Netflix advertizes they carry all Blu-ray/HD DVD discs as soon as they are
released by the studio. I noticed that while Netflix has Saw and Saw III,
they don't have Saw II. Thought that kinda strange, so I went to the
Blockbuster site, and they have Saw II in Blu-ray. Googled 'Saw II blu-ray'
and it's available from a large number of retailers. Called Netflix and was
told that they are aware that Saw II is available, but the studio denies them
permission to offer that title in blu-ray. Why would 'the studio' let BB
offer it, but not Netflix? Better yet, why let the studio let NF offer it in DVD
but not Blu-ray? What other Blu-ray titles are available from BB, but not
Netflix? Same question re:HD DVD.

I was just wondering the same thing myself and I recently added Saw 1 & 3 to my queue, hopefully someone here will have a response for us.

Don't know anything about this particular titles but there are some titles that are exclusive to Blockbuster, not saying that this is one of them but that could be the case.

FWIW it seems that there are many more blu-ray movies that are not available on BB (coming soon) than Netflix.

I had 15 titles that were 'Coming Soon' at BB and all but one were available now on Netflix.

Maybe you should try both, I use BB and Netflix and have had good luck so far.

You could try the blockbuster trial and get Saw 2.

Don't know anything about this particular titles but there are some titles that are exclusive to Blockbuster, not saying that this is one of them but that could be the case.

FWIW it seems that there are many more blu-ray movies that are not available on BB (coming soon) than Netflix.

I had 15 titles that were 'Coming Soon' at BB and all but one were available now on Netflix.

Maybe you should try both, I use BB and Netflix and have had good luck so far.

You could try the blockbuster trial and get Saw 2.

I've had both BB and NF and found them to be pretty much equivalent except
for one important thing, turn around time. There, NF is much faster than
BB.
Since I have already had a BB membership, they won't let me do a trial,
so no SAW II for me.

Wonder if this is part of Blockbuster's new master strategy to counter the beatings they've taken from Netflix. I hate BB.

Actually, BB is effecting NF bigtime. BB just announced a new plan that is cheaper than NF and that caused NF's stock price to tumble. Looks like a price war is at hand and BB is better equipped to weather one, so if this keeps up NF could be in trouble.

Actually, BB is effecting NF bigtime. BB just announced a new plan that is cheaper than NF and that caused NF's stock price to tumble. Looks like a price war is at hand and BB is better equipped to weather one, so if this keeps up NF could be in trouble.
They did that a couple years ago, and those who signed up were guaranteed that lower price for a year or two I believe. That's when I tried it (so I was doing both NF and BB at the same time) so I could rent the few rereleases I couldn't get from Netflix. One was the revamped Matrix disc.

I quit them because their turnaround time was terrible compared with Netflix. It wasn't worth the $3 a month I saved. The extra in-store rentals were nice, but where I live now I'd have no desire to go to the trouble of going to the video store. It's a logistical nightmare to park anywhere.

So they've tried the pricing game once before and didn't win. I can only hope it will work out the same way this time. Maybe they'll destroy themselves forever. All the better.

Netflix doesn't even have Pearl Harbor BD, and that's been out for awhile now!

Why would 'the studio' let BB
offer it, but not Netflix?

Because it's not true.

The customer rep you spoke pulled this explanation out of thin air. I love when customer reps do this; when they don't know the answer, they invent an excuse and lie to the customer! Usually, the lie shifts the blame or responsibility to another party, in this case, the studios. In fact, Netflix, Blockbuster or any rental store don't need the studios' permission to rent videos. In the U.S., they have a legal right to do so under the first sale doctrine. If Netflix doesn't have Saw 2 for rent, it's because they failed to stock it. That's it, no one else is responsible.

Netflix restrictions? :D

For BD and HD-DVD both are pretty bad. I have 6 recent released BD/HDDVD on both queues. BB says "coming soon" (even for Night at The Museum!!) and Netflix says short to very long wait. My experience with Netflix is that there is no difference between short and very long wait: If it's not available, forget about it.

Sergio

Because it's not true.

The customer rep you spoke pulled this explanation out of thin air. I love when customer reps do this; when they don't know the answer, they invent an excuse and lie to the customer! Usually, the lie shifts the blame or responsibility to another party, in this case, the studios. In fact, Netflix, Blockbuster or any rental store don't need the studios' permission to rent videos. In the U.S., they have a legal right to do so under the first sale doctrine. If Netflix doesn't have Saw 2 for rent, it's because they failed to stock it. That's it, no one else is responsible.

This from Wikipedia:
"The first-sale doctrine is a limitation upon copyright that was recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1908 and subsequently codified in the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 109. The doctrine of first sale allows the purchaser to transfer (i.e. sell or give away) a particular, lawfully made copy of the copyrighted work without permission once it has been obtained. That means the distribution rights of a copyright holder end on that particular copy once the copy is sold."

In this case, NF could buy a copy of Saw II, and the studios distribution rights would end there. Makes sense to me.
So the question remains, why does NF fail to stock Saw II Blu-ray given all
Blu-ray titles they do stock?

BTW, this explains something I've never understood before...on Ebay, people sell
their old computer games all the time, this would seem to explain
it. According to wikipedia, the legality of this practice depends on which particular
circuit court makes the ruling.

Thanks for the enlightenment. :)

Sorry to take this a little off topic.....

I think first sale doctrine re: IP needs to be explicitly cleared-up in relation to media (CDs vs DVD vs Itunes downloads vs etc.).

But, I always find it curious that you cannot RENT MUSIC CDs in the USA, but you can rent DVD/VHS/ETC. Music was carved out in particular as part of copyright law as having this exception.

Paul

Netflix currently doesn't have Stargate SG-1 Season One Disc two on DVD. They have disc one, and three through six for season one (it and Pearl Harbor blu-ray sit in my saved 'Unknown Availablity' folder. I don't think they had The Matrix on high def right of the bat either.

I've been with netflix since 04, sometimes, there are just random titles they don't have or won't have for long periods of time. I doubt there are any blu-ray restrictions.