Got Netflix?

[Maui]

12 at the moment.

I know you are proud of me Dale. I just know it.

[TheBaxter]

i'm at 171, but at one time i'm pretty sure i was in the high 200s/low 300s, and have since pared it down.

i use the queue as much as a checklist to remind myself of movies i want to see. if there's a movie out in the theaters i know i'm not going to get to see, i'll add it to my netflix queue instead, or if i hear someone mention a film that sounds interesting or that i liked and haven't seen in a while, i'll add it. i don't expect to get around to every one of the films on my queue, but periodically i'll scroll down the list and one will pop out and i'm like "i want to watch that this weekend" so i'll move it up to the top of my queue.

[DaleTremont]

12 at the moment.

I know you are proud of me Dale. I just know it.

12?! What in the....

Maui never fails to surprise!

469 in mine right now but last time I checked it tops out at 500...

Does a message flash on the screen that says, "Come on now, son, that's just ridiculous. DENIED!"?

For me I do expect to get to all of them eventually, but yeah I move things around a whole bunch. I'm pretty sure I'll be hitting that 500 mark soon in any case.

[Maui]

12 at the moment.

I know you are proud of me Dale. I just know it.

12?! What in the....

Maui never fails to surprise!

I just don't like lists. They seem so regimented.

[Bob Samonkey]

i'm at 171, but at one time i'm pretty sure i was in the high 200s/low 300s, and have since pared it down.

i use the queue as much as a checklist to remind myself of movies i want to see. if there's a movie out in the theaters i know i'm not going to get to see, i'll add it to my netflix queue instead, or if i hear someone mention a film that sounds interesting or that i liked and haven't seen in a while, i'll add it. i don't expect to get around to every one of the films on my queue, but periodically i'll scroll down the list and one will pop out and i'm like "i want to watch that this weekend" so i'll move it up to the top of my queue.

Thats what I do too but we are down to 2 at a time cause of monetary issues and it is slow going...

[Peven]

i am usually somewhere in the mid-200's. i use my queue just like Bax and Bob, more of a list that keeps me from forgetting to see movies that look interesting. after each time i drop movies in the mail to return i then set my next 3 or 4 movies on my queue for what i am in the mood for that week.

[RogueScribner]

I think the most I've ever had was around 129 but mainly it hovers between 60 and 80 discs. Right now it's around 68. It has been as low as 45.

Has the vote option always been there? I just now noticed it. Are Netflix friends as long lasting as MySpace friends?

[DennisMM]

I've got only 73. I did lose quite a few when I moved out and was no longer sharing a queue with Julia. I didn't go back to our formerly shared queue to find the movies that were meant particularly for me.

[Bob Samonkey]

I think the most I've ever had was around 129 but mainly it hovers between 60 and 80 discs. Right now it's around 68. It has been as low as 45.

Has the vote option always been there? I just now noticed it. Are Netflix friends as long lasting as MySpace friends?

I have a few friends from here. I do not look at that often but when I do it is cool to get some ideas from like-minded people...

[Bob Samonkey]

Be my friend or I will really poo this place up. You know I have a hair fling trigger....

[Bob Samonkey]

You know I love you forced my hand...

[Droncz92]

Ive been contemplating using Netflix, what are the good and bads about it?

[Lord Voldemoo]

Ive been contemplating using Netflix, what are the good and bads about it?

Pros: no late fees. You can get movies as fast as you can watch them, if you want. Online streaming of some movies. Pretty decent selection. Queue system is kinda cool.

Cons: popular movies can be difficult to get ahold of sometimes, if you're like me and always forget to return your movies you can end up paying and never getting new films.

Mostly it's pretty awesome.

[RogueScribner]

The good:

DVDs by mail with no due dates, flat monthly fee (varies depending on your plan). Streaming video of a good selection of movies, current hits included. Nice TV on DVD selection. Simple and intuitive interface. Good turnaround time.

The bad:

A little pricey if you don't watch a lot of DVDs. Inventory is mostly mainstream stuff. Before they got big they used to carry a lot more in the way of special interest stuff and rare titles. It's iffy if they have any of it now. Also, sometimes their discs are in horrible shape. They don't have quality control since it's all automated. So you have to waste time sending the disc back and stuff. Also, sometimes the waits on certain DVDs can be really long, either because they didn't buy enough copies or the people who have them are taking their sweet time sending them back. I've been waiting on Spaced since it came out.

[justcheckin]

I use netflix to get all the odd ball movies that I want to see... but I still rent new releases from the video store. I love it... and I am supper happy that they just added instant viewing for us MAC users. WHEW!!!

[TheBaxter]

in case you haven't noticed recently, netflix has been delaying some titles for rental until 28 days after their release in stores. apparently they signed an agreement with some studios to delay the rentals on these titles and thereby save some money on their deals. well FUCK THEM. that is bullshit. screw you netflix. are we going to see those savings in reduced subscription prices? of course not! it will all just go to their own pockets. i have netflix and blockbuster, but blockbuster will be going bankrupt soon, and then netflix won't have a direct competitor.

blockbuster is not all that great either, because on a lot of the newest dvd's i've gotten they've been special "rental-only" disks that have no special features. i can kind of understand, if you hold the special features back only for sales disks, but they don't even have basic stuff like scene selections. so basically, no matter where you rent your disks from, you get screwed.

[Peven]

and THEN they fuck you at the drive-through!!!

[RogueScribner]

Okay, first of all, it wasn't Netflix's idea. Fox, Warner Bros., and Universal were pressuring Netflix to impose a delay in some false belief it'll drive up DVD sales or some nonsense. Netflix refused for a while, but the studios were playing hardball. So Netflix negotiated to add lots of new streaming content from the Fox and Universal back catalogs to make up for it. You know what? I'm fine with that. There's no movie I need to see the day it comes out on DVD. If I want to see a movie that badly, I'll see it in the theaters. Meanwhile, I'm going to have lots more options for streaming video coming down the pike so there'll be plenty to keep me busy while I await the new releases.

[TheBaxter]

Okay, first of all, it wasn't Netflix's idea. Fox, Warner Bros., and Universal were pressuring Netflix to impose a delay in some false belief it'll drive up DVD sales or some nonsense. Netflix refused for a while, but the studios were playing hardball. So Netflix negotiated to add lots of new streaming content from the Fox and Universal back catalogs to make up for it. You know what? I'm fine with that. There's no movie I need to see the day it comes out on DVD. If I want to see a movie that badly, I'll see it in the theaters. Meanwhile, I'm going to have lots more options for streaming video coming down the pike so there'll be plenty to keep me busy while I await the new releases.

apparently they didn't think blockbuster was worth strongarming too. either that, or blockbuster just has more backbone than netflix.

[so sorry]

Okay, first of all, it wasn't Netflix's idea. Fox, Warner Bros., and Universal were pressuring Netflix to impose a delay in some false belief it'll drive up DVD sales or some nonsense. Netflix refused for a while, but the studios were playing hardball. So Netflix negotiated to add lots of new streaming content from the Fox and Universal back catalogs to make up for it. You know what? I'm fine with that. There's no movie I need to see the day it comes out on DVD. If I want to see a movie that badly, I'll see it in the theaters. Meanwhile, I'm going to have lots more options for streaming video coming down the pike so there'll be plenty to keep me busy while I await the new releases.

apparently they didn't think blockbuster was worth strongarming too. either that, or blockbuster just has more backbone than netflix.

And yet Blockbuster is the one going out of business!

[RogueScribner]

Yeah, I don't think Blockbuster has the same market share as Netflix and Redbox, which are the two rental companies most studios are worried about nowadays. Nobody gives a shit about Blockbuster anymore. They won't survive the decade.

[Tyrone_Shoelaces]

Anybody have a Family Video near them? Every so often they put up on the sign that they are looking for managers. Most recently it was because they are opening 30 stores in the next year. I'm curious what it is they know that I don't because opening 30 stores seems a bit reckless to me. Hollywood Video is gone, Blockbuster is on life support, and Netflix is winning on two fronts with physical media and internet streaming. It's only a matter of time before iTunes, Amazon, XBox, PlayStation, and whoever else bring streaming and downloading to critical mass. My prediction is that Family Video will be shuttering stores in three years. I like the place but I have to wonder if they are extending themselves dangerously.

[TheBaxter]

Yeah, I don't think Blockbuster has the same market share as Netflix and Redbox, which are the two rental companies most studios are worried about nowadays. Nobody gives a shit about Blockbuster anymore. They won't survive the decade.

which is why netflix would've been in a much stronger position to fight this. but instead they pussied out. so again i say FUCK THEM.

[RogueScribner]

I don't think it was so much pussying out as them believing their future lies in streaming media, so they're doing everything they can to build that facet of their company up. Let Blockbuster rent day-of. It's not going to save them. Most people will either wait, buy the DVD (which would make the studios happy), or download it illegally (probably the most likely choice if people don't want to wait, making the studios unhappy but Netflix still happy).

[TheBaxter]

so they screw over their current customer base in favor of building a new customer base. whatever.

[Bean]

Netflix is the SHIT! My girlfriend and I will curl up in bed and watch anything from Adventures of Pete and Pete to Atinburough's Wild Planet to Amilee! I don't know how video stores can be relevant anymore

[RogueScribner]

I've been watching a lot of streaming Netflix over the past few days.

Today I was supposed to get Shutter Island and Alice in Wonderland in the mail, but the latter only had the mailing label: no movie. On the one hand, I'm disappointed that I didn't get the movie; on the other, I find it funny that the USPS delivered a label to me without an envelope attached to it.

[Peven]

i more than get my money's worth from streaming Netflix, with both TV and movies, i don't think i will ever watch all the titles i have on my instant queu, over 300 now. just wanted to recommend a movie they added not too long ago to the instant streaming menu is a little gem of a foreign film called "Kontroll" I saw last year and it really stuck with me. if you like something outside the run-of-the-mill movie experience you should check it out

[TheButcher]

Netflix Demonstrate UHD 4k Streaming – Ultra High Definition, Next Generation Image Quality

It’s most likely that your local or regular cinema screens films digitally now. In many cases, this is still being done at 2k, images that are 2048 pixels wide.

Though some chains, here in the UK at least, boast proudly that their projectors all pump out 4k, which is 4096 pixels wide. That’s very true, but it’s also the case that these 4k projectors are often being used to show 2k files.

It takes a pretty big screen for the step up from 2k to 4k to really make an impact. I won’t get into all of the maths here but audience members in a fairly typical cinema wouldn’t be able to discern any difference at all if they were to sit in the back two thirds of the auditorium.

Great for people near the front, though, right?

Let’s assume you sit about seven feet away from your TV set at home. For 4k to make a measurable difference to your perception of the image, your TV would have to be around 140 inches, diagonally. That’s about three metres wide.

So, I don’t think 4k is by any means the urgent next step in video technology. On the other hand, I do know that it is most definitely coming, and fast.

Sony have this week said that they want to establish a standard format for 4k. The twist is that this time, unlike with Blu-ray and DVD, they don’t mean a physical format, they mean a file format. In fact, Sony’s CEO has this week said at the Consumer Electronics Show that a disc format might even be unlikely.

Streaming video is likely to be at the forefront of the 4k push, rather than packaged media or broadcast. No surprise, then, that Neflix are already working hard, getting ready to ride the 4k explosion.

Pocket Lint saw a 4k Netflix demonstration at CES. It was a pretty modest demo, tucked away quietly, but it was definitely 4k content, and it was being streamed, someway or another.

Samsung are partnering with Netflix on the development of this tech, which will likely mean Netflix 4k apps on the dashboard of Samsung 4k sets.

It’s early days yet, but these things do have a way of accelerating. How long until I stop cluttering my house up with piles of Blu-rays and start hanging off the wires for 4k streams, I wonder?

I’ll miss packaged media, but I’ve already welcomed Netflix with open arms. And a nice big 4k TV? Don’t mind if I do. But I do mean big. I’m not going 4k unless it’s going to really mean something.

If you’re going to join me in this grand indulgence, you’ll need a pretty robust connection to the web to get your content. This is from Pocket Lint’s piece:

The new codec of H.265 is claimed to allow for further file size compression of 40-50 per cent more than H.264 video, with no loss in picture quality. It can ensure UHD images are streamed efficiently using existing bandwidth, but streaming 5.1 or 7.1 audio will still take up as much bandwidth as before. So file sizes will naturally be larger, with all things considered.

My current connection allows me to stream 1080p Netflix in two rooms simultaneously, even while I’m surfing the web, so I think I’m most likely set already.

Right, let’s try and put a number on it, just for fun. I predict that I’ll have a 4k set at home and will be watching 4k streaming video on it in… ermmm… let’s say 2017.