5 ms·

As a millennial, there was a "golden age" for video streaming that has now passed where Netflix was the biggest game in town and had most of the desirable conte

As a millennial, there was a "golden age" for video streaming that has now passed where Netflix was the biggest game in town and had most of the desirable content. Now that there are 6 or 7 streaming services each with their own exclusives (and regional differences) streaming is becoming much less appealing.

ghaff 6y ago
Netflix was never that great for movies but you could always subscribe to their DVDs. Unfortunately, more and more titles are becoming unavailable. (I resubscribed for a while during the pandemic but just canceled it again.) Of course, you can often just rent a la carte as well. It is a very fragmented landscape. On the other hand, I find I can subscribe to a few services and get access to far more good content than I have time to watch. There's very little that I just have to see and, if there is, I can just spin up some service for a month.
- tomjakubowski 6y ago
  Circa 2007-2011, before their deal with Starz expired, Netflix streaming usually had any movie, new or old, I ever wanted to see. The catalogue was massive. Now, around 3/4 of the time (my estimate) I'd be forced to rent or stream elsewhere. https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/09/netflix-to-lose-starz-its-most-valuable-source-of-new-movies.html https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/...
  - ghaff 6y ago
    I guess we have different tastes. I actually canceled Netflix streaming when they started charging separately for it and only picked it up again when House of Cards came out. And I still remember telling a Netflix exec I knew that their streaming movie catalog wasn't very good. His response was that people come to Netflix for movies and stay for the TV shows. I read people saying what you did but it just doesn't match my experience; I kept a DVD subscription the whole time until fairly recently. But I don't think any of the streaming services are great for movies. I watch what they have and then either rent from RedBox, buy a disc if it's something I think I may want to rewatch, or pay for a streaming rental.
    - monoideism 6y ago
      No, Netflix had a massive catalogue at one point. It was even much later than 2011. Probably up until 2015, was when they really started losing content.
    - echelon 6y ago
      Netflix had every movie when the production companies viewed streaming as a minor distraction. Every movie. Now that every corporate interest wants a streaming site of their own, bittorrent looks attractive again.
      - ghaff 6y ago
        >Netflix had every movie when the production companies viewed streaming as a minor distraction. That is simply wrong. Why would they even have maintained a DVD rental service under those circumstances? All my "movie buff" friends always maintained a DVD rental subscription.
        echelon 6y ago
        Because broadband penetration at the time wasn't as large as it is today.

ghaff 6y ago

Netflix was never that great for movies but you could always subscribe to their DVDs. Unfortunately, more and more titles are becoming unavailable. (I resubscribed for a while during the pandemic but just canceled it again.) Of course, you can often just rent a la carte as well. It is a very fragmented landscape. On the other hand, I find I can subscribe to a few services and get access to far more good content than I have time to watch. There's very little that I just have to see and, if there is, I can just spin up some service for a month.

tomjakubowski 6y ago
Circa 2007-2011, before their deal with Starz expired, Netflix streaming usually had any movie, new or old, I ever wanted to see. The catalogue was massive. Now, around 3/4 of the time (my estimate) I'd be forced to rent or stream elsewhere. https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/09/netflix-to-lose-starz-its-most-valuable-source-of-new-movies.html https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/...
- ghaff 6y ago
  I guess we have different tastes. I actually canceled Netflix streaming when they started charging separately for it and only picked it up again when House of Cards came out. And I still remember telling a Netflix exec I knew that their streaming movie catalog wasn't very good. His response was that people come to Netflix for movies and stay for the TV shows. I read people saying what you did but it just doesn't match my experience; I kept a DVD subscription the whole time until fairly recently. But I don't think any of the streaming services are great for movies. I watch what they have and then either rent from RedBox, buy a disc if it's something I think I may want to rewatch, or pay for a streaming rental.
  - monoideism 6y ago
    No, Netflix had a massive catalogue at one point. It was even much later than 2011. Probably up until 2015, was when they really started losing content.
  - echelon 6y ago
    Netflix had every movie when the production companies viewed streaming as a minor distraction. Every movie. Now that every corporate interest wants a streaming site of their own, bittorrent looks attractive again.
    - ghaff 6y ago
      >Netflix had every movie when the production companies viewed streaming as a minor distraction. That is simply wrong. Why would they even have maintained a DVD rental service under those circumstances? All my "movie buff" friends always maintained a DVD rental subscription.
      - echelon 6y ago
        Because broadband penetration at the time wasn't as large as it is today.