Netflix goes bat@#%@ insane, it's $16 a month now if you want to keep 1 DVD + streaming, $18 for...

I wouldn't be surprised if this has more to do with the studios wanting more money.

Actually, I think they are trying to get everyone to switch to their streaming only service, eventually discontinue the DVD plans, then switch to a tiered streaming plan.

 

I'm currently evaluating my options, and since most DVD's and Blu-ray discs from Netflix are "Rental Only" discs, with forced trailers and no extras, I'm on the fence at this point. Amazon just offered me a renewal on my Student Prime membership, which was free the first year but did not include video streaming, and if I renew is $40 and now includes streaming. But that means keeping both the PS3 and the Panny BD60 attached to my HT setup, since the PS3 can't do Amazon, and the BD60 can't do Vudu, Hulu+, Netflix, or CinemaNow.

Yep, it is definitely official and not going to change.

 

http://www.deadline.com/2011/07/netflix-unveils-60-price-hike-for-streaming-plus-dvd-service/

 

And the $18 for one BD and streaming pretty much means I'll kill the rental and just do redbox now and again.   I'm up in the air on the streaming.

Sam:

 

While I don't have Netflix myself, I passed along your link to my daughter who is a subscriber.  This was her response to me:

 

 

 

Bummer news for unlimited streaming/disc subscribers.

 

I simply don't have the time to watch many rental movies each month (thanks to two toddlers), nor do I have any interest in streaming.  Last year my wife and I downgraded to the bare minimum - one DVD out at a time, max of 2 per month.  The monthly rate is about $5 and so far it's been a perfect fit for our lifestyle.

 

I can't justify the price increase for BR with NetFlix - I have several RedBox kiosks near my home that I can use for that if need be.

 

I'm not terribly surprised that they are discovering that there is, in fact, still a solid market for discs in the mail.  It will be a long time before the market shifts to streaming only.

Just checked my membership. I have the 3 dvd and streamimg plan and it will be going from $19.99 to $23.98. That sounds a little steep to me but still beats paying $40 plus a month for cable. I currently have "antennae" service which runs me $12 a month from comcast. I might drop the 3 dvds down to 1.

Wow.  I was mulling subscribing, but not now...

 

Todd-

Look at the Panasonic BD110, 210 or 310.  It will stream all of those services.

Yup, my plan is going from $14.99 to $19.98....not a horrible increase, and one I can fully afford, but I wonder where down the line it will change again....

Thinking further I'm suprised they don't give you a price break by susscribing to more than one service (DVD+streaming)

I agree. Prices are going to go up; that's just the reality of inflation. But this is quite a hike, and it would be nice if they'd knock a couple of dollars off for people who want to subscribe to both.

I guess I'm a little more indifferent to it than most people. It's a jump for sure, but I don't see it as that bad especially when compared to cable or satellite services.

However, it seems like this hullabaloo could have been avoided if they had made these the rates and plans the norm when they first introduced the streaming service. Sure, not many people would have added the service at first, but this new deal seems like backtracking. Like, "Hey here's a free extra we're gonna give you!" And then later, "Hey! Remember that free extra service, it's not free anymore!" Sorta like a close cousin of "indian giving" to coin an old phrase.

Since I mostly just seem to constantly add things to my Watch Instantly queue but never actually get around to watching any of them, I will probably downgrade to disc-only.

That said, Netflix picked a bad time to announce this because I just got a new Sony BD player that has a ton of non-Netflix streaming services available. I'm much more likely to check out the alternatives now than I would have been, say, two weeks ago.

I'm one in the camp of "not such a big deal." We have the 4 DVD + streaming + Blu-ray and our plan is only increasing by $2. Evidently the biggest increase is for the 1 DVD + streaming subscribers who are getting a $6 hike.

September 1 is an interesting time for it to take effect; with the fall TV season starting up at that point, it makes it that much easier for me to drop Netflix.

It is. We currently pay $32.98 and it will go up to $34.98 on September 1st.

And I think that is what most current subscribers who actively use both services really want and are surprised that a "bundle" deal is not available.

 

But, if I'm reading the original post from Netflix's blog correctly, it looks like they are splitting the two services as if they were two separate companies, which would make a bundle discount a bit more difficult, at least on paper.
 

 

 

I have rarely used the streaming feature on Netflix (lacking a BR player capable of doing such), so, given a choice, I'll dump the streaming option and only keep the DVD/BR mailers. I can't give up the service entirely, as Netflix has essentially put an end to my expensive "blind-buying" phase (and good riddance).

My kids stream tons of programming and use that service daily (we dropped cable last year, so getting all of the Nickelodeon and Disney Channel content that Netflix streams has been wonderful). My wife and I probably only watch 2-4 movies per month from them on dvd, so we'll be dropping that part of the plan, and just use Redbox for the few times a month we rent discs.

That's the price for me too.
I was grandfathered in on the 4 out price of $25 that is now going up to $28 now I think and eliminates any grandfathered price.
Then add the price for the streaming and I'm up to $35. So I get a $10 increase.
It a shame for people like me who have been using the service for over ten years, ever since it was a sponsor on the original DVD Resource that there is no discount or bundle pricing anymore.

I will likely be deleting the disc portion and just stream for a bit anyway.
Here is the email. The last sentence is very revealing.

.
.
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We are separating unlimited DVDs by mail and unlimited streaming into two separate plans to better reflect the costs of each. Now our members have a choice: a streaming only plan, a DVD only plan, or both.

Your current $24.99 a month membership for unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs (including Blu-ray access) will be split into 2 distinct plans:

   Plan 1: Unlimited Streaming (no DVDs) for $7.99 a month
   Plan 2: Unlimited DVDs (including Blu-ray), 4 out at-a-time (no streaming)
              for $26.99 a month

Your price for getting both of these plans will be $34.98 a month ($7.99 + $26.99). You don't need to do anything to continue your memberships for both unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs.

These prices will start for charges on or after September 1, 2011.

You can easily change or cancel your unlimited streaming plan, unlimited DVD plan, or both, by going to the Plan Change page in Your Account.

Let's see...right now, I'm at $11.99 for unlimited streaming and unlimited DVD/BD's.  My new price is going to be $17.98.  I don't stream nearly enough, so that's going to go.

 

This whole thing reminds me of our recent office move: parking had been free for the life of the company, but in the new office, a parking pass is $50 a month (carpool and busing is free).  Same thing here: a formerly free "perk" is now going to cost money.  Sorry, I'm dropping the streaming. 

 

I wonder, though, how long it will take for it to be free again.  I can see lots of people leaving Netflix over the constant rate hikes.

I don't appreciate movie titles dropping out of my Instant Que. I know many titles they only have for a limited time, but there are no notifications to let you know when the titles go missing(I have about 200 in my Que).

$16...? Can we expect many, many more new release films available for streaming then? If so, I may keep my subscription.

I'm on the $11.99 plan, which would go up to $17.98.

I don't use Netflix enough to warrant that kind of price hike, so I am dropping the service altogether.

They are only launching streaming in most other countries. If you look at it as they charge $7.99 for streaming means that they where only geting $2 for DVD shipping. I can't imagine it was profitable for them. They gave streaming away basically when they launched it. While this is a crazy increase I think it makes since. Not happy I will decrease to one disk from two.

I left Netflix last month.  I couldn't justify the cost to watch movies on a subscription basis.  If I didnt' have two kids, it might be different.  However, Redbox is just a much better value prop, particularly after this price increase.  I can rent 18 Redbox movies for the same cost of one month of Netflix Blu-Ray.  Granted, I get streaming, but I can't stand the video quality of the video streaming on Netflix on anything but a flat screen.  Trying to watch streaming in my HT is just a bad experience.

 

 

 

 

Yep, they REALLY need to increase the quality of streaming if they want to charge more for it. That includes adding 5.1 sound on ALL devices (I know the PS3 and a few other things support it now, but my TV doesn't.)

See for me Redbox really doesn't help me because I watch very few new movies. I watch old movies and old tv shows (for the most part). My kids stream daily and there are some old tv shows on streaming that are not on dvd (Gunsmoke Season 8). So for me the only option is to go from 3 dvds to 1.

What you mean it's not a horrible increase.  That's a 25% increase for you.  My plan is going up 33%.  Those two increases are significant ones.

 

 

That's my plan too and I'm probably going to do the same as you.