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

[Citizen87645]

I'm not really torn up about the price change. My dad isn't able to stream, so the DVD-only plan is actually cheaper for him. Though I would do a little bit of streaming with that account, I haven't done it for several months so it's not a big loss to me at this point. I have a grandfathered account of two DVDs and two hours of streaming a month that generally suits my needs. There's only so much time in which I can watch what is currently aired, review titles for this site, and watch stuff from Netflix, and the bottom line is I'm now paying less than I was before.

 

[Brandon Conway]

That PC World article comparing the different options is interesting.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/235629/netflix_alternatives_other_places_you_can_get_streaming_media_dvd_rentals.html

 

[TonyD]

Reading the article it just sounds like you won't be able to add non-streamed titles to the streaming queue. That doesn't surprise me up sale opportunity.
 

 

I REad it as, no DVDs, no Que.Blockbuster oline has offered a deal for a free month and a few new price selections if you switch over to them from Netflix. I may go over there for discs and keep the streaming on Netflix.But, those who use the streaming from the app on an iPad or other device like it only have access to the streaming Q, so how will that work?It kinda needs a Q.

 

[TonyD]

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/blockbuster/blockbuster-deal-targets-netflix-customers-24489?utm_source=hm_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=hm_daily_07_14_2011&utm_content=blockbuster-deal-targets-netflix-customers-24489
Blockbuster LLC has unveiled a limited-time offer for Netflix customers to switch to Blockbuster Total Access, in an attempt to counter frustrations with Netflix’s recent announcement of a price hike.
Now through Sept. 15, Netflix customers who make the switch to one of Blockbuster’s two most popular Total Access plans will receive a free 30-day trial. When the trial expires, customers will get Total Access for a new price of $9.99 per month for one disc at a time, or $14.99 a month for two discs at a time.
Unlike Netflix, Blockbuster Total Access touts the availability of new releases before the 28-day release window; unlimited exchanges in stores; games for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii; and no extra charge for movies on Blu-ray Disc.
Given Netflix’s pending price increase (it is charging $7.99 each for its streaming-only and DVD-only services starting Sept. 1, effectively raising the base price for getting both from $9.99 to $15.98), many of its customers are exploring their home entertainment options, as evidenced by angry Web posts.
“Blockbuster quickly responded to the cries of Netflix customers,” Blockbuster president Michael Kelly said. “Blockbuster Total Access is Netflix ‘without the wait.’ The combination of DVDs by mail and an unlimited in-store exchanges provides more than 100 million people living near Blockbuster stores immediate convenience and unparalleled choice.”
Kelly said he finds it “shocking” that Netflix raised its rates as high as 60%.
“In contrast, Blockbuster has worked hard over the past few months to deliver value in entertainment to customers in this economy and has even reduced in-store movie rentals to as low as 49 cents,” he said.
To get the deal, Netflix customers may visit blockbuster.com/helloblockbuster or bring their Netflix mailer to a participating Blockbuster store.
 

 

[Bryan Tuck]

More Bad News... Looks Like the Queue for streaming customers will be going too:

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/netflix-is-losing-the-queue-for-streaming-customers.php

I may fostering conspiracy theories here, but I wonder if this is part of their plan:
1) Introduce the price hike.
2) Let everyone freak out.
3) Let it leak out that the streaming queue is going away.
4) Let everyone freak out some more.
5) Backpedal and say, "OK, we're keeping the streaming queue."
6) Let everyone say, "Well at least they're keeping the streaming queue; maybe I can live with the price hike."
Total conjecture, but the price hike at least makes business sense. Taking away the streaming queue just sounds silly.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Not really surprising to me. As some pointed out, something along this line was bound to happen w/ NF (unless they somehow managed to get everyone to stop renting discs).

I'm still on Blockbuster Online myself -- and only keep it activated ~1/2 the time to supplement my growing disc collection. I think they started adding some sort of streaming service, but I'm not really interested.


For those wondering about Dish's acquisition of Blockbuster, I was wondering that too, especially when it first happened. The first month or so of the acquisition seemed to really hurt their rent-by-mail service (at least for BD rentals) as things started to look a lot like what I heard about NF's disc rental service, eg. interruptions to new BD release availability (for both new and catalog titles), longer wait times, etc. I then suspended my account for a couple months as I originally planned, but things started to look more or less back to normal some time before my account was reactivated a week ago -- actually, it's currently looking better than it has in a long time since most titles in my queue show "Available" w/ very few requiring any wait at all (and almost nothing requiring more than a "Short Wait"). Could just be coincidence or maybe I'm getting some sort of hidden priority boost for reactivation -- or maybe the store closings are giving their rent-by-mail service a resource boost.

Anyway, I'm generally satisfied w/ Blockbuster's rent-by-mail service (sans occasional hiccups) though I still plan to only keep it active ~1/2 the time. And the inevitable changes w/ NF certainly do not entice me to switch -- I was an NF customer a long time ago, but I really don't find much diff between NF and Blockbuster wrt their rent-by-mail service other than the latter actually seems to be noticeably better for BD renters (based on what I hear about NF's BD service that charges extra).

_Man_

 

[SD_Brian]

“Blockbuster quickly responded to the cries of Netflix customers,” Blockbuster president Michael Kelly said. “Blockbuster Total Access is Netflix ‘without the wait.’ The combination of DVDs by mail and an unlimited in-store exchanges provides more than 100 million people living near Blockbuster stores immediate convenience and unparalleled choice."

The challenge, of course, is to find a Blockbuster store that is actually still open near you.

 

[TonyD]

“Blockbuster quickly responded to the cries of Netflix customers,” Blockbuster president Michael Kelly said. “Blockbuster Total Access is Netflix ‘without the wait.’ The combination of DVDs by mail and an unlimited in-store exchanges provides more than 100 million people living near Blockbuster stores immediate convenience and unparalleled choice."

The challenge, of course, is to find a Blockbuster store that is actually still open near you.

Not being able to do the five per month exchange thing isn't a deal breaker.

 

[JeremyR]

I haven't noticed any in my city of Independence, Mo close other than one about 3 years ago. I still drive by two from my workplace to home.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Not being able to do the five per month exchange thing isn't a deal breaker.

Their rent-by-mail-only service w/out the in-store exchange is cheaper to boot. I never did the in-store thing myself even when they had a store w/in walking distance of me (and another about a mile away) -- rent-by-mail generally works fine enough for me as a supplement to my collecting.

_Man_

 

[Brian McHale]

I fully understand that it was only a matter of time before streaming wouldn't be a free add-on to the DVD rentals. However, why does NetFlix have to make such dramatic increases for existing customers? Just like when they started charging extra for Blu-ray Discs, the increase is simply too big. Why not give existing customers a break, especially for bundling? Why do they insist on aggravating their existing customers?
When they cranked the prices up for BDs, I decided to scale back my membership, reducing my overall cost. This time, I did the same thing, dumping streaming (we rarely used it anyway). So, once again, a NF fee increase has resulted in a reduction in my monthly costs. Maybe I should be thanking them.

 

[Al_S]

I've been a streaming customer of Netflix only so the price for me is not going up. But I haven't really streamed anything in weeks so I may drop them. I never liked the fact that I have to put things in my queue first before watching anything from my Tivo or LG Blu-Ray player. Tivo recently added Hulu + so I tried it free for 30 days. I have to say that after reading a lot of negative things about Hulu + I was sure I would drop it after the trial. But I am keeping it for now. It is really easy to use and I found a couple of shows I never heard of that I really like. I really like the fact the I can browse for shows and then start watching them right away without a need for a PC. I don't understand why Netflix just doesn't do the same thing.

 

[TonyD]

Well, I was considering dropping the disc side of NF and using BB online but...
I just added about 40 discs into my Q over at BBO and nearly everything is long/short wait or unavailable.
This was the problem I have always had with BBO and why after just a few months always cancel and continue using NF.
Looks like the 2 out plans are the same price on both so as much as I dont want to I'll probably just downgrade my NF plan.
:f

 

[MikeSh]

Netflix streaming sucks, I use it very rarely. I'll drop streaming and keep 3 disks a months.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I just purchased a new Panasonic BD player with numerous streaming options, and was considering trying out Netflix for a combo BD rental + streaming. However, with this new pricing structure, I will look elsewhere. There are a couple of streaming options available that offer a pay per view option instead of a monthly subscription fee. For BD rentals, there is still a Blockbuster store less than a mile from my house, and it recently changed its rental fee to $2 for one night's rental. Since we rent only a couple of movies a month (and sometimes go without renting for a month when busy), this seems like a better option for our circumstances.

 

[TheLongshot]

Originally Posted by Al_S
I never liked the fact that I have to put things in my queue first before watching anything from my Tivo or LG Blu-Ray player.

That's a problem relatively unique to Tivo. With the game consoles, you don't have that limitation. You can browse and search and watch stuff without adding it to your queue.

 

[Tony Int]

I do enjoy the streaming for movies (I like the old stuff), but for TV no way as they stream edited episodes of tv shows that are available complete on dvd. Roseanne is an example. I know the season 1 dvd is edited, but all streaming episodes are edited.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Between my new Panasonic BD player and three Wal-Mart exclusive BD's I just purchased, I now have $20.99 in credits on Vudu. With streaming rentals costing between $0.99 and $2.99 each, I will try this service at no cost for awhile and see how it works out. There is no monthly fee for Vudu -- it is currently on a pay per view basis. They have 1080p streams with DD 5.1+ audio, and the quality of the free trailers looked decent.

 

[James David Walley]

I agree. Prices are going to go up; that's just the reality of inflation.

...which is at an all-time low at this point.

 

[James David Walley]

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.

Steve, I remember when Netflix first came out. You were so enthusiastic about it ("the Divx-killer") over at your own site that I found myself wondering if you were a part-owner of the company. The fact that they've managed to lose even you with this move speaks volumes to me.