Poll: Netflix Is Caught Between a DVD and a Hard Place

I do both. I stream on four devices (three kids and one girlfriend) as well as a two DVD service (that has been three for some time because of a defective DVD). I

 

That should be a federal crime (not for the original of course).

 

Kind of a confusing thread.

Pro: "Sreaming doesnt offer all the titles I can get by renting"

Con: "Rental is archaic man!"

Con: "I use to rent but the selection wasnt good"

Pro: "a lot more selections by renting!"



Sounds to me like NetFlix doesnt offer as much as they should in either scenario.

 

And that's why Netflix isn't going to be the solution. Neither side of their "house" is going to offer a large, stable, and growing selection that includes all the movies available.

But that's not their goal any longer - the rental side of the house will, at some point, be dropped. (It could take a decade)
And the streaming side goal is more like to be HBO but with more stuff. IT's not to build and keep a large vault of programming - its based on the contracts that are constantly renegotiated for the benfits of the license holders and for Netflix.

In the coming years there will be a lot of movies and TV shows that will never be offered on physical media.

Here's the sad truth: There's no legal way today to get what I think we want: All the stuff at all time.

 

How much trouble would it have been to add "both" and "neither" to the choices?
It gives the compulsive posters something to do and I get a better feel for how the
average Joe Hoffmanite obtains their content.......

 

Netflix has recently shortened the # of days to deliver a rental; after eliminating returns to Topeka, now going to KC. No clue as to how this was accomplished. The next to last rental store here recently closed; the last, Hastings, is in bankruptcy. Redbox, I've yet to use.

 

Let me ask a question.

Can you stream and get the same quality as a blu-ray (say 40 Mbs) AND get uncompressed audio like DTS-Master or Dolby TrueHD?

 

Speaking in general, that's the wrong way to look at it. Sure there are sticklers that obsess about raw numbers, but the reason that Netflix streaming has become so popular and dominant in that space, is because of its convenience while still providing an excellent viewing experience. They grade their content based on your internet connection's bandwidth and they're now supporting HDR and 4K content with new efficient codecs (H.265). But the main reason for its popularity is on-demand and convenience (including the binge watching model).

 

Both

 

Netflix has discs?

 

Netflix doesn't offer EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD in either context so there's always something to complain about. I use streaming, and have never used the DVD-by-mail service. I find more than enough stuff to watch via streaming and there's stuff on my watchlist that has been there for months that I just haven't gotten to. No, it doesn't offer everything I'd ever want to see, but I don't expect that. For what it costs, the streaming service rocks. The only thing it's not great for is music performance but that's not Netflix's fault.

 

Well for me its the right way to look at it.

I was asking because I really don't know. So they adjust the content based on the connection, but their has to be an upper limit. How good is the upper limit, does it look as good as a blu-ray?, and what kind of connection do you need to get it? Do you get the HD Audio?

 

CBS should offer up all shows, remastered and uncut, that have ever appeared on CBS that they currently have in their archive, then I would definitely subscribe.

 

Thanks I was wondering why I couldn't edit.

 

Streaming

 

It wasn't that long ago that streaming was just a nice little perk for disc rental subscribers. I think Netflix would do well to switch this up instead of offering two separate plans, and most people have some sort of streaming capability these days.

 

No

 

Streaming revenue outpaced discs sales for the first time in 2016.

The figures are $10.3b for streaming vs $8.0b for discs in 2016. And that is not even the full story because Amazon Prime Video revenues are not included in the figures.

2016 represents a tipping point, especially when you consider that Hollywood introduced UHD Blu-ray. The format has helped stem the losses for disc sales but has done little to reverse the negative trend.

Streaming revenue outpaced discs sales for the first time in 2016 - FlatpanelsHD »

 

Some further info on the rise of streaming and Netflix in particular:

Netflix is growing faster than ever. In the fourth quarter of 2016, Netflix added 7m new subscribers and is fast approaching the 100m (worldwide) milestone. In 2017, Netflix will spend $6b on content and $1b on tech and development. Netflix has more streaming subscribers than the total music industry, according to IFPI

 

I dropped Netflix streaming years ago, when they decided to be a "channel" rather than a streaming service.

 

I quit rented discs as many of the BRs only offered Dolby Digital soundtracks instead of the lossless audio tracks.

 

They should offer VHS also for a lot of thier OLDER movies that are on VHS (In case someone doesnt want DVD)

 

I streamed for about three months. Movies I planned to watch left the selections before I could see them and most everything was sub-par B-flicks. I watched movies so off the mainstream, I never knew they existed and they were wastes of my viewing time.

Like:



Now I do the dvds with no complaints.

 

I'm still renting discs. As long as Netflix keeps shipping them, I'll get them. I read a recent article that said Netflix has a huge profit margin on rental discs so they'll keep offering them as long as the studios do. One thing analysts say may happen is that Netflix may reduce the number of distribution centers for discs so turnaround times may increase.