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

[Towergrove]

Originally Posted by Cameron Yee /t/312972/netflix-goes-bat-insane-its-16-a-month-now-if-you-want-to-keep-1-dvd-streaming-18-for-1-bluray-out/210#post_3878290
I was curious about the effect of USPS delivery changes' on Netflix, but the info I found basically said because Netflix pre-sorts by zipcode before they bring to the mail processing center, that the 2-3 day delivery timeline does not apply. However, the reduction of processing centers is another issue.

Quote:

Did the USPS announce that they were definitely going to cut delivery days? I don't believe Congress has decided on anything yet. Next year being a major election year they may not have the stomach to cut anything USPS. Many of the older folks who this will effect are the ones who get out the vote. I will believe the cuts when I see them.

As far as Netflix streaming goes, the service is fine until part of the series that you are watching is no longer available as a instant stream. This happens a lot and makes me feel that I have wasted time watching said series (usually a BBC series). These streams are only on the service as a limited time basis until the streaming right expires for the program. After that POOF...gone.
Don't have this problem with the optical disc.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Did the USPS announce that they were definitely going to cut delivery days? I don't believe Congress has decided on anything yet. Next year being a major election year they may not have the stomach to cut anything USPS. Many of the older folks who this will effect are the ones who get out the vote. I will believe the cuts when I see them.

Bad things are happening dangerously fast with the Postal Service.

In May they will most likely announce the end of first-class service as
we know it as they relax the mail standards. Hundreds of postal processing
facilities will be closed, workers transferred or laid off, and there will
be no such thing as timely quick delivery unless you go with Express
Mail.

This is not to be decided by Congress but the Postal Regulatory Commission.

 

[Towergrove]

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein /t/312972/netflix-goes-bat-insane-its-16-a-month-now-if-you-want-to-keep-1-dvd-streaming-18-for-1-bluray-out/240#post_3885683




Bad things are happening dangerously fast with the Postal Service.

In May they will most likely announce the end of first-class service as
we know it as they relax the mail standards. Hundreds of postal processing
facilities will be closed, workers transferred or laid off, and there will
be no such thing as timely quick delivery unless you go with Express
Mail.

This is not to be decided by Congress but the Postal Regulatory Commission.

We shall see what happens.

 

[Sam Posten]

Any volunteers?
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/21/netflix-cmo-management-change/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

 

[John Dirk]

Wow. So the guy in charge who makes the decisions remains in place, but he reshuffles his subordinates? What good will that do? If changes are in order at Netflix [not necessarily saying they are] then I think it should start from the top.

 

[Sam Posten]

Exactly right John. It's a cautionary tale:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57468798-93/netflixs-lost-year-the-inside-story-of-the-price-hike-train-wreck/

 

[David Deeb]

Great read. Thanks for sharing, Sam.
While they aren't making as much public noise about it, the number of new releases Netflix is stocking on DVD & Blu-ray is plummeting. Only the most major hit films & a few random films here and there are showing up in the new release page.
Certainly there is still a healthy market for the art films, concerts, foreign, classics, weird and obscure films they Netflix used to stock. All of these are not on available on streaming and it's really devaluing the DVD subscription. I think there are many customers, like myself, who like both formats (disc and streaming) and subscribe to both. They are obviously pressing on with the aggressive streaming plan. They are just doing it behind the scenes now rather than in press releases and YouTube clips.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Bad things are happening dangerously fast with the Postal Service.

In May they will most likely announce the end of first-class service as
we know it as they relax the mail standards. Hundreds of postal processing
facilities will be closed, workers transferred or laid off, and there will
be no such thing as timely quick delivery unless you go with Express
Mail.

This is not to be decided by Congress but the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Well, this explains why my Blockbuster Online rental service has been slower than usual since it reactivated last month -- I usually only keep it active for a couple months at a time and then suspend for 2-3 months in between. In the past, it usually only took 1 day for delivery (in either direction) for very fast turnaround times, but now, it seems to take at least 2 business days each way and sometimes 3 days. And BB also doesn't send out rentals on Saturdays anymore -- I think they used to do it on Saturdays, but stopped in the past year or so.

With these changes, I probably would've downgraded to their 2-rentals-per-month option if I still could, but doesn't look like it's possible to do anymore (unless they've just hidden it away somewhere on their site or maybe will offer it if I threaten to completely cancel my subscription).

Too bad Redbox isn't a good option where I live -- and of course, actual BB stores have become just as hard to get to nowadays...

_Man_

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Man,

This is the beginning of the end of the postal service, though
the beginning had begun long ago.

Things are bad here. Our plant is slated to close. My job is
on the line.

Mail standards have just been relaxed and already, with these
plant closings, delays are on the rise.

The President and Congress are not interested in saving the
Postal Service and as such, expect to see the system get worse.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Ron,

That's bad news indeed... and it may well be bad for my bro as well since he also works for the USPS -- I haven't talked to him much of late (not that he's much of a talker anyway), so didn't hear anything about this from him.

And yeah, mail delivery standards seemed to have been dropping in recent years throughout Brooklyn, including my neighborhood, although I didn't realize that it was a USPS/country-wide thing. Well, at least reliability of mail delivery in my neighborhood seems to have improved/stabilized somewhat recently compared to last year even though it's still not what it was a few years back. At least I don't regularly see mail delivered to the wrong place anymore -- I would often receive someone else's mail (from completely different building or even street) or have my mail delivered elsewhere (and have had to make sure I receive certain bills that I still need to pay by mail in a timely manner). My brother said it's probably because of the contractors they were using at the time -- yes, the poor service began when they switched mailman on us.

Anyway, hope you're able to weather the storm on this...

_Man_

 

[TonyD]

Ive been out for 11 for years after being in for 15.

 

[kingofthejungle]

Exactly right John. It's a cautionary tale:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57468798-93/netflixs-lost-year-the-inside-story-of-the-price-hike-train-wreck/

Good article, thanks for posting that.
I dropped Netflix shortly after the price hike and haven't looked back. At first, I tried to keep the DVD service, but as others have complained abou, the increasing numbers of "Long Wait" and "Unavailable" tags made it clear that classic film buffs (you know, the people who had been loyal Netflix partisans the longest) were no longer a priority for them. I switched to ClassicFlix shortly thereafter and am quite happy with it.
I love the idea of instant streaming, but it's essentially worthless to me as it stands now. One of the things that I used to love so much about Netflix was the ability to explore the catalogs of directors I thought I might be interested in. I actually would wind up buying copies of the films I really liked, and the library let me discover a lot of great work in an easily accessible fashion. You can't use the streaming service this way. According to instantwatcher, the entire oeuvre of Frank Capra is represented by his Bing Crosby vehicle 'Here Comes The Groom' on Netflix instant streaming. Similarly, John Ford gets only 'The Hurricane'. These guys are two of my favorite directors, but if I was introduced to them through these films, it would be a loooong time before I gave them another chance.

 

[Jason_V]

That stinks, Ron. I didn't realize you were going to get caught up in all that.

We're all going to whine about not getting Netflix movies over a weekend, but this is your job. Kinda makes the other whining insignificant, when you think about it.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Sorry to hear that, Ron.

 

[Towergrove]

Great read. Thanks for sharing, Sam.
While they aren't making as much public noise about it, the number of new releases Netflix is stocking on DVD & Blu-ray is plummeting. Only the most major hit films & a few random films here and there are showing up in the new release page.
Certainly there is still a healthy market for the art films, concerts, foreign, classics, weird and obscure films they Netflix used to stock. All of these are not on available on streaming and it's really devaluing the DVD subscription. I think there are many customers, like myself, who like both formats (disc and streaming) and subscribe to both. They are obviously pressing on with the aggressive streaming plan. They are just doing it behind the scenes now rather than in press releases and YouTube clips.

This article (published this week) indicates that Netflix may again be embracing Disc rental:

The Los Gatos, Calif.-based by-mail disc rental pioneer has infamously turned a cold shoulder to DVD and Blu-ray Disc for years — opting instead to focus resources and management’s attention exclusively on streaming and the burgeoning subscription video-on-demand market.
But with Redbox and Verizon Communications set in the coming months to bow a joint venture that combines the former’s kiosk-based physical rental business model with the latter’s digital prowess, Netflix appears to be brushing up on its disc rental roots.
Last week, Netflix began an email campaign that entices existing streaming customers to upgrade their subscriptions to include unlimited disc rentals for an additional $7.99 a month ($15.98 total). The offer included unlimited disc exchanges (one out at a time) shipped to the home in about 24 hours.
Notable to the email was the statement, “No lines, no hassles,” in reference to an oft-cited challenge (by Coinstar management) about renting at a Redbox kiosk. This challenge has prompted Redbox to aggressively double the number of kiosks in heavily trafficked retail locations.
BTIG Research analyst Richard Greenfield, who first noticed the email campaign and kiosk reference, said the fact Netflix is citing physical rentals in a marketing push when there is no mention of DVD or Blu-ray rentals on its homepage underscores growing concern regarding the Redbox/Verizon venture.

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/netflix/netflix-embracing-disc-rental-redboxverizon-jv-looms-27748

 

[Jason Charlton]

I've begun to discover a nice "middle ground" between Netflix and Redbox. I have stuck with Netflix (though we have the absolute cheapest option - 1 DVD at a time, limit of 2 per month for $5) for our older films, but have increasingly enjoyed the convenience of Redbox for newer releases and Blu-Rays.

It's really easy to decide, on a whim, that tonight's going to be a Redbox night - and I have so many kiosk options between work and home to find a title that it's really convenient. Plus, with the coupon offers Redbox often sends me, it works out to $1 for a Blu-Ray rental.

Honestly, the cost effectiveness of Redbox is simply so much better than Netflix - there are months we might only watch one Netflix movie - that were it not for the lack of classic titles, Netflix would be long gone, but as it is, we're content for now.

 

[JohnS]

Has anyone else received an email about a lawsuit against Netflix titled
"Video Privacy Lawsuit – Current and Former Netflix Subscribers"
That claims Netflix unlawfully kept and disclosed information, including records on the movies and TV shows its customers viewed.

 

[TonyD]

yes.

 

[Sam Posten]

Got it as well. The only one who makes out on these suits is the Lawyers.

 

[Sam Posten]

Not good:
http://allthingsd.com/20120904/netflixs-biggest-movies-now-on-amazon/