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Netflix?

Posted: Jan Fri 09, 2009 12:41 pm
by wdwannabe
Got me thinking from the Movie's for 2009 thread and wondered if anyone has Netflix and do you like it or not?

I signed up last night for the two week trial, so we shall see.

Pro's or Con's?

Posted: Jan Fri 09, 2009 12:49 pm
by Josh Q
I don't but my parents have the blockbuster deal that's like Netflix and they love it! The only thing I can really remember that I've heard as a negative towards Netflix is that the DVD’s are scratched sometimes so you have to send it back and wait for a new DVD.

Posted: Jan Fri 09, 2009 1:08 pm
by agingerbugg
I have Netflix, and I love it. It is great being able to open the mailbox and have movies waiting for you instead of driving to the movie store, searching for the movie I want and then remembering to take it back (which I never seem to do on time). It also saves me money; instead of shelling out 3+ dollars per movie, I pay a flat rate for as many as I want per month. I have had Netflix for almost two years now and have only had two movies that were damaged. The only downside is that you are unable to get the instant gratification of getting movies immediately, you have to wait a day for them to come in the mail. I recommend it to everyone I know.

Posted: Jan Fri 09, 2009 1:26 pm
by Croaker
I used netflix, switched to Blockbuster then back to Netflix.

Blockbuster is nice cause its local...but they are slow and never have the movies i want in stock. Netflix has a larger selection, the free movies are great, (hooked my s-cable up to the tv.) i'm pleased with Netflix. only bad thing about Netflix is they generally steer you away from the new movies. look at imdb to see whats new out..then look it up on Netflix. i've found time and time again its available but they didn't advertise it as newly released.(but it was available.)

Posted: Jan Fri 09, 2009 1:29 pm
by wdwannabe
Croaker wrote:I used netflix, switched to Blockbuster then back to Netflix.

Blockbuster is nice cause its local...but they are slow and never have the movies i want in stock. Netflix has a larger selection, the free movies are great, (hooked my s-cable up to the tv.) i'm pleased with Netflix. only bad thing about Netflix is they generally steer you away from the new movies. look at imdb to see whats new out..then look it up on Netflix. i've found time and time again its available but they didn't advertise it as newly released.(but it was available.)
I thought that also when I looked up new release and thought that those were old movies? So you say look up what you want in a new release and they should have it?

Posted: Jan Fri 09, 2009 2:23 pm
by horizons1
I have Netflix and also like it very much. I reduced myself to the 1-at-a-time/unlimited plan which is $8.99 a month. I figure if I can turn around four or five movies a month I am way ahead.

Also, the unlimited plans give you the access Croaker was talking about to Watch Instantly a bunch of movies and tv shows. I view Netflix on my tv through my DirecTV receiver using a media server called PlayOn. It streams Netflix and Hulu (as well as CBS.com and YouTube) videos directly to my DirecTV receiver. It's fantastic.

It is true about losing the instant gratification by having to wait for a movie on disc (assuming it's not available to watch instantly.) But I have found that the turnaround for me here in Phoenix is only 2 nights which is really fast.

Posted: Jan Fri 09, 2009 3:14 pm
by wdwannabe
horizons1 wrote:I have Netflix and also like it very much. I reduced myself to the 1-at-a-time/unlimited plan which is $8.99 a month. I figure if I can turn around four or five movies a month I am way ahead.

Also, the unlimited plans give you the access Croaker was talking about to Watch Instantly a bunch of movies and tv shows. I view Netflix on my tv through my DirecTV receiver using a media server called PlayOn. It streams Netflix and Hulu (as well as CBS.com and YouTube) videos directly to my DirecTV receiver. It's fantastic.

It is true about losing the instant gratification by having to wait for a movie on disc (assuming it's not available to watch instantly.) But I have found that the turnaround for me here in Phoenix is only 2 nights which is really fast.
We have dishnetwork, DVR and it won't work, just found out with customer service. We got the $8.99 plan too. So, we can watch through our laptop, a few things....

We have a Dish DVR 625 it has s video , phone jack, usb 1.1 port, RCA audio and video inputs. Would anyone know if we could use this through our computer to watch netflix on TV? I looked up One Player, we do not have XBox or Playstation as such to use. Can anyone help?

Thanks!

Posted: Jan Fri 09, 2009 9:49 pm
by js3901
I've used Netflix for the past 3 or 4 years. I'm a huge movie buff, so I signed up for the 4 at a time plan. I usually keep the movies for 1 day, and send them back the day after I get them (I don't watch alot of TV, can you tell?). I usually get 1 a day, depending on if the local shipping facility has the discs I want (which they usually do). one thing I don't like is that you can only have up to 500 discs in your queue at one time (which is not alot what you get into the multi-disc sets like the 14 disc Monty Python collection). But, you can set up multiple profiles (which is also nice if you have kids, they can have a queue of their own movies, and you have your own) and get another 500 slots. The instant viewing is nice (if only my laptop worked again).

as for damaged discs, I've only had 3 or 4 since I've had the account, but they're pretty good about replacing it. Even if the movie is lost in the mail, they're good at getting you a replacement copy ASAP.

one thing I'm not quite fond of is when they ship a disc from a different facility than our regional one. sometimes, our local facility doesn't have the disc, and they'll have to send it from another one, which usually takes extra time to get to you. I've received discs from San Jose (CA), Raleigh (NC), Columbia (SC), Boston (MA), along with several other cities. it can be a pain, especially if you're waiting for a disc to take on a trip or something. But, with the amount of discs I get a month (upwards of 20 or so), it works out in the end.
wdwwannabe wrote:We have a Dish DVR 625 it has s video , phone jack, usb 1.1 port, RCA audio and video inputs. Would anyone know if we could use this through our computer to watch netflix on TV? I looked up One Player, we do not have XBox or Playstation as such to use. Can anyone help?

Thanks!
I believe you can use the S-Video (if you have an S-Video cable) to view the movie on your TV, assuming that your computer has an S-Video port (which it would. the sound won't work on the TV using just the S-Video, but you may be able to use a splitter to go from the headphone jack on your laptop to the RCA ports on the TV. Radio Shack is a good place to go for that.

Posted: Jan Sat 10, 2009 1:41 am
by Jacca5660
wdwannabe wrote:
horizons1 wrote:I have Netflix and also like it very much. I reduced myself to the 1-at-a-time/unlimited plan which is $8.99 a month. I figure if I can turn around four or five movies a month I am way ahead.

Also, the unlimited plans give you the access Croaker was talking about to Watch Instantly a bunch of movies and tv shows. I view Netflix on my tv through my DirecTV receiver using a media server called PlayOn. It streams Netflix and Hulu (as well as CBS.com and YouTube) videos directly to my DirecTV receiver. It's fantastic.

It is true about losing the instant gratification by having to wait for a movie on disc (assuming it's not available to watch instantly.) But I have found that the turnaround for me here in Phoenix is only 2 nights which is really fast.
We have dishnetwork, DVR and it won't work, just found out with customer service. We got the $8.99 plan too. So, we can watch through our laptop, a few things....

We have a Dish DVR 625 it has s video , phone jack, usb 1.1 port, RCA audio and video inputs. Would anyone know if we could use this through our computer to watch netflix on TV? I looked up One Player, we do not have XBox or Playstation as such to use. Can anyone help?

Thanks!
I'm not sure this would be possible. What are the outputs from your DVR? What kind of inputs do have on your computer? It can be done if you have suitable outputs and inputs. I use my TVs as screens from my computer. This is done using switch boxes and either RCA video/audio inputs on a TV, or S video/ RCA audio inputs on other TVs. Most computer video cards will not let you go through a VCR or other device first.

If you explain what you have I might be able to guide you through it.

Posted: Jan Sat 10, 2009 1:47 am
by wdwannabe
I knew I could count on my fellow posters! Now, I think I need to get my dh into this conversation, he would be the one setting it up. And he is asleep by now. Yes, I found too many instant movies to watch! hahaha........ but check back, or I'll pm you in your inbox.....
Thansk!

Posted: Jan Sat 10, 2009 10:22 am
by MetalRage
i got netflicks and like it. i only use the "2 movies a month" one. My one year mark was New Years day.

Posted: Jan Sat 10, 2009 10:33 am
by ritchie56
We have had Netflix for several years and love it. As to the new releases, I have a RSS Feed set up that updates every Sunday or Monday with all the new releases for the week. A quick scan of that list once a week and I am always sure I've caught everything I'm interested in as it is released.

Posted: Jan Sun 11, 2009 4:50 pm
by agingerbugg
For the new releases, yes the page Netflix labels "new releases" are older movies that have been out for awhile. However, if you go here you will see all the movies being released the upcoming Tuesday. There used to be a link to this page, but they got rid of that. The page still exists though and if you know the url you can still access it. Something else Netflix has been accused of is throttling users, but I have never experienced this. Apparently if you are too efficient with their service they make movies unavailable to you or ship them from locations across the the country so they take longer arriving. I have only had one movie that was shipped from San Diego (Daytona, FL is my usual shipping location) and that was Gaslight, not a very popular movie so that is my belief as to that incident.

Posted: Jan Sun 11, 2009 10:57 pm
by MadEye
Meh. I like Blockbuster better. If I can't find something in the store, they will definitly have it online, and vice versa. Not to mention I can rent games cheaper and blu-ray as well. Just the past two weeks, I've probably seen over 20 movies through the system and the in-store exchanges.

Posted: Jan Mon 12, 2009 5:10 pm
by horizons1
wdwannabe wrote: We have dishnetwork, DVR and it won't work, just found out with customer service. We got the $8.99 plan too. So, we can watch through our laptop, a few things....

We have a Dish DVR 625 it has s video , phone jack, usb 1.1 port, RCA audio and video inputs. Would anyone know if we could use this through our computer to watch netflix on TV? I looked up One Player, we do not have XBox or Playstation as such to use. Can anyone help?

Thanks!
A quick look at the PlayOn forum on themediamall.com website doesn't show anyone using the Dish DVR for this. It is only possible through DirecTV because they are beta testing a networked media share service. It ties your receiver into your home network. I read that the new Dish DVR will eventually have this capability but not yet.