Netflix BD disc rental discussion thread - Page 222

Uh, no.

If they said they carry everything that is in print and commercially available, then it would be. However, they are free to pick and choose what they offer.

Further, it's an excellent business practice. It's actually the gold standard. It may not be consumer friendly, but it creates more profit which is good for the stockholders.

The fact is, a business is most profitable when it charges just enough for the least amount of product that the majority of customers will be satisfied with enough to continue to pay for it.

A certain amount of churn is expected since you can't make everyone happy. There are some people that would find faults if it were free.

However, unless that churn becomes excessive and profit continues to increase, it means the company is doing everything possible to get maximum revenue for the minimum amount of product expense. In a nutshell, a subscription model best serves a company when the customer doesn't use the product, but continues to pay for it. Health clubs thrive on this principle, as does insurance.

That doesn't mean the customer has to like it, but it won't change if people continue to pay despite being unhappy.

Your struggle to minimize the weaknesses of both NF and BB reminds me of my own. So far nothing has worked very well. I have a long held policy of refusing to rent movies on DVD that are available on BD. Thus, NF simply didn't work for me once they stopped buying most BD editions of classic films.

I keep dreaming that the technology will finally reach the point where NF's streaming service, or something like it, can provide films with 1080p video and lossless audio. Alas, that is something which still appears to be far in the future. In the meantime, I hold my nose, stick with BB, and hope they don't fail or decide to close all the nearby BB stores.

That is my point. We pay to subsidize the streaming part of the business. Why should I pay more for blu-ray option and get none of it ? Netflix may think this is the way they will make the most money and that may be true in the short run but history tells us when you have a business model that has a very high profit margin, competition will enter the picture pretty soon. The $7.99/ month deal is just a bait. Soon Netflix will charge the same amount they charge for discs now for just streaming service only. I am pretty sure the studios will not give their content for that kind of monthly charge unless it is from an old catalog that nobody wants.

Have you seen the NF streaming catalog? It's pretty darn close to what you've outlined above. I love checking the "new releases" section of the streaming option and seeing a fistful of really garbage films. Hooray! There is new crappy stuff available that I can watch instantly!

This worked for me this week, Thanks!

The only ones that seem yo benefit in my house are my kids. They have a pretty good selection streaming for them.

Why, indeed, should NF subscribers pay for Blu-ray and not have access to a lot of BD content that BB has? My solution was to drop NF and return to BB. BB is a mess but I am getting many, many older titles from them that were recently rereleased on BD. for example, I received the Criterion BD of Seven Samurai from BB yesterday, which NF doesn't offer. I also have the BDs of a bunch of other old classics, none of which are available from NF, in my BB queue.

Belatedly, thanks for this info.
So I wonder whether this means a) 1-at-a-time users generally get priority over 2-aat users, who in turn get priority over 3-aat users, or b) given that -- "if all other factors are the same" -- it might mean only that within any plan group (say, 3 aat), those who use the plan less frequently get higher priority, or of course, c) both or neither of the above.

Well it was bound to happen eventually...

I got my first cracked Blu-ray yesterday after two years of being a member. Hopefully this doesn't happen again.

Yup. And if I were a long-term stockholder instead of a zero-stockholder blu-ray end user, I'd be smiling wide even if I had to buy all my discs because I'd be looking forward to a cushy retirement (and a custom built home theater) thanks to NF's astute business policies.

Astute, of course, unless they ultimately really do move to a streaming only model, and then some current or as yet unforeseen competitor moves in to do it better and cheaper...or even just better.

Like you and others who have posted, I have been toying with reducing my NF service plan and using the saved money to partly cover the cost of a minimum BB online subscription, primarily to get access to BDs of classic flicks that Netflix is choosing not to carry (and there is, for the moment, a BB store that is still open a couple of miles away). But the fast NF turnaround and other customer support has been so good, the condition of the discs virtually always so pristine, and their library of BDs still so extensive, that I haven't yet been motivated enough to do it. Still, I suppose I ought to give it a try...before BB is sold and likely ends up in the film rental netherworld.

A day of mixed experiences today...

I sent three discs in on Saturday and they were received today. In return I got a new release that was top of queue and one that was on a long or very long wait status, plus the next one that was not on any wait status. So I'm quite pleased in this regard.

But having finished watching Being Human (UK) Series 1 on BluRay by Netflix, I added Series 2 to my queue only to find they have just the DVD version rather than the BluRay.

I've asked before but don't recall getting a reply. What's the best way to request NF to carry this edition? Call them up and complain? I haven't seen a suitable spot on their site for this purpose.

While I'm perfectly capable of complaining about it, I feel better complaining if I give them a chance to fix it (whether or not they actually do). Whatever their policy on BDs is, if they can't get feedback about what people want there's no chance for a fix, n'eh?

Marc

Netflix is awful as a web-based company in regards to support. There is no way to fill out a complaint form or email them.

I called Netflix to report the oddly missing Being Human Series 2 Bluray format. It was released to stores last fall (saw it at Walmart the other day...).

The nice lady there took my polite complaint and promised to pass it along. She confirmed there's no web interface for this purpose but that the "rely on people to phone it in if something is missing." Also that it can take a while for BD releases to make it to their inventory etc..

Whether anything will actually be done about it is doubtful, but having done my duty to report the problem, I can now officially complain about it.

One thing I'll say about NF phone support: always, and I mean always, polite, cheerful, helpful, and I can "hear them smiling."

Marc

It seems pretty clear at this point that Netflix is not interested in the rent by mail market anymore so them not picking up dual formats of recent releases really isn't surprising, you're probably lucky they even have the DVD version. At some point in the near future they'll simply stop buying discs altogether as they wind down that part of their business and focus 100% on the streaming.

Of course if they never figure out a way to stream current releases, I suppose they may just disappear.

Despite all the gloom and doom, the fact of the matter is that their disc market remains strong; it's the cornerstone of their current business model, and a wholesale move to streaming is aspirational simply because so many of their current paying customers aren't able to replace discs with streaming.

Unless by "some point in the near future" you mean 5+ years from now.

Meanwhile, they have lots of new discs including some very bizarre ones. I saw the worst movie over the weekend: "Birdemic: Shock and Terror." By worst movie, I mean not the worst movie I've seen, nor the worst movie ever made. Rather, I mean the worst movie it is possible to make, period. Actually the wikipedia entry on it was much more entertaining than the film itself. I like cheezy titles (hence, willing to rent something with such a title), but it was pure garbage.

So, from a disc & in particular BD perspective, if they ever wanted to end it (to be come a fully streaming model), it would make sense to sell off that part of the business which is currently a major asset.

I am always amazed that the disks make it thru the mail system as well as they do .. however, in the 4 years I've been a customer, I have had at least 3 cracked disks and 4 envelopes with nothing in them .. NF has always treated me right and immediately sent a replacement and an extra disk off my Q as well ..

I'd agree with that .. until we have more broadband coverage in the US, physical rental will still be popular .. although I thought I read somewhere that the streaming base was outpacing the physical base .. ??

LOL - I can't believe you actually watched that. I saw it on "The Soup" on E! this Friday, making fun of it. It looked like I would've shut it off after about 1.5 minutes.

I was hoping to get Red (released on 1/25/2011) and The Social Network (released on 1/11/2011) on Blu-ray, after the 28-day delay finally passed. Well, both are now still shown as "Long Wait" in my queue.

For those with longer experience with Netflix, is this normally expected? is it because I'm a new member (since 11/2010)? Or have they started reducing the number of BD copies acquired?

Thanks.

it's normal. But don't be surprised if they still send you something on a long wait randomly.

I was doing other things at the time so I didn't need it to hold my attention. And after a while, I kept thinking "something must happen in this movie..." but no, not much. The killer birds don't even show up until 40-45 mins into the thing. And even then, they are ultra, ultra lame TRS-80 graphics. And the "acting" could be better done by cigar store Indians.

The capper is the periodic global warming rants plus a girl who lost her mother to the birds then an hour or two later is complaining about getting fish for dinner instead of a Happy Meal.

Too bad no BD version of this film

haha

The kicker on the Soup was the board room clapping scene.

It's fairly normal for me on BD's .. sometimes they do surprise though .. I'm sure it has something to do with the stock ordered for the particular service center they ship your discs from .. and unexpected larger than anticipated demand .. long waits for me right now ..

I Spit on Your Grave
For Colored Girls

Sometimes I just give up and go rent from the last B&M in my area

I was a Big Netflix fan.But now with them not having many new BD to pick from I drop my account from 2 unlimited to only 2 a month.My bill was $18 a month now it is $5.Soon I may just drop it all togeather.Hopefully they willwake up and find that they might be ran out of buisness if they keep this up.

b_scott and Mgkdragn, thanks very much.

BTW, I just checked: I live in Northern Virginia (DC suburb). "For Colored Girls" is availabe. I Spit On Your Grave is a long wait for me also.

I was a Big Netflix fan.But now with them not having many new BD to pick from I drop my account from 2 unlimited to only 2 a month.My bill was $18 a month now it is $5.Soon I may just drop it all togeather.Hopefully they willwake up and find that they might be ran out of buisness if they keep this up.

This would be ok if they would stream current titles! Will anyone ever offer a subscription service that will allow you to stream new releases?