn't require signficant retooling).

so, the lack of availability and the price increase is somewhat justified. netflix is probably paying more to get/rent bd content and they're probably paying a bd facility more to press discs.


RE: Still worth it
By arazok on 3/31/2009 2:24:21 PM , Rating: 3
I think the slow performance is by design. I have the Sony 550 BD player. Not only does it take FOREVER to load a disk – it takes FOREVER to simply eject a disk.

I can only assume that they are planning to release a faster model 2-3 years from now, and hope I’ll upgrade simply to get reasonable performance. There is no other plausible explanation as to why it takes 30 seconds to eject a disk.

What really kills me is that I can’t skip any of the FBI warnings, or even the studio intro animations. It can take upwards of 5 minutes to get a movie started. Would the world really come to an end if I skipped the FBI warning?


RE: Still worth it
By therealnickdanger on 3/31/2009 3:03:25 PM , Rating: 4
I have found that an easy way to skip the FBI crap is simply to go to "chapters" and select the first one. Your movie starts right away without any other BS.


RE: Still worth it
By arazok on 3/31/2009 3:21:13 PM , Rating: 2
I’ll try that. Thanks!


RE: Still worth it
By Alexstarfire on 4/1/2009 2:06:00 AM , Rating: 2
Which is why I copy all my DVDs. It's my DVD so I will do with it what I want. If I want to skip the rubbish like previews and warning then so be it. And no, I don't mean literally do what I want, but you get the idea.


RE: Still worth it
By Aquila76 on 4/1/2009 12:04:48 AM , Rating: 2
It's a conspiracy my brother: C - O - N - ... - spiracy.


RE: Still worth it
By Golgatha on 3/31/2009 3:22:14 PM , Rating: 5
So we collectively give a virtual monopoly to a historically consumer unfriendly company, who paid dearly to obtain the monopoly in the first place, and you expected prices to go down?! I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you.


RE: Still worth it
By invidious on 3/31/09, Rating: -1
RE: Still worth it
By Moishe on 3/31/2009 4:22:54 PM , Rating: 1
It's Sony's fault at least partially because they charge high prices for the license.

High prices all around means Netflix has to compensate. Sure Netflix is probably making some kind of profit, but this is the owner of the blu-ray technology jacking up the consumer.

What's ridiculous is that the format will be adopted and stay popular for a decade or more and they can afford to take it out of our hide in smaller chunks. But this is Sony we're talking about. They have a pretty big ego and sense of worth.


RE: Still worth it
By TheDoc9 on 3/31/2009 4:28:39 PM , Rating: 2
Some may say that this is also a move to bolster their future streaming division, which will eventually be in direct competition with BD.


RE: Still worth it
By otispunkmeyer on 3/31/2009 3:33:35 PM , Rating: 2
i dunno, i have one of the latest panasonic BD players and i find its pretty damn rapid.

its no slower than the DVD player it replaced (samsung) and all the fancy interactive menus n stuff they have now all works like a charm too.

things are improving, i know the first BD players were dog slow...as in pop a disc in then go boil the kettle and make some tea before its ready to go.


RE: Still worth it
By Moishe on 3/31/2009 4:24:04 PM , Rating: 2
When you turn it on, how many seconds before you can put a disc in?

When the door closes, how many seconds before you see content?

Just curious.


RE: Still worth it
By piroroadkill on 3/31/2009 9:41:12 PM , Rating: 1
Well, people chose blu-ray knowing it was a clusterfuck and a shitty standard compared to HD-DVD, enjoy


RE: Still worth it
By hyvonen on 3/31/2009 2:02:05 PM , Rating: 2
I second that - I still might go with $9.99 for one w/ BD, but other than that, Netflix is mostly for streaming (if only they had subtitles...).

For my BluRay entertainment, I rather go to the local library; new releases available well before I have any chance of getting them from NetFlix.


RE: Still worth it
By walk2k on 3/31/2009 5:38:16 PM , Rating: 2
Agreed. A couple bucks is no big deal, it's still a bargain. Last time they added the BD surcharge I downgraded from the 4x plan to the 2x plan so it still cost me less. Now I'll probably just leave it, an extra $2 is not going to kill me.

I don't know what people's problem with getting new releases is. I get mine within a day or 2 of release, every time. Even if it says "long wait" sometimes I get it the next day.

I think they throttle people who are on a low plan (2x a month) and like to return a movie every single day. I only watch maybe 1-2 a week, probably average less than 10 per month and never get throttled. IMO if you abuse the service they have every right to throttle you. Try going to Captain Video or whatever and renting 20-30 videos for $15, not gonna happen.


RE: Still worth it
By psypher on 3/31/2009 9:53:37 PM , Rating: 2
If they had a right to throttle your account, then it would have to be in the contract you agree to. Otherwise, it is a breach of contract and they should be hit with a nice fat class action lawsuit. Period. End of story. That is how American consumer protection/contract laws are written. Contracts are not about what you feel is right. They are about what is written. Last I checked the Netflix contract did not say something like "you can take out 3 movies at a time, but if you return them too often, we are going to take our sweet time to make sure you don't get too much from our service."

It is not abusing the service, it is using the service to the extent that the contract entitles you.


RE: Still worth it
By lightfoot on 4/1/2009 1:26:10 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Last I checked the Netflix contract did not say something like "you can take out 3 movies at a time, but if you return them too often, we are going to take our sweet time to make sure you don't get too much from our service."

True, but they must also try to provide equal levels of service to all customers on a specific plan level. If customer X gets 3 new releases immediately, is it not logical that customer Y also get 3 new releases and not be delayed several days because customer X tried to get 6 new releases in the same period of time?

In a standard queue, customer X and Y may have equal standing, however it would be completely rational (fair even) for Netflix to use a priority queue to prioritize service to customers who have paid for the same level of service, but have received less.

This is not a matter of punishing one customer because they over use the service, it is simply a matter of NOT denying service to a customer because another customer is over using/abusing the service.


RE: Still worth it
By Alexstarfire on 4/1/2009 5:25:28 AM , Rating: 2
Actually they've already had a whole debacle over the throttling. They do throttle accounts that return movies to often. We actually ended up getting a free month because of it. Not sure if it's still in effect, but I know it was before. Started out with me getting about 6 movies a week, now I'm lucky if it's 3 a week and it's the same plan we've had since we started.

Truth is equality in Netflix is non-existant. I wish it worked the way you said it did. My queue has over 100 DVDs in it, down from the over 200 it used to be. I haven't even looked at the queue in forever since I'm no where near the end. Once I get that far I'll just go back and add all the new TV-series seasons again.

BTW, I don't understand your last paragraph at all. Wouldn't it actually benefit other customers more if they returned movies quicker? Means they aren't just sitting around collecting dust at some dudes house. Also, I fail to see how I can overuse a service that does not limit me. It's rather like Comcast's throttling honestly. They don't limit you but use to much and they give you the shaft. Course many got the shaft anyway once they throttled P2P. That was just stupid on their part.


Downgraded
By Lazarus Dark on 3/31/2009 1:47:23 PM , Rating: 2
My entertainment budget is tight, and getting tighter since I am in the process of buying my first house. When I got the Netflix email, I immediately went and downgraded from 4 at a time with bluray to 3 at a time with bluray. I was already on the fence as to whether I was getting my money's worth. As I may be getting HD satellite in the new house (currently getting free satellite where I am), I will likely downgrade further to 2 at a time. Then again, most movies worth seeing in HD, I consider worth buying, so the only Blurays I usually rent are movies I haven't seen before and don't know if they are worth a buy.

But I can understand where Netflix is coming from. At this point, people with Bluray are not broke, but likely have additional income (as they already have an HDTV and a Bluray player, not impulse buys for many people). So I'm sure they see that Bluray users have more money and they can likely squeeze them a bit more than dvd only members.




RE: Downgraded
By Moishe on 3/31/2009 1:55:13 PM , Rating: 2
I recently downgraded from 3 to 2-at-a-time because I didn't have the time to watch 3 movies each weekend. The BD fee of $1 was easy, but $3 I feel is a bit much.

I base this solely on the fact that MOST of the movies on my list are not Blu-ray. In fact I haven't received a Blu-ray disc in about a month. Too bad they can't charge the fee just for months where one or more BD titles are actually received.

I stream a lot and regardless of the $3, I will continue with Netflix. They've been solid and reliable. Still so much cheaper than using Blockbuster.


RE: Downgraded
By BPB on 3/31/2009 2:34:05 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
Too bad they can't charge the fee just for months where one or more BD titles are actually received.
Maybe you should rephrase that. Of course they can do that, they simply chose to not do it.


RE: Downgraded
By Moishe on 3/31/2009 3:18:06 PM , Rating: 2
True. and they should do it. I don't like paying $1 more, much less $3, on a monthly fee for a feature I do not use that month.


RE: Downgraded
By vapore0n on 3/31/2009 3:57:57 PM , Rating: 2
Its a service that its available to you, whether you use it or not.

Utility on the other hand is something you pay for the amount you use. Dont expect cable, phone and now netflix to change over to utility based pricing.


To much $$$ for to little
By thepenguin99 on 3/31/2009 2:04:02 PM , Rating: 2
I have had netflix for a little over 2 years now. When I got the service (3 out) it was $17.99 a month which was later decreased to $16.99 a month. Later they added the $1 premium to watch blu-rays. I happily paid it since, to me, it didn't really feel like an increase at all. Now they want $3 more for me to watch blu-rays and I am looking at Blockbuster. Netflix is worth a premium over Blockbuster but I am not sure it is worth the $5 premium they now want for me to rent blu-rays 3 out at a time.

Personally, I wish they would break up the services more than they do. I feel like my $4 fee for blu-rays (if I stay) is subsidizing the streaming features which are currently free and I don't use at all.




RE: To much $$$ for to little
By SocrPlyr on 3/31/2009 4:02:23 PM , Rating: 2
Blockbuster's 3 at a time is $19.99, and Netflix 3 at a time with blu-ray is $21.99. Thus it is $2 more, so that is a pretty small premium over Blockbuster in my opinion.

As for subsidizing streaming, I doubt it. Your account already pays for this service, otherwise they would have upped all accounts' pricing. You have to remember that to stream a movie probably costs them a relatively small fraction (my guess is about 1/3) of them sending and getting back a DVD. Now for those using streaming does watching 3 movies via streaming reduce the need to receive 1 movie by mail... probably.


RE: To much $$$ for to little
By thepenguin99 on 3/31/2009 4:31:04 PM , Rating: 2
You are comparing apples to oranges. Blockbusters mail only 3 out plan is $15.99....the plan with 5 in store exchanges is $19.99.

As for the streaming. Like I said, its just how I feel about it and may be totally inaccurate.


RE: To much $$$ for to little
By SocrPlyr on 3/31/2009 9:29:31 PM , Rating: 2
Oh, gotcha. Blockbuster doesn't list the $15.99 plan on their site (is it still an option?). Weird. But no matter what it is apples to oranges because the Netflix does come with the streaming as you mentioned.


If Redbox...
By mholler on 3/31/2009 2:07:31 PM , Rating: 2
If Redbox increases their inventory of Blu-ray discs then it might not be too long before Netflix and BB Online start seeing some serious losses in revenue and customers. In my area there are many Redbox locations with new ones being installed very rapidly. It's just as convenient, if not more so, then the mail order system. The only drawback is the lack of selection, but being able to reserve online is a huge benefit.




RE: If Redbox...
By VoodooChicken on 3/31/2009 2:27:11 PM , Rating: 2
Redbox is definitely the best overall value vending machine rental. Moviecube in my area sometimes has better stock, but they don't like some of my credit cards, and I like being able to check out at one redbox and return at another. Replay doesn't have blu-ray out here yet, so let's see if Redbox can seize the initiative.


RE: If Redbox...
By Moishe on 3/31/2009 3:19:56 PM , Rating: 2
Redbox is a great idea... especially with Blu-Ray. I like having an option for on-a-whim rentals.

More competition is a good thing.

Anyone know how much Redbox charges if you "keep" a blu-ray title?


RE: If Redbox...
By SirKronan on 3/31/2009 5:49:57 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, it's hard for me to understand what Netflix expects to gain from this. I mean, I know they want to make more money, but Netflix has really been gaining market share, putting the hurt on the likes of Blockbuster and others.

And we have seen some consistent dropping in blu-ray pricing as well. I remember when new releases in retail stores were $29.99 or $34.99 their release week. Now we're getting $24.99 new releases (and even some $20 ones) in your normal retail stores. So since Blu-rays are getting cheaper to buy, Netflix now wants to charge more? That's what puzzles me, especially with growing popularity of services such as Redbox. Movie rentals for a buck a night. Within four minutes of my house we have THREE Redboxes! One at Maverik gas station, one at Smith's grocery store, and one at the Wallgreen's pharmacy. They At this particular intersection, 3 of the four corners have a Redbox!! And rentals are $1.

I haven't seen any blu-rays pop up yet. How much are they? I would pay $2 to rent blu-ray, but not a $3 price hike over what cost $1 extra before. I have been seriously considering getting a Netflix subscription. This helps me make up my mind not to ...


cancel
By obiwankenobi on 3/31/2009 2:16:33 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
Netflix doesn't seem too bothered by the significant price increase on some of the plans and simply tells customers who don’t like the new fees to cancel the Blu-ray add-on


how about canceling my subscription and the rest of the subscribers will do the same, will this still not bother Netflix?




RE: cancel
By Netscorer on 3/31/2009 4:56:22 PM , Rating: 2
I don't think it will happen en mass but what a lot of people are going to do is downgrade their plans and realize that they are not missing on anything as they still can only watch so many movies per week. That will hurt Netflix bottom line as their whole business model is based on people biting more then they can chew, i.e. subscribing to the most popular '3 DVD at a time' plan and then just sitting on their rentals for a week at a time.


RE: cancel
By FormulaRedline on 4/1/2009 1:33:37 PM , Rating: 2
Done. Canceled.

When Netflix tried to tell me they were charging an extra dollar for Blu-Ray the first time, I took a look at my cheap two movies per month plan, realized what a huge increase that would be, and took my business to Blockbuster. I have had a great experience with Blockbuster and Blu-ray for the past few months and would recommend it to anyone else who loves HD but is price sensitive.


Obvious what's happening here
By Type2 on 3/31/2009 2:42:04 PM , Rating: 5
Typical life cycle of corporation. First innovate and undercut competition. Second take market share. Third marginalize former competition's goodwill and capitalize on success by expanding both market and mind share. Fourth create brand loyalty. Fifth raise prices based upon customer-centric spin such as "better customer experience". Sixth repeat step five multiple times until goodwill is diminished to a point that cycle repeats.




RE: Obvious what's happening here
By Bigjee on 4/1/2009 5:14:00 AM , Rating: 2
Now that's worth a 6.


Shenanigans
By Smilin on 3/31/2009 6:07:07 PM , Rating: 3
This implies that Netflix actually HAS blu-rays to rent. I cancelled my subscription a few weeks ago.

They have few if any new releases on blu-ray and the rest of the collection is mediocre and in some cases poorly stocked.

I was also disappointed with their streaming video. The selection was again very poor and the video quality at "HD" was not even on par with DVD. Amazon Unbox (which also works with my TiVo) is much better.

I think Netflix has a fantastic idea going but then need to sort out whatever supply or studio contract issues are holding them back. I'll try them again in maybe a year to see how things have progressed.




cracked blu-ray discs
By etekberg on 4/2/2009 10:19:43 AM , Rating: 3
I wonder if the real reason for the increase is the high number of blu-ray discs that are broken (cracked) in the mail. It seems like about 50% of the blu-ray discs I receive from netflix have a small crack on the outside of the disc that renders them unplayable. That has got to be costing Netflix a lot. It seems to happen to a lot of customers as pictured here: http://marsbox.com/blog/news/cracked-netflix-blu-r...




Pfft
By Ozziedogg on 3/31/2009 4:20:54 PM , Rating: 2
Blu-ray? I turn my nose at these primitive data storage methods!
Get back to me when I can buy my quantum computer in test tube form that can store every single movie, video,and audio recording ever done by man.




ShapeGSX...
By Noya on 3/31/2009 9:49:27 PM , Rating: 2
I wonder if he's from DSMtalk.com. My first car was an Eclipse GSX, a very fun yet unreliable sports coupe (basically the predecessor to the Evo in the US).




By Integral9 on 4/1/2009 9:01:01 AM , Rating: 2
"In Fall 2006, Blockbuster signed a deal with The Weinstein Company, that gave it the exclusive rental rights to the studio's films beginning January 1, 2007.[52] This agreement forced Netflix to obtain copies from mass merchants or retailers, instead of directly from the studio.[53] Netflix has speculated that the effect of the Blockbuster-Weinstein agreement could result in higher rental costs and/or fewer copies of the studio's movies, which would limit the number of each movie's DVDs that would be available to subscribers at any one time." _wikipedia

Damn. I thought they still had an agreement with the studios to get the movies for in exchange for royalities.




Rewind fees...?
By chagrinnin on 4/4/2009 6:53:17 PM , Rating: 2
After installing my mother's first DVD player years ago, my mother complained about having to watch the disk rewind instead of rewinding like the VCR tapes with a black screen.

True story.




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