Netflix BD disc rental discussion thread - Page 220

Me, three. I dropped NF and went back to BB not because I wasn't getting enough newly released BDs from NF but because NF wasn't buying newly released BD editions of old classics, such as The Maltese Falcon and The Red Shoes. BB's slower, less reliable, mail order service has made me miss NF in that regard but doesn't change the fact that I was able to get the BDs of The Maltese Falcon, The Red Shoes, and other BD editions of old classics from BB, whereas NF doesn't offer them at all.

The real problem is that this situation just seems to have happened since the price increase went into effect. Clearly, NF has quit buying enough new discs in favor of the streaming model - which would be great if they streamed all the current release titles.

I've not had really any issues getting discs I want within a week. If you're worried about back catalog new releases, then I agree with you. But they do have enough of the "new" new releases for me.

What's the best way to request they add a title to their disc catalog (preferably BD of course!)? I've been dying to rent Ashes To Ashes (British TV series, sequel to Life on Mars, circa 2008 or so). But while it shows up in the NF catalog, they have no discs at all (DVD or BD).

That's just one title I'd like them to stock; I figure if enough people request a title maybe they will stock it.

Since they don't have an email address I'm unsure of the best way to request a title...

Marc

How is Warner able to calculate that sales were up?

1. There is no exact way to tell what the numbers for a particular movie should be. Did they have their accountants come up with these numbers, the same accountants who can miraculously make any movie unprofitable?
2. The total optical disc numbers have been falling without any end in sight. The decline seems to be every bit as bad now as it was before the 28 day delays. So I guess what Warner is saying is that the numbers would be even worse if not for the 28 delays?
3. And then there is Paramount, who actually commissioned a study of the issue, and determined it wouldn't have the desired effect.

So, if there isn't any CONCRETE proof that the 28 day delay is helping sales numbers, why would Warner be so bullish about the concept? Ulterior motives. They were hoping for a negative effect towards Netflix and Redbox, while propping up their buddy Blockbuster, who owes them lots and lots of money. If Warner was really serious about increasing sales through the 28 day delay they would have made Blockbuster wait 28 days too, but they didn't. And now it is very much up in the air whether the studios will see much, if any of the money that is owed to them by Blockbuster.

I think Warner wants Netflix and Redbox to pay more to keep from going to a longer window. And I don't think Netflix, "the streaming company," cares, while Redbox is still a big question mark.

Whatever the case, the studios are going to have to deal with the fact that people want cheap rentals, have become accustomed to cheap rentals, and the idea that those people who are paying for the cheap rentals are going to be impatient enough to shell out $15 for a movie that they might or might not like, is just ludicrous.

How is that working out now? At BB I am seeing a lot of the catalog titles from January and February as being "on order" or "unavailable." And not just the Criterions.

Yeah, I agree. Although I was able to get "All About Eve" and "Affair to Remember" from Blockbuster, I have some 20 more catalog titles that are listed as not available that were released in the past month. It's almost worse, since Blockbuster lets you add the blu-ray to your queue, but then shows it as Unavailable. Netflix at least doesn't tease like that.

About a year ago, I was getting frustrated with "long wait" in my queue. So on a tree out plan I only put 5 titles in my queue, all with "long" or "very long wait", thinking "surely they will send me something, or at least change the status".

Nope, it just sat there for a week .

you can't really believe they'd just give priority to those with small queues - or everyone would just do that.

I just noticed that the "availability" field in my queue is gone so I have no idea what they're going to send me. Today they skipped the title at the top of the queue and sent me the second one with no explanation.

Is this new?

Yes, it's been bad. For example, Sweet Smell of Success and All the President's Men BDs are shown in my BB queue as "On Order," although both have been released. Broadcast News has changed from "On Order" to "Unavailable" and Network, Get Low, and The Double Life of Veronique are in either "Long Wait" or "Very Long Wait" status. All of this has led me to suspect that BB hasn't been paying its suppliers and the suppliers are not sending a lot of discs.

both BB and NF has their disadvantages
NF doesn't carry
BB not available/on order
Iam facing the same problem too

I wonder is there any other on line rental places that they carry BD catalog releases
Iam dying to get rental on aliens anothology

As far as I can tell it's most of the studios that have stopped supplying BB-stuff like Alice in Wonderland (1951)-Disney, Uncle Buck-Universal, Last Tango in Paris-MGM, The Last Unicorn-Lionsgate, Twilight Zone Vol. 3-Image, and as you mentioned, All the President's Men-Warner. I think the only Criterion release from January/February that has shown up is Veronique. I don't know if the same applies to new movies, but if that happens I expect people will start canceling their BB subscription very quickly. By the time BB finds a buyer, the online business could really be hurting. Some of those subscribers could return to Netflix, but I think most people went to BB because of the store returns and the better catalog selection the last few months.

And the 28 day delay of new releases had nothing to do with people moving over to BB from Netflix?
The delay is still there at Netflix.

I think you both have a point. I agree that the new release 28 day delay NF agreed to was a significant factor in some subscribers moving to BB. I never worried about the delay, though, because I had an in store exchange subscription at a nearby BB store as well as my NF mail order subscription.

I agree that the combination of local stores and mail order is what holds many if not most BB subscribers. Although I was happy with the speed of NF's service, its policy of not ordering newly released BD editions of classic films finally ran me off. Despite my dissatisfaction with several aspects of BB's service, I won't be going back to NF as long as BB maintains one or more stores that are reasonably nearby and continues to stock them with the BD editions of popular new releases. If the local BB stores close, though, I will drop BB's mail order service and return to NF.

the Notes field? mine's still there.

What's also interesting about the BB situation is that some of the new releases are only available online and not stocked at my somewhat (35 miles away) local store. Conviction, Get Low, and Wild Target fit into that category. Yet Middlemen is stocked. It's kind of a confusing situation to say the the least and not likely to get better any time soon.

Some, perhaps, but how many people actually know when stuff gets released?

Those see it in the store are more likely to buy it right then if they want it, rather than go home and pop it into their rental queue.

For others, they probably have already "saved" the title and it jumps into the queue when available. For the rest, they likely don't care enough to bail.

We seem to forget that not everyone takes this as seriously as we do.

I'd bet just as many went to BB for the in store returns as went there because of the delay.

Oh, I'm sure that a few did. But when you look at Netflix's rather amazing growth figures, including the most recent quarter, it is difficult to believe that very many people cared about the 28 day delay enough to drop the service. 1.7 millions subscribers is the most recent number released for BB. That is up from the previous number that was a little over 1 million. Very good growth, but it pales compared to Netflix, who has over 20 million subscribers. I still believe that the jump of over half a million by BB was probably more likely to be the direct result of Netflix's policy towards catalogs. There is a big difference between a 28 day delay and not being able to get a movie at all.

I suspect BB's availability will dry up completely soon. They are up for sale and several studios (like Universal) are demanding payment for money owed on titles delivered, and if not, they're seeking to ban BB from renting them: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...ockbuster.html

I somehow doubt that studios are going to keep sending them hundreds of thousands of discs knowing they're probably never going to be paid for them.

Just my two cents. Unfortunately it appears if you're interested in discs-by-mail, you're going to be pretty much out of options shortly. BB is pretty much all but dead, and NF isn't stocking discs like they used to. AFAIK there are no other options out there.

Of course, maybe someone will buy BB, liquidate as much as they can, and get the mail order business running effectively. I'm not holding my breath, but it's still possible.

Or maybe Netflix (who seemed to be happy to let BB take over the disc-by-mail business) will reverse direction a bit and fill the gap that BB will be leaving.

Are you folks aware that BB is majority owned by a group of movie studios? That is to say the movie studios are their primary creditors, which in bankruptcy proceedings makes them the owners.

The post-bankruptcy claims that have been recently made by Summit, Fox, and Universal would seem to indicate that BB is in very bad shape.

Agreed, and the announced plan to offer it for sale indicates that the studios have decided it's worth more being gutted for assets than as a rental/streaming service.

The Notes field is still there but apparently it was updated late. It now shows that the title it skipped yesterday is "Short Wait". Maybe they don't update it until someone asks for a title that isn't available now.

I thought the field used to say "Now" for all available titles.

Yeah the behavior of the Notes field changed at some point in the last couple months... It only displays a note if there is a wait.

nope, never says "Now"

I think it does at BB.

Ok I just checked and I'm seeing a Now being displayed in Expected Availability field(in all 4 browsers I checked on this Windows PC). I explicitly remember noticing that it was missed at some point a while back. I dunno what the deal is.

post of mine in this thread a week ago:



notice the two not on waits are blank.

Things are getting worse with both. NF is not carrying BD discs of current releases. Most recent example: ALL-STAR SUPERMAN. In this case, neither NF or BB (both on-line and store) carry the BD disc.

Y;know, when NF first started, there were many other companies offering discs-by-mail. We sure as hell could use them now.

^^Best comment in a long time. I showed this thread to some friends, and they looked at me with that "REALLY?!?!" expression...

It's nice to have a life where BD availability is something I can actually spend time discussing. I'm quite thankful.

To all, a good night.