5 ms·

I will admit I found it hard not to read this comment and wonder about your sense of entitlement in the face of the vastly privileged situation we live in now i

I will admit I found it hard not to read this comment and wonder about your sense of entitlement in the face of the vastly privileged situation we live in now in terms of media consumption. You pay $10 per month to watch high quality TV from the last few decades as much as you want, whenever you want (and, goodness me, if you have children, Netflix is an absolute godsend - fire up Paw Patrol and off you go...); to watch a large and moderately decent selection of films, often including relatively new releases, whenever you want, as many as you want; and as if that weren't enough, they even produce their own content, some of which is actually good. I remember when, if you wanted to watch a film, you would drive to Blockbuster and rent it, and you had a couple of nights to watch it or the fees would start racking up - and their selection was never all that great, and the availability was limited to how many DVDs or videos they physically had. If you wanted to watch a TV series, you'd buy the boxset - and before DVDs, Friends took up about four feet of your bookshelf. Sure, I've seen a bit of a movement lately from Netflix to Amazon Prime, but seriously, what we have right now in 2017 is so miraculously much better than what we had ten years ago (when I had a LoveFilm account and had to rely on films being sent through the post - which seems oddly even more antiquated now than Blockbuster does, frankly), that to describe it as "crap" and "garbage" just seems crazy to me.

taway_1212 9y ago
> high quality TV I think he's debating this part. Frankly, most of TV is mind-rotting crap.
mythrwy 9y ago
You drove to Blockbuster? Luxury. I built a treestand behind the drive in theater and sat in it with a AM radio and can of mosquito spray. And they only had one film.
tanilama 9y ago
This is typical HN: Nothing can please me because I am intelligent advanced than the rest of the crowd. Instead acting like whiny baby. The suggestion that Netflix get rid of scale rating is pure conspiracy, without any evidence to back it up. Reminders: 1. Youtube Red: 10 dollars 2. HBO Now: 15 dollars 3. Amazon Prime: 9 dollars 4. Youtube TV: 35 dollars 5. Watch a movie: 10 dollars on average. Maybe the OP is suggesting piracy? That is the only way I could bring out of my mind for cheaper price for any (relatively) well produced content.
- Rjevski 9y ago
  Piracy is not a bad deal actually - currently if I want all the movies and music I'd have to sign up for multiple streaming services, totalling about 50$ a month. And even then, there's no guarantee I will actually get all the music and movies I want - there's always that one artist/producer that doesn't want their stuff on streaming services for some awful reason. Not to mention region locking, etc. I can't see myself giving up piracy just yet, but I would love it if streaming services cut the crap and improve their service.
  - jamespo 9y ago
    So if Netflix increased their library, cut their prices and subsequently increased their debt even more you'd consider them?
    - Rjevski 9y ago
      If Netflix could provide all my movie watching needs then yes I'll consider them. As a consumer I couldn't care less about their debt, I just want a solution that allows me watch movies without stealing them, but until then I'll happily steal - it's a problem this industry created for themselves so it's up to them to fix it.
      - jezclaremurugan 9y ago
        Crappy service doesn't give a license to steal. While the entertainment industry has done a lot of harm like all the DRMs etc. the ethical way is to boycott and not steal. For ex. if you believe in free software use GNU software - don't steal closed source software.
        Rjevski 9y ago
        Stealing might not have been the right word here. Stealing means you take something away from someone and that someone no longer has the thing you took. In this case however I'm not taking anything away, I am merely denying them of revenue they wouldn't have had in the first place because I am not going to pay 50$/month for streaming services.
golergka 9y ago
Why don't you mention the $0 alternative - piracy? I switched from Torrents to Netflix simply because it was worth it as a product. With the current state of the library I seriously consider switching back full-time.
- bshimmin 9y ago
  My apologies. I guess if you don't have any ethical qualms, you have lots of choices!
  - golergka 9y ago
    Like it or not, most real people - that actually spend their money, or not, and affect the course of the industry - don't either. If you want to have a meaningful discussion about industry-wide events, you can't pretend that majority of people care about violating copyright law.
mnm1 9y ago
"I will admit I found it hard not to read this comment and wonder about your sense of entitlement" I see. I can't criticize a service in a way you dislike without having a sense of entitlement. I'll keep that in mind.

taway_1212 9y ago

> high quality TV I think he's debating this part. Frankly, most of TV is mind-rotting crap.

mythrwy 9y ago

You drove to Blockbuster? Luxury. I built a treestand behind the drive in theater and sat in it with a AM radio and can of mosquito spray. And they only had one film.

tanilama 9y ago

This is typical HN: Nothing can please me because I am intelligent advanced than the rest of the crowd. Instead acting like whiny baby. The suggestion that Netflix get rid of scale rating is pure conspiracy, without any evidence to back it up. Reminders: 1. Youtube Red: 10 dollars 2. HBO Now: 15 dollars 3. Amazon Prime: 9 dollars 4. Youtube TV: 35 dollars 5. Watch a movie: 10 dollars on average. Maybe the OP is suggesting piracy? That is the only way I could bring out of my mind for cheaper price for any (relatively) well produced content.

Rjevski 9y ago
Piracy is not a bad deal actually - currently if I want all the movies and music I'd have to sign up for multiple streaming services, totalling about 50$ a month. And even then, there's no guarantee I will actually get all the music and movies I want - there's always that one artist/producer that doesn't want their stuff on streaming services for some awful reason. Not to mention region locking, etc. I can't see myself giving up piracy just yet, but I would love it if streaming services cut the crap and improve their service.
- jamespo 9y ago
  So if Netflix increased their library, cut their prices and subsequently increased their debt even more you'd consider them?
  - Rjevski 9y ago
    If Netflix could provide all my movie watching needs then yes I'll consider them. As a consumer I couldn't care less about their debt, I just want a solution that allows me watch movies without stealing them, but until then I'll happily steal - it's a problem this industry created for themselves so it's up to them to fix it.
    - jezclaremurugan 9y ago
      Crappy service doesn't give a license to steal. While the entertainment industry has done a lot of harm like all the DRMs etc. the ethical way is to boycott and not steal. For ex. if you believe in free software use GNU software - don't steal closed source software.
      - Rjevski 9y ago
        Stealing might not have been the right word here. Stealing means you take something away from someone and that someone no longer has the thing you took. In this case however I'm not taking anything away, I am merely denying them of revenue they wouldn't have had in the first place because I am not going to pay 50$/month for streaming services.

golergka 9y ago

Why don't you mention the $0 alternative - piracy? I switched from Torrents to Netflix simply because it was worth it as a product. With the current state of the library I seriously consider switching back full-time.

bshimmin 9y ago
My apologies. I guess if you don't have any ethical qualms, you have lots of choices!
- golergka 9y ago
  Like it or not, most real people - that actually spend their money, or not, and affect the course of the industry - don't either. If you want to have a meaningful discussion about industry-wide events, you can't pretend that majority of people care about violating copyright law.

mnm1 9y ago

"I will admit I found it hard not to read this comment and wonder about your sense of entitlement" I see. I can't criticize a service in a way you dislike without having a sense of entitlement. I'll keep that in mind.