Netflix splits off DVDs - separate company Qwikster

[darkswordsman17]

this. i have streaming, and lately have been considering getting dvds/blu rays again, but really, if im going to have to deal with the hassle of going to two places to login and manage, its not going to happen. i know the lack of streaing content isnt their fault and was about to go dvds again to watch what i want....but this is fucking dumb.

Same here, I had been considering going for discs again, but won't now. Oh well.

I think this was definitely the plan, so I'm kinda pissed they didn't just go through with it. Their split-price hike was just moronic in light of this.

 

[Nebor]

Agreed. Before if you wanted to watch a movie, you would just search for it. If you found out it was disc-only, you would just add it to your queue. If it was streamable, you would stream it or add it to your instant queue. Now, if I don't find it on netflix.com, I have to head to qwikster.com just to see if it's available on disc?

Agreed. This may be too painful to retain the disc service. I'll have to make sure that whatever I want to watch isn't available on streaming through some other site before I add the dvd to my queue? Crap.

 

[dwell]

I've never seen a company implode as quickly as Netlfix.

 

[LookBehindYou]

I guess I'm not really seeing the downside to this. Price stays the same (post price hike), and I can add games now. So what, you have two websites now. I actually kind of like that, now I don't have to worry about whether what I'm looking for is on disc only when I'm looking for streaming.

Negatives aren't really found as of now. If they sell it off our screw up something that actually affects my selection or something, then I'll be pissed.

I dont think the disc solution is going to be messed with. If anything the streaming needs the most work to remain viable. They need more selection and better quality for me to ever think about going streaming only. If I had to pay 30 a month for streaming, but had a full selection + 1080P (blu ray quality, not compressed bs) video + lossless audio, i'd gladly do it. Hell, I'd pay up to 40 or so a month if i had to.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Let me guess about how this is going to work.

I haven't dumped Netflix YET. With the recent price hike, I pay around $17/month for streaming+1 DVD/Blu-Ray at a time.

-For the next few months, I will probably continue to see a "Netflix.com...$17" charge to my credit card once per month.
-Qwikster will then come out with "FREE Introductory Rates" (for 3 months) for its service.
-And then after said 3 months, I will notice a "Qwikster...$4.99" charge on the same credit card. Meanwhile, Netflix continues to charge the $17.
-Then I will cancel them both.

Mark my words. Something slippery is afoot here.

 

[Nebor]

There are people on the Netflix blog making some well reasoned arguments against the changes.

The best comment was "@ Reed Hastings. If you really want to make some money, you should start selling whatever you've been smoking lately."

 

[nageov3t]

I canceled my streaming after the latest price increase, because the cost + selection just wasn't worth it versus something like hulu+.

hopefully their dvd service continues to be top notch and the change doesn't affect me, but I'm a little annoyed to suddenly no longer be a Netflix subscriber after 10 years. Quickster is a dumb name and dvd's were here first. change the streaming name imo.

I hope I don't lose all of my ratings/history. the Netflix recommendation engine was one of its selling points for me.

 

[KidNiki1]

weird change to make....idk, im sure they have reasons...i dropped the dvd option after the price hike so that part doesnt affect me. it just seems an odd move.

 

[Miramonti]

This CEO has to go, co-founder or not.

 

[Triumph]

I guess I'm not really seeing the downside to this. Price stays the same (post price hike), and I can add games now. So what, you have two websites now. I actually kind of like that, now I don't have to worry about whether what I'm looking for is on disc only when I'm looking for streaming.

So...you'd rather LOG IN and manage a whole other account, rather than just looking at the text that says, "Streaming only", or just searching by "Streaming" or "Dvd only". You have some weird ideas about what is easier to do!

I think it's retarded. I understand the price hike, and the recent unpleasantries with Starz content, but the new name is stupid, and separating accounts is stupid, and managing my queues is going to be much more annoying. This is like being in a meeting where the boss suggests something that he's sure is a great idea, only to be greeted with replies of "Whaaaaa...." but no one has the balls to tell him no.

 

[SP33Demon]

Can't wait til Amazon clowns this company in a couple of years...

 

[Inspector Jihad]

thanks MPAA, for destroying the company that would have taken you into the internet era and avoided the fate that fell on the recording industry.

 

[Miramonti]

This guy's arrogance is astounding. "My bad" for not "announcing" this better, not for shoving the 60% price hike up many people's @ss. Yeah, the poor announcement is really what sent 1 million subscribers packing already.

 

[GasX]

For those bitching about this horrible development in inexpensive instant video gratification...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk

 

[Jeffg010]

You guys are the biggest whiners and bunch of tards. You guys are mad that it will take more time to find a DVD on anther website but are willing to wait 2 to 3 days to get the DVDs in the mail? GTFO

DVDs are going the way of batamax and VHS. Streaming is the future and that is what Netflix is doing. They are lining themselves up to be the top player in the streaming market. The streaming from them is not 100% but all we can do is hope that it gets better and it will because in anther 5 to 10 year that will be the De facto way of getting the content.

Let me clue you guys on something when I queue up something on Netflix I get it instantly not 2 to 3 days later. The DVD business is a dyeing form and will continue to be. Blockbuster and all the other outlets have or are going out of business. The future is streaming and all I see is Netflix trying to get there.

 

[slayer202]

For those bitching about this horrible development in inexpensive instant video gratification...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk

I'd like to know what all the cry babies would suggest Netflix to do or what they should have done. They clearly needed to make changes to keep their business going. It's not like they thought these were good changes, but necessary ones. People are MORONS. People are getting so worked up because they like Netflix. But their tiny brains can't comprehend these business decisions/changes so they rage and get angry/sad. Go cancel people. Go spend $14 to watch Transformers 5 and then buy the DVD for $20, enjoy

^JeffG got it right too, even though people will just complain about the streaming selection "sucking." Let's complain that Netflix is looking towards the future while simultaneously being happy that blockbuster died because they didn't look to the future.

 

[JTsyo]

The video game add on has potential if it's only $2 for 1 out at a time.

 

[Nebor]

For those bitching about this horrible development in inexpensive instant video gratification...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk

Thanks for that. :biggrin:

 

[SP33Demon]

It'll be interesting to see if Amazon makes a move soon after this all shakes out:

Amazon, with a market cap of $90 billion and a 2012 P/E ratio of 50x, could in theory purchase smaller, fast-growing rivals in each segment with shares for little or no dilution. Targets could include the likes of Netflix, for video streaming ($12.5 billion market cap, 2012 P/E of 36x); Rackspace Hosting Inc., for cloud services ($6 billion market cap, 2012 P/E 53x); or GSI Commerce Inc., for third-party fulfillment ($2 billion market cap, 2012 P/E of 53x). (Note: as this piece says elsewhere, GSI Commerce has agreed to sell itself to eBay.)

http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/05/05/why-amazon-should-buy-netflix-or-sony/

Amazon could easily buy them out and it would be a huge boon for their streaming. Might be a good time to buy Netflix shares, although risky since Amazon is a direct competitor atm.

 

[TwiceOver]

...DVDs are going the way of batamax and VHS. Streaming is the future and that is what Netflix is doing. They are lining themselves up to be the top player in the streaming market. ...

Yes... But their streaming selection SUUUUUCKS.

 

[tw1164]

The video game add on has potential if it's only $2 for 1 out at a time.

I suspect it will be +$7-10

 

[Wyndru]

For those bitching about this horrible development in inexpensive instant video gratification...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk

Bubble-gum flavored medicine

 

[microAmp]

I wonder if Netflix will change from an all you can consume streaming into per movie stream further down the road. I doubt they would be able to keep sub $10 price while all the content holders want more money as contracts expire.

 

[LookBehindYou]

I don't mind the the two sites, but I want some type of integration. If it's not available on streaming, at least gimme a link to qwikster to add it to the queue. I don't want to have manually load up a site, and manually re-search it. Other than that I'm fine.

To the ones who say dvds are going the way of betamax, that may be true, but blu rays aren't. I haven't watched a dvd in years, but I watch blu's all the time. Streaming, so far, has come nowhere close to matching the quality, not by a long shot, in both video and audio. Until it catches up (which could be a while, because that is a lot of data to stream), there has to be a viable option for physical media besides redbox.

 

[Jeffg010]

Yes... But their streaming selection SUUUUUCKS.

No fucking shit but they got to start somewhere but it is only 8 bucks so still worth it to me.