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Netflix May Already Be Killing Blockbuster?
Mattintosh writes "A blogger at C|Net takes a moment to consider the impact Netflix has had on Blockbuster. Some notable highlights include heavy losses ($35 million), job cuts ($45 million worth), and store closings: 'Much like the print media and retail stores refusing to change, Blockbuster has been a victim on an online company finding new and inventive ways of bringing a product to a customer. And due to its size and outdated corporate culture, there really is no salvation for Blockbuster at this point. Try as it might, the future of Blockbuster is bleak, at best. Sure, the company still enjoys revenue that climb into the billions of dollars, but with an ever-increasing net loss and a public refusal to focus on Total Access--the area where Netflix continues to dominate--what is the impetus for us to jump on the Blockbuster bandwagon?'"
Meanwhile, the only thing saving Netflix's ass is the anticompetitive nature of the telecom industry in the US, which causes us to have broadband slow enough to make downloading DVD-quality movies too painful... time marches on.
Blockbuster lost me (and several of my friends' accounts) to netflix when they recently did away with their in store exchanges unless you opted to pay like 30% more for the exact same service. I have to imagine that a lot of people did the same.
It's a subscription service and a brick and mortar blockbuster isn't.
It would be nice if someone offered a service where I could just request a movie, pay my couple of bucks or whatever and have it mailed. If I didn't want anything that month then I wouldn't have to pay.
Gone!
The Blockbuster near me closed at the beginning of this year. The storefront was vacant until about 3 weeks ago, when a Halloween store set up shop there. I'm sure once that clears out the space will remain empty for another 6 months or so. And this is right in the middle of a good-size city. The nearest video store is about 2-1/2 miles away (again, this is in the middle of a city). The thing is that I don't even miss it. I've been screwed over enough by them. I don't use Netflix anymore either, but if they can help get rid of Blockbuster, then more power to them.
Blockbuster is dead!
We at slashdot are scientists, specialists and kernel hackers. Your FUD will be found out.
I'm a netflix cusomter - 4 CD's in three queues (child, bride, me). As a perk, they also let you have an hour/usd of streaming content each month. For me, that works out to ~24 hours a month. Great, right? Well, it only works in the States, so any gigs in Canada are right out.
The chink in the armor is the selection. While they have a massive collection of DVDs, the streaming selection is really poor. I would not pay extra for it as it stands. At home, It looks about the same as a DVD on a high bandwidth connection - here for example, is a movie getting piped to a TV via my laptop. Bandwidth in hotels works better than I expected, and it is good enough for watching on a computer. I hear Blockbuster might have better selection... they should embrace the streaming!
+++ UGUCAUCGUAUUUCU
Blockbuster's online offering is far superior to Netflix's.
Netflix constantly sent me random movies from my queue instead of using anything remotely resembling the order I'd prioritized them in. IIRC, they were everntually sued for that.
Blockbuster only seems to have tried that twice with me and a single email to their customer care address resolved that and got me an apology along with it.
I can also drop my total access movies off at the local LackLuster and trade them for free in-store rentals. And they ship my next online rentals the next day.
Not affiliated, just a happy customer.
Their website sucks (while Netflix's is fantastic), but they still have a larger catalog. I've never had any throttling problems at all. I hope they don't go under. I have something like 600 movies in my queue and no way in hell to pull it out without some nasty screen scraping...
Web2.0: I love when people Flickr my cuil and digg my boingboing until my google is reddit and I start to yahoo
For a minute there I was going to mod -1 overrated but I thought I'd reply instead. Apparently some mods were swayed by your flashing for the cameras and offering up a sound bite.
But as I see it, even if the MPAA *did* blame it on piracy, the article is about Netflix *winning*, so right there is a built in counter-argument. That is to say, "If it's piracy, MPAA, then shouldn't Netflix be eating shit too??"
However, there is the argument that the MPAA is a buncha lying fucks, so in a way you have a point. Don't put anything beyond them, even if there is a possibly logical argument to the contrary.
No sig for you!!
Who could have seen that coming. Netflix is even more convenient (for me) than downloading movies illegally, there's just no way a dinosaur like Blockbuster could keep up. By not actually having a physical location, Netflix can have a MUCH wider selection of titles too, and when your only limit is how many movies you can have out at one time you can watch a lot more content and take chances on things you might not have looked at otherwise. This is why I have no sympathy for the music industry when they say they can't compete with illegal downloads. Netflix does it (and does very well), by offering a better service at a reasonable price.
If you build it, nerds will come. Soylentnews.org
First time in my life a subscription service has gotten cheaper.
You're dead one with the comment about selection. That's why, in the end, the in-store exchange didn't matter to us. It took a surprisingly short time to rent every movie they had there that looked interesting. They hardly ever actually had anything in there that we specifically wanted to watch. It shouldn't surprise me too much, after all they're named "blockbuster". Indi, foreign, low budget, old, obscure, documentaries, just plain weird shit, etc etc aren't what springs to mind when that title comes up. Still pretty disappointing though.
Everything will be taken away from you.
What rock have editors/bloggers been living under? This may have been news say...4 years ago. Blockbuster launched a service like Netflix in 2004-ish (that's 3 years ago) and since then, well since then who cares, because pretty much everyone I know switched over to, um, digital downloads.
Seriously, a Netflix PR blog-vert in 2007?
Actually, the netflix settup uses fewer copies of movies, because each individual shipping location covers a larger population than a given brick and mortar blockbuster. Basically, the statistics of it say they need fewer padding copies to cover the (unexpected) surges in demand. This means that even though the same total amount of renting happens, the movie studios see fewer dollars as a result.
I know my statement appeared as a general hatred of the MPAA, without much forethought, but they do lose money with netflix compared to brick and mortar.
This whole argument depends on netflix and blockbuster both having sensible purchasing policies with demand analysis. I don't know that.
My last visit to Blockbuster was about five years ago when I returned a DVD a week late and they charged me significantly more than if I had simply rented the video for that period.
i work for a small company that writes rental software for video shops. we have about 100+ locations where our software is installed.
over the past few years there have been a lot of closures of video shops as various net rental services come online. i personally reckon the main thing to kill the market is bittorrent as the average consumer is now sufficently capable of downloading movies with the greater availability of broadband.
while the online rental locations have started to appear in the past few years the size of their operations is not comparable to the dip in the sales at brick and mortar operations.
that said how can they still compete?
some of our customers are now doing more business with internet cafes/gaming/voip/tanning salons/dvd sales more than dvd/games rentals. our software has had a lot of changes to cover these changes. one chain has closed a few shops but has also opened a few in new locations.
others have specialised. my favourite is one small chain of 3-4 shops that specialises in world cinema/cult movies. they have an incredibly loyal customer base who don't walk in and look on the shelves for a film. they come in and ask at the counter for a specific film. while most shops have a high staff turnover this chain still has the same staff it did 10 years ago for the most part. they hunt out all these films for their customers.
You got a score of 4 for an 'insightful' post; I say it should be a score of 5 for a 'funny' post instead, but darkly funny because that's likely to be exactly what will happen. ;)
The Hollywood Video near us just closed up. Brick-and-mortar retail video rental is a dead letter.
Dog is my co-pilot.
if they're monthly subscriptions were for in-store exchanges. Movie renting for me is a spontaneous thing. I rent movies the day I want to see it. I don't want to wait a couple days for a movie, there simply isn't anything i want to see that badly.
Blockbuster is ignoring it's strongest asset. The brick and morter is the best thing they have going for them, and they refuse to capitalize on it.
I would think that video rentals would help lead to piracy (renting then ripping - makes it more anonymous as well.)
I rent my videos from Redbox.com. I don't rent enough movies to really justify spending on a Netflix subscription and the idea of depending $4.50 on a DVD rental is absolutely preposterous. For $1 + tax I get to watch a DVD--a just price for someone who watches movies as infrequently as I do.
...and no, it doesn't run Linux...but it could.
We're all hypocrites. We all have hidden parts, it's the contrast between them that make us more a hypocrite than others
I can go to the Blockbuster store with my online rental packaging and use that to rent 3 new free in-store rentals AND also get 3 more free online rentals (although you pay the monthly fee, blah blah) when the brick and mortar store returns my DVDs. That's right - three online rentals can generate six free rentals in return.
Netflix, can you ever hope to match that?
I'm going to be pissed if my consumer choice is ruined and I can't get the service I get now because of this "competition".
When Netflix is the only show in town, their customers will come to regret it.
--- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
I've had Blockbuster Total Access since right before they started the in-store exchanges. Which I love, by the way - I get to watch the movies I can't get in store, and when I want to rent a movie last-minute, all I have to do is take the envelope into the store and get any rental for free. They even give out a coupon every month for a free in-store rental - or a free game rental, which is what I always use it on. But anyway... When Blockbuster started limiting the number of in-store rentals, it was for new customers only. I got a nice letter from them saying hey, we are upping our prices, and putting a limit on in-store rentals, but since you already had an account with us, your price doesn't go up and you get to keep your unlimited rentals. So anyway, thats why I like Blockbuster over Netflix, and why the parent poster should have kept his/her account, since it wasn't affected by the new policy.
If they had a system where the top items in my queue were in the store when I returned a DVD, it seems that would beat the service I get from Netflix. They don't need to always have MovieC in inventory, but if it is near the top of my queue, they can arrange to have it in stock, then after I rent and return it, they can send it off to wherever else it might be wanted. All the stores in a region could share the less popular movies. And I rent a lot of TV series. You don't even need to look at my queue to know what I will want next since I watch each season in order, and if I like the show, I watch the seasons in order, too. A system like that would easily beat Netflix since the transit time would be shorter.
If you must moderate, please moderate as irrelevent, not something bad, because I'm sure someone will find this interest
No more late fees.
Back in Pullman, WA, I found blockbuster online really helpful. Everything about it was great, and the fact that NetFlix told me Star Trek V (for RiffTrax) was "soon available" and then a week passed without ever sending it didn't help NetFlix's case either. Then I moved to a larger city where all of the blockbusters were franchise within a 100 miles. Their "two night rental" was actually a "next day rental", they had late fees, they stopped accepting blockbuster online's coupons for free game rentals (7.50 to rent a game...), when I did have a free rental coupon, they wouldn't allow me to write down the code and simply present that to them- I had to print it out as well, and finally their selection was worse. When I asked why they were so crappy, they answered "Sorry, you probably were renting from a corporate blockbuster- and all the ones around here are franchise". I quickly canceled my blockbuster online subscription, mostly because I could no longer get a free game rental and because Red Box ($1/night) has come around and proven to both be superior to Blockbuster and Netflix when your primary interest is new releases.
Sadly, within two weeks of showing up, Red Box put the local Movie Gallery out of business, which had been my blockbuster replacement for games. Now I'm not sure where to rent games anymore.
they stopped stocking more then just new release movies in their stores, and not many cases of 'guaranteed to be in stock' new titles. Back before I called it quits for them, I'd make a list of movies I'd wanted to watch. The list would be maybe 8 movies with new releases, old ones, different genera's and NONE of them would be in stock. I'd leave the store empty handed, and for some reason very angry.
Now a days, even if you find the movie you want it's probably only for sale and not to rent.! You're blockbuster, you're telling me I can't rent the used movies you have in stock!
Where do you think the "pirates" get their movies? Netflix makes it cost efficient. Blockbuster does not.
OSGGFG - Open Source Gamers Guide to Free Games
If the studios/distributors would just get ((*^&^ing real on the cost of plastic disks, they could save blockbuster, make more money, slow down piracy. Switch from elaborately packaged boxed discs,and "renting", go to a burn on demand kiosk mode for cheap. For the same loot, customer gets "rent" and "bring back" or "take home and keep". Which would most people choose, either going to the store or doing it through the mail? Blockbuster has the locations already, they could SELL burnt on demand disks slipped into cheap paper sleeves with the title for what they charge for renting now. Popular disks-latest releases and strong demand items- they could have a lot already made up sitting on the shelves. Throw in a few duplicators in the back room or the back of the store, a few kiosks for ordering and browsing for what isn't displayed on the shelves. They could up their inventory space tremendously by going to digital tech and storing ten times the amount of movies they have now and use the on demand service. They might make less per "unit", but selling a lot more "units" they would make more net profit.
I love how "Try as it might, the future of Blockbuster is bleak, at best" and "Sure, the company still enjoys revenue that climb into the billions of dollars" are used in the same sentence. I couldn't define contradiction better if I tried.
I think someone's getting a little carried away. Blockbuster are huge, and they're not just in the US. Calm down and sleep on it.
ilovegeorgebush
Netflix lost me when they started slowing down my shipping. Instead of getting my movies within the next business day like I was supposed to, it would take 7-10 days, which was ridiculous. With blockbuster, I can just take in my movies for a free rental at the local store and they get a 2-5 day extension. I don't really care how long it takes to get my next movie, as long as I have something to watch whenever I like.
If they were to up my charges I would most assuredly abandon the whole rental service altogether. This service is for my convenience, and the moment it becomes inconvenient, either because the price is too high or I don't get movies in a timely manner, it will be dropped. There are plenty of other entertainment options out there.
I have to go with the NYTimes over this blogger on this one, from an earlier story posted on SlashDot http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/16/1250239. Blockbuster is actually beating Netflix at its own game: "By the first quarter this year, after years of outstripping Blockbuster in subscriber growth, Netflix added 480,000 new subscribers while Blockbuster signed up 780,000 new members. And in the second quarter of this year, Netflix, which prides itself on customer loyalty, lost 55,000 customers. Blockbuster added 525,000, bringing its total to 3.6 million."
Blockbuster is just indicative of things to come. Netflix may be riding high now, but as Hollywood slowly embraces digital distribution, its party will eventually end. But for the digital distribution to really take hold, several issues must first be resolved: DRM, broadband access, widely-used media centers, digital distribution services, etc. Of these, broadband availability and speed is the biggest obstacle, especially in the U.S.
:)
The seeds are planted; now they must converge to the point of making physical copies of DVDs and games obsolete. And with oil rapidly approaching $100/barrel, all commodities, even small things like a DVDs and videogames, become more expensive to produce and deliver to consumers. Digital distribution is better insulated from rising commodity prices.
I just don't see the public embracing endless format and retailer wars. Cut out the HD-DVDs, Blu-Rays, Blockbusters, and Netflixes; just download the damn things straight to my future 5TB harddrive
This entire process might take take 10, maybe 15, years, but I wouldn't bet the future on companies like Gamestop, with their high fixed operating costs. Why not cut out them out and sell directly to the consumer, as Steam does? Wii, 360, and PS3 all have online stores that will only expand over the coming years. Hell, Gamestop has practically eliminated its PC game section and makes a lot of its money on used videogame sales. Of course when physical copies of videogames stop being manufactured, it'll be pretty hard to sell used versions, won't it? And it doesn't help that Gamestop, like Blockbuster, pisses off legions of would-be customers through its terrible customer service.
"Barack Obama"
And he's right...
Blockbuster would actually be better off re-discovering itself. In fact, it might do better to sell off it's online service to Netflix and do a partnership where Netflix members could swap their discs. And buy themselves a bit more time.
But I've said for a while brick and mortar DVD rentals is dying. In fact, Netflix's model only has another 5-15 yrs before it goes the same. But Netflix is actively engaged in developing the means for TV on demand in order to keep it's future open.
***
Regarding all of the hoopla over Blockbuster's "Total Access". I once received a $10 giftcard to Blockbuster. So I decided to go rent a couple of movies. Except I had already either seen everything I wanted in the new release section via Netflix or it was out. After over 2 hours in the store I was down to renting "Muppets Wizard of Oz".
In the end I simply bought a used copy of an already seen movie "I, Robot". And that evening I did not get to watch a movie. I had wasting my entire time simply trying to find a movie to watch. I could have gone home and watched my Netflix films.
That one incident proved to me that Blockbuster's "Total Access" was useless to me. Shortly there after Netflix announced the download on demand. Now, when I am out of movies or in a different mood I simply go there. Most availabile films/shows are kind of "B" status. But I can usually find something entertaining to watch in the immediacy.
***
Someone mentioned Red Box. This is really what Blockbuster should do. It's the future of brick'n'mortar rental. In fact, I think Netflix should hook up with Red Box. (Since they're both red.)
Sorry, it was a copy/paste error. I began this post as a response to the blog comments (the guy asking who the next VP in 2008) was going to be.
Forgot to remove it...
"Ron Paul" would be better than Obama though.
I have never used Blockbuster because they require a credit card. I can use a debt card anywhere else but there. Add in lack of an adult section and the amount of floor space dedicated to non-movies (games mostly) and they just don't offer enough non-major releases that would get me to spend money there.
Ascii artist &
> Because, last I checked, the other guys had policies about family values and whatnot.
Maybe 10 years ago. Sure as hell isn't the case now. Got the unrated Requiem for a Dream there years ago. I almost wish I got the edited version.
The bad guy you're looking for now is Wal-mart.
Done with slashdot, done with nerds, getting a life.
blockbuster may be slowing down but its not going anywhere soon, you see there are many people who don't want to have to wait for a movie in the mail, they decide quite often on the spur of the moment hey lets rent a movie tonight, while renting a movie over the net may be convenient there are definitely some latency issues. I would just write this article off as over-hype.
The day I give money to Netflix or Blockbuster is the day my newsgroups access disappears. I pay $30/mo for giganews. With my uni connection, I can get a movie in 5 minutes. It usually takes me longer than that to actually find a movie I want to watch. It really doesn't get more convenient than that. Hell, with the uni connection speed, I can actually stream an HD-DVD or Blu-ray in real time.
what is the impetus for us to jump on the Blockbuster bandwagon?
unless BB undercuts the Netflix price scheme one way or the other, the only advantage they have is the physical store. the stores allow for impulse renting. no wait time. for those times when a rainy day cancels evening plans or someone mentions a movie you've got to see asap you've got a physical store to rent the movie you need right then and there.
a small group at best.
netflix has it locked.
The one thing I use Blockbuster for is if I want a movie *now.* While this is exceedingly rare in my case, this is a role that, right now, only a brick and mortar store can provide. Once sufficient bandwidth is ubiquitous and a good download service is out there, this market, too, will die.
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I find this story hard to believe, because Blockbuster has been doing well and taking over the online market from Netflix because of the simple advantage of also having brick and mortar stores to exchance your movies at, plus the added coupons you get sent every month. Not to mention, blockbuster will have the larger selection. For those not familiar with the rental industry, the movies blockbuster doesn't manage to sell secondhand after their rental life, just sit in a warehouse waiting for action. I would find it extremely hard to believe that Netflix has a larger selection than someone that has been in the buisness for a long time. Plus Hollywood Video/Movie Gallery are pretty much closing down, leaving Blockbuster the dominate force with brick and mortar, which will not be going away for at least 10 years.
I called their bluff and said fine take me to court over $20.
They didn't get that money, and they won't ever be seeing anymore from me. the SMART business move would be to send me a buy one get one free voucher, stating as a sign of good will we are wiping your late fee's and would love to have your business back. THAT would have probably seen me giving them repeat business. Now they get nothing.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
Here is an example timeline of the "No late fees" feature:
* You rent a movie January 1.
* It is due January 8th.
* If you don't return it by January 15th, they assume you are keeping it forever. You get charged the price of the movie.
* If you return it before February 15th, the price of the movie is refunded and you are charged a $1.95 restocking fee.
They make this completely clear when their automated system calls you about your movie being overdue.
I still don't think this lives up to "no late fees," but as they used to charge $4/night for late fees, it could be a lot worse.
(PS. Where is the textile markup option for Slashdot?)
Brought to you by the numbers π, e, and 0x1B.
definitely live in a different area than me. Kiosk at my safeway has under 30 movies, and most are around $3-4. pre netflix I watched 3-4 a month, and had watched every movie I was interested in (that was available) a few years back.
Netflix has a great site, I have rented 300 movies in the last 2 years, and I have 50 movies in my queue. The site has no problem finding new (to me) movies. No more wondering rental stores, or hanging out at a kiosk daily. monthly I visit netflix.com, and imdb.com in seperate tabs, 1 hour max to top off a new list of movies for us. To do anything equivalent at a remote site would require printing the results of the same browsing, and printing the queue, and then hunting for which of them are their.
The assertation that movie studios see fewer dollars as a result of fewer rental copies being purchased is incorrect. Rental companies are charged different fees than consumers - I believe it's typically around $5.00 per disc for a rental DVD of a major Hollywood film, which really isn't too far off from the accumulated costs of materials, production, shipping and handling. In return for this deal, the film studios are offered a percentage of the profits from rental fees. This is infinitely better than the VHS rental licensing scheme, since replacement media can be had for extremely cheap.
This is also an extremely lucrative source of income for Blockbuster, since they are allowed to sell used rental product for (initially) very near the full retail cost of the movie and none of this money is sent back to the film studios. Extremely low-margin and low-risk, which is also why you'll get the till jockeys shoving it down your throat when you're too lazy to drive to Walmart to save a few bucks on a new DVD.
Is it just me, or did the write-up read a whole lot like a "Netcraft confirms it.." post?
Or your crack could just refer to MPAA seeing any kind of non-monopolistic activity as lower profits for them and therefore piracy because their common sense and logic is flawed.
Balderdash!
Are you sure you're talking about the NFLX? I always get my top choice. I schedule new releases. And I have a two business day turn around on movies from when I send them. On value. Netflix sells the long tail. Think of their "Watch Now" as a whole blockbuster store without the new release section. Lots of crap, but it was added as a free service. Add to that the giant DVD selection, the recommender system, the queue, no late fees and you're looking at a huge value. Finally, I would bet that NFLX is cheaper per viewing minute than a kiosk. Ballpark, assuming you keep each DVD for 5 days (5 replacements/month ) On a $16 plan you get 16 hours of watch now, + (3 DVDs x 2hr x 5 replacements) (week per dvd) ~ $0.35 per viewing hour vs. kiosk $0.66-$1.33 (incl. late fees) per viewing hour.
About a year ago we decided to give the online rental thing a try. I signed us up for Blockbuster and Netflix because they both offered a free month to try the service. Twice the movies and I knew I'd be cancelling one, so that was nice.
Anyway, Blockbuster had the edge in the "return to the local store" policy, but of the dozen or so movies we put in our queue, about half were unavailable through Blockbuster. All were available through Netflix. So I decided we would, for the time being, stick with Netflix.
When I cancelled the Blockbuster account, they requested that I explain why I was cancelling. That's fine with me, because if Blockbuster improved their availability, I figured I could switch over. I spent some time putting together a good explanation of why I chose not to do Blockbuster and what they could do to get me to give them another chance. I figured if anyone read those things, they'd appreciate some good feedback.
Well, I hit sumbit, and got a lovely error message: "Please limit your comments to 255 characters."
That did it. I had spent time trying to help Blockbuster understand what they could do to get me as a customer, and I run into a (heretofore unmentioned) limit in how much text I could send. The limit itself was stupid enough (really? 255 bytes is all you're going to spare?) but after I wasted my time writing something for their benefit I decided they could rot in hell.
Netflix has been just fine for me and they've lowered the price a couple times. I wouldn't have gone to Blockbuster regardless, but the price cut is nice anyhow.
Those who are investors will know that Netflix lost 270,000 customers in the 3rd quarter of 2007. That's not good, and it's definitely too early to tell who's winning the battle.
Every time I go into Blockbuster, all I see are a couple hundred copies of the latest straight-to-video abortion. No wonder they're going bankrupt.
Unless, of course, you use Blockbuster Online. Also, since each movie doubles as a free rental if you take the inconvenience to return it to the store, it's probably more cost-efficient.
Of course, you're then restricted by the somewhat lower variety at Blockbuster Online, and further by the much lower variety at any given Blockbuster store.
No easier way to, say, rent the Battlestar Galactica (insert your favorite TV show) DVDs. With some strategy in queuing, you'll basically always have the next one at the ready.
Blockbuster would've had to buy the movies in order to have them sit unsold in a warehouse somewhere. Although I'm sure their back log contains numerous movies, I would find it hard to believe they had been in the habit of purchasing anything outside of their rather homogeneous standard selection until they were forced to compete with Netflix.
Netflix and Blockbuster, both, are in a fight for their lives, but it is Blockbuster that has arrived late to the game Netflix is playing. Their Plywood & Drywall stores are at the same time their greatest asset and their greatest liability.
Can you be Even More Awesome?!
Ridiculous. I tried using Blockbuster's TotalAccess on three different occasions, each time hoping they had addressed the issues I'd had in the past. I never ended up paying for the service and I continue to receive the "Free Trail" passes for TotalAccess.
Their website is AWFUL, I mean really bad. You type in Mel Gibson, it's too DUMB to realize that is an actor, not a movie, and tries its best to come up with a movie name. It also can't handle typos. The last time I tried it, a few months ago, it consistently crashed Firefox. It's also very ugly, slow, and flash intensive. Their rating system sucks, and does not do any of the complex analysis that Netflix does to give you a rating tailored to you, not a global average. Did you ever try contacting Netflix customer care when you were having those issues?
I hate Blockbuster and love Netflix. I hope Blockbuster dies a slow and painful death.
I don't know what you are talking about, Mr. Nay-Saying Anonymous Coward. I have been using Netflix for four years. I use three profiles--one for TV series, one for American movies, and one for foreign movies. I *always* get either the first or second item for all three lists.
I do have my complaints with Netflix, though. The main one is the well-known fact that they throttle disk delivery. I understand why they do it from on economic perspective; but I don't think their practice matches their rhetoric. It annoys me, but not enough to stop. The reality of their service is fair, I think.
isn't a universal opinion.
You know what?
Whoever is the first to have a foreign film section which is
a. In native language
b. As complete as Hollywood section
will get my dollars. There is cinema everywhere - Korea, China, Brazil,
Russia - everywhere; but try finding these movies at Netflix. There will
be a few but for instance some of my favorite 1970's French movies are
not there. Many good movies are indies or equivalent - short run, never
been in wide release type. Again, hard to find. Some movies were dubbed
into other languages. Are these dubbed versions avaliable along with originals?
No.
I speak Russian. Can I find Eisenstein movies on netflix? In Russian?
These guys do not want my dollars so they don't get them.
i'm surprised they survived DVD, not too mention the internet-DIVX-etc.
forget about how often you rent something yourself, how often do you see rental boxes in the wild? 10 years ago they were everywhere. today i might as well just buy the disc for $5. good riddance anyway
Anyone who goes into the store to trade in movies is going to quickly learn that the movies you get from the store come with the renewed burden of LATE FEES.
Yes. That's right. You started renting movies online because of the wonderful no-late-fee world of video rental and when you finally go back because they make it easy to return and get new movies, you find out it's just an excuse to trick you into new late fees.
The funny thing I experienced was, the guys in the store didn't even TELL me there were late fees until I'd completed my instore sign-up and I'd left the store, then went back to ask them if I could rent more than three movies. They told me no so I told them that I'd see it in a month or two and then - only then - did they tell me that the movies had to be back in a week or there'd be fees. I was like - what??? I quit renting from here because of that very thing. They said that it was a program to get people back into the stores, which translated for me to "get people back into the late fees".
Forget Total Access. Blockbuster online isn't bad, but with Netflix and the ability to download movies from the internet, I don't see a pleasant future for them.
I bought the newest Nine Inch Nails CD at WalMart. They usually say 'edited' in the title on the outer label if it's been censored. The NIN album didn't have any marking. Maybe Trent is just reaching middle age...
I was probably one of the few people that enthusiastically supported Blockbuster's "no late fee" policy. "You can keep a movie for a month and only pay $1.25 restocking fee? Awesome!" And it was awesome, especially for video games, until about a month after they instituted the change and it was damn near impossible to find any new release movie or game. I stopped going to BB after my fourth or fifth attempt to rent the same new release and just hit Rogers Video, a well known Canadian chain, and found the movie right away.
As for the no late fee policy, I honestly think it is killing their business. Their main competitor here in Canada, Rogers Video, has a similar no late fee policy but will charge you for the movie after eight days rather than thirty, so people hustle back the movies fairly quickly and thus Rogers is rarely out of movies. Rogers is really the only competition Blockbuster has in Canada, or at least, here in Alberta. If Blockbuster goes broke Rogers would have the video rental market in Canada pretty much locked up, and lack of competition is never a good thing for the consumer.
I use Netflix currently. I want to switch to Blockbuster for one option.. the ability to drop off viewed movies.. when using Netflix I watch tv shows.. the entire season.. it did suck to get episode 2 and 3 before 1.. but that is not my beef.. returns via the mail system suck.. it takes days for them to get it.. then it takes a day to list it as acquired by them.. then it takes a day to ship the next one.. and that one does not usually leave the day it claims.. the next day for most of them.. for the price I still get alot of shows.. but trying to maximize the rentals using the mail service is not a good idea. As long as Blockbuster offers the ability to drop off viewed movies it takes alot of time off the turn around.
Actually for a pirate, Blockbuster is the better deal (not that I have looked into this. I'm legit. Promise.)
For 17.99 a month you get 3 by mail at once, unlimited by mail per month, PLUS you can take them into the store and trade each in for store flicks, and they STILL mail you your next 3.
A pirate could kick ass on volume with Blockbuster. Not that I would ever look at it that way. I'm legit. Promise.
No sig for you!!
Meanwhile, the only thing saving Netflix's ass is the anticompetitive nature of the telecom industry in the US, which causes us to have broadband slow enough to make downloading DVD-quality movies too painful...
That wouldn't matter with a strong BitTorrent like distribution network. The speeds we have today from cable interest are fast enough for streaming 720p Divx video in almost real time.
Until commercial interests embrace network efficient distribution, there will always be enough bottlenecks somewhere to keep online video from being the roaring success it might be otherwise. Even Akami is not enough, not close enough to the user or helpful enough for a given ISP link.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
1st.) The highest level tier for both services is basically the same price, However
2nd.) The blockbuster 500 yards from my apartment, will let me exchange my mail order movies for free ones
3rd.) as a result the best value for my dollar come from blockbuster.
Assuming I can get 3 new movies every 4 days via mail from either service I get 21 (rounding down) movies a month. However, with blockbuster, I get 21 more from the store. 42 movies block buster (approx $0.595 per movie), 21 movies netflix ($1.19/movie).
It's obvious which service will quickly fill up your disk drive while giving you an excellent value.
Looks like it is time to replace your Personality Module. You are a bit to clingy, guess I better replace your fuser to
About a year ago, I stumbled into a forum where film makers were talking about current distribution trends. Apparently, Netflix is considered a major distribution venue, and is quite profitable for films that normally wouldn't see a wide distribution. Some independant filmmakers see Netflix as a godsend.
There was some discussion on some of Netflix's constraints; Netflix will only carry DVDs that are at least 1 hour in length. This causes some documentary producers to stick 10-15 minutes of filler into a special edit for Netflix.
No, I will not work for your startup
the gee-wiz factor with the Netflix service left me luke-warm. I'll give them credit for shifting the paradigm, but sometimes you just want to browse movies and pick up something THEN, you know, when you're in the mood for it. The in-store exchange kind of gives you the best of both worlds and I've had nothing but good luck with the queue/delivery. And I don't think *either* have my best interests at heart. Just one that works better for me until digital downloads are a reality (sans goofy protection).
Quack, quack.
I like to think there are enough people out there like myself who detest steam. Why do I need to be connected to the internet to play a single player game? Why am I going to pay full price to dl a game? If I'm paying full price I want a disc, manual(preferably color) and some fancy box art.
:)
Do we need Gamestop? Nah. But I'm not paying for digital only distribution. Give me my pretty box and disc please
"There is no real right or wrong, just what the majority accepts at the time."
Blockbuster could make a huge comeback. I really believe it.
I think their total access program is awesome. I have tried all the services (Netflix, Blockbuster, Walmart). Netflix just delivered the best service. I move every 3 months for my schooling and internship program (Kettering University, formerly GMI, which goes on a 3 month school/3 month internship schedule). The best service, as it comes to delivering movies is certainly Netflix.
I haven't been subscribed for a few terms, but decided that I'd go back to Netflix this term. So , they've delivered the #1 pick on my queue everytime. I guess if you have some weird stuff it might not come in a timely manor, but it hasn't affected me. Even the indie movies I watch come on time.
I don't really know why I chose Netflix over Blockbuster. Being able to pick up a movie in store is really a good feature, but the better interface and recomendation system won.
I made the choice while intoxicated, I am typing it intoxicated as well. Maybe that explains the lack of objective judgement.
Netflix's internet streaming would be 100% cooler if it wasn't tied to Windows. I am running Ubuntu on my laptop... if I could play it here..... Netflix would be god.
Another thing bound to eventually kill most rental chains is how so many seem to keep discs for as long as possible, long after they're scratched up to all hell and partially encased in strange crusts. It's not just a matter of speed, it's a matter of quality.
I just read Slashdot for the articles.
My wife and I opened a new account at the Blockbuster where we had just moved. We rented a movie a few times and returned them on time. Once, we returned the movie late, dropped it in the slot after closing time on the day it was due. Ok, no problem, I knew I'd have to pay the $2.95 late fee when we rented the next time.
Well, 2 weeks went by and we didn't rent a movie (oh noes). At the end of the 2nd week, I got a letter in the mail from Blockbuster informing me of the late fee on my account and asking me to come in and pay the $2.95, threatening me with a collection agency. So, I did. And I haven't given Blockbuster a fucking dime since.
That was in 1997. Yes, I hold a grudge.
But, screw them. Don't threaten me for $2.95 late fee that I've only owed for 2 weeks and was going to pay anyway. I hope that company dies and I don't really care how it happens.
Their hidebound corporate culture prevents the use of common sense. Several years ago, my wife rented a movie from Blockbuster that she promptly lost. Three months later, she found it again, and we returned it. By that time, our fees had run up to nearly $100. Blockbuster wouldn't allow us to rent again until we paid the fee. So we just switched to a local movie rental store. Two or three years later, I found myself again inside Blockbuster, but again, I couldn't rent a movie without paying the years-old fee. No amount of discussion or logic would sway the manager - that we had made a mistake, we had returned the movie, we had been using a competitor's services ever since, that they could decide to have our future business or send us back to the competitor forevermore, but either way, we weren't going to pay the $100 fee. The manager said that he couldn't/wouldn't dismiss the fee and that we couldn't rent from Blockbuster without paying for it, etc. At that time, Netflix was just gathering momentum. But on that day, I knew that Blockbuster was destined for a death spiral. They could have had our continued business if they had just been willing to let logic prevail and set aside a hidebound corporate policy, but they preferred not to. Even a few yeas later, when they announced their "no late fees" policy, they wouldn't make it retroactive. I wonder how many other stupid policy decisions turned away customers that they so dearly need now.
I was a Blockbuster customer for about 5 years.
... AND JOINED NETFLIX!
:)
Blockbuster's problem in my opinion is that they aren't trustworthy. It started with the rentals due back at noon regardless of when I rented them. If I rent a DVD at 11pm it should be due back by 11pm not NOON! If I return a DVD at 1pm and someone else rents it that day I shouldn't have to pay a damn late fee. In several cases their lazy clerks didn't scan them back in and I had to argue with them to get the late fees taken off. They eventually ended the late fee BS when they were sued. In my opinion If I sign up for something for a certain price that is automatically deducted from my checking account they shouldn't be changing the price without my authorization less than a year later; they did it THREE times with three different deals.
When they came out with the rewards program where you'd get credit for rentals that would give you free movie rentals I thought it was great... until they jacked up the price without my approval; I cancelled it immediately.
Next they had the unlimited DVD rental for a fixed price.. it was great.. No late fees!... until they jacked up price without my approval; I cancelled it immediately.
The next year they launched Blockbuster online... this time I resisted joining right away since I didn't trust them to hold their end of the deal... but I eventually signed up when the lure of renting more movies became unresistable. It was great and being able to return movies to Blockbuster and exchange them for movies in the store was fantastic. Then less than a year later I heard through the grapevine that they would be raising the price and sent their customer service an email letting them know that if they raised the price of my service they'd lose me as a customer forever. A month or so later they raised the price without my authorization AGAIN... I cancelled the service immediately
I haven't set foot in the Blockbuster store since and WON'T EVER AGAIN.
They lost my trust and my $$ forever. I hope they go out of business
I recently watched the entire third season of The Office on Netflix with the Watch Instantly option. The video was crystal clear on my computer, and the sound was great, too. I have also used Watch Instantly to watch two movies on Netflix. Netflix seems to have a better selection than Blockbuster, too, so I don't mind if Netflix continues to grow, while Blockbuster loses ground. I have a broadband connection with Time Warner's cable modem so I don't have any connection problems when using the Watch Instantly feature. Later, Mark
When I can get movies on my PC 'instantly' or have them mailed within 2 to 3 days, why waste time with blockbuster (lackluster)? I went to a local blockbuster, that is about a 15 min walk, when I was looking for the movie 'Premonition', and it was completely out. This was about 3 days after the initial release. I went back 5 times over about a week and a half before it was in stock. They used to have a deal where if it was not on the shelf, they would give you a free rental, but they don't have the progame at the one near me anymore. I finally got smart and decided to take my business elsewhere. blockbuster - if you are reading this, consider it the 'writing on the wall'.
It seems a bit unfair to blame all of this on Netflix. What about Digital Cable's On-Demand? It seems a lot more convenient to order and watch a movie from your couch, for a similar price as Blockbuster offers.
Blockbuster screwed me out of $20 by messing up a movie return. They said I never returned it, then found it, but charged $20 to my credit card for a late fee. Talking to the manager did nothing to remove the charge and with their high prices and even higher late fees I swore I would never set foot in one again. That was 10 years ago. Glad to see their demise continue.
Media companies charge more for rental copies - usually over $100. So $135 for replacement cost was very likely accurate (although perhaps they should have prorated it since they have to replace worn copies). I don't know if rental copies are specially marked. If not, you could have bought a personal copy and offered it as the replacement.
Blazing fast usenet access and alt.binaries.hdtv movie downloads are killing netflix!
I used to rent movies all the time... Now? Not so much. It started years ago with DVD rips... Then it progressed to just downloading whole DVD ISO images... Now? Next-gen DVD rips or HDTV rips of stuff in HD.
The only problem now, is that unlike before, I can't go out and BUY a movie I like enough to keep, because HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players are still stupidly expensive.
MPAA: That's my real name, bitches. Come and get me, since you seem hell-bent on destroying all movie sales once and for all.
Friend: "The NIC is misconfigured..." Me: "No prob, I'll just telnet in and fix it." *Silence*
See the subject line.
I am willing to bet that your kiosk may have 1 of the dozens of videos that I have rented from Netflix. The selection is wonderful, far greater than Blockbuster. And searching for videos is easy.
The DVDs are always working and relatively scratch-free (something I can not say of Blockbuster).
I do not have to go to the store to get the video.
No late fees.
The main one is the well-known fact that they throttle disk delivery.
... they lost.
Yeah, there was a lawsuit over that, as I remember
But I have Netflix too, and I agree with you: the GP is either full of it or just had extremely bad luck. I've had them for only six months or so, but have never failed to have the next three movies in the queue show up. Once they were about four days late, but that's not too bad (I mean, we're just talking about movies here not prescription meds or something like that.) The rest of the time it's about three days from when I drop the discs off and get the next ones.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Change happens. It's the nature of the universe. People whining that things need to stay the way they are need to grow up. I don't care if you're Santa Clara developers having to compete against Mumbai developers, or Blockbuster having to compete against Netflix. Adapt or die.
Change happens. When I was a kid there were no video stores, DVD or VHS or Beta. I remember when they came in. Remember when it was a choice between Beta and VHS, and later when Beta users bitched about how unfair change was. I remember when there was a choice between VHS and DVD, and later when VHS users bitched about how unfair change was. And I then there's now when there's a choice between understocked stores with rude clerks and convenient online rental services, and how the bitching is starting.
Video stores are not that old. I'm not going to cry over their disappearance.
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
Blockbuster is also being killed by how incredibly expensive it is!
I was amazed when I went to Family Video for the first time a few weeks ago. New movies are $2.60 for 5 nights ($4.50 or so at Blockbuster). Older movies and newer TV shows are $1 for 5 nights!
But the biggest difference is games: $3 for 1 night, $4 for 2 nights, $5 for 5 nights with Family Video, $8 for 5 nights at Blockbuster.
Ouch.
The only real shower in Canada that compares to Netflix is Zip.ca, which is astronomically expensive ($25 / month???) compared to Netflix.
Canadian postage is not more than US postage, DVDs are not more, so I don't get why they feel justified charging so much more.
The part of the movie where Tarantino's character was shot was removed, I remember that for a fact (this was about 10 years ago) and I think there were other minor changes.
It's not just "unlucky".
Blockbuster has a problem with sloppy employee training. My experience with them is that they are extremely sloppy. Going to Blockbuster means risking being abused.
I live in a small town (about 6000 people) in rural NE Okla. and have Blockbuster Online. The nearest place for me to go to a BB store for the Total Access is either Grove (50min) or Claremore (40min) to trade. Sending movies in, however, goes to Tulsa and they arrive at BB the next day, and we get movies the day after they ship out. Netflix's closest center is in Dallas I believe, and takes a while. My mother-in-law has Netflix (also in our town) and it sucks. On top of that, the online movies I've seen them have on their site have all been pretty old. I think I'll stick with BB until they go out of business. No need to switch to something that sucks any sooner than necessary!!