Online DVD Rentals? (1 Viewer)

[Eric Peterson]

I'll check again, because when I checked a year ago, their selection was pretty weak (IMHO), and no Criterions which a total deal-breaker for me. I doubt that I'll switch right now, because I'm happy with Greencine, but I'll check nonetheless.

 

[Greg*go]

Good luck Eric, but they will still probably have a lack of Criterions. As Haggai stated earlier, generally speaking, they don't repurchase a movie, so if a barebones comes out first, that is *usually* what they have.

 

[Haggai]

Eric, they had NO Criterions when you checked? I've rented plenty of Criterions from them. The phenomenon I mentioned of non-Criterions for previously released titles is more of an exception than a rule for Netflix. In fact, catching up on Criterions was one of the main reasons I re-joined a few months ago, having first been on it about 4 years ago.

 

[John_Bonner]

This is the main reason I joined BB (2 free game rentals per month). But as Philip mentioned the service is shitty. I currently have 32 titles in my queue and only 3 are listed as "Available Now" the rest are Short Wait, Long Wait or Very Long Wait.

When I first joined BB online they were pretty good. Maybe because I was new I got priotity but I think that after the onslaught of promotion, lowering the monthly fee and the latest "keep it as long as you like", there are more people subscribed and holding the movies longer. I may just give Netflix a try.

 

[Philip_G]

One thing to mention, there's always the group of people that feel like netflix slows down more the longer you've been with them. I never noticed it, but I think there are websites dedicated to it

 

[WillG]

Has anyone had problems with Netflix receiving the DVDs you sent back. I joined last week, got my first batch of discs, watched them over the weekend. Sent them back on Monday 04/18. The return address is no more than one day by mail. It is now 04/21 and the discs are still in my "At home" queue. How long have have some of you had to wait?

 

[Philip_G]

Never have, I'm sure if you report it they'll take care of it for you, I think they say to wait 5 days.

Switched back to NF last night, every single movie BB had on wait was available now at NF.

 

[Steve Felix]

Yeah, it's like that when you're new. My anecdotal experience is that the availability did deteriorate with Netflix. I quit and then rejoined quite a while later (which makes this very unscientific) and every last movie in my queue was available. But, even if that theory was ever correct, it probably isn't anymore. Still, I quit again due to weak selection. This was two years ago.

I went to Greencine and I love it. It's slower, yes, but the selection is unbeatable. Plus, their site and newsletters are actually worth reading. I feel like I'm learning something from their recommendations. They are film buffs while Netflix is the corporate mainstream. (That sounds overly cold... they're obviously both great services.)

I haven't used Nicheflix yet but I like the idea.

 

[Greg*go]

I think you get put on waits if you use too many movies in a month. I've noticed at the end of my cycle, they start taking longer to send them out as well. Keep in mind though, I have 3 people using my service, so we return the DVDs fairly fast, usually getting 17-22 movies a month (avging about $1 a disc.) I currently have 100+ movies in my queue, so I'm not really looking at the reccomendations at the moment.

One thing that Netflix or any online vendor is great for is this method:

I'm in my mid-20s, so I've asked people in work for the best movies from the pre 90s since I was either too young or not born yet so I wouldn't be able realize the great adult movies of this time period. As it turns out, there were some great movies made that I would've never remembered to get if I relied on a B&M rental place. If I don't know what to rent, I just get the next thing on my list, wether I've heard of the movie or not. I should be getting a Danish movie called Nattevagten (Nightwatch) tomorrow.

 

[Micah Cohen]

Anyone bugged by this: I keep seeing (online, banners, etc.) NetFlix pricing getting lower and lower. First it was down to $11.99, and now I'm seeing $9.99! Yet, I'm still paying the original BB-induced price break of $17.99/m. Obviously these lower prices are inducements for newbies, but... Is anyone else sort of bothered by the lower intro-prices? Could I get them to lower my monthly?

(As for this thread, I am happy to hear that BB Online Rental is less than great. I have been with NetFlix since they opened and I think they are GREAT; from customer service to selection to send-times, I have no complaints. I should have bought STOCK!)

MC

 

[Bill Gato]

I recently joined NetFlix and was bothered immediately by one major problem...they ship disks from disk sets out of order!

When I put in my order for The Wire and Oz, I made sure that they were in the queue in numerical order. The first disk I received was disk 5 of Season 1. After that, I received disk 4, then disk 2, then disk 1, and finally, disk 3. WTF?

Anyway, the same thing happened with Oz.

Other than that, I've enjoyed their service.

 

[Philip_G]

They shouldn't, unless say 1-3 are not available then they'll ship whichever is next in your queue, which could be 4-6.
They ship in the order things are in your queue...


look at the details, this is probably a 1 at a time, 4 per month max. account.

 

[Greg*go]

It's not a lower plan of newbies Micah, it's a new plan they offer to everyone. The lowest offer used to be:

2-at-a-time (4 rentals a month) for $11.99
Up to 4 rentals a month - up to 2 movies out at a time for a flat monthly fee of $11.99.


but now it's:

1-at-a-time for $9.99
Unlimited rentals - up to 1 movie out at a time for a flat monthly fee of $9.99.

The one at a time rental seems like a better deal since you get unlimited rentals, you can get 5 or 6 DVDs a month if you try.

As far as I know, new people to Netflix still get the 2 weeks free that they have been offering for quite a while now.

Bill, I usually space out the TV series so I only have 1 disc from it out at a time, it helps prevent that problem from happening, and I also keep closer attention of my list when I'm getting that or a 2 disc movie because I don't want to get the wrong disc first.

 

[Jeff Blair]

I think Greg is right. We looked it up one day, and it is cheaper to do it another way, but with my wife and I both getting movies, we have the 3 at a time plan. It works out good. You can even set it up so everyone has there own que, and how many movies they can have at a time.
I haven't noticed a difference on when I get new releases, and I have been with them for about a year now. The main thing is to plan on it. You can either clear your que, or send back the last movie you had about 2 days before the new release. That has worked the best for us. We'll send back a movie on Friday, and they will get it in on Monday, and send us the new release on Tuesday.
And, thanks to the person that pointed out All American Hero. I watched that show when I was a kid, and didn't know that it was out on DVD. Just added it to my que. Along with the other 100.
Here is a thought. There is a way for people to see what you have rented, and what you rate it. Does anyone want to start that up?

 

[Gabriel.H]

If anyone in Canada is looking for a good online dvd rental service try zip.ca 4 dvd's out at a time for 24.95$ a mth, 30,000 titles, rewards. I've tried a few others, but zip.ca is the best one so far IMO.

 

[Jim Sentry]

I was using Walmart DVD club, paying 13.97 p/m. Apparently they sold the business to Netflix and I've been promised the same rate for 1 year.

They were also supposed to transfer my queue.

It did'nt happen. Both Netflix and Walmart trying to straighten it out now.

 

[Citizen87645]

Just found out about the Netlix/Wal-Mart partnership. Being a Wal-Mart boycotter this puts a wrench in the works. Not sure what I'll do...

 

[BrettB]

Every time I go to a B&M to rent I typically have a couple of films in mind. They never have them and I spend 30 minutes walking around like an idiot trying to come up with plan C.

Therefore I'm really considering an online rental deal but I was just at Netflix looking around and I have some concerns.

Updating: I looked up Saving Private Ryan and it appeared to be the old set. Others have talked about this in this thread so what's the deal. Do they ever update with the new release? That would be a key reason to join; to see the latest and greatest without buying/double-dipping.

Multi-disc: I looked up The Terminal and the description didn't even say anything about multiple discs.

Do you get better information after you join? It just seems like the info they provide leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[Chris_Morris]

Which means that the extras disc is available as a separate rental.