66 replies to this topic

[bush_cheney2004]

I don't know what you mean exactly. IMHO, Netflix will not only eliminate DVD rental stores but also iTunes and Sony's (really crappy) movie download service....

The Sony Playstation Network is a gaming community area, and the PS Store has numerous free and pay media/gaming content not available from Netflix...there may be restrictions in Canada, like access to Hulu. The totality of my PS3 user experience is to have a one device portal to a very diverse media menu, Web, and games all connected to a large display via HDMI.

[blueblood]

Why doesn't Netflix have new movies/series?

Cripes even if they doubled the price to get new movies/series it would be worth it.

What's funny is that Apple with its ginormous market cap isn't moving in and squashing Netflix like a cockroach. The Itunes and AppStore are gold. The only reason I carry a blackberry is because of MTS can't carry the Iphone yet.

I think on the Itunes you can rent reasonably new releases comparable to DVD, except that you have to wait for it to download. I don't know if it's changed because I don't have highspeed and 3G hasn't made its way this far out of town.

[TimG]

Why doesn't Netflix have new movies/series?

Because it costs money. Netflix has to buy rights to the shows/movies just like any other TV station. When it comes to new TV shows those rights are locked up the big networks.

Cinplex has a pay per view model that gives access to more recent movies but the selection is still limited:
http://store.cineplex.com/store/department.jsp;jsessionid=3116EF72831D61FF071782327A107089.worker1?deptId=rentDigital&addFacet=1006%3ADigital-Rent

For people looking for new releases the $2/DVD vending machines in places like Safeway are the best way to go.

[August1991]

.. the PS Store has numerous free and pay media/gaming content not available from Netflix...

Have you ever downloaded a movie from Sony? It takes forever - eg. 18 hours before you can watch the movie.

With Netflix, you can watch the movie within minutes.

IMHO, Sony has dropped the ball - unless Sony has decided that, for its shareholders, content matters more than delivery.

Edited by August1991, 25 November 2010 - 10:31 PM.

[TrueMetis]

Have you ever downloaded a movie from Sony? It takes forever - eg. 18 hours.

For a movie that's pretty standard.

[bush_cheney2004]

Have you ever downloaded a movie from Sony? It takes forever - eg. 18 hours.

Yes......6 hrs for Avatar in HD...much faster for SD. PS3 downloads while I sleep and turns itself off. Content is available for two weeks from the hard drive before expiring, but you already knew that.

[August1991]

Another reason to love America!

Agreed. You gotta love it, America.

As John Howard said: "Be careful what you wish for. You may just get it."

[blueblood]

Because it costs money. Netflix has to buy rights to the shows/movies just like any other TV station. When it comes to new TV shows those rights are locked up the big networks.

Cinplex has a pay per view model that gives access to more recent movies but the selection is still limited:
http://store.cineplex.com/store/department.jsp;jsessionid=3116EF72831D61FF071782327A107089.worker1?deptId=rentDigital&addFacet=1006%3ADigital-Rent

For people looking for new releases the $2/DVD vending machines in places like Safeway are the best way to go.

Looks like Netflix doesn't have enough cash flow to pull off the new movies I guess, I thought netflix did. I thought they would have went for the new movies first, killed Blockbuster, and then went for the TV shows.

I'm still surprised Apple isn't making a play for this. The Itunes Store is a gem, payment is simple and dependable, and they have a huge customer base. After all, Apple did manage to land the Beatles on Itunes after all that legal kerfuffle.

[kimmy]

I had a look at this earlier. I was somewhat nonplussed.

First I thought I'd have a look and see if I could find the delightful adventure-comedy "Warehouse 13", from the US "SyFy Network".

"Warehouse 13 is not available", I was informed. But I might like these related titles:
-Golgo 13
-District B13
-Arthur The Aardvark season 13
-The Warriors
-Bride Wars
-Lord Of War

wtf?! None of that crap is remotely similar to Warehouse 13! They gave me results with "13" in them, and results that start with the same letters as "Warehouse". Was their "recommendations" system designed by government bureaucrats???

Let's try Iron Man 2. One of the big blockbusters of the year, available on DVD and BluRay for months. Should be a piece of cake, right?

"Iron Man 2 is not available, but you might enjoy these titles:'

-Spawn (well, at least it's a comic book character.)
-Blade (well, at least it's a comic book character.)
-Iron Man Armored Adventures (it's even the right comic book character, but it's a saturday morning cartoon.)
-Iron Eagle (contains "Iron")
-Gridiron Gang (contains "Iron")
-Family Man (contains "Man")
-Meerkat Manor (contains "Man")
-Man Vs Wild
-Torn Curtain (an Alfred Hitchcock mystery!? I'm still trying to figure how this came up.)
-What Happens in Vegas ( what the ... I give up.)

I entered Twilight just for laughs. They came up with...
-"The Last Picture Show"
-"Thumbsucker"


"The Girl Who Played With Fire" is not available, but I might enjoy
-Hot Fuzz
-Horton Hears a Who!


I mean, I've now entered about 10 different things, and first off none of them has actually been available from Netflix, and secondly all of their "suggestions" are not just off the mark but also comically stupid.

I would not subscribe to this product until their selection improves dramatically.

I would also not subscribe to this product until they hire better programmers. Their suggested viewing alternatives demonstrate that they're grossly incompetent and possibly mentally deficient in some way.

-k

[Smallc]

I'm still surprised Apple isn't making a play for this. The Itunes Store is a gem, payment is simple and dependable, and they have a huge customer base. After all, Apple did manage to land the Beatles on Itunes after all that legal kerfuffle.

They are. They haven't yet been that successful. Apple TV is catching on though, and it actually can stream Netflix.

[August1991]

I would also not subscribe to this product until they hire better programmers. Their suggested viewing alternatives demonstrate that they're grossly incompetent and possibly mentally deficient in some way.

In fact, Netflix' system for "recommending" films works well. You have to rate several movies first (on a scale of 1 to 5) and then it quickly figures out your tastes.

But look. If you're a trendy, gotta-see-the-latest movie, Netflix is not for you. It's got Witness for the Prosecution, Laura, All About Eve and Marty though - to name a few.

And The Last Picture Show was arguably Peter Bogdanovich's best movie.

I used to rent DVDs in the 3/$8 for a week section. Depending on the part of Montreal where I lived, the selection varied from leftover/boring to bizarrely inspired. The Netflix selection is like a DVD rental store without the one-day recent arrivals, and without the French and International DVDs.

First I thought I'd have a look and see if I could find the delightful adventure-comedy "Warehouse 13"...

I didn't even know there was a Warehouse 1.

The Itunes Store is a gem, payment is simple and dependable, and they have a huge customer base.

I have downloaded from Apple but I have to connect my laptop to the big screen. (Hassle factor.) iTunes is also "pricey" at about $5 a rental. The definition quality is so-so. Download speeds are slow but acceptable.

The Sony store download speeds are atrocious. (15 hours or more.)

Edited by August1991, 27 November 2010 - 09:49 PM.

[bush_cheney2004]

....But look. If you're a trendy, gotta-see-the-latest movie, Netflix is not for you. It's got Witness for the Prosecution, Laura, All About Eve and Marty though - to name a few.

Precisely...Netflix is about access to old content, documentaries, "foreign" films, television programs, and obscure titles. Last night we watched The Toxic Avenger Part 2 !

[dre]

I have good turrent sites to get any movie I want... but the downloads take time, so I still rent movies now and then both at the local video store, and also from our cable/internet provider (Telus/Optic).

[TimG]

I have good turrent sites to get any movie I want.

I personally do not like downloading pirate content because I think the creators of works should get paid for their efforts. Unfortunately, the refusal of most content providers to provide reasonable legal access to digital downloads leaves me wondering why I should care. Hulu in the US is an excellent model: a reasonable selection of shows funded by ad revenue. But Hulu is not available in the Canada and Hulu's selection is also extremely limited. It seems most TV show providers want to protect the market for overpriced DVD box sets. Amazon (again only in the US) provides more selection but at $2-3 per TV espisode it makes it too expensive to bother with for old shows.

Edited by TimG, 28 November 2010 - 03:31 PM.

[bush_cheney2004]

...Unfortunately, the refusal of most content providers to provide reasonable legal access to digital downloads leaves me wondering why I should care. Hulu in the US is an excellent model: a reasonable selection of shows funded by ad revenue. But Hulu is not available in the Canada and Hulu's selection is also extremely limited.

This is hard to fathom given Canada's own media restrictions for US content (e.g. CRTC). Major American network television productions are geared for the US market, with "reasonable access" to Canadians not even an afterthought. I think this point gets lost in translation. Aren't American films considered to be "foreign" ?

It seems most TV show providers want to protect the market for overpriced DVD box sets. Amazon (again only in the US) provides more selection but at $2-3 per TV espisode it makes it too expensive to bother with for old shows.

More of the same....Amazon USA has the sweet spot dialed in for a much larger American market.