I’m in the USA, so bandwidth is not an issue. To me, Netflix’s selection is awesome- my family’s queue is over 150 movies and TV series long. And if something is not available, we still have a DVD/Blu-ray by mail queue. I think people’s biggest complaint about instant watch selection is the low amount of newer releases. I don’t even notice, since I’m just as content to watch older movies that are “new to me”. One thing that there is an abundance of on Netflix USA is documentaries- even very recent ones. They become available at the same time as DVD release and sometimes before.

There are thousands of available titles and my instant view queue is well stocked. Yeah, the Stars Play content looks like garbage, but with a good connection, a lot of other content plays fine in HD. I’ve only encountered rare issues with audio/video problems, and they are dedinately not as common as damaged/scratched discs when using netflix snail mail.

Netflix has saved me a hell of a lot of money and has expanded my tastes quite a bit, mostly because of it’s convenience. There’s a lot of stuff I was able to check out instantly because I heard of it on this very site, and most of those films aren’t readily available where I am. The selection of documentary and foreign films is pretty tremendous, and even the best of those are films that you’ll have trouble finding at the local FYE or Blockbuster. I’m willing to wait the day or 2 for something in the mail, but there is more than enough in my instant queue to keep me occupied in the meantime (I WILL get around to watching the “Red Riding” and the “Girl With/Who Played With/Who Kicked” trilogies someday. Someday…).

A question for the people that say there’s nothing there to watch: Do you use the website at all, or are you just using whatever device you have hooked up to your TV? My roommate used to use Netflix on her X-Box 360, and I run it on my Wii, and if you just rely on that, it’s a hell of a mess to get through. I don’t know if the onscreen interface changes at all from device to device, but I know that the 360 and Wii are similarly awful in their organization (or lack thereof). If you search on the site itself and add to your queue from there, it makes things MUCH much easier.

Of course, I DO still buy DVDs (and will soon be upgrading to Blu-Ray, which is another reason why my DVD spending has slowed), but I’m either a) much more selective and buy stuff I know I’ll watch repeatedly, or b) I’m a total bargain hunter and pick up movies at their dirt cheapest that I just held off on buying when they were newer. I think I spent a total of 20 bucks on the 2-disc versions of Knocked Up, SuperBad, Funny People, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Pineapple Express when I picked them up on Black Friday.

Also, borrowing from and loaning to friends isn’t an issue when THEY have Netflix too.

Whatever the final physical media is, they won’t be worthless. There will probably a collector’s market to appreciate the medium and its benefits… you know, owning something. If I download a movie tomorrow and it authenticates on a server, I won’t have that movie in a couple of years when the plug is pulled. It’s a disaster for consumers. They can’t trade. they can’t resell. They can’t let friends borrow. The studios have full control over when you watch and when you watch it. The convenience isn’t worth it.

It’s not that streaming is bad, although I personally don’t like it. It’s great for some stuff like TV shows where shipping discs is time consuming, and I doubt many people watch TV series often because of how much time that takes. A 90-minute movie? That’s something I’ll watch often, and I actually want my own copy, not something that sits on a finite server.

“Instead of paying $20 for some plastic that will eventually end up in a landfill or have to be re-processed (causing more environmental damage), I’d prefer that you actually have to re-express your interest and commitment to the movie by paying a small sum each time you want to, you know, actually WATCH it.”

Who throws out their movies? There’s a huge resale market, trading, borrowing, etc. It’s hardly an environmental issue. Plus, if you’ve got kids, it’s far cheaper to buy a movie no matter how cheap it is to stream each time. Hell, I’ve watched Ghostbusters more times than I care to admit. I’m not going to pay each time I want to watch it.

“The author asks “Why should Warner Brothers make a deal with Netflix?” Because they have the streaming infrastructure in place and a boatload of customers on their system who are happy and don’t want to have seperate access apps for each provider.”

But when they don’t have a choice, what are consumers going to do? Warner has the streaming capabilities RIGHT NOW. It is a huge infrastructure like Netflix? No, of course not… yet. It’s not so much the service that matters, it’s the device. When you buy a streaming device, you get Hulu, Netflix, Crackle… etc. Replace those with individual studios, and the convenience factor is still there.

The author of this article is really confused as to who/what he’s mad at. “Netflix is wrong to offer streaming!” “Consumers are wrong to embrace streaming!”
“Netflix doesn’t know what’s going to happen in the future!”

Streaming is here. Done. Pandora’s box opened, cat has exited bag.

I live in the US, and subscribe to streaming and a one-disc plan. There is tons of content. Yes, selection is limited. I don’t find I need the newest hits. I can’t yet watch genius stuff like Prince of Persia right when it gets released to home video. (Don’t worry about me though, those deals are coming)

I have 347 shows in my Instant Queue alone. Even if half those are things I will never get around to watching, I’ve got at least half a years worth of programming for the average person.

I am starting to HATE getting DVDs from Netflix… especially if you are a movie lover who wants to see older selections or cult classics. These discs are scratched to shit or ‘very long wait’ – or Netflix hasn’t even bothered to purchase the title.

I’m bored with the panicky chorus of naysayers who say streaming is a horrible idea and that true cinephiles should keep spending all their $ on products that will be worthless in ten years. And that’s probably a generous time frame. I’m absolutely sure that the studios will continue to offer some ‘purchase it’ product for you folks.

I suspect a good portion of why some people are so pissed about streaming is that their dvd collections are something they really feel ‘are’ them.

That and the convenience / control factor. Yet consider: Instead of people counting their dvds /blu-rays, they should count how many times they’ve watched each of them in the last year.’oh, I have that. I haven’t watched it yet, got it two months ago.’ Instead of paying $20 for some plastic that will eventually end up in a landfill or have to be re-processed (causing more environmental damage), I’d prefer that you actually have to re-express your interest and commitment to the movie by paying a small sum each time you want to, you know, actually WATCH it.

What about a non-DRM download? Oh, but that can’t sit pretty on a shelf.

The marketplace is about give and take and balance. If studios price their content in a way that the majority people find out of line with the value of it, they will not pay for it. (See the number of responders who have already said they will just go torrent it).

The author asks “Why should Warner Brothers make a deal with Netflix?” Because they have the streaming infrastructure in place and a boatload of customers on their system who are happy and don’t want to have seperate access apps for each provider.

Again, I can see how streaming is not viable for Canadians yet, due to the bandwidth/cost issue alone. That sucks.

“I tried that. I hated it. It never had anything I looked for.”
Me: “What did you look for?”

And their reply is ALWAYS either a movie that only JUST came out within a week or two, or is STILL IN THE THEATER. Of fucking COURSE Netflix isn’t going to have that. Stop having your expectations so god damn high.

As for me, I don’t use Netflix for Searching. I use it for Browsing.