Good news, everyone! Netflix jacking prices again!

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 4:14 pm

I have to wonder what percentage of Netflix's customer base even has a 1080 50+" TV with a 7.1 sound system. I'd guess that a majority today do have an HDTV of some sort, but a full-featured home theater that can take advantage of the differences between the latest hard media and streaming? Some do, but probably not that high of a percentage.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 4:19 pm

Blackhawk wrote:I have to wonder what percentage of Netflix's customer base even has a 1080 50+" TV with a 7.1 sound system. I'd guess that a majority today do have an HDTV of some sort, but a full-featured home theater that can take advantage of the differences between the latest hard media and streaming? Some do, but probably not that high of a percentage.

And they'd also need a pretty randy Internet connection. Even Netflix's current HD stream requires several Mb/s, which is somewhere in the ballpark of a pretty solid broadband connection's max maintainable speed. Bump it to 1080p and 5.1 sound and the stuttering would surely increase. I know my connection is '12 Mbps' according to Comcast, but watching Netflix in HD during the prime hours does occasionally result in some stutter a few times/hour.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 4:26 pm

The Netflix debacle gets the Taiwan animation treatment!

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 4:34 pm

Jag wrote:The Netflix debacle gets the Taiwan animation treatment!

Those guys are comic geniuses.

Biyobi · Post by **Biyobi** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 7:17 pm

Odin wrote:
Smoove_B wrote:The Oatmeal's take on the name change.
Ah-ha, Friendster. Add that to Napster on the list of lame names that Qwikster reminds me of.

It reminds me of "Quixtar", the Amway re-branding. Nice choice, guys.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 3:59 pm

Blame Canada!

“It’s all the Canadians’ fault,” Mr. Hastings said jovially in an interview Thursday, when asked what made him decide to hive off the DVD business under a new brand called Qwikster. It’s a decision that earned the company plenty of attention – and some scorn for the new strategy – early this week.
...
“We launched in Canada to see how would streaming-only perform? Is broadband good enough that streaming only, without DVD, is a good enough product to catch on?” Mr. Hastings said.

Early success in Canada caused the company to experiment with streaming-only for U.S. subscribers shortly after the Canadian launch last year, he said, because company executives realized just how fast the market for video was changing.

“We launched streaming-only in the U.S., which we did because of Canada, and that took off really fast. Those two things made us say, DVD’s a great business but it’s a different business. And we should put it in a separate brand, in a subsidiary called Qwikster.”

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 4:23 pm

Now I have to go see what "taking off" in Canada means, because we have some of the highest pricing for data in the world. I just can't believe that streaming "took off" in Canada base on our caps (which have been miniscule. Like 60 gigs), monthly payments (in excess of $40 bucks plus tax from the major providers) and overage fees (which I don't know at the moment, but were measured in dollar(s) per gig).

That doesn't leave a lot of room in anyone's budget for watching a lot of streaming anything.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 4:57 pm

Take off, eh.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 4:59 pm

Is there a hand gesture that accompanies that statement?

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 5:05 pm

Possibly I should be gesturing with a stubby beer. You hoser.

EvilHomer3k · Post by **EvilHomer3k** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 10:17 pm

Dish network just launched blockbuster movie pass. I dvd/streaming service for dish customers. It's $10 per month according to engadget and free if you have dish's top 200 channels. Being a dish subscriber with a netflix account I am intrigued. It launches October 1st. If the selection is decent I may drop my 2 dvd netflix plan. Looks like it is $10 per month for 1 disc, 15 for 2, and 20 for 3. Blu-rays and games are included. They claim they have more streaming titles than netflix and more dvd's than quickster. They are including dish streaming content in there, I believe (dish already has a streaming service that streams a lot of the stuff you get through the satellite).

tjg_marantz · Post by **tjg_marantz** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 11:34 pm

How the fuck did it take off here? The content selection is ridiculously bad and old. I wouldn't pay 5$ for it.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 11:39 pm

tjg_marantz wrote:How the fuck did it take off here? The content selection is ridiculously bad and old. I wouldn't pay 5$ for it.

I get yelled at when I say that sort of thing. Just warning you.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 10:26 pm

Dreamworks is partnering up with netflix for exclusive streaming content which sounds lucrative for netflix

http://m.gizmodo.com/5843713/netflix-re ... in-the-arm" target="_blank

-Yeah this is sent through that Tapatalk thing.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 10:12 am

Odin wrote:
tjg_marantz wrote:How the fuck did it take off here? The content selection is ridiculously bad and old. I wouldn't pay 5$ for it.
I get yelled at when I say that sort of thing. Just warning you.

Chances are good the content available in Canada is a fraction of that available in the states. Chances are good it's a tiny fraction.

tjg_marantz · Post by **tjg_marantz** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 11:27 am

GreenGoo wrote:
Odin wrote:
tjg_marantz wrote:How the fuck did it take off here? The content selection is ridiculously bad and old. I wouldn't pay 5$ for it.
I get yelled at when I say that sort of thing. Just warning you.
Chances are good the content available in Canada is a fraction of that available in the states. Chances are good it's a tiny fraction.

Missed your reply Odin. Yeah, Canada and the US do not get the same library.

Recently added:

The Human Centipede
Just Wright with Queen Latifah (2010)
I Am Love (2009)
Please Give (2010)
Agora (2009)
Centurion (2010)

Now go ahead and click on TV and these are the listnigs they show. I am guessing these are most popular, new? I have no clue.

The Life Of Mammals
Hi Shred Ability
Yes Minister
Ballet Shoes
Powder Rails
Wild China
Inspector Gadget

Just seriously bad.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 12:05 pm

tjg_marantz wrote:Just seriously bad.

Hey, "Yes, Minister!" was what sold me on Netflix streaming.

Why "new" always trumps "quality" I'll never understand.

(Yes, I realize Canada's selection probably does suck but damn, Yes Minister pwns).

tjg_marantz · Post by **tjg_marantz** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:28 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote:
tjg_marantz wrote:Just seriously bad.
Hey, "Yes, Minister!" was what sold me on Netflix streaming.

Why "new" always trumps "quality" I'll never understand.

(Yes, I realize Canada's selection probably does suck but damn, Yes Minister pwns).

I was not judging the quality of said series, just the fact that's in new releases (2010).

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:39 pm

tjg_marantz wrote:
I was not judging the quality of said series, just the fact that's in new releases (2010).

Yeah, you're right that's misleading. They're not "new releases" but they are "new arrivals" and as a subscriber, having such a list is handy.

BTW, I went looking for decent list of Canada vs. US and couldn't find one but this was pretty demonstrative (from Sept 2010):

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:50 pm

You've got to remember that the RIAA and their ilk consider Canada to be a lawless frontier of piracy. Apparently because they told us they should be:

Remember back in April 2009, when the U.S. added Canada to its Special 301 "priority watch list" of countries that fail to adequately enforce intellectual property laws? America's neighbor to the north joined nations like Russia, China, India and Thailand on the list, giving the whole thing a whiff of the ridiculous, although Entertainment Software Association CEO Michael Gallagher was happy enough to see its addition to the copyright rogue's gallery. "Canada's weak laws and enforcement practices foster game piracy in the Canadian market and pave the way for unlawful imports into the U.S.," is how he put it at the time.

Most of us in the Great White North who pay attention to this sort of thing assumed it was just a dick move on the part of the U.S. [we assume that about a lot of things, to be honest] but while it was unquestionably a dick move, it turns out that it was actually made somewhat closer to home - by none other than our very own Canadian government.
...
But the real sleaze came a couple of years later, when Zoe Addington, the director of policy for then-Industry Minister Tony Clement, told U.S. officials about plans to use a public consultation process [the results of which it later chose to ignore entirely] to "educate consumers and 'sell' the Government view." And that's not the worst of it.

"[Addington] said that if Canada is elevated to the Special 301 Priority Watch List (PWL), it would not hamper - and might even help - the GOC's ability to enact copyright legislation," according to the Wikileaked cable.

tjg_marantz · Post by **tjg_marantz** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 2:07 pm

Lawbeef, thanks for illustrating that. Now again, how the fuck has it been successful? Are my fellow Canuckstians really that desperate?

So we tattled on ourselves.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 3:46 pm

tjg_marantz wrote:Lawbeef, thanks for illustrating that. Now again, how the fuck has it been successful? Are my fellow Canuckstians really that desperate?

So we tattled on ourselves.

More like their lobbying has done wonders. And when I say "their" lobbying, I mean foreign companies are influencing our government to put laws on the books that the majority of Canadians don't support. There is a very interesting war of IP going on in Canada right now.

The RIAA is right to label us lawless from their narrow viewpoint. We are. Hopefully we'll get to stay that way, if our government doesn't sell us down the river.

And I too want to know how netflix has been successful in Canada, for the reasons I posted already plus as you put it, the terrible selection.

One of us needs to go hunting actual numbers. I nominate you.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 3:49 pm

GreenGoo wrote:And I too want to know how netflix has been successful in Canada, for the reasons I posted already plus as you put it, the terrible selection.

Because Hulu and Amazon streaming are such awesome alternatives for us.

Oh wait....

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:08 pm

silverjon wrote:
GreenGoo wrote:And I too want to know how netflix has been successful in Canada, for the reasons I posted already plus as you put it, the terrible selection.
Because Hulu and Amazon streaming are such awesome alternatives for us.

Oh wait....

So we're back to tjg's assertion that we're just that desperate?

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:19 pm

I think the lack of alternatives has to play into it enormously.

Mind you, I'm not really interested in buying any of these services, just in media distribution as a broad concept.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:35 pm

NFLX wrote:In September 2010, we began international operations by offering an unlimited streaming plan without DVDs in Canada. As of June 30, 2011, our international segment had over 0.9 million subscribers.

So basically as of July 2011 900K+ streaming-only subscribers in Canada (they hadn't yet expanded to South/Latin America).

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 8:23 pm

In addition to Netflix's new deal with Dreamworks, it looks like Amazon's got a deal with Fox to bring 11,000 more titles to their Prime service. What's that cost - like $70-80 a year for free 2-day shipping plus all these videos? I might consider giving that a shot if we decide to ditch Netflix.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 8:25 pm

Odin wrote:In addition to Netflix's new deal with Dreamworks, it looks like Amazon's got a deal with Fox to bring 11,000 more titles to their Prime service. What's that cost - like $70-80 a year for free 2-day shipping plus all these videos? I might consider giving that a shot if we decide to ditch Netflix.

$79/year, and it's glorious. I'm just referring to the shipping upgrades--I'm on one of the free Prime offers, which give you the shipping portion of Prime for free but no streaming access.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 8:29 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote:
NFLX wrote:In September 2010, we began international operations by offering an unlimited streaming plan without DVDs in Canada. As of June 30, 2011, our international segment had over 0.9 million subscribers.
So basically as of July 2011 900K+ streaming-only subscribers in Canada (they hadn't yet expanded to South/Latin America).

With 10% of the population of the US they didn't even reach 10% of the subscriptions, and that's "really took off".

Still not seeing it.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 8:30 pm

Zaxxon wrote:
Odin wrote:In addition to Netflix's new deal with Dreamworks, it looks like Amazon's got a deal with Fox to bring 11,000 more titles to their Prime service. What's that cost - like $70-80 a year for free 2-day shipping plus all these videos? I might consider giving that a shot if we decide to ditch Netflix.
$79/year, and it's glorious. I'm just referring to the shipping upgrades--I'm on one of the free Prime offers, which give you the shipping portion of Prime for free but no streaming access.

Yeah, I can see how that would appeal to a lot of people. I just don't order from Amazon often enough to justify it for shipping alone. I'm also never in a big enough hurry to much care when it gets here. I order in $25 lots and just wait until they get around to shipping it to me. The ONLY way I could justify paying for it would be to consider that I'm getting a year of streaming video for $6.60 a month. It's definitely on my "worth considering" list at this point.

Chaz · Post by **Chaz** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 10:57 pm

I love the Prime shipping, and I think it's great that they're pushing to make their streaming service competitive. However, without an effective way for me to get their videos to my TV, it's kind of a non-factor. I know there are plenty of set top boxes that do it, but I haven't gotten one of those since I have two consoles that should be able to, but can't.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 11:34 pm

Odin wrote:
Zaxxon wrote:
Odin wrote:In addition to Netflix's new deal with Dreamworks, it looks like Amazon's got a deal with Fox to bring 11,000 more titles to their Prime service. What's that cost - like $70-80 a year for free 2-day shipping plus all these videos? I might consider giving that a shot if we decide to ditch Netflix.
$79/year, and it's glorious. I'm just referring to the shipping upgrades--I'm on one of the free Prime offers, which give you the shipping portion of Prime for free but no streaming access.
Yeah, I can see how that would appeal to a lot of people. I just don't order from Amazon often enough to justify it for shipping alone. I'm also never in a big enough hurry to much care when it gets here. I order in $25 lots and just wait until they get around to shipping it to me. The ONLY way I could justify paying for it would be to consider that I'm getting a year of streaming video for $6.60 a month. It's definitely on my "worth considering" list at this point.

Neither do I. Or rather, neither *did* I. Until I had Prime. It kind of opens up new uses for Amazon when you can order things w/o worrying about shipping. For example, the $3 car remote batteries I just got would have been a tough sell via Amazon w/o Prime. With it, they're a no-brainer.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 12:20 am

I live in such a tiny town that Prime is a no-brainer for me. We do have a Wal-Mart, but it is the smallest I've ever see, probably a quarter of a normal Wal-Mart. Anything not available here means a 50+ mile round trip to the nearest large town, which requires both free time and gas. With prime, I can get whatever it is in two days (often sooner than I could make it to town) and the Prime itself costs less than the gas I'd burn without it. This goes doubly around birthdays and holidays.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 7:46 am

Yup. Every year during Xmas I save enough in tax and shipping on Amazon that Prime pays for itself. I do agree that not having easy access to their streaming content is probably the biggest limitation, but with their limited library they probably aren't as interested in making it as easy as possible.

Other than the newest of new content (which I'd argue you're better off going to an actual movie) having Streamflix (I'm guessing on a name change here) and Amazon Prime works for us. And for about $15 a month, it's about as expensive as getting a premium cable movie channel.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:14 am

And just like that, Qwikster is DOA.

It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:23 am

They got the full run of The Wonder Years up. I'm surprised because I thought I had heard that one of the reasons it never hit DVD was because of the music rights. We watched 5 episodes with the kiddo the other day and the show holds up perfectly.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:24 am

Smoove_B wrote:And just like that, Qwikster is DOA.

It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.

So does that mean, no video games?

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:25 am

Octavious wrote:They got the full run of The Wonder Years up. I'm surprised because I thought I had heard that one of the reasons it never hit DVD was because of the music rights. We watched 5 episodes with the kiddo the other day and the show holds up perfectly.

Hmm apparently it's on DVD too so what do I know.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:32 am

naednek wrote:So does that mean, no video games?

No idea, but I have to believe they're looking at the numbers and circling the financial wagons. I can't imagine a scenario where they would think it would be a good move, but I've never been the CEO of a corporation that tried to name a corporate entity after a stoner's twitter page, so what do I know?

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:57 am

Very puzzing move.

Good for an 8% bump in NFLX at the moment though.