4 ms·

That's not really a flaw of netflix, is it? If you believe it is, I'd love to understand your reasoning.

wtetzner 10y ago
I'm not the OP, but I'll give it a shot :) The value Netflix provides is primarily convenience. There are other ways to watch movies and TV shows, the reason to use Netflix is that it's more convenient than the alternatives. Having to deal with physical media (and wait for them to be delivered) is less convenient than other alternatives to Netflix. Therefore, it's a flaw of Netflix.
- pmoriarty 10y ago
  Streaming is definitely more convenient, but since Netflix's streaming selection is atrocious, it's not worth my time or money. I'd much rather put up with the minimal hassle and a bit of a wait to get a great selection of DVDs. The "hassle" amounts to me opening up an envelope, putting the DVD in to my DVD player, putting it back in to the envelope when I'm done and throwing it in to a mailbox on my way to work. Sure, it's not as easy as hitting play in a streaming app, but not really a big deal, either.
  - phamilton 10y ago
    The hassle involves the latency of wanting to watch something and it being in the envelope in your home.
    - pmoriarty 10y ago
      I'd rather wait a bit for something good than stream garbage.
  - maverick_iceman 10y ago
    I'm pretty sure hackney cab drivers argued similarly about automobiles.
  - wtetzner 10y ago
    > Streaming is definitely more convenient, but since Netflix's streaming selection is atrocious, it's not worth my time or money. Which was exactly my point. It's a flaw of Netflix that it's streaming collection isn't as good as it's DVD collection.
caleblloyd 10y ago
I used to love going to blockbuster to rent a flick, because I could do it on a whim (near-instant gratification). Because of streaming services like Netflix, blockbuster went out of business. I don't plan for movie night days in advance. I'm not going to rent that shit in the mail. So after a few years of not touching my DVD player, I threw it out. The content owners are the real ones losing out here. I'd pay $4 to stream any movie, there's just no service I'm aware of that offers them all digitally at that price.
- gozur88 10y ago
  Isn't that about what the cable PPV channels charge? Or am I out of date?
  - auno 10y ago
    Then you'd have to get cable first, with whatever that entails. I don't have any kind of TV connection to my apartment at all.
- erikjsanders 10y ago
  You can rent and stream many movies from Amazon for 3.99 SD and 4.99 HD. I'm not sure if these prices are discounted since I am a prime member. I just recently started using VidAngel though, and I'm happy with it so far. They advertise being able to filter movies, but you can always just filter a single word if you don't want anything filtered. It's $1 for SD and $2 for HD. They have an interesting licensing model though so you sort of have to have a constant $18-$19 deposit with them.

I'm not the OP, but I'll give it a shot :) The value Netflix provides is primarily convenience. There are other ways to watch movies and TV shows, the reason to use Netflix is that it's more convenient than the alternatives. Having to deal with physical media (and wait for them to be delivered) is less convenient than other alternatives to Netflix. Therefore, it's a flaw of Netflix.

pmoriarty 10y ago
Streaming is definitely more convenient, but since Netflix's streaming selection is atrocious, it's not worth my time or money. I'd much rather put up with the minimal hassle and a bit of a wait to get a great selection of DVDs. The "hassle" amounts to me opening up an envelope, putting the DVD in to my DVD player, putting it back in to the envelope when I'm done and throwing it in to a mailbox on my way to work. Sure, it's not as easy as hitting play in a streaming app, but not really a big deal, either.
- phamilton 10y ago
  The hassle involves the latency of wanting to watch something and it being in the envelope in your home.
  - pmoriarty 10y ago
    I'd rather wait a bit for something good than stream garbage.
- maverick_iceman 10y ago
  I'm pretty sure hackney cab drivers argued similarly about automobiles.
- wtetzner 10y ago
  > Streaming is definitely more convenient, but since Netflix's streaming selection is atrocious, it's not worth my time or money. Which was exactly my point. It's a flaw of Netflix that it's streaming collection isn't as good as it's DVD collection.

caleblloyd 10y ago

I used to love going to blockbuster to rent a flick, because I could do it on a whim (near-instant gratification). Because of streaming services like Netflix, blockbuster went out of business. I don't plan for movie night days in advance. I'm not going to rent that shit in the mail. So after a few years of not touching my DVD player, I threw it out. The content owners are the real ones losing out here. I'd pay $4 to stream any movie, there's just no service I'm aware of that offers them all digitally at that price.

gozur88 10y ago
Isn't that about what the cable PPV channels charge? Or am I out of date?
- auno 10y ago
  Then you'd have to get cable first, with whatever that entails. I don't have any kind of TV connection to my apartment at all.
erikjsanders 10y ago
You can rent and stream many movies from Amazon for 3.99 SD and 4.99 HD. I'm not sure if these prices are discounted since I am a prime member. I just recently started using VidAngel though, and I'm happy with it so far. They advertise being able to filter movies, but you can always just filter a single word if you don't want anything filtered. It's $1 for SD and $2 for HD. They have an interesting licensing model though so you sort of have to have a constant $18-$19 deposit with them.