Netflix raising rates on the sly.

Polkie2009

I never got into the Netflix thing either because they weren't streaming movies with DTS MA or True HD. Maybe now they can? Maybe this will bring the prices of more Blu ray movies down to the $7.99 price to own.

kuntasensei

Polkie2009 wrote: »

I never got into the Netflix thing either because they weren't streaming movies with DTS MA or True HD. Maybe now they can? Maybe this will bring the prices of more Blu ray movies down to the $7.99 price to own.

You'd be shocked at how much stuff I've gotten for $8 from Amazon. Hit blu-ray.com, set price tracking on titles you want, and you'll get an e-mail when Amazon's price drops to that threshold. Most of my collection is stuff I got for under $10. Absolutely crucial for their Black Friday sales, 'cause I sniped all kinds of stuff that way from work! :biggrin:

BlueFox

I use Netflix to watch movies I would not buy. For those I just need regular DVDs. If I want to own it I buy a Bluray, for both the picture quality, and the lossless 5.1 audio.

dkg999

When I have time to watch TV it's nice to fire up the Roku box and then from my big comfy chair use my tablet pc to both be a remote control for the Roku box and to drop things into my Netflix streaming queue that I want to watch, right then.

Instant gratification for about $30 month for Netflix and Hulu+. That's what I'm about!

gimpod

I could be wrong but when NetFlix first started the unlimited DVD rental (one out at a time) wasn't it $19.99 a month, So $16 a month for the same thing pulse streaming ain't bad. Just saying.. but I also hear what H9's saying "It's the principle not the money"

BlueFox

gimpod wrote: »

I could be wrong but when NetFlix first started the unlimited DVD rental (one out at a time) wasn't it $19.99 a month,

Yes, you are wrong. :biggrin:

I have been with Netflix since 1999. At that time it was 4 DVDs out for $19.99. Then they dropped it to 3 DVDs. Then they raised it to $21 or $23 for 3 DVDs and streaming. Now it is $16 for 3 DVDs and no streaming.

shawn474

kuntasensei wrote: »

You'd be shocked at how much stuff I've gotten for $8 from Amazon. Hit blu-ray.com, set price tracking on titles you want, and you'll get an e-mail when Amazon's price drops to that threshold. Most of my collection is stuff I got for under $10. Absolutely crucial for their Black Friday sales, 'cause I sniped all kinds of stuff that way from work! :biggrin:

OK so you can buy two blu rays for the same price that you could rent or stream up to 8 to 10 movies a month (if you rented 2 a week). You're still making out in the deal. Drop your subscription to the lowest plan available, save $6 a month and have almost enough to buy a blu ray and continue your awesome netflix subscription.

This all rings hollow. The arguments and gas comparison is ridiculous. You either want the service or you don't. Buck up and do what you want, but don't **** about paying the subscription and keep it (not talking to anyone specifically here just a general statement). That's hypocritical.

kevhed72

I didn't read all 5 pages on this debate, but does anyone else think the Streaming PQ generally....sucks?

gdb

Ive only streamed a few times on my PC, seemed pretty OK and hi def looking but it had to delay/buffer a lot. That was before I upped my speed at comcrap/xfutility. I'm anxious to see what Blockbuster's gonna do w/streaming.

SDA1C

Aside from totally understanding why they are doing what they're doing and agreeing with it, I have to ask, What part of an internet blog and national press release exposing the change of charges well enough to hit other forums and blog sites over a month and a half ahead of the actual change constitutes the idea of "on the sly"? I am in the crowd that will save money on the DVD by mail only as I dot watch streams anyway. No offense but for me the phrase "quitcher.ichin" comes to mind!

1C

heiney9

kevhed72 wrote: »

I didn't read all 5 pages on this debate, but does anyone else think the Streaming PQ generally....sucks?

Mine is excellent 720p HD, what more do you want?

H9

LessisNevermore

heiney9 wrote: »

Mine is excellent 720p HD, what more do you want?

H9

I gotta call bs a little bit on this one. It might pass the legal definition of 720p HD, but it sure doesn't look as sharp as an upconverted dvd. It's good, but not great. Some of the HD streamed offerings did look great, but I think they're compressing them more to conserve bandwidth.

JustinHEMI

heiney9 wrote: »

Mine is excellent 720p HD, what more do you want?

H9

Mine is crap. Lucky you.

Like I said before, I am glad they split it since I won't use the streaming because of the poor quality on my setup. Granted, I recognize that it is probably a function of my internet connection, but I am not going to pay more for hight speeds for streaming..., at least not until they are able to stream full HD picture AND sound.

mystik610

Cancelling mine as well, unless the price increase is coupled with a compelling upgrade to the streaming service. PQ is sub-par IMO, which would be acceptable if the library of the streaming library were more robust. I've watched most of the shows I care to watch on netflix, and the movie library is pretty underwhelming.

I still hit up my local blockbuster and red-box for blu-ray titles. Streaming is convenient, but I didn't spend all this money on my audio system and TV to not take full advantage of lossless audio and uncompressed 1080p video.

heiney9

LessisNevermore wrote: »

I gotta call bs a little bit on this one. It might pass the legal definition of 720p HD, but it sure doesn't look as sharp as an upconverted dvd. It's good, but not great. Some of the HD streamed offerings did look great, but I think they're compressing them more to conserve bandwidth.

It looks as good or better than HD tv shows so that's what I'm comparing it to. I haven't done a side by side vs. my dvdp. But honestly, for most people here who say the pq sucks it has to do with their ISP or their hardware. I say most because some of you there is no pleasing :biggrin:.

I'm starting to finally get people to be specific about how they are using the streaming and most (not all) that have stated the pq sucks are streaming to a pc.

I can only speak of the Roku XD player and I have absolutely no complaints and the pq is excellent. I have no way to verify if it is actually 720p, but I'll take their word for it as I don't notice any difference when watching satellite, dvd or Netflix.

I understand that they don't stream in 5.1DD or whatever, but for me that's not an issue as I'm strictly 2ch even if I watch a dvd. Expect that when they do deliver full Dolby Surround 5.1 or whatever the latest codec is, they will increase the price.

H9

heiney9

JustinHEMI wrote: »

Mine is crap. Lucky you.

at least not until they are able to stream full HD picture AND sound.

What is your method and hardware for streaming? They do stream in full HD picture, but not sound at this time.

The fact that ISP's are trying to limit bandwidth and charge more for heavy users isn't Netflix's fault. I can see it now, Netflix will finally offer 1080p (which they do stream in now if the program and your hardware are capable) and full sound and people will be bitching that now their ISP charges them more to receive all that bandwidth.

It seems like I'm defending Netflix when before I was bitching about them. I'm just trying to point out they do offer HQ-HD streaming if you are willing to get it right on your end. I still think the price increase is BS, but I've settled down and I'll make my decision accordingly.

H9

heiney9

mystik610 wrote: »

Cancelling mine as well, unless the price increase is coupled with a compelling upgrade to the streaming service. PQ is sub-par IMO, which would be acceptable if the library of the streaming library were more robust. I've watched most of the shows I care to watch on netflix, and the movie library is pretty underwhelming.

I still hit up my local blockbuster and red-box for blu-ray titles. Streaming is convenient, but I didn't spend all this money on my audio system and TV to not take full advantage of lossless audio and uncompressed 1080p video.

See you are comparing to Blu-ray and that's not really fair to say the PQ sucks. It's not Blu-Ray but it's far from sucking. I really don't know where you guys are coming from, I really don't.

I know it's not going to be 1080p, well actually if you have the right hardware, fast enough ISP and the actual program is 1080p you can stream it in that format. Granted there probably aren't that much material available in 1080p, but it's easily possible.

The big thing for most is the lack of 5.1 sound, I get that as being a huge problem for most. But say that instead of a blanket statement like "the streaming sucks"

H9

heiney9

We all have different expectations, different ISP's, different hardware. Streaming either appeals to you or it doesn't. I happen to feel for my usage their is more value in streaming than in having the dvd's, that's if I had to choose. The streaming edge's out having a dvd here.

So for me that works, I find absolutely no issue with picture quality, in my set-up using the ROKU HD player it's excellent. Is it Blu-Ray quality? no. Is it as good as a Dvd? in my limited comparison, yes. Is it as good or better than Satellite broadcast HD? yes.

I'm happy with the PQ and the selection at this time for $7.99/mo. If they drop titles or increase the price I'd have to re-evaluate

H9

drselect

heiney9 wrote: »

What is your method and hardware for streaming? They do stream in full HD picture, but not sound at this time.

H9

It been a while but the last time I checked Netflix would not stream HD to a computer. I could tell a big difference in PQ when watching the same movie on my PC and when streaming through my Sony BD player.
When streaming through the SONY BD I think the PQ is comparable to a DVD and would not classify it as crap. Steaming through my PC or WII I could see how some might classify the PQ as crap.

heiney9

Exactly, so people streaming to a PC are making a blanket statement that streaming PQ sucks when they aren't utilizing the streaming feature to get the best benefit. It's like saying my stereo sucks..............and later to find out you're listening to mp3's. The stereo could sound a whole lot better if you have the proper source material, etc.

That was the only point I was trying to make. Rather than just saying it "sucks", how about a little background on how you're using it and what you are comparing it to.

H9

kuntasensei

shawn474 wrote: »

OK so you can buy two blu rays for the same price that you could rent or stream up to 8 to 10 movies a month (if you rented 2 a week). You're still making out in the deal. Drop your subscription to the lowest plan available, save $6 a month and have almost enough to buy a blu ray and continue your awesome netflix subscription.

This all rings hollow. The arguments and gas comparison is ridiculous. You either want the service or you don't. Buck up and do what you want, but don't **** about paying the subscription and keep it (not talking to anyone specifically here just a general statement). That's hypocritical.

Owning 2 Blu-rays trumps watching 8 any day of the week for me. In my particular case, I have over 300 DVDs that I haven't watched yet, so it isn't like I necessarily need Netflix. The only reason I got it in the first place was to watch movies with friends over Xbox Live, and occasionally get a catalog title on Blu-ray that I didn't necessarily want to own. I kept it up to now because it was such a minimal charge. Tack $6 onto that and it moves into "Do I really need that" territory. And that may just be me, 'cause I'm a fiscal minimalist... but from the reactions on Netflix's blog, there are a significant number of people who feel the same way.

I really don't understand why people are acting so defensive toward the people here who take issue with the price change (not you specifically, shawn, but in general). There is merit to disliking a price hike for a service with no increase in its value or quality. The amount in question isn't really the issue. And I see the logic for most people, wherein they are only using one or the other (streaming or delivery) and this works out for them. But typically, there is added value in bundling services, and this price restructuring runs counter to that. And in our current economy, this just seems like a step backwards for a company that is already performing way above expectations.

megasat16

Stream through HTPC coz I got a really good soundcard and graphics card in mine.

Got no compliant for stream quality. My Internet is high speed cable lines up to 20M. If you get slower 1.4MB DSL and you share the line with a few others for simultaneously accessing the Internet, stream quality will degrade to adjust for the speed.

mystik610

heiney9 wrote: »

Exactly, so people streaming to a PC are making a blanket statement that streaming PQ sucks when they aren't utilizing the streaming feature to get the best benefit. It's like saying my stereo sucks..............and later to find out you're listening to mp3's. The stereo could sound a whole lot better if you have the proper source material, etc.

That was the only point I was trying to make. Rather than just saying it "sucks", how about a little background on how you're using it and what you are comparing it to.

H9

ok if it makes you happy:

I'm streaming to my HT through both a PS3 and an Xbox 360, using Verizon FiOS 50Mbps, which should be fast enough to, hypothetically, stream a full uncompressed1080P HD movie. I've got a WiFi network at home, however, both systems are hooked up to the network using a hardwire connection.

And the video quality is still sub-par IMO. It's nowhere near Blu-ray quality of course....but its also worse quality than OTA HD signals and Satellite TV HD signals. TV signals, at the very least, offer discrete 5.1 audio!

Convenience of streaming is nice, but I dropped a good amount of coin on my TV and home theater, and picture and audio quality are important to me. If they weren't, I'd settle for a sub-par TV, sub-par audio equipment, and sub-par source material.

Beyond that....the streaming library is pretty underwhelming IMO. They simply need to add more content, and better titles to their library. I could live with sub-par audio and video quality if the streaming library had enough decent things to watch. But you can very quickly burn through the half-decent stuff they have to watch in the streaming library, and they don't add new titles worth watching often enough. If they updgraded the caliber of the content they offer, I'd gladly pay more for streaming service, even if the picture and audio quality remained the same. But the price increase isn't coupled with an increase in the value of the service they're providing. I've thought about cancelling for a while, and now have a better reason to. That's just me though.

SDA1C

I agree with you Mystik610. Their move is actually better for my situation but I've not really used them much any way for either stream or delivery after burning through the rather outdated and limited selection on their stream library. I cancelled yesterday solely due to the fact we don't use it very often at all. Maybe 5 movies in the last 3 months. for the cost we could have bought them and had the movies in our library. I liked their service and all just time to move on I guess.

JustinHEMI

heiney9 wrote: »

What is your method and hardware for streaming? They do stream in full HD picture, but not sound at this time.

The fact that ISP's are trying to limit bandwidth and charge more for heavy users isn't Netflix's fault. I can see it now, Netflix will finally offer 1080p (which they do stream in now if the program and your hardware are capable) and full sound and people will be bitching that now their ISP charges them more to receive all that bandwidth.

It seems like I'm defending Netflix when before I was bitching about them. I'm just trying to point out they do offer HQ-HD streaming if you are willing to get it right on your end. I still think the price increase is BS, but I've settled down and I'll make my decision accordingly.

H9

I am streaming to my new blu ray player wirelessly. My router is two rooms away, so it doesn't get a full signal, plus my net speed is around 15 megs, so I suspect that is why I can't get the full HD PQ. Like I said, I don't blame netflix for that.

That said, I am not interested in streaming until they can send the whole package. I built my system to envelope me with HD sound from Blu Rays..., that is the only reason/thing I have against streaming at this time.

That will likely change in the future.

On topic, that is why I don't have a problem with the change. Since I don't stream, my monthly cost went DOWN. I understand someone having an issue otherwise and agree with another poster, people shouldn't get bothered by it. The only thing that bothered me about this debate was that it was suggested that this increase was done on the "sly" when in fact, I got an email fully explaining everything.

Justin

faster100

If your streaming, its wirelesss or over the internet. Did any of you who complain about quality ever think its your internet speeds? I know we all think we have fast internet, but i have slow dsl so my streams tend to be not always the best quality. BUT i also know its not a dvd its streaming. it's internet speed dependent on quality for the most part

scottyboy76

I stream over an 80 dollar lg bd550 br player using a cable modem, since cable/phone comp. raised speed to 10 megs right out of the blue, at no cost to us, the quality is great.

As long as tinto brass, jess franco and the 60s silly sexploitation b grade offerings are available, i wont complain.

Now, sattelite, thats another story.

Have been trying to figure a way to do away with direct and their ever changing monthly charges, and i mean our bill, i dont know about the rest of you guys, but we never know exactly what the bill will be every month.

On top of that, they always try to sucker punch you into believing you have to pay an extra six dollars a month for servicing the equipment you lease from them.

Did you hear that?
I pay every month to lease their equip., and not long ago they decide to try to force you to pay 6 bucks a month for backing the equipment YOU ALREADY PAY THEM TO LEASE.

The fact that we watch maybe 8 channells on any sort of regular basis plus our local channells, well, close to 80 dollars a month looks pretty bad for mostly unused channells and no service on LEASED EQUIPMENT.

exalted512

Cancelled today. No service I get anywhere is worth a 50% increase.
-Cody

gudnoyez

The increase rate is a little steep, but still at $16.99 a month for unlimited streaming and dvd rentals thats less than having rented a few movies at blockbuster, when its winter and -15 below and I get done watching a movie I dont have to brave the elements and bring that movie back, with netflix all I have to do is stream or put in the mailbox thats convience right there and well worth the price for being able to do that. I think if they raise the rates again then I might consider looking into another alternative.

Demiurge

I didn't cancel, since their selection is still bigger than Red Box, but I did change my service.

Netflix wrote:

You are currently in the 2 DVDs out at-a-time (Unlimited) plan with 0 hour of time to watch instantly.

Your current period price is $14.99 (including $3.00 for Blu-ray) plus any applicable tax.

Your next period begins on Sep 19, 2011.

Membership fees are billed at the beginning of each period.

The regular price of the 2 DVDs out at-a-time (Unlimited) plan is $14.99 (including $3.00 for Blu-ray) (plus any applicable tax).

Unless you care about streaming, the cancellations seem like an overreaction. It was easy enough to just drop streaming and reduce my unlimited Blu-Ray plan from 3 down to 2. Still a good deal, for me.