Netflix

As long as we recognize Lucas is washed up and most TV sucks, we'll all get along fine.
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GORDON
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Netflix

Post by GORDON »

Who has it?

I can use it to stream stuff to my PS3, and I'd like to catch up on some TV, so can I do that?

I am behind on LOST, Heroes, Burn Notice, House, etc. For the most part I don't even care about movie rentals... I do pay per view once every 1 or 2 months when there is something not coming to HBO or Cinemax fast enough.

So can I stream TV, whenever I want, for $10 a month?




Edited By GORDON on 1270849618
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Cakedaddy
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Post by Cakedaddy »

I don't have it either, but was considering it cause Blockbuster keeps changing shit for the worse, and my BD players streams their stuff too.

From what I've seen, no, you can not stream TV whenever you want. You can only stream DVDs. So, when the program releases it's DVDs, you can stream those. However, the streamable stuff is limited. Meaning, just because it's on DVD, doesn't mean it's streaming. Eventually, it will be, but you will normally have to wait a while. HD content is even more limited.

So, streaming is good to catch up on old movies you missed or want to see again and some new releases. But most of the new stuff does not stream.

Again, this is what I've gotten from my research (you can go to netflix and browse their library), and I could be wrong.
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Post by WSGrundy »

The streaming library is way more limited. You can stream Lost and Heros but I didn't see burn notice of house on streaming list. They will let you pick individual episodes of shows but sometimes one will not be available. Episode 4 or 5 from Top Gear season 10 is not available to stream even though the rest of the season is.

Two other things is if you want Blu Ray you have to pay an extra $2 a month and for you PS3 you need to get a disc from netflix and use it when ever you want to stream. I think the PS3 disc cost $1 or something.
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Post by GORDON »

Pulled the trigger on Netflix streaming to my PS3... they were offering it at $7.99/month, no disk is required any more, and I get a month free to try it out.

I browsed through their library... I already noticed some things were "DVD only" and not available for streaming.... so already one small negative.

Cake inspired me to look at the BSG offerings... I saw all of season 4 on there and the description said it was "HD," so we'll see how that works out.

I plan on using it a lot for the next month and I WILL cancel it if I think it is too limited.

The PS3 was beta testing HULU last year, hopefully that will pan out and I can look at reducing the cable TV bill a bit more (I didn't have a HULU account so didn't get in on the beta). My Time Warner bill is currently at $163/month for TV, phone, and internet. TV = digital/DVR/expanded (but no HBO/Cinemax/etc).

But anyway, pulled the trigger on Netflix. Welcome to 2003, Gordo.
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Post by Cakedaddy »

For $7.99, I find plenty of streaming content. BSG was huge. I was moments away from buying it from Amazon for $150. But I decided to try Netflix for a month instead, first. Glad I went that route. I've watched stuff that I didn't think I ever would, simply because it was available. Namely, Weeds (from Showtime) and Dexter (also from Showtime). Then some other obscure stuff. Some was good, some not so. I don't watch a lot of regular programming, so having a huge library of stuff available to me is cool. I would equate the streaming content to:

All of the premium channels (HBO, Showtime, etc) when they aren't showing new release stuff. So, it's made up of all the filler stuff you see on the pay channels. There are some new releases in there, but they are pretty limited. My instant view queue has about 4 times more stuff in it than my DVD/BD queue does.

Also, I've seen articles about how Netflix is investing more money in streaming content than they are DVDs now. So, I believe the streaming content is going to keep getting better.

Lastly, there have been some DVD/BDs that I was considering buying, but didn't because it's available via streaming. So, saving money there too.

I'm happy with Netflix. It does what I want it to.
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Post by GORDON »

What's the difference between "Instant Queue" and just pressing the Play button?
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Post by thibodeaux »

I think instant queue is stuff in your queue that you can watch on the computer.
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Post by GORDON »

thibodeaux wrote:I think instant queue is stuff in your queue that you can watch on the computer.
So that's the final answer? IQ allows me to watch on a PC?
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Post by WSGrundy »

The instant queue just makes a list of stuff that is available for streaming. Not all system that stream have the same interface. Like the PS3 you can search for movies but many Blu Ray players don't let you do any sort of searching. It just shows you what movies are in your instant queue and you need to pick from those.
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Post by GORDON »

Oh, so it's like... bookmarks for movies? That way you don't need to scroll through the entire list when you want to find something? Or search, like the PS3 can do.
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Post by WSGrundy »

GORDON wrote:Oh, so it's like... bookmarks for movies? That way you don't need to scroll through the entire list when you want to find something? Or search, like the PS3 can do.
For some yes but for many blu rays if there is nothing in your instant queue then you would not be able to watch anything streaming on your tv.

But for the PS3 the instant queue is somewhat meaningless.
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Post by GORDON »

Things I wanted to see:

[REC] - Not available for streaming
Cloverfield - Not available for streaming
Quarantine - Not available for streaming

Sigh
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Post by Cakedaddy »

I mainly use my IQ as a bookmark service. When searching for something I do want to watch, I find a handful of things I eventually want to watch. Movies that I've forgotten about, haven't seen in forever, etc. I normally hit my IQ between DVDs. I've even marked movies I own, but like to watch. Now it's available, and I don't have to go dig up the DVD or re-search for it.

One of the more recent viewings, I watched a stand up routine by that Tosh dude. Was pretty good. Worth watching. It was something I stumbled across while searching for other stuff. "Hey, I know that name. I'll check it out. 'add to queue'".

They don't have Cloverfield, but they have Zombieland. I have no idea what criteria is used when deciding what's streamed and what's not.
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Post by Cakedaddy »

Just did a quick search. Those "Megaxxxxx" movies are streamed! Mega Piranha, Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus. Worth this month's $7.99 right there!! But next to those, it suggested the 1982 version of Swamp Thing. Was that supposed to be good?
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Post by GORDON »

How topical. Netflix says they are moving away from the physical DVD model.

http://blog.movies.yahoo.com/blog....er-dvds

They're going to lose a lot of rural peeps with no broadband.
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Post by Leisher »

But next to those, it suggested the 1982 version of Swamp Thing. Was that supposed to be good?


If I remember correctly this was based on Alan Moore's Swamp Thing series that is highly praised.

I honestly don't remember if this was a good film or not. I'm guessing probably not, but I'm conflicted. This came out when I was a kid and it sparks a nostalgic feeling. There weren't many comic book or superhero movies back then, and this counted as one of them.

Netflix says they are moving away from the physical DVD model.


I think Netflix is moving a bit too quickly. I think they're correct that this business model is possible, I just think they're jumping the gun a bit. I understand the reasoning behind it, they're going to save money in shipping/postage, physical inventory, storage, etc. However, there are a number of things I don't think they're taking into account.

First and foremost is the fact that most people do not have their computers in a central location, nor are their TVs hooked up to the internet. Hell, of the people I know with Blu-Ray players (and that includes the PS3) TWO have them hooked up to the internet, me and Gordon. Worse yet, only those same two people were aware Blu-Ray players occasionally needed to be updated with new firmware to play some DVDs.

Secondly, the last estimate I saw had the percentage of U.S. homes with broadband at 57%. That's eliminating 33% of the U.S. population from your consumer base immediately. Of that 57%, how many are on 1-2 MB pipes? How many are on satellite (considered "broadband" and I've seen it at speeds lower than dial-up)?

Third, what about the recent Net neutrality ruling that clears the way for ISPs to start filtering bandwidth?

Fourth, in that same vein, what about pricing models like the Time Warner(?) one we had a long chain here about where they wanted to charge people based on the bandwidth they used? I know the Net Neutrality ruling opens the door further on that. Between porn and online gaming, who has the bandwidth left for movies?

I don't know. I think the market is absolutely there to sustain the company, but I think it's too quick to turn their backs on the rest of the country. Such a move can really bite them on the ass. People who feel "betrayed" will be more likely to give a competitor a chance before returning to Netflix.

Plus, how does this make them any different than the movie on demand services the cable companies already offer? And hey, that's already connected to my TV! And FYI, those services are some of the fastest growing in the movie rental business.

And again, if the cable companies...Netflix's new competitors...decide to start charging for bandwidth used or decide to start making Netflix's traffic a lower priority on their networks, they essentially just got cock blocked from their entire customer base.

Truthfully, I think they're doomed either way.
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Post by Cakedaddy »

I actually know fewer people who don't have a networked device at their TV than don't. Not saying they should dump physical media because of that. Just sayin'.

And Netflix's streaming model is WAY different than PPV. PPV is expensive, Netflix is cheap. For $12 a month, I can stream a ton of movies, and get at least 4 new releases (more if you watch and return quickly). For $12 a month with PPV, I get, maybe 4 movies total? I don't use it, so maybe they are cheaper than $3 sometimes?

I don't know enough about the other points to talk about them.
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Post by GORDON »

Cakedaddy wrote:For $12 a month with PPV, I get, maybe 4 movies total?
Only 2, if you watch them in HD. At least on Time Warner PPV.

That Vudu one too, IIRC.
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Post by Leisher »

I actually know fewer people who don't have a networked device at their TV than don't. Not saying they should dump physical media because of that. Just sayin'.


How many of those devices are consoles?

How many of those console owners are aware that Blu-Ray players need to be updated? How many are interested in TVs, on which you can surf Facebook or Twitter (And didn't this fail in the 90s? Do we really need to re-visit this shit? Nobody wants to surf the web on their TV.)?

Point being is while they might have a kid or one adult who plays online games, the rest of the household doesn't give a shit. My wife wouldn't have the slightest idea how to turn on the X-Box or PS3 and DL something from netflix, and she doesn't care.

I just think Netflix is taking their product, which is currently mainstream, and re-inventing it for a much smaller audience.

As for pricing, I think you'll see the VOD models change based on competition.
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Post by GORDON »

Leisher wrote:How many are interested in TVs, on which you can surf Facebook or Twitter (And didn't this fail in the 90s?
I was thinking just the other day that Gateway 2000 was at least a decade ahead of their time with their.... I think they were called... "Gateway Destination" home theater TV/PCs. IIRC, the last ones made were P2 350MHz systems. Rolled off the line while I was still working there.
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