Review: Netflix
In the middle of December 2008, I was fortunate enough to have my Grandmother gift me a Netflix account. What gained my interest in this service? Well, I'd have to say the reviews I read online, advertising on Diggnation, but mainly the new ability to stream Netflix content to the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live...
Netflix began in 1997 when the Internet started to kick off. The premise of this service is that customers will pay a monthly fee and in return, will receive DVD's (of their choice) in the mail in a rental fashion. They can keep the DVD's for as long as they like (as long as they are paying the monthly charge) and can send the DVDs back in exchange for the next title in their queue.
Some key features of this service are as follows: 1) Shipping is completely free. The DVD comes in a small 
sleeve with a label containing some information about the enclosed film. 2) Now there are over 50 shipping centers throughout the US. This means that all of the movie deliveries will take about just 1 business day. As an example, one entire cycle for me consisted of putting the DVD in the mailbox on Sunday, being notified via email that the DVD was received and the next one was shipped on Tuesday, then receiving the DVD on Thursday. 3)There are currently over 100,000 titles to choose from. This selection do not just include movies, but TV shows and specialty DVDs as well. 4) The new ability to stream content to a Netflix-ready device (the Xbox 360 for me).
Personally, I chose the $8.99/month plan. This gives me 1 unlimited DVD at a time as well as unlimited streaming. This means that I can continuously receive and return DVDs as well as having no restricting on how much streaming I can use to my TV and/or computer. The lowest plan available is $4.99/month which includes 2 rentals each month (1 DVD at a time) and 2 hours of streaming a month. To me, that plan seems really worthless. For an extra $4.00 a month, you gain the access of unlimited rentals (still 1 DVD at a time) but most importantly, unlimited streaming. Having this luxury is really convienent and useful. I've used my plan to watch every episode of The Office, as well as watched DVDs with my roommates. It's really great to be able to decide on a movie with my friends and have Netflix supply us with a fun night.
The restrictions that have caught my attention are not a vast amount, but are certainly worth mentioning. When it comes to the terms of DVD Renting, DVDs will not come with any "special feature" disks. The premise of this service is to allow you to see the movie. Period. Also, if you add a TV season to your queue, you'll receive one disc at a time. To me, all of this seems reasonable.
The other restriction that is a little annoying is that there's a small percentage of movies that can be added to your "instant queue" (streaming). Now don't get me wrong, there are a good amount of popular movies and TV shows to stream, but I really think that there should be more. I read a couple of months ago that Sony Pictures disabled all of their films for instant streaming once the New Xbox Experience was realeased with Netflix streaming. Frankly, I'm just surprised there aren't more choices for instant streaming. That being said, it is nice to be able to find a movie to watch right then and there when occasion arises.
All in all, if someone was thinking about using this service I would recommend they ask themselves a couple of things. Do they like to watch movies? (Basic, I know) Do they have time to actually sit down and watch a movie while making their payments worthwhile? Finally, are they willing to watch new movies they've never heard of? If a user wants this service to just watch popular movies, I really don't think they are getting their money's worth. However, it's their money.
Know that there are a variety of different plans and forms of payment for Netflix. Overall, this is a great service and anyone can make it their own.
Dennis S Jan 16, 2009 at 2:02 PM
Reader Comments (2)
Nice article, Dennis! I like your attention to detail. Keep it up!
I think Netflix really just has that 4.99 thing just so they can put it on the commercials and say starting as low as 4.99 that draws more people to the site and then they see the higher types of accounts and get those.
It's a good marketing strategy but a dumb type of plan.