Netflix Alternatives?

[strickj]

Yup, I'm one of the pissed off former Netflix customers.

I tried Blockbuster Online for a few months but their ship times are just horrible. It takes them a week, sometimes more, from the time I return to the time I get new shipments.

I have absolutely no desire to watch movies online.

RedBox is great.... and there's even one down the road from the house... but that's too much trouble. Seems by the time I remember there's a movie in my truck that needs to be dropped off, I've already racked up enough to buy the damn thing off Ebay

I'm considering CafeDVD but I've never heard of them before cafedvd -- Monthly Rental Program

Anyone have any experience with them? Specifically new movie availability and ship times.

I love their ship policy of shipping as soon as I mail the return. Versus waiting until they receive the return. That could easily shave a couple days off of the wait )and knowing USPS, maybe a week or 12:rolleyes: )

Their price is reasonable.

But I do not like that there is a return date of three days - as I can not always find the time to watch a movie for a few days.

Edited September 24, 2011 by strickj

[Guest bkelm18]

Netflix has really pushed its customers buttons lately. When they jacked the price up a few weeks ago, I dropped the DVD by mail option and stuck with the streaming content that I can play on the TV (via Xbox or BluRay player). As for other options, I dunno. Never liked Blockbuster. Their ship times were horrendous.

[Guest WyattEarp]

i was very upset about the price change. I cancelled my service as soon as I found out and I went to Blockbuster Mail Service. Their shipping times definitely suck. But at least I get new movies LONG before Netflix gets them. They don't even have new releases available on DVD until 28 days after blockbuster gets them.

Here's some alternatives, but they aren't that great of an option

Mad About Netflix Prices? Here Are Some Alternative Services - Techland - TIME.com

I was infuriated last week when I got the stupid Netflix apology letter, telling me they "screwed up", but no they weren't going to make it right by changing the prices back. They just committed the equivalent of corporate suicide with the price change in July. Then they went back and re-hung themselves with the stupid and meaningless apology letter. They must be crazy if they think I'm going to subsidize their stupidity of assuming that I'm stupid, and continuing to pay $17 + tax to keep something I was already paying $10 for to begin with. They can go pound the sand off the beach as far as I'm concerned.

One of the only video stores left in the Boro gets my business...and that's family video. We have red box and hastings too. I use the red box or FV.

It won't be long till DVD's and Blu-Rays are a thing of the past. I don't see movie theatres being aorund too much longer either, everything is going to be Video on Demand before long, where everything, new movies, old movies, will all be available at the push of a button on your remote, that's the way this is all moving. There's less chance of piracy with secured digital online content, they can encrypt the signal to prevent unauthorized copying or reproduction/distribution, and prevent transferring the content to external hard drives, computers, laptops, or other devices.

[Punisher84]

I think you've got a good point, Wyatt. I think it will take awhile to totally kill the theaters, but with the decline of polite society more people are willing to bypass the theater. Why deal with rude people and high prices when you can sit on the couch in your pajamas and watch a movie on your flat panel with surround sound?

As for Netflix, I dropped streaming and just get the 1 DVD at a time to catch up on tv series I've missed in my spare time. The price hike pissed me off, but I don't use streaming enough to where it really damaged me much.

[strickj]

i was very upset about the price change. I cancelled my service as soon as I found out and I went to Blockbuster Mail Service. Their shipping times definitely suck. But at least I get new movies LONG before Netflix gets them. They don't even have new releases available on DVD until 28 days after blockbuster gets them.

That's the reason I switched to BB earlier this year.

But their ship times and new release availability pretty much nips that advantage right out. Seems every new title I wanted was either on the short or long wait list. Add to that the week it takes to receive it and you're just as well off as waiting an additional 28 days with NF.

NF's new Qwikster company will hopefully be up and operational soon.... and affordable! I can even deal with the higher prices if Qwikster's ship times are the same (next day for me from my mailbox to my mailbox)

[Wyldk2]

Been a netflix customer since 2007, I was kinda irked at the price increase. It costs me $20 per month to stream plus endless 2 at a time dvds. But I dropped my cable subscription ( that was $24 a month joke just for basic cable) I get 8 channels free now all in HDTV. But i hardly watch tv unless it is the news or something on abc,nbc, fox or cbs( i get Huntsville channels). So to me it could have been gradually introduced as a price increase, and the apology letter was a total crock of BS, IMO. Thinking seriously about just dropping the dvds and stick to streaming( cause the new "Qwickster" site looks like it might be more of a hassle than just one site). Yeah, the guy writing the apology letter to us said he would break netflix into 2 companies one "Qwickster" for the dvds, blue-rays and so they say soon to come Video games. And "Netflix" would stay as a steaming only company. I tried Gamefly, it sucked due to the delivery times were slower than they ought to be.

Yep I'm pretty sure they shot themselves in this endeavour.

[JG55]

I am one of the 600,000 customers who dropped Netflix due to the price increase. Seems a case of Corporate greed and a attitude of where you going to go. I really did like watching the foreign movies from Korea, China, India and Europe. Netflix is losing Starz in February, which supplied them with alot of streaming movies and new shows like Spartacus.

here's some more recommendations: 5 Netflix and Qwikster Alternatives - Yahoo! Shopping

Amazon streaming video works well as does Hulu.

[enfield]

TCM for me - the movies are much better.

[Jon_L]

I am one of the 600,000 customers who dropped Netflix due to the price increase.

I heard it was a million.

I was pretty mad when they increased it, and I dropped off soon after (I had cable, and not very much time to watch TV--my sister-in-law was watching it more than I. I'm thinking since Qwikster will send out games and movies, I may go back provided they have a good selection of games and their prices don't suck.

[ted]

here's one and it's free called crakel in the iPad apps I think you can go online to the web site and watch old movies for free

[bockey]

I was kinda peeved with the price increase. But after stepping back and looking at things, they have actually saved me money. We hardly ever used the streaming service, so I went with dvd only. As far as time of new releases, I'm patient so I can wait. One thing I have loved about Netflix, is being able to find older flicks (i.e. 70's & 80's). Will wait and see about the Qwikster thang. To be perfectly honest, I kinda miss the old days, no cable/dish, no cell phones, no gaming consoles, no internet etc. Don't get me wrong I use all this technology. Life did seem much simpler back before we had all this to make things easier. Oh well, will get off the soapbox before I fall off it.

[MacGyver]

I think the studios are going to screw Netflix, and then end up screwing themselves by proxy. Starz reportedly walked away from talks last week after demanding 10 times their previous $30 million to conti ue their deal. The studios can't stand them; I think they're going to be late to the game, just like they were with digital music.

While I applaud Netflix for having the guts to just focus on streaming, I increasingly think that the dominant position will eventually go to someone else. Netflix really botched the transition. That's cost them half their market cap, a lot of their brand integrity and their reputation. Add the fact that every major studio would love for them to fail, and I think that may wind up costing them the game.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I thought about trying Netflix, and thought about it some more. Nah!

I dropped all of my cable premiums a while back. They weren't worth watching

either. AMC and TCM are okay with me. The oldies are so much better than

the trash the studios are doing nowadays. Even the Military Channel has a few

good movies. So does History Channel.

Glad to have been one who missed out on this Netflix thing.

[Lumber_Jack]

We got an Apple Tv from my inlaws so I actually signed up after the price debacle. I only have streaming but have been happy with the service, mostly due to the TV series that I can watch in entirety.

I understand they really hurt feelings by doubling their price, as I would be upset if my phone bill doubled. However, If Netflix came out today brand new and offered at their new price I don't think people would be upset. Meaning, I think they were under-charging before.

[Beltaine]

I feel like I indirectly contributed to the whole fiasco.

A while back I got tired of paying for satellite TV and installed a regular old antenna. I get all the networks for free, and I supplemented with Netflix streaming and DVD's

I turned over $100/month in TV charges to only $15.

If a lot of people have done the same thing, I can understand why the studios are up in arms.

Even with the latest price increases, I'm still coming out way ahead.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Guest bkelm18]

We got an Apple Tv from my inlaws so I actually signed up after the price debacle. I only have streaming but have been happy with the service, mostly due to the TV series that I can watch in entirety.

I understand they really hurt feelings by doubling their price, as I would be upset if my phone bill doubled. However, If Netflix came out today brand new and offered at their new price I don't think people would be upset. Meaning, I think they were under-charging before.

You're probably right. People would pay the extra if they were new to Netflix, but it just pissed people off (me included) when they up and decided to double the price on the same services without anything new.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

You're probably right. People would pay the extra if they were new to Netflix, but it just pissed people off (me included) when they up and decided to double the price on the same services without anything new.

Cable TV has been steadily inreasing prices forever, without adding anything worth watching, and so far the cable companies do not seem to have suffered badly for their behavior. Maybe Netflix thought they could get away with it like the cable companies?

The 24" monitors on my desk appear 9X bigger in area to my eye, compared to the TV over on the other side of the room. I'd need a 96" TV on the other side of the room to see as big a picture as the 24" monitor on my desk. I buy lots of computer gadgets but the only reason I have a set top DVD player is because daughter gave me one for christmas some years ago. I have watched exactly 2 DVD's in the years since.

I don't watch much TV except news and occasional cult series or movie. Cable TV will go for a week with hundreds of channels and nothing worth watching. On netflix, many streaming movies and TV shows suck so bad that I select one and then watch 5 minutes then turn it off because it is so horrible. With such poor quality control in entertainment, seems silly to order DVD's if the odds are high I'll watch 5 minutes, decide they suck then mail the DVD back unwatched.

What I would pay for would be streaming with EVERYTHING available on demand when I want to watch it. Including news shows and CSPAN and such. Possibly charged by the minute rather than a flat rate, so that the monthly price doesn't have to be so high. There is so little I care to watch, and most of what I'd like to watch isn't available from streaming Netflix. If my wife didn't watch cable, I would have cancelled cable a long time ago.

If they charge by the minute then there would be a financial motivation for the media companies to make better shows that people would give a dern about watching. As it is, ferinstance SciFi channel can put on something just barely acceptable to keep from getting bumped off the Cable TV bundle, and they get the same money (except for ads) regardless of how bad the shows suck, as long as the shows don't suck so bad that the channel loses its slot in the bundle.

[strickj]

Question for you current Netflix customers. A couple of comments have me confused here.

I dropped Netflix to try out Blockbuster before the changes took place. Now by looking at their site, it appears you can only get 1 out at once added to the streaming service.

Can you opt out of the streaming service and just use their mail service? Is there still an 2 or 3 out at once service?

I feel like I indirectly contributed to the whole fiasco.

A while back I got tired of paying for satellite TV and installed a regular old antenna. I get all the networks for free, and I supplemented with Netflix streaming and DVD's

I turned over $100/month in TV charges to only $15.

If a lot of people have done the same thing, I can understand why the studios are up in arms.

Even with the latest price increases, I'm still coming out way ahead.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I dropped my cable a while back, too, for partly the same reason.

I had every single package they offered, minus the all Spanish package. Called them one day to re-up my discount and they told me the only way I could continue receiving the discount was to add an additional service. Told them I'm not paying an additional 15 or so dollars for a package of channels I couldn't understand.

I intended to buy some satellite equipment... but once I saw how good the over the air stations were, I decided to just save my money and keep the "HD" antenna.

About the only thing I miss is the movie channels. But like you said, Netflix solved that.

[Jonnin]

comcast on-demand has a good selection, a large free area for older movies and shows and pay for view for newer stuff at a pretty low cost per movie. It is just like a player, pause, rewind, watch it as much as you want (it is "rented" for 2 days I think). Only works if you use their service though. The ONLY reason I pay for cable is they have my internet, and its basically a bundle, buy one get one cheap. The price for basic cable on top of the internet is not bad at all....

[MacGyver]

Netflix is being completely split into two companies. One company "Qwikster" will be for DVDs and the other "Netflix" for streaming. If someone wants both, they will be charged by each of the companies.

[Guest nicemac]

I now subscribe to streaming only. What a deal. All you can eat for $8 a month.

I understand people don't like price increases, but good grief, $16 for all-you-can-eat streaming AND DVDs BY MAIL? It is still a deal. Could the communication have been handled better? Maybe.

The postage on the DVDs I used to get from them was 44¢ each way. That is 88¢ for each disc they send out by the time it is returned. If they send you out 10 discs a month they lose money on the postage alone, forgetting the other costs of doing business. They have to be profitable to stay in business.

The DVD is dead. The writing is on the wall and it is only a matter of time. It is a dead-disc walking. Streaming will be the only solution before long as the DVD goes the way of the 8-track and the vinyl album.

Edited September 26, 2011 by nicemac

[Troutburger]

I dropped the at home service and stuck with streaming. But the selection is pretty lacking. Take the Starz movies out and i'm not sure streaming will be worth $10 a month...

[Guest nicemac]

The big problem I see on the horizon is that the ISPs are going to want a piece of the pie as people dump cable-type services (usually the subscribers ISP) and then proceed to eat up said ISPs bandwidth consuming what amounts to a competitive product (Netflix).

[JG55]

"But the selection is pretty lacking. Take the Starz movies out and I'm not sure streaming will be worth $10 a month..."

That's the issue. My experience was that most of the movies I wanted to watch were on DVD's not streaming. I watched all the foreign movies I was interested in and then all the Starz movies, and then there was nothing left that was interesting.. If they can double the number of movies with new releases, then maybe.... but it almost seems like they were using the streaming to sell the dvd's sorta of like a lost leader.. There has to be a large improvement in selection.. My 2 cents and I realize that someone elses experience might be different...

Right now I am trying Amazon Prime on a 30 day free trail but I think it's going to have the same problem... lack of content I am interested in even though they will have over 11,000 movies and tv shows to pick from. Do you really want watch Mayberry RFD reruns ? Ugh !!

Using Redbox for DVD rentals.. which works pretty good..

[memphismason]

The big problem I see on the horizon is that the ISPs are going to want a piece of the pie as people dump cable-type services (usually the subscribers ISP) and then proceed to eat up said ISPs bandwidth consuming what amounts to a competitive product (Netflix).

Comcast here already has a 250gb ceiling on their Home internet package. If you go over it they will send you a threat. Go over a second time and your service will be terminated.