What's new

Netflix ties with Comcast as largest U.S. Subscription Service: Take Our Poll (1 Viewer)

Ronald Epstein

Founder
Owner
Moderator
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 3, 1997
Messages
66,478
Real Name
Ronald Epstein




I was rather surprised by this article posted

earlier this week that Netflix has tied with

Comcast as the largest U.S. subscription

service as measured with total subscribers.


So, the question we pose to our members

is how many of you are subscribers of Netflix.


We also would like to know how many of you

are interested in subscribing sometime in the

future or not at all.



Visit our
imgrepo
DVD,
imgrepo
BLU-RAY and
imgrepo
3D REVIEW ARCHIVES
 

RobertR

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 19, 1998
Messages
10,675
I subscribed to Netflix in February. I had decided that I had enough of Directv--it felt like a vast wasteland of "reality shows" (I loathe such shows) and infomercials. It finally dawned on me that it made no sense to pay over a hundred bucks a month to watch the handful of channels I did like. For a measly 10 bucks a month I'm watching the shows *I* like with NO commercials. I've discovered shows I never saw in their initial run, such as Lost and Dexter. Plus, I watch them when I want to. The savings let me finance a great new plasma TV, which has the Netflix app built in. About the only downside is that picture quality is sometimes less than I would like, but it's serviceable (I watch both DVDs and streaming video). I'm never looking back. Netflix is great.
 

benbess

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2009
Messages
5,644
Real Name
Ben
I've been with netflix for almost 10 years. Their streaming has slowly gotten better, and now with the HD titles looks quite good. Right now I'm watching Meercat Manor in hd with my daughter. Fun nature stuff, but it's nice to be able to stream and not own something like this.
 

nolesrule

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2001
Messages
3,084
Location
Clearwater, FL
Real Name
Joe Kauffman
Thanks to the streaming, we've dropped from 2 out a time to 1 out at a time. Considering the quick turnaround time, that's still 2 discs a week when we are that efficient at watching what comes in.


We've been subscribers 3 different times over the last 6 or 7 years.
 

cafink

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 19, 1999
Messages
3,044
Real Name
Carl Fink
I also subscribe to Netflix, both their DVD (3 discs at a time) and streaming services. It's a great bargain.
 

GMpasqua

Screenwriter
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Messages
1,431
Real Name
Greg
Netflix's advertising bothered me from day one, and it still does -[SIZE= 20px][COLOR= #000000] right in your face [/COLOR][/SIZE]every time you open certain web pages


I have not and will not subscrib to Netflix for that very reason.


If it came down to watching the film on netflix or nothing else - I'd read the book!
 

Cinescott

Supporting Actor
Joined
Nov 2, 2010
Messages
848
Location
Milwaukee, WI
Real Name
Scott
Tried Netflix in February, but didn't like the lack of selection for many titles. The quality needs to be improved a lot too.
 

JeremyR

Supporting Actor
Joined
Oct 15, 2003
Messages
551
Location
Kansas City
Real Name
Jeremy
I am interested, but was so disturbed at the poor quality of HD streaming I was getting from Amazon VOD for some free coupons I had received, I am hesitant to jump on board. I don't know if Netflix is better or not, but the HD Streaming from Amazon VOD was borderline awful IMO. And now my service provider, AT&T is going to be capping usage beginning in May which will make going over fairly easy to do (if you average streaming 10 movies in a month you will go over). Obviously that is a problem with the service provider and I should consider moving, and I might. But my other option is Comcast which I loathe and so I am still assessing my options.
 

benbess

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2009
Messages
5,644
Real Name
Ben
A few thoughts on netflix. (and yes, this whole day I've been posting and avoiding that big pile of final exams I need to grade!)


Anyway, any streaming, even HD streaming, is going to be weak compared to a good blu-ray.But having said that, I think the quality of netflix streaming has improved a lot in just the last 6 months. For it to work, however, you must have very fast and almost industrial strength internet access. You also have to download their latest software. It works best for us on our PS3.


Only a relatively small fraction of their titles are available on streaming. But there are still probably thousands of titles (if you include all of the tv episodes, esp) that you can stream. It's fun for me and the kids to sometimes go to the netflix virtual video store without leaving home and watch that night.


In terms of selection of the DVDs, I think it's pretty impressive. I just rented the movie Letter to Three Wives from 1949. I don't think our local chain video store would have stocked it, but they've gone bust anyway and so the point is moot.


In terms of blu-rays it's very mixed. They tend not to get new titles until a couple of months after they are released. And some they never seem to get. Still they have thousands of blu-rays to choose from, and I simply don't have the room or budget or desire to own every single blu-ray that I watch.


So whether it's streaming, DVDs, or blu-rays, I think Netflix can be a good choice. But it's not for everybody. And unfortunately for my wife it certainly hasn't stopped me from buying blu-rays at a rapid clip. Gosh darn you to heck Criterion!
 

Professor Echo

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Messages
2,003
Location
Los Angeles
Real Name
Glen
Originally Posted by JeremyR . And now my service provider, AT&T is going to be capping usage beginning in May which will make going over fairly easy to do (if you average streaming 10 movies in a month you will go over).
It's about 10 HD movies, I believe, and more like 20+ SD movies. Still though, I am not happy about the capping being imposed by ATT, but this is probably the wave of the future.
 

ManW_TheUncool

His Own Fool
Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2001
Messages
11,877
Location
The BK
Real Name
ManW
Not interested at this point. Maybe in the future *IF* -- and that's a big IF -- I can get fast enough broadband cheaply enough to yield good quality results. I'm definitely not holding my breath on that...


Also, maybe if NF's BD rental service becomes more viable, I'd consider that though I don't like the idea of having to pay for inclusion of their streaming service (on top of the BD premium price) just to get disc rentals from them. Right now, I still use Blockbuster Online during occasional months for BD rentals, but ultimately, I much prefer to just buy/own titles to enjoy at our own leisure if/whenever viable -- beyond that, we're probably better off spending our time doing other good/interesting things instead...


_Man_
 

Mark-W

Supporter
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 6, 1999
Messages
3,297
Real Name
Mark
I have been with Netflix since back in the days when DIVX was a competing format for DVD.


As of late, I am not as happy with them when it comes to TV Series.


First Dexter vanished from my queue and being available to "unknown" and now

"Upstairs Downstairs" (the original 1970s show) suddenly vanished when I had just

finished series 3 and was looking to finish series 4 and 5 before watching the continuation

that just aired on PBS.


Now it, too, is "unknown" in terms of availability, which chaps me to no end considering I can

walk down the street and purchase it..but I did not want to purchase, which is why I thought
I had Netflix... If they keep this up, they will eliminate my desire to retain them at $25 a month.
 

DaveF

Moderator
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2001
Messages
28,670
Location
Catfisch Cinema
Real Name
Dave
I was a NetFlix member for a year or two around '99 and I had my first DVD player. I really liked it, and I saw a number of movies I wouldn't have otherwise watched due to their queuing system. But I stopped, to trim the budget.


So I voted the "don't use it, no plans". Today, I have two TivoHDs and can't keep up with shows from just local networks. And during the summer I watch TV shows on DVD. And I watch other DVD shows at the gym, on business travel, and at during Red Cross donations. I don't have space for Netflix :)


But I keep in it mind for a future option as its streaming selection expands. I looked into two years ago and the streaming TV options were slim pickings. I think they've gotten better. If broadcast TV had a bad season, I'd get Netflix before paying for digital cable.
 

Robert Crawford

Crawdaddy
Moderator
Patron
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 9, 1998
Messages
67,472
Location
Michigan
Real Name
Robert
Originally Posted by Professor Echo



It's about 10 HD movies, I believe, and more like 20+ SD movies. Still though, I am not happy about the capping being imposed by ATT, but this is probably the wave of the future.


Then it's going to hurt the streaming business model versus purchasing/renting actual discs.
 

DaveF

Moderator
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2001
Messages
28,670
Location
Catfisch Cinema
Real Name
Dave
Originally Posted by Professor Echo

It's about 10 HD movies, I believe, and more like 20+ SD movies. Still though, I am not happy about the capping being imposed by ATT, but this is probably the wave of the future.


10 * 120 min / 45 min ~= 27 HD TV shows < 7 shows per week. That's plenty for many people, but not enough for the avid viewer. With that sort of cap, you couldn't make Netflix your sole TV source. But it also means you can't circumvent the networks to get content from illegitimate sources either.
 

Stephen_J_H

All Things Film Junkie
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Messages
7,859
Location
North of the 49th
Real Name
Stephen J. Hill
We already have capping in Canada, which is my primary reason for not subscribing to Netflix. The government is making promises to get rid of the caps and usage-based billing, but we'll have to wait until after the election to see if the promises bear fruit.
 

Josh Steinberg

Premium
Reviewer
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2003
Messages
26,250
Real Name
Josh Steinberg
I've been a Netflix subscriber since 1999. While I'm mostly satisfied with their mail-order-rental service (they have pretty much everything that's in print that I'd ever want to see), the streaming service leaves a lot to be desired. I'm not even talking technical quality - I don't expect streaming to look as good as a Blu-ray - but the selection is pretty poor, and titles often disappear before I've had a chance to watch them. It's very rare that I end up watching something on their streaming service simply because most of what I'd want to rent from them isn't available on it. Also, I've been disappointed that for the first time since their service began, they're suddenly not getting everything day-and-date with the actual street date.


All in all, it's a good service, but if you took away the physical disc rental section, there's no way I'd subscribe to their streaming service simply because there's not enough there.
 

Douglas Monce

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2006
Messages
5,511
Real Name
Douglas Monce
I've been with Netflix for about 10 years. Very happy with the service.


I have Cox, using the second to the lowest speed plan, up to 18mbps. I have no problems at all viewing HD programming on Netflix. I know some cable providers have been capping bandwidth and data rates, but Cox has been doing just the opposite. They have just increased the speeds of all of their plans, and doubled data usages limits (which were already so high I never came close to maxing them out.)


I have Netflix on the PS3 and a Vizio blu-ray player. HD streaming looks to be around the quality of HD cable services such as AMC or the Discover channel. SD stuff looks to be about on par with a DVD, of course thats only if the source material is good in the first place. On the PS3 some films have 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus audio.


Doug


Edit: Don't know how many are aware of this yet, but they just added most of the Bond films that are not yet out on blu-ray, in HD, as well as Dial M for Murder in HD. Oh and also the complete Twin Peaks show in HD.


Edit again: Another one that just showed up. The original Twilight Zone in HD.
 

Jason Charlton

Ambassador
Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 16, 2002
Messages
3,557
Location
Baltimore, MD
Real Name
Jason Charlton
I've been a Netflix subscriber for many years. I have no interest in streaming, so I've never tried it. For many years, my wife and I maintained two separate queues under one account, and we had a "2 discs out at a time unlimited monthly" plan which worked great - one "guy" pick and one "chick" pick in the house at all times.


After the kids arrived, we found that it was becoming more and more difficult to find time to watch movies frequently enough to make the service worthwhile and to get the most of our monthly fee.


Then Netflix ditched the whole concept of having multiple queues so we wound up reducing our plan to the absolute cheapest - 1 movie at a time, max of 2 per month and that works out just about perfectly for us.


We've also opted to stick with DVD only - no Blu-ray rentals for us. We have a Redbox nearby that has Blu-rays, so if there's a movie I really want to see in HD, I'll go that route instead.
 

DaveF

Moderator
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2001
Messages
28,670
Location
Catfisch Cinema
Real Name
Dave
The poll isn't explicit about this, so my own sub poll :)


Do you watch discs or streaming more?


How do you mostly watch streaming Netflix? (e.g. On your PC? With a Wii in the living room? With a Roku in the bedroom? etc.)
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Articles

Forum statistics

Threads
356,710
Messages
5,121,107
Members
144,146
Latest member
SaladinNagasawa
Recent bookmarks
1
Top