Netflix splits off DVDs - separate company Qwikster

[Saint Nick]

That's the biggest problem right now, there's not a legitimate alternative. Amazon isn't really close to being able to compete with netflix in terms of catalog size.

Not to mention, no real good app support out there for Amazon, either. Netflix dominates the PS3/XBOX Live market? I genuinely don't know. But, i always see my friends on XBL using Netflix (like me).

 

[irishScott]

Meh, I'm only signed up for streaming anyway. I usually don't plan to rent movies, I just go rent them when I feel like it.

 

[slag]

FTFY

 

[slag]

omg you figured it out! a service where we can stream new movies for a low monthly fee! you're a genius! start working on the idea ASAP, it's a billion dollar idea, I can feel it! can't miss!!!~~!

6 months old /= new

 

[Deeko]

Blockbuster for Blu Ray/Game service, Amazon Prime and/or Hulu Plus for streaming....no need for Netflix here. Frankly, Netflix wants to kill their DVD business. They know this is cumbersome and will lead to people cancelling their Qwikster accounts. That's what they want. They want to become a streaming-only company.

 

[Narse]

Because its a half a year old movie, thats why.


I know how much they cost and its overpriced which is why I have netflix.


What a useless statement.


Speaking on the TV side of things, paying for something thats already been broadcast on TV is not a great value. Every once in awhile I'll catch a series I might want to watch, but we keep it for my wife's shows. Why she feels the need to rewatch TV series she saw years ago is beyond me but she does. Once movies that have been out recently start showing up, then it will be a great value.

Thor may be half a year old but its a new release on DVD and Blu-Ray. The issue here is not with Netflix, the prices were raised because the people selling Netflix the rights to stream or rent the physical disks have raised their prices to Netflix on top of making them wait to get them or just not letting them have them at all. Canceling Netflix is exactly what the studios want you to do. They would much prefer you go buy that TV show you missed and now would like to watch, or go buy that movie you want to see and missed at theaters, or pay 6 dollars to stream it from Cable/FIOS/U verse etc.

I think the split is silly but I can see why prices were raised. I also would love to see every TV Show and Movie available for streaming. Maybe one day we will get there but by canceling Netflix with no other real competitor to move to will just delay the push to on demand streaming. What we really need is a Netflix competitor that is available on PS3/Xbox TVs etc.

 

[MotionMan]

Speaking on the TV side of things, paying for something thats already been broadcast on TV is not a great value. Every once in awhile I'll catch a series I might want to watch, but we keep it for my wife's shows. Why she feels the need to rewatch TV series she saw years ago is beyond me but she does. Once movies that have been out recently start showing up, then it will be a great value.

My family watches way more old TV shows than movies on Netflix.

My son loves Pink Panther cartoons and I finally finishing watching every episode of Emergency!.

MotionMan

 

[Patranus]

Netflix doesn't have a pricing problem, it has a content problem.
The technology is no longer new. Studios can stream their own content in their own app.
Good content is being removed from Netflix online and is being replace with junk.
Unless Netflix can get content deals for real content, the service will become irrelevant.

 

[TheUnk]

Until the audio and video of streaming is indistinguishable from a BluRay, I will never stream a movie, and by the time that happens, a new format will probably come out that trumps the BluRay. Streaming "HD" just looks so crappy on a 100" PJ, and the sound sucks so bad...

Physical media is not dead and probably won't be for a long time.

 

[MotionMan]

Until the audio and video of streaming is indistinguishable from a BluRay, I will never stream a movie, and by the time that happens, a new format will probably come out that trumps the BluRay. Streaming "HD" just looks so crappy on a 100" PJ, and the sound sucks so bad...

Physical media is not dead and probably won't be for a long time.

I wonder how people ever survived watching movies on VHS or even broadcast TV.

Doesn't anyone enjoy a good black and white movie anymore?

MotionMan

 

[KeithTalent]

I wonder how people ever survived watching movies on VHS or even broadcast TV.

Doesn't anyone enjoy a good black and white movie anymore?

MotionMan

I do! Watched an awesome one on the weekend.

I don't stream anything, I like physical discs. Unfortunately I will be taken out of the market eventually if/when they ever figure out the licensing issues, but until that day it's physical discs or nothing for me.

KT

 

[vi edit]

I wonder how people ever survived watching movies on VHS or even broadcast TV.

Doesn't anyone enjoy a good black and white movie anymore?

MotionMan

Would you trade your iPod touch or iPhone for a casette based walkman?

 

[dwell]

Stock continued to slide today. Down 102 points from last month. They lost 42% of their value since a month ago. IMO, they were always overvalued.

 

[Genx87]

This makes financial sense. They can shield the dvd business from the ridiculous licensing fee's they are about to experience on the streaming side.

 

[tw1164]

This makes financial sense. They can shield the dvd business from the ridiculous licensing fee's they are about to experience on the streaming side.

I think it also makes netflix (streaming) look like a acquisition.

 

[nick1985]

My streaming from comcast has a lot more interesting stuff than netflix.

tentacle porn?

 

[MotionMan]

I do! Watched an awesome one on the weekend.

I don't stream anything, I like physical discs. Unfortunately I will be taken out of the market eventually if/when they ever figure out the licensing issues, but until that day it's physical discs or nothing for me.

KT

Maybe it is because I have kids, but I LOVE not having a DVD to worry about scratching anymore.

MotionMan

 

[MotionMan]

Would you trade your iPod touch or iPhone for a casette based walkman?

Are you talking about the quality or convenience? As for the quality, yes, I would. As for convenience, no, I would not.

Either way, I would never get caught whining like a little girl about having to watch movies in 720p instead of 1080.

MotionMan

 

[rh71]

both dvd and streaming suck equally but it is our only outlet other than FIOS tv which has sucky movies that we choose not to pay for anyway. What to do... I think streaming is slightly better than DVD on a day-to-day practicality scale.

 

[manly]

This makes financial sense. They can shield the dvd business from the ridiculous licensing fee's they are about to experience on the streaming side.

Qwikster is a wholly-owned subsidiary. What kind of non-apology move is this? Reed Hastings understands customers are upset about a price hike, so they'll show the value by putting up a big wall inside the company?

According to Motley Fool, streaming only subs are at 10M plans, streaming+DVD about 12M and disc-only is just over 2M subscribers. So discs aren't going away, but they are getting marginalized quickly by streaming. This move just seems to further alienate (some of) half their current subscriber base through increased inconvenience. They may have legitimate strategic reasons, but there's no reason instant and disc queues can't have the current level of basic integration.

Bandwidth is slowly but surely improving, so 1080p/multi-channel audio streams aren't too far away. The fact that America is geographically huge and rural areas are under-served doesn't change that broadband is nearly ubiquitous. Sooner or later, even the AV-philes with high-end HDTVs will be happy with streaming quality.

 

[TheUnk]

Maybe it is because I have kids, but I LOVE not having a DVD to worry about scratching anymore.

MotionMan

I have 1 kid, and she could not care less of the quality. Streaming for her is fine. However I would be impressed if she managed to scratch a BluRay. DVDs on the other hand......

 

[MotionMan]

I have 1 kid, and she could not care less of the quality. Streaming for her is fine. However I would be impressed if she managed to scratch a BluRay. DVDs on the other hand......

I do not have a BluRay player and currently do not plan on ever getting one. I am slowly putting all our DVDs into the computer, so I will be able to pack all those away soon, too.

I hope to be all digital/streaming in the next year.

MotionMan

 

[vi edit]

Are you talking about the quality or convenience? As for the quality, yes, I would. As for convenience, no, I would not.

Either way, I would never get caught whining like a little girl about having to watch movies in 720p instead of 1080.

MotionMan

It really depends on how big of a screen you are throwing them on. And it's not not about resolution, it's about bitrate. At 100" or more there's no contest between Blu Ray and Netflix "HD". And that's not even taking into account the audio side of it.

That being said, I use the crap out of Netflix streaming on my living room TV cranking out Dora the Explorer episodes for my 3 year old.

Streaming is a supplement for me, not a replacement.

 

[MotionMan]

High quality
High speed delivery
Low price

Pick two.

(Boy, that "rule" is pretty universal, no?)

MotionMan

 

[MotionMan]

It really depends on how big of a screen you are throwing them on. And it's not not about resolution, it's about bitrate. At 100" or more there's no contest between Blu Ray and Netflix "HD". And that's not even taking into account the audio side of it.

That being said, I use the crap out of Netflix streaming on my living room TV cranking out Dora the Explorer episodes for my 3 year old.

Streaming is a supplement for me, not a replacement.

Clearly, if you have 100" TV, streaming is not going to work for you, even under the best circumstances. However, you are at the far end of the curve and Netflix cannot take you into account when doing their business planning.

MotionMan