Netflix On PS3 goes disc-free...(Gets 1080p streaming and DD+ 5.1 surround sound) - Page 3

Lets just say we disagree.

I want the streaming only option to come here as that's all I need from Netflix...the Canadians have it so I want it too...

Just awesome. Another reason why the PS3 will be my media center hub for the foreseeable future.

Yes, with CA State tax, mine also comes to exactly $11.95.

OK, thanks.

No clue why different prices are popping up. What I see is consistent with the above posters who pay $10.99 (before tax) for 1 dvd/blu-ray and streaming ($8.99 + $2). This is what I see when I go to the website.



$8.99 for 1 DVD at a time and streaming. +$2 for blu-ray. I don't even see a streaming-only option, unless they only offer it over the phone. I do see an option for $4.99, which only allows 2 DVDs and 2 hours of streaming a month (useless).

Just read the great news on Engadget website.. 5.1 and 1080p, cool.. Wonder how Netflix knows that you have the $9 package to watch streaming now that its disc free? Do we just click on the Netflix logo on the PS3?

The same way every device does it. You activate it on your account. You had to do this with the ps3 as well...the disc did nothing but have the app on it since it wasn't built in.

Streaming only is only available in Canada.

joeblow the plan you are looking at is specifically priced for people that will only stream. If you want to get discs in the mail and stream, then just pick the 8.99 one at a time plan that allows for unlimited streaming too.

On the internet? Agree to disagree? MADNESS!

But, okay.

Coming to the US very soon, being test marketed already. But, they are going to really have to built out the content to get people to pay that much a month and give up on discs

Ah, I did not know that. But, it makes sense.

Yeah, not for $7.99 a month when for $1 more you get discs ($3 more if you want Blu-Ray).

Unless they are going to introduce higher priced tiers at the same time. Really, the streaming can't remain a "free" add-on to the disc plans forever, and I don't think anyone expects it to, given how popular it is. According to Feedfliks, it looks like streaming is outpacing disc rentals nearly 5 to 1 right now...in fact, it looks like disc rentals for 2010 might actually go down when compared to 2009 (Keeping in mind this is only Feedfliks members, but is probably indicative of Netflix as a whole):



I could picture some people getting the streaming only plan and keeping their BB account though for discs (given the 28 day window), but I don't think it will be that many in the grand scheme of things.

^I would consider $7.99 for stream-only if I had no intention of renting blu-rays. I don't even request DVDs.

I've had months that I would have frozen my account (Just FYI, you have the option to suspend your account for a period of time, whereby you don't get service and don't get charged, without having to go through the hassle of signing up/cancelling service, fwiw) if it didn't have the ability to stream. So I wouldn't say the streaming feature is free. That said, I don't think I would pay $8 a month *just* for streaming either.

As such, I view the current setup (1 BR plus streaming) for whatever it costs ($11, $13?) as an ideal combination.

No, the streaming selection doesn't have all the right combination of movies/shows to be a disc replacement, but at the same time, I never seem to run out of things to add to my On Demand queue.

-Suntan

As a NFLX stockholder I am not sure that is an accurate portrait of Netflix as a whole. From their most recent earnings report I seem to remember that they said that about 20% of their subscribers streamed at least 1 video in the previous month. Again, this is not a quote but roughly what I remember reading and I did a quick check and couldn't find documentation. Their business is still primarily DVD and Blu-ray shipping though, that is certain.

But the company has always tried to stay ahead of the curve, they know that streaming is the wave of the future (present) and they are doing their best to roll out a superior product at a very reasonable price. Their leadership has been amazing.

I am very excited for 1080p 5.1 steaming direct to PS3. Especially for TV episodes. I think Blu-ray discs will still be my main way to watch movies as uncompressed 1080p video and audio in the theater are too compelling for big Hollywood fare. But things like Madmen (no amc hd on D*) would be fantastic.

If that 20% streamed 10x as many movies as they watched on disc it could be accurate, right?

Well, I'm sure the numbers are a little skewed, because of how the Netflix API is. For instance, if I start a movie one night and finish it up the second, I think it shows that I watched it twice (even though I didn't). Same as if watch a series...I think each episode counts as a streamed title, but if I got the disc, it might contain 3 or 4 episodes (and would only count as one disc).

What is more interesting (to me) is that the number of discs looks to be somewhere around 60% of what it was in 2009, with only 2 1/2 months left to go before the end of the year. It looks like disc rentals will drop off this year for the first time (at least among Feedfliks users). Meanwhile, streaming titles viewed will be about twice what they were last year. It's no wonder they're focusing on/pushing the streaming model (again, assuming these numbers are reflective of Netflix on the whole, but Netflix doesn't release any numbers, so that's the best we've got)

Also keep in mind the average user on Feedflix.com is probably a little more advanced in the streaming then your average joe public netflix user. Most of them (myself included) go to Feedflix specifically to keep up to date on the streaming content that netflix offers. So yes Feedflix numbers are skewed some.

I would definitely pay $8 a month for streaming only. I really have no desire to do DVDs in the mail - none whatsoever. I've had the services and barely ever used them. If I really want to watch a movie I'll just get it on VOD, the Blockbuster near my house, or streaming. Not wait 3 or 4 days for a movie in the mail.

The only reason I don't do something similar (and wait for the disc in the mail) is cost. Average cost of a Netflix movie for me is 63 cents (disc and streaming combined).

I'm not paying $4-$6 to rent it on VOD (and I blacklisted Blockbuster from the list of companies I will ever give another cent to years ago).

I have used VOD occasionally (and choose the 1080p/5.1 smooth streaming on the XBOX for those instances)....it's just not the norm. Too expensive, so I'll usually opt for just something from Netflix or even Redbox instead, with the occassional VOD title thrown in.

I would as well, if Netflix would stop screwing around (or getting screwed) on a lot of the content. Their most recent big announcement of expanded NBC/Universal content flopped in several ways. Many episodes of the non-OTA content (Psych, Monk, Battlestar Galactica) have serious sound problems, ranging from no sound at all to only missing the dialogue channel. The content that was originally OTA seems to be fine, though. I understand that Netflix claims to be at the mercy of the content providers with the encodes, but it seems odd that one provider would have severe issues only with some of its content.

The other bothersome aspect is the lack of episodes of some TV shows available for streaming. Several shows have only partial content available, such as Quantum Leap. I really wish Netflix would give an explanation similar to Hulu whenever episodes are unavailable for some reason. One really bizarre one to me is episode one of Battlestar Galactica season 4.5. Initially available for streaming but missing the dialogue channel, it is now listed as disc-only. What's strange, though, is that several other episodes of recently added TV shows (including BSG seasons 3 & 4) had the same problem and they were just replaced with correctly encoded files, while this one was pulled entirely.

For a free add-on to the DVD service, behavior like this is sort of acceptable. For a standalone service it would be a pretty big deal breaker.

Also, something to keep in mind with the various plans is that you only get as many concurrent streams as you have discs out in your plan. If you're on the 1 disc out at a time plan, you get to view 1 stream at a time. Not so great in some households. I'm not sure how the streaming only plan handles this.

That's what I thought, but apparently that's not true. We discussed it earlier this week here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1282849

As you can see in the third post, I thought the same thing...

If I end up streaming with NF, I'd supplement it with Blu-ray rentals from Redbox for $1.50 a night without being forced on a unpredictable queue or waiting a few days for the disc to arrive. The selection is smaller as of now (they have mostly new releases only on Blu), but I'd get by.

How much bandwidth would watching a 1080p movie with 5.1 take up?
My internet provider is Comcast and I have a 250 gig monthly limit.

No idea what the new file sizes will be, but I believe the current HD ones are about 1 to 1.5GB per hour (obviously depending on the encode)

I never even came close to hitting the cap on Comcast (I'm on FiOS as of last month), and I stream between 3 and 5 movies a week (usually). I don't think it's going to be an issue.

Thanks for pointing that out. This must be a recent change, as just a few months ago I was struggling with my Wii and Xbox 360 not logging out or something, where I'd have my 2 active devices tied up even though they were both powered off. Then I'd end up with a situation where my laptops and Tivo would throw errors that I had too many active devices trying to stream at once for an hour or so. Guess they changed it. If so, I may finally be able to drop down to the 1-at-a-time plan, although as you pointed out in that thread Netflix is still claiming to be true what you and I believed.

so they are as good as dtv i guess?