papsrus Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 I've got a one-month trial subscription to Netflix for streaming only to my computer. Watched Woody Allen's 'Manhattan Murder Mystery' last night. Stream was pretty good with wireless router. A couple of lags here and there, but only a few, and only for a fraction of a second. Not Netflix's fault, but rather due to my cheapo wireless router. I'm going to take Amazon's Prime service (with free streaming) for a test drive as well. I took a quick look around their movie choices last night and they seem to have more current releases available for streaming, compared to Netflix. For example, I've been wanting to see "Barney's Version" and it's available for streaming at Amazon while Netflix only has it on disc. And Amazon is slightly cheaper (Netflix is I think $7.99/month and Amazon Prime is $79/year. Plus with Prime you get the added benefit of lower shipping rates with faster delivery when purchasing Amazon discs). On the other hand, I like the Netflix rating system and the way it generates suggestions after you rate various films you've seen. Not sure if Amazon has the same thing, but if they don't they surely will before long. So, do any of you Organauts subscribe to either of these? Any preference one way or the other? Thoughts on the respective libraries? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDK Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 I'm going through the same thing right now. Just started the free trial of Netflix's streaming service last week and i really love it - though, if one digs deeper into the catalog you can find that many films are not yet available for streaming. Still, I already have about 50 items in my instant queue. I figure that when my Netflix trial is done then I can give the Amazon trial a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 Netflix works fine for me, I've essentially stopped buying movies because there are so many available to watch for a low monthly subscription amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave James Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 I've been a Netflix customer for about four years. The streaming piece of it is relatively new, but it's what they're banking on as they transition away from an actual physical product. While NF is adding new stock all the time, it's not exactly what I'd call A-list material. A fair number of older movies, a decent selection of documentaries but an awful lot of what strikes me as direct-to-video fare. Add to this their recent falling out with Starz as a major supplier of streamable content and you have to wonder about where they go with this. For the $20 I'm paying a month, I'm reasonably comfortable (I get two actual DVD's at a time and unlimited streaming) but if they continue to jack up the cost along the lines of their recent 60% increase, I'll have to re-assess the value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 I've been using Lovefilm, which you could call the UK's equivalent of Netflix, for almost three years. Much of what you say applies to Lovefilm: obvious move from discs in the mail to streaming, but only limited choice as yet (tho' increasing) for the latter. The problem for me is that, while streamed films play OK on my computer at postcard size, once I increase to full screen the film moves in jerks like an old silent movie! I thought the problem was lack of memory in my computer, but someone says it's because of low broadband speed in this area. As I'm with a very big broadband supplier, BT, and live in a major city, it really shouldn't be that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Lark Ascending Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 (edited) I've been using Lovefilm, which you could call the UK's equivalent of Netflix, for almost three years. Much of what you say applies to Lovefilm: obvious move from discs in the mail to streaming, but only limited choice as yet (tho' increasing) for the latter. The problem for me is that, while streamed films play OK on my computer at postcard size, once I increase to full screen the film moves in jerks like an old silent movie! I thought the problem was lack of memory in my computer, but someone says it's because of low broadband speed in this area. As I'm with a very big broadband supplier, BT, and live in a major city, it really shouldn't be that. I use Lovefilm too to get things on disc. Very good it is. Interesting to read your streaming experience, Bill. Clearly we'll have to wait a while yet for this to become a realistic option. Despite having an unstoppable desire to fill my house with CDs (or CD-Rs) I've never got into DVD buying apart from the odd title - I rarely watch things more than once. Lovefilm fits that perfectly, having a much broader range than the old Video shops. Still think the company's choice of name a bit odd - sounds like a supplier of porn movies. Edited September 9, 2011 by A Lark Ascending Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDK Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 I'm assuming that NF (and all services really) will have more and more films available for streaming in the future - that's the direction everyone is heading. I have no interest in getting discs by mail. I've been pleased with the picture quality on my 56" set, and some of the streaming NF content is in HD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 We stream Netflix to our main tv thru the kids' X-Box Live account & enjoy it, although as implied above, you're more likely to be pleased if you go hunting for something off-the-beaten path to watch than if you go looking for a specific, "hit" movie. We usually don't ahve a problem with that & have had a lot of fun in so doing, but...there are those times when an exact, specific need is not met, and that's never a good time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papsrus Posted September 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 Yeah, the way I look at Netflix is, there's a big universe of films and even if the library isn't stocked with newer releases, there are enough attractive choices to make the $7.99/month subscription cost a pretty darn good deal. After just an hour or so spent checking it out over the past few days, my queue has over a dozen items in it that I'm interested in viewing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 Check out the Wayne Shorter/Carols Santana concert. Wayne overtly "dumbs down" the entire way and has a blast doing it. I laughed out loud more than once, and not in derision! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 For my tastes and usage, Amazon has the best selection. Many things free with Amazon prime, virtually every new movies for a fair price if I so desire, and perfect integration with my Sony Blu-Ray player. Plus, they run a different new release at 0.99 or 1.99 every day of the week. We've had both, and greatly prefer Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 I've watched a couple movies and some TV shows on Netflix streaming through my kid's x-box 360, and watched an episode of Breaking Bad on Amazon streaming. The first seems fine but there's limited content (that may change.) The Amazon seemed great, but I had to buy the episode, $1.99. The future? Maybe, but as usual, I'll be one of the "middle-switchers"---neither an 'early-adopter' nor one of the last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papsrus Posted September 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 (edited) For my tastes and usage, Amazon has the best selection. Many things free with Amazon prime, virtually every new movies for a fair price if I so desire, and perfect integration with my Sony Blu-Ray player. Plus, they run a different new release at 0.99 or 1.99 every day of the week. We've had both, and greatly prefer Amazon. I didn't realize Prime had additional charges for new releases, small though they may be. And they certainly sound fair. But suppose you watch one new release a week at an average cost of $1.49 -- (.99 + 1.99)/2. That's an additional $77.48 per year on top of the $79 annual subscription fee. So it's really about double the cost of the subscription fee if you want new releases. And with the estimated cost of watching new releases once a week factored in, amazon works out roughly to $156.48 per year vs. Netflix at $95.88 per year. A difference of $60.60. Probably worth it if newer/current releases are what you want. Maybe not if you just want an inexpensive way to dial up Casablanca whenever you like. Hopefully, the content on each will expand and improve at an accelerated pace over the coming months/years. Maybe just as importantly, I think it's almost inevitable that these lower-cost, on-demand alternatives to entertainment will break the current, much more expensive cable company/satellite company models for delivering entertainment. Particularly with the emergence of tablets. And that's really what content providers like Starz are afraid of. They can still get (maybe) a premium price for their content from cable companies that bundle it with a bunch of garbage we don't want then charge us more to access it, OR they can get ever-growing exposure through Netflix and Amazon and whoever else (Hulu, Lovefilm, etc.) But I think Netflix's refusal to pay up for Starz content means that content providers won't be able to have both. Not for long, anyways. Entertainment on demand is a much better alternative than 500 channels from your cable company for a high monthly fee, 490 of which feature mostly a parade of preachers, infomercials or cooking shows. Me thinks. Edited September 10, 2011 by papsrus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr jazz Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 I can't get the stream to play the audio through my HT receiver (have to use the TV speakers) evidently because it is an older model and doesn't have ARC. Is there a workaround for this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 I didn't realize Prime had additional charges for new releases, small though they may be. And they certainly sound fair. But suppose you watch one new release a week at an average cost of $1.49 -- (.99 + 1.99)/2. That's an additional $77.48 per year on top of the $79 annual subscription fee. So it's really about double the cost of the subscription fee if you want new releases. And with the estimated cost of watching new releases once a week factored in, amazon works out roughly to $156.48 per year vs. Netflix at $95.88 per year. A difference of $60.60. Probably worth it if newer/current releases are what you want. Maybe not if you just want an inexpensive way to dial up Casablanca whenever you like. Depends on your usage. We don't watch a ton of movies, so the monthly Netflix streaming fee is usually higher than what we pay for individual releases from Amazon. One nice thing about Amazon's releases is that you have a month to watch them, making it easy to 'stock up' on the low price promotions, and then watch them at our convenience. Frankly, our experience with Netflix was that you had to add the DVD or Blu-Ray subscription fee if you wanted to see any newer releases, which at a minimum doubled the cost. For comparable selection to Amazon of what we wanted to watch, Netflix was at least $16 + tax per month, or $192 per year. Since, we pay for Prime anyway, I don't really consider that part of the cost, but even including paying for Prime, which has its own benefits, we found Amazon's overall cost much cheaper than Netflix for our usage, which is about 0-3 movies per month. Not arguing with you, but pointing out that everyone needs to determine their own personal usage to make the right decision. For some, Netflix is worth it; for others, Amazon is better. I'm just glad I never have to set foot in an infernal Blockbuster again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeway Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 Actually I still like getting the shiny disks in the mail, plopping them in the DVD player, and hitting "Play." I like the extras like you get on Criterion. BTW, do you get those when you stream? Netflix has the best selection of foreign, art house, and generally obscure films. If they ever folded, I don't know what I would do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 no extras with Netflix streaming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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