# Netflix



## Guitarmiester (Dec 27, 2011)

Any of you guys use Netflix? I'm so sick of shelling out almost $100 a month for Comcast when:

1. Horrible service. Whether it's OnDemand not working, weak signal, or getting some kind of error that turns into hours of a Comcast rep. telling me to unplug the box for 1 minute, wait 15-30 minutes for it to fully recycle, and repeat. 

2. They charge ME to fix their own equipment. 

3. I really don't watch much TV other than skimming channels before falling asleep, watching football or UFC, or watching a select few shows, like Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Workaholics, It's Always Sunny in PA, and maybe one or two others once in a while. 

I keep seeing ads for Netflix and even more info ever since getting an Xbox 360. I'm aware that you can stream TV shows and movies, but can't find anything about the selection. I'm sure the movie selection can't be any worse than Comcast's free selection. An extra $20 per premium channel, on top of the usual $100 bill, is ridiculous. 

Can anyone that has Netflix shed some light on how it works and if it's any good?


----------



## Mordacain (Dec 27, 2011)

I use Netflix all the time. Its great, between it and Hulu Plus there is really very little need for me to have a TV provider (except I'm still under contract for Direct TV atm).

I think as soon as my contract is up we'll be ditching our TV providers and going all online.


----------



## MFB (Dec 27, 2011)

Ive found Netflix to be pretty much worthless and you'll probably be 10x better off with Hulu Plus for the same cost. Netfliz's library is HORRIBLY outdated and any movies you will want to watch normally require DVD vs. instant streaming; so if you lose your desire to watch it, by the time it shows up - you won't care.


----------



## Mordacain (Dec 27, 2011)

MFB said:


> Ive found Netflix to be pretty much worthless and you'll probably be 10x better off with Hulu Plus for the same cost. Netfliz's library is HORRIBLY outdated and any movies you will want to watch normally require DVD vs. instant streaming; so if you lose your desire to watch it, by the time it shows up - you won't care.



That really depends on what you prefer to watch. Netflix has a much broader selection of movies and shows. Neither Netflix or Hulu has the newest movies (basically the new releases). Hulu has very limited selection of movies and has the current season for most TV programming (and some older seasons).

Hulu does have the annoyance of commercials, even with Hulu Plus.


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Dec 27, 2011)

I love Netflix. Easily the best $8 I spend each month. 

If you need to watch the latest movies and the latest TV shows Amazon and Hulu would be better overall, but I really enjoy the vast Netflix catalog. I had the Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus trials, and still vastly preferred Netflix. 

At the end of the day, you can get all three (Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime) for less than the cost of most premium cable packages, and then you'll have the best of all worlds.


----------



## AK DRAGON (Dec 27, 2011)

Working for a telecom provider allows me to monitor our platform as a perk. Not that there is anything worth watching.

I haven't been back to Netflix after their price hike and split service debacle. You want the new stuff to watch you're gonna have to wait on a DVD to arrive. Their online service leaves something to be desired. For me it wasn't worth the hassle to retain their service. Hulu looks promising though it lacks content that I would be interested in watching


----------



## Chickenhawk (Dec 27, 2011)

I just got Netflix a few days ago, and so far I'm pretty pleased with my $8 a month purchase.


----------



## Guitarmiester (Dec 27, 2011)

What's Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime? 

I had the chance to give Netflix a try for a month with my Xbox Live account but never got around to it since I was so wrapped up in COD. I believe I only have 2, maybe 3, months left of my contract with Comcast so I've got some time to look around and do some research.


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Dec 27, 2011)

Guitarmiester said:


> What's Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime?
> 
> I had the chance to give Netflix a try for a month with my Xbox Live account but never got around to it since I was so wrapped up in COD. I believe I only have 2, maybe 3, months left of my contract with Comcast so I've got some time to look around and do some research.



Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime are two other movie and TV streaming services that are in competition with Netflix. They all have different content, pricing, and advantages over the other. One doesn't necessarily replace the other, but they can go together pretty well. 

Hulu (and their more feature/option filled Plus) feels the most like cable TV. It's full of new, current season TV shows, mostly major network. Adding to the "cable experience" are commercials, and a fair share of them. The movie selection is absolutely ghastly though, there are a few "cult" movies here and there, and every now and then an okay documentary, but it's obvious that TV shows are the main attraction.

Amazon Prime is pretty new, and thus doesn't have the same streaming options. It's focus seems to be more on relatively newer movies. Not exactly first run, but a lot that are well under a year old. It's a work in progress, but not bad so far. It too has a free trial available to try out. 

I find Netflix to be a great balance of both TV shows and movies. Though, I've been pretty unimpressed with most prime time TV for the last few years, so the newest Fox, FX, and TBS shows mean next to nothing to me, so Hulu isn't as much for me. There's a lot of really good stuff on there, you just have to look. If you like British shows and comedy (Peep Show, Stephen Fry, Waiting For God, Black Book, etc.) than it's really the only option. Yes, every now and then you'll want to watch something and be bummed that it's DVD only, but it's not too big of a deal. If you want new movies, hit up Red Box for $1 for a DVD. 

I don't see how people can complain about so much content on Netflix for all of $8. I watch roughly five shows a day on Netflix, which adds up to 150 programs a month. That means, in theory, I'm only paying about a nickel a program. That's insane! Granted, Netflix was a better deal before, but it's still an awesome deal. 

Between Netflix, Red Box, South Park Studios, Adult Swim Video, and Hulu (not Plus) I can watch programming to my heart's content, mostly free. I don't think I'm ever going to go back to cable or satellite.


----------



## Guitarmiester (Dec 27, 2011)

Thanks for all the info! I'll have to look a little more into Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime. Like you said, I'm sure all three together are still cheaper than Comcast. Trying out their trials will give me a better feel for what's going to suit my needs. 

RedBox is great. I've been using them for a few years now. Occasionally they'll email promo codes for free movies. $1 is already a steal. Who wouldn't like getting a free new movie? 

Comcast's movie selection isn't as great as they advertise. I got all of the premium channels free for the first three months. While there are a few newer movies here and there, there's still a lot of old stuff that makes the bulk of it. I couldn't justify paying an extra $20 per channel a month to make up for their horrid free movies. The free movie selection is packed with nothing but 40's - 80's movies and then a few 90's movies thrown in. It's a joke.


----------



## MFB (Dec 27, 2011)

I don't know if they're still doing it, but why not just do the free one month trial and if you see enough stuff on there, actually start paying for it afterwards?


----------



## maj86 (Dec 27, 2011)

It is worth it!


----------



## Guitarmiester (Dec 27, 2011)

MFB said:


> I don't know if they're still doing it, but why not just do the free one month trial and if you see enough stuff on there, actually start paying for it afterwards?



That's what I said I'm going to do in the post above yours. Can't hurt to try it out.


----------



## MFB (Dec 27, 2011)

Whoops, all I saw was the part about promo codes but not anything about doing the free trial


----------



## Cancer (Dec 27, 2011)

I'm actually GLAD that Netflix doesn't get the newest Hollywood stuff. My taste in movies has expanded greatly since I've been streaming Netflix. There a sea of really good foreign films that I would have never seen were it not for Netflix. It's pretty cool for documentaries too.


----------



## Chickenhawk (Dec 27, 2011)

MFB said:


> I don't know if they're still doing it, but why not just do the free one month trial and if you see enough stuff on there, actually start paying for it afterwards?



That's exactly what I'm doing right now. I'm still in my 1 month free trial.

There will be $8 leaving my bank account every month


----------



## brutalwizard (Jan 5, 2012)

the amount of netflix i watch is literally appalling, in the sense no person should watch that much tv, at such low cost haha


----------



## blaaargh (Jan 6, 2012)

Cancer said:


> I'm actually GLAD that Netflix doesn't get the newest Hollywood stuff. My taste in movies has expanded greatly since I've been streaming Netflix. There a sea of really good foreign films that I would have never seen were it not for Netflix. It's pretty cool for documentaries too.



+1. The foreign and independent movies on Netflix are usually pretty awesome (at least the ones I've watched), and I probably never would have watched them otherwise.


----------



## soliloquy (Jan 6, 2012)

i'm loving some of the shows that netflix has...but i'm hating most of the movies that netflix has. if they aren't very old (crappy old, not classic old) movies, then they are just movies that you have forgotten about even if they were released 6 months ago.

but their international films are pretty awesome! 

but the shows they have are pretty decent. 
really loved watching 'the bid c' and even 'avatar: the last air bender' and 'borgia' among a few others.

and i'm annoyed that netflix cant bend the arm of dexter much. last year they had everything up to season 4 done. season 5 was still not released on dvd, so that could wait. season 6 starts and dexter is pulled off netflix to generate interest for the season (in otherwords, it forces people to download/stream online...not actually support dexter or showtime...). season 6 ends, and dexter is back on...but only till season 3. wtf?!

also, i have been hearing rumors that netflix has signed up with fox. but i'm just wainting for fox shows to air. waiting for burn notice and white collar'.


----------



## Epyon6 (Jan 7, 2012)

Guitarmiester said:


> Any of you guys use Netflix? I'm so sick of shelling out almost $100 a month for Comcast when:
> 
> 1. Horrible service. Whether it's OnDemand not working, weak signal, or getting some kind of error that turns into hours of a Comcast rep. telling me to unplug the box for 1 minute, wait 15-30 minutes for it to fully recycle, and repeat.
> 
> ...


 


I dont know if they have the service in your area but I got verizion fios about a year ago for about the same price as comcost with so many more channels dvr shit ect.....I honestly love it, maybe check that out, my girl has netflicks and even though they have alotta shows on there they have crap movies, very few decent or good ones. But yea look into fios man.


----------



## djinn314 (Jan 7, 2012)

I use Netflix but got something in the mail about how they supposedly brokered a deal with Walmart and how there's some big law suit against them. Sounds iffy.


----------



## Guitarmiester (Jan 8, 2012)

soliloquy said:


> i'm loving some of the shows that netflix has...but i'm hating most of the movies that netflix has. if they aren't very old (crappy old, not classic old) movies, then they are just movies that you have forgotten about even if they were released 6 months ago.
> 
> but their international films are pretty awesome!
> 
> ...



The movie part sounds just like OnDemand. Once in a while there's a decent movie to watch. For the most part, there's nothing but crap. The TV part is what I'm still unsure of. I'll give the free trial a shot later this month. The only TV show I do my best to catch every week is Breaking Bad. Say I miss an episode, do they make it available to watch the next day, next week, or do they only offer past seasons for most shows? 



Techdethdrummer said:


> I dont know if they have the service in your area but I got verizion fios about a year ago for about the same price as comcost with so many more channels dvr shit ect.....I honestly love it, maybe check that out, my girl has netflicks and even though they have alotta shows on there they have crap movies, very few decent or good ones. But yea look into fios man.



I've tried Fios and wasn't overly impressed with it. It's just as, if not more, expensive than Comcast. The one thing I did like about Fios was some kind of program reminder. I had it set to automatically switch to a football game in case I wasn't paying attention to the time. That was pretty cool. By the way, I used to live in TR.


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Jan 8, 2012)

Guitarmiester said:


> The movie part sounds just like OnDemand. Once in a while there's a decent movie to watch. For the most part, there's nothing but crap. The TV part is what I'm still unsure of. I'll give the free trial a shot later this month. The only TV show I do my best to catch every week is Breaking Bad. Say I miss an episode, do they make it available to watch the next day, next week, or do they only offer past seasons for most shows?



The movie selection isn't _that_ bad. There's obviously a focus on Foreign, Independent, Cult Classic, and just Classic in general, opposed to the newest and biggest Hollywood explosion/CGI fest. 

As for the TV shows, they're all past season, but they're usually just a single season behind. Think of when the DVD of a show comes out, usually a short time after the season ends. 

None of the legitimate online streaming websites offer programming without some form of a delay.


----------



## technomancer (Jan 8, 2012)

MaxOfMetal said:


> Amazon Prime is pretty new, and thus doesn't have the same streaming options. It's focus seems to be more on relatively newer movies. Not exactly first run, but a lot that are well under a year old. It's a work in progress, but not bad so far. It too has a free trial available to try out.



To be fair Amazon Prime started as free two day shipping on all your orders for a flat yearly fee. The video streaming was an added bonus they just threw in recently. As somebody who had Prime for the shipping feature as we use Amazon all the time I think it's pretty good as a free bonus feature


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Jan 8, 2012)

technomancer said:


> To be fair Amazon Prime started as free two day shipping on all your orders for a flat yearly fee. The video streaming was an added bonus they just threw in recently as an added perk.



Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty sweet setup, especially if you buy a lot of stuff off of Amazon. Like I said, it's just a little rough for right now. I'm sure Amazon will spruce it up quickly.


----------



## djinn314 (Jan 8, 2012)

Well from the letter I got the accusation states that Walmart paid some amount of money to Netflix, or Vice Versa in an agreement to not allow certain videos to be streaming so Walmart could sell them, or New Movies wouldn't be sold or put on New Release (email DVD) so Walmart could again, sell them. After Netflix did a move I just don't like: charging their long time customers a lot more for what they've been offering as the company's model: offer a cheaper alternative to movies for consumers...I've been looking for another alternative. 

I dunno I think the whole thing sounds "fucky" in the words of Bubbles (TPB).


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Jan 8, 2012)

Honestly, for what you get, Netflix could double their current rates, and still be an amazing deal. They still have to compete with illegal downloads/streaming, online competitors, store fronts, cable companies, etc. Compared to those, they're still the best deal in town by a significant margin, unless of course you're looking for something VERY particular. 

Back before the restructure Netflix was an unbelievable deal, now it's just an amazing deal. 

Deciding to charge more is not a bad thing, as it's still VERY affordable. Charging more is allowing them to create original programming, sponsor new seasons of other series, keeping content commercial free, and giving them leverage to sign better deals. DVDs are a dying market, as all physical media is.


----------



## djinn314 (Jan 8, 2012)

I don't know, I honestly only keep Netflix for the Trailer Park Boys and every now and again some of the Office. And after that I don't really have the time to watch TV, I'd rather listen to music, read or draw, paint or write music. But don't get me wrong. My netflix is on because I seriously love the Trailer Park Boys. That's the only reason why it's worth it for me. But what's affordable to you and me is a completely different thing when you compare it other people. I know if certain things didn't manage to happen I could be further un, or under-employed than I already am.


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Jan 8, 2012)

djinn314 said:


> I don't know, I honestly only keep Netflix for the Trailer Park Boys and every now and again some of the Office. And after that I don't really have the time to watch TV, I'd rather listen to music, read or draw, paint or write music. But don't get me wrong. My netflix is on because I seriously love the Trailer Park Boys. That's the only reason why it's worth it for me. But what's affordable to you and me is a completely different thing when you compare it other people. I know if certain things didn't manage to happen I could be further un, or under-employed than I already am.



Yeah, if you're only in it for one or two shows then the deal is reduced. I watch, on average, about an hour or two of it a day, so it works out to be really cheap per show.


----------



## soliloquy (Jan 8, 2012)

i have to say, netflix is making things too tempting to go over the bandwidth. 
yes, i love owning dvds just so i can hold the cover, or it can collect dust on my shelves. 
and i HATE waiting to download/load or even search for something.

with netflix, you turn it on, and its right there, no waiting or anything. it works for me


----------



## Guitarmiester (Jan 22, 2012)

A funny, yet aggravating update on my Comcast situation...

I've been used to one of my boxes not working, or channels being really pixelated, OnDemand not working and/or the internet not working. The other day nothing was working. Both TV's were out and the internet was either slow as hell or wouldn't work at all. To add to the frustration, my bill came in with $40 of additional charges. 

For the first time, I was surprised at Comcast actually being helpful. Billing removed the chargers without any questions and FINALLY the Comcast rep. told me they'd send someone out without charging me, because _"we stand behind our products and services." _That must be something they just started, because they've told me every time I've called that I'd be charged, at least, $30 for having someone come out, additional charges if anything's wrong, and an option of paying an extra $5 a month to waive future service calls. 

The rep came out yesterday morning and had some very interesting news for me. There were multiple problems, most that they already knew about but did nothing to fix. The guy who installed everything cut the wires wrong so that there were metal shavings and wires touching the connections on the splitter that not only shorted out my service on a daily basis, but shorted out the entire apt. complex Comcast service since there are multiple lines per building. What came next is the funny-er part. 

He informed me that they've had a lot of complaints but couldn't locate the problem until recently. When they located the problem, they shut off my service without telling me, because _"doing this would force a rep. to come out here and fix the problem."_ Awesome way to go about doing things, huh? Shut off service with no notice, still charge me for shit quality and service, and wait for ME to call in for probably the 50th time that none of my shit was working. 

He did fix everything. One more month left of my contract and bye bye Comcast. One person dropping them isn't going to make a dent in their monopoly, but word of mouth is a bitch when you provide shit service.


----------

