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Netflix Subscriber Base Eclipses Comcast's
NicknamesAreStupid writes "Netflix just announced its earnings and claims to have more subscribers than Comcast. 'Netflix's global subscriber base grew almost 70% over the past year, to 23.6 million users. ... More than 7% of Americans now subscribe to Netflix.' Does that go to show how great Netflix really is or, well, you know?"
Netflix ISP
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
obviously, netflix is the far superior value to what most cable companies offer.
Netflix isn't sucking about $2K/year out of me like Comcast.
---Technology will liberate us if it doesn't enslave us first.
It's a different format, but I'm liking the Redbox thing. It's handy and inexpensive, and importantly - commitment free. If you're going to do a rental and it's in your area, give it a try. The website will tell you what movies are available in your area, and which box to get it from. You can return the movie to any box. DVD's are $1, Blu-Ray is $1.50 (per day). If you don't bring the movie back they just ding your card a reasonable retail price and you're done. I hear they're considering video games as well. It's credit card only though.
/obviously no, I don't work for Redbox.
And yeah, Netflix is kicking butt. They're coming to some large numbers though and the studios are on to them now. They're going to see increasing friction. It remains to be seen if they can see it through. I hope they do well. I also hope they release an Android client.
Help stamp out iliturcy.
all this streaming video will force Comcast to raise their monthly limit. 250gb per month might be a lot for some, but not for a house full of video watchers...
I'll take 8 bucks a month (just to subscribe) from 7% of the US, thanks.
Watch as Comcast and other ISPs claim how much HD film watchers are "degrading the quality of their networks".
The problem today is that at least in the US most broadband providers are TV providers also. The telecos who don't have a TV network have even gotten on board with "bundles" including DirecTV and Dish. They are smarter than consumers give them credit for though. You might think your poor service is proof of their incompetence- your wrong... sooo wrong. They will do anything to maintain a baseline of service that is merely tolerable because raising the bar costs them money and frankly where the hell will you go? To the other massive evil teleco/cable, overpriced wireless (3G/4G) or satellite? Dial-up perhaps? Of course not, they've got you buy the nuts. So expect Comcast's already pathetic 250 gig limit (even for 100$ monthly subscribers BTW) to go down (in GB per month), AT&T and Verizon are sure to follow (shocking!!). In the end, if they have their way, you will be able to watch Netflix, but it will cost in bandwidth fees nearly as much as it would cost to rent- with their respective pay-per-view fees. With today's government oversight and teleco mentality could it end any other way?
Netflix is a great STEP in the right direction...
I'm far from alone in saying -- until we can access content, on AND offline, from any device, and for a reasonable price -- entertainment industry is far from where it needs be!
I'm sure Netflix had a jump in subscribers over their streaming service, and 4.99/mo for unlimited on demand movies/tv shows is a lot nicer than a Comcast TV subscription fee + pay per view movies fee + advertising. With the flexibility of internet streaming eliminating advertising and pay per view crap, its nice to see the numbers supporting this.
I'm not fan of \any plug-in that makes compatibility harder with non so called "mainstream" OS's, but I do use an occasional utilize Mac or PC when at a friends's home to watch a film and can't help but notice it seems like the only use for MS Silverlight on the planet. If nothing else 7%+ of American PC's with Silverlight installed is pretty big for a product that has thus far felt like a massive failure. I can't for the world of me see how Adobe, Apple, or even Real or one of the other plug-in pushers didn't secure this deal.
Why is it available on iPhone then?
They'd have probably been sued by the movie industry if they tried to "Rent" movies online if they didn't do a physical DVD rental first. Even if they had one copy per every movie they rented out, they'd still probably would have been sued and lost.
God spoke to me.
Reed Hastings is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Netflix. He also sits on the Microsoft Board of Directors. This may - or may not - have anything to do with why you can't get an Android Netflix viewer client. But those below who would complain should be aware of this.
Ahh, that explains why I can't get an iPhone or iPad viewer... oh wait....
Netflix is only available in the US & Canada. How can they have a global subscriber base?
Indeed 7% is amazing. Just based on how many markets there are in the US with their own media and commercials it is impressive. I doubt AT&T or Verizon are much over double that and they are damn near required for most people these days.
I have no cable service and watch Netflix almost exclusively (plus some over the air channels), but Comcast still gets 4 times more money from me than Netflix because they provide my high speed internet.
I wouldn't be surprised to find that Comcast earns more profit from me as a internet-only subscriber than they would if I were a cable subscriber.
He also sits on the Microsoft Board of Directors. This may - or may not - have anything to do with why you can't get an Android Netflix viewer client.
Microsoft isn't any less evil now then it ever was, the only difference is that everybody else in tech has out evildoer'ed them. I'll take a ruthless, 'cut off the air supply' any day over 'do no evil' adverts.
If you make $72k per year at 2000 hrs (5-day week) your time is worth 1 cent per second. Every time you glance at a youtube popup ad that's a penny. Every time you sit though a hulu 45-second add break that's half a dollar of useful work that's been robbed from you. Adverts (ie 99.9% of Big Google's revenue) is just a way to trick you into working for peanuts. Kind of like an MMO adverts make it 'fun' to work for the man. At $8 a month netflix is a steal compared to advert television, and not having to support an advert-funded OS like Andriod is just bonus.
I, like many others dropped Comcast Cable like the flaming turd it was a couple years ago and went with Digital Antenna + Tivo for HD local network broadcast. I still use Comcast for my internet connection via Comcast Business, but hey.. that's a tax write-off. They give me decent enough upstream (10Mbps) that I can host servers, and higher than advertised downstream (I usually get about 24Mbps) with no bandwidth throttling.
HBO is run by shitheads who pretend that P2P lawsuits are an effective deterrent and somehow think their offering is enough to keep people bound to Comcast Cable. Well HBO: FUCK YOU AND FUCK YOUR GO SERVICE.
I pirate HBO's shows because HBO wont let me get their shows with an iTunes purchase, they wont put them on Netflix and they seem to think I'll happily bend over and let them and Comcast have their way with my anal sphincter. But I wont -- the shitfest that is Cable TV is not worth $100.00 a month. So fuck you HBO and fuck your GO service. I hope you and Comcast and Viacom die the painful and agonizing death you deserve
Oh don't worry, the same companies that control TV also control our internet, and how much of a "Netflicks surcharge" we have to pay. And what the caps are set at. I'm sure they'll do fine for themselves; it's amazing what board position can do to hold back innovation; look at MSFT.
93rd rule of Slashdot: No matter how obvious my sarcasm is, my comment will be taken seriously by someone.
Microsoft fears Android (Linux) far more than permaniche apple products.
Apple will never unleash mass market versions of their products, Linux has and will. That's Microsoft's territory and it scares the fuck out of them to be replaced as the default OS.
It's already happening though, the Desktop market is their last stand... they've lost everywhere else.
Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
A few weeks back, I finally got around to sending back the DVD that I had been holding for about the last six months, having never once been hassled, harassed, or charged extra by Netflix for holding onto it for so long. Two days later, Netflix let me know that they had sent me film X from my DVD Queue.
"Hmm," I said to myself. "Wasn't X #2 on my queue? Well, no matter, I must be confused since I was rearranging it the other day."
Before film X had even arrived, Netflix notified me that X had been my #2, but that they had tracked down a copy of film Y, which was the actual #1 on my queue, and as a result, they would go ahead and send me a copy of that as well, despite the fact that I only had the plan that allows for one DVD at a time. They sent it out at no extra charge to me, and the two arrived on back-to-back days. It was great. It may have been a simple thing, but I hadn't had a company treat me so well in quite awhile. Despite that, it was the sort of thing that seemed natural with Netflix, since everything they do is so oriented around the customer.
It was with great sadness that I temporarily suspended my account the day after sending the videos back, since I needed to spend less time viewing films in my Instant Queue and more time on my graduate research. Even in that however, Netflix was great and continues to be great. They let me suspend it for up to three months, charge me nothing during that time, allow me to manage my queues and rate movies while my account is suspended, don't harass me to come back, and give me immediate access to a button for if I do want to close my account entirely. Compare that to Facebook, which makes deactivating your account a chore, places access to the feature in an out of the way location in your settings, only offers to deactivate but not delete your account, and swindles you into reactivating it if you simply log in.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to being done with my research and back in the embracing arms of Netflix in a few months. Chalk me up as a fanboy.
As for a story of great customer service from Comcast...
Umm...
Yeah, I got nothing. My latest experience with them involved 2-5 minute Internet outages that happened a few times every hour while I was visiting with my parents for the Easter holiday. I'm glad Comcast doesn't have a stranglehold over my area yet.
Because Apple is Apple. Apple does not take on Microsoft territory, they do their own stuff and dont care about the other ecosystems. Yes, they are big, but they are a niche and are happy with their (quite big) niche. Android, on the other hand, is what microsoft used to be, a platform open for business from both hardware and software partners and everybody else who want to mess with it. Microsoft failed to be microsoft in mobile and came up trying to be Apple with Ms WinPhone7. Under the hood, the philosophy of Ms is similar to AT&T, a crumbling monopoly trying to regain their past strongholds to be itself again. Microsoft do not own the Operating System market anymore, nor does it own the office document viewing market (it still own the authoring part of this market).
that's why Ms exec hate Android deeply and dont care about Apple as long as Apple dont try to rob their stronghold. After all, Apple has so much success creating new ones that it doesn't need to push for the old ones.
To be fair there is a Win Phone 7 version and iOS (which has lots of MS apps thus far). I wouldn't scream fuck MS, but at the same time providing a Win7 Phone client before Android does suggest something. Perhaps the GP is biased, but reality doesn't seem too far off.
Well the iPod was/is pretty mass market...
This may surprise you, but there's also Office for the Mac. And there was once Internet Explorer, too.
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
They've explained why...:
The hurdle has been the lack of a generic and complete platform security and content protection mechanism available for Android. The same security issues that have led to piracy concerns on the Android platform have made it difficult for us to secure a common Digital Rights Management (DRM) system on these devices. Setting aside the debate around the value of content protection and DRM, they are requirements we must fulfill in order to obtain content from major studios for our subscribers to enjoy.
So, yeah...it has nothing to do with it.
"Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos!"
These is no Netflix client because DRM is hard to impossible on Fragmented Open Source Android. Apple and Microsoft have protected video paths. They either have to relicense content to stream DRM free, or come up with a solution on a phone by phone basis to meet the DRM requirements of the content agreements.
Comcast is a regional cable provider. Netflix is nationwide. A little bit of bias there. If you want something more accurate, add up subscribers from Cablevision, Time Warner Cable, and whatever else people use.
I routinely watch Netflix streams via 5 different devices, and not one of them requires MS Silverlight. I view on an AppleTV, a Tivo HD, an iPad, an iPod Touch, and occasionally a Wii.
This is not the big win for Silverlight you think it is. This is proof that Netflix streaming is being built into more and more consumer devices. If the only way I could view their streams was via my PC, I wouldn't bother... I'd just stick with the disc mailers.
Has anyone else had a problem with netflix service lately? I had their service for the last year and a half and it worked great, up until about 2 or 3 weeks ago, now it won't play on anything i own without re buffering every 2 minutes. So needless to say, I've dropped their shitty service and i now use amazon and hulu plus.I haven't had a single problem yet with either of them, no re buffering EVER! Plus it's only an extra $4.00 a month for both services.
That 7% statistic appears to be taken from dividing the number of subscriptions by the population. In fact it should be divided by the number of households. The real number is likely higher.
I have a netflix client on my android phone. It doesn't work for viewing as it's a pre-release version but you can alter your list. That being said there IS a Netflix client for Android.. it's just not released yet, as other's have said.. due to the DRM issue.
Just for the reason that I do have Comcast. And I do agree they will probably lower the GB cap eventually, and when/if they do, I will just stop streaming and go back to DVDs. Either ripping or buying. You know, like the old days. Or maybe Netflix will start their own ISP, or buy Comcast.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your politician, and hitting them?"
OMG!!! You're right! I'll never sleep again!! I'm bleeding money with every sleeping moment!!
Get a grip on your reality HUMAN. You're a biological machine that needs certain balances to remain healthy and this includes distractions and the time it takes to have them.
I block advertising in every way including simply not watching TV.
So, when does Comcast accuse Netflix of acting like a monopoly?
Yeah, I too would tend to blame the short-sighted content rights holders for this. It took how long before digital music opened up? We should expect at least as long for video if not more. DVDs are still encrypted as are BluRay. They don't see the harm in encrypted media... not even a little bit. And video isn't used the same way as music -- people do other things while listening to music. Video usually requires [or expects] full attention.
There's an interesting question to ask Netflix: How does the Netflix subsciber base break down, in terms of devices used? It would be interesting to see...
* Just how many people don't use a web browser to watch Netflix instant streaming?
* How many people only stream by computer, and not using any other platform?
* How many people bought a PS3 for Netflix, and the games, but eschew Blu-Ray?
* How many people don't use Netflix instant streaming at all?
Riiight, you want to know the REAL reason why Linux doesn't have (and never will have) a Netflix client? Two reasons: #1 No kernel level DRM is allowed, ala Janus which is supported by both MSFT and Apple and which IIRC Netflix uses, and #2 because you have Linus "We don't need no steenkin plans!" Torvalds going Goatse on the kernel whenever he gets a bug up his ass.
So that means you either hand out your code, which in the case of Netflix would have a "Razr1911 fuck teh man LOL!" edition less than a week later, or they "pull an Nvidia" and pay a whole team of developers round the clock to deal with everytime Torvalds breaks every damed thing with one of his wild hairs.
Free as in freedom has a price my friend, and as long as you have the one two punch of no kernel DRM and Linus "Plans? What are they?" Torvalds you can give it up on ever getting Netflix. But cheer up, maybe Torvalds will retire and then you get someone to actually run it like a multimillion dollar project (can you imagine going to YOUR boss and saying "we don't need no plans!" on a multimillion dollar project? Can you say fired?) and then instead of having to keep a development team you'll actually have "write once, use for years" like Apple and MSFT (and Solaris, and BSD, and OS fricking 2) have had for over a decade.
Oh and BTW, before anyone brings up the LinuxTM "StableKernelABINonsense" you might want to actually look up the post against a stable ABI and you will see that is was/is completely POLITICAL in nature. The author went so far as to actually call anyone who doesn't have all their code over to the tender mercy of the kernel devs "leeches" and hoped their devices were Goatse'd quickly. Meanwhile Linux has yet another "killer app" that it can't use while its competitors CAN. How many honestly think you are gonna get any of those people to switch to Linux now?
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
Can someone please explain to me why this can't be done in the same way that flash does drm? I mean, I am unaware of any way to rip Hulu streams (which rely only on flash). Is it the lack of some flash-like drm libraries globally available on Android?
These is no Netflix client because DRM is hard to impossible on Fragmented Open Source Android.
You're talking out of your ass again, stop it. Your entire post is nothing but a pile of Troll bullshit, it's not even remotely accurate and if you had ANY knowledge of programming you'd realize how stupid you just made yourself look.
Yeah, before the online streaming,I'd cancelled my account with them. Only sent an email every 3+ months, not two a week like some (Hi dell). No hassles, no deluge of spam. Compare that to trying to drop one of three radios on XM, took thrree calls into a 45+ minute hold queue, two dropped calls, by the time I was done, cancelled them all... No XM/Serious ever again.
Michael J. Ryan - tracker1.info
Why's it even an issue? Who's going to take this path to 'piracy'?
If you had the knowledge and means to save the stream, you wouldn't bother.
This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
Your comparison to facebook is somewhat off base. Since you don't pay anything, its hard to say they're 'swindling' you by reactivating your free account when you log into it. Also, since you're not paying anything you're not thier customer. You're the product they sell to other people.
Mod point free since 2001
Wtf is going on with the mindless cheer leading. Am I the only slash dot reader with a basic grasp of fundamentals research into companies. The main reason they have been so successful is that they managed to snare most ofof their content licenses at low low rates because the studios thought they were cute and harmless. most of their agreements expire this or next year. I hate big content as much as you all but let's be realistic the war has just begun and big content has a fuckload of cards left
they will raise the caps at the same time introducing a new pricing structure that just happens to be the equivalent to buying internet and cable TV from them.
Just a note about how screwed up Comcast is
When I wanted basic cable (local channels and some chaff) it was a royal pain to get this from Comcast at the price shown on their internet site. I called the number on my bill and was told it was $23.95 for basic cable though their website showed $12.95. After trying two levels of phone support I initiated a contract for basic cable using their online chat. The people on the phone told me the web price was wrong or not available in my area but I have the service at the web price
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
really, this shouldn't worry Comcast tho.... everybody with netflix has to have some kind of internet connecton and by in large, high speed data takes less time to recover profitability than cable tv on an install and the total profitability on HSD is more than cable and phone products combined... everybody wins. Last year Time Warner (as an example) lost subscriber base in its video products but still managed to turn a larger profit than the previous year because it expanded its HSD product. Its all in how you look at this. Now if Netflix were to suddenly start providing internet service to go along with streaming video service then the cable companies would have something to worry about. Honestly i think that cable company's by in large have more to worry about from the emerging 3G and 4G markets than from netflix, or other streming video services. As i said its all in how you look at it. What I don't see talked about much here is how inflated netflix has made the streaming video market. as an example the 9ish bucks a month they charge a month is very high considering that most cable companies practically give away nearly 70% of their streaming video product, pay per view aside most streaming video channels on cable come as a sidecar to selling the accompanying product. Don't get me wrong Netflix is a fabulous product and I am a subscriber but it seams a little preemptive to call the cable company's on the decline here.... specifically when you consider the other markets they continue to expand in such as phone, alarm systems and wireless.
Unfortunately most new movies are horrible.
Yeah, that's my problem with Redbox: the selection is limited to newer titles. I'm saving up a list of movies that I want to see but aren't in Redbox (no longer or never were) so that I can make the most of Netflix once I join.
See? The free market works! USA! USA!
Unicasting content is insanely wasteful.
You give the example of ESPN, and I agree that some form of multicasting is better for live streams where everybody is watching the same scene at the same time. But unicasting is the only way I can see to stream a recorded program on demand and make it seekable (skip/pause) without the half-hour start delays inherent in the sort of pseudo-on-demand seen on satellite TV.
The US can be as retarded as they will on cable/dsl monopolies, but the rest of the world isn't going to stop.
How easily can the rest of the world absorb 300 million refugees from U.S. retardation?
Leggo! I can't afford new ones!
One proposal to that dilemma which I have read is to make it illegal to both sell internet access directly to residential consumers and own backbone or content.
I'd like to see a good definition of "content" first. If "content" includes any copyrighted audiovisual work, then any residential ISP will own "content", even if it is only the advertisements for its own service.
I didn't say I don't download TV shows after they have aired. ;)
I subscribe to Comcast because they offer the best broadband service in my area. I use Netflix because it's better than Comcast's on-demand service. I wonder how many Netflix subscribers rely on a Netflix competitor.
"Apple will never unleash mass market versions of their products, Linux has and will."
1999 called, they want their quote back.
Ever heard of the iPod? iPhone? iPad? I think those are all mass market versions. How's the Linux mp3 player doing? Or Linux tablets? Even Android phones are just barely competing with iPhones despite having being offered by every carrier and having dozens of models and being free.
Android loves to say "Look, we're beating the iPhone!" but how hard is that when you pay people to take your product? I could beat Walmart's sales in no time if I was paying people $25 to take a new LCD and underwear.
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
on that logic, why is it (NetFlix) on PS3 and the Wii? they tred on MSFT's ground and have NetFlix too.
Am I the only one that read "or, well" as "Orwell"? Netflix's rise is great and all, but if we all jump on the Netflix boat, Big Brother will just hop on as well. Tinfoil hats, anyone?
...you mean how the Linux variant known as Tivo doesn't have a Netflix client?
No. This whole "no kernel level DRM" nonsense is just a smoke screen. Clearly there are netflix supported platforms that don't conform to the Vista model. So obviously there are other things at work.
Just as with many similar corporate statements, they are just BS to hide the company's real intentions.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
Not only that, but Microsoft Office started out on the Mac. It was ported to Windows/rewritten for Windows.
Apple will never unleash mass market versions of their products
Hi, you must be a time-traveler from the 90's. Welcome to the 21st century. Please enjoy your stay.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
My fear is that Comcast will see Netflix as a competitor and that a large number of Netflix customers go through Comcast for their broadband. Comcast has the lobbying power so I expect Comcast to start doing every dirty deed they can to make Netflix harder for customers to access.
In the mean time, Comcast is reducing the number of stations available. They keep moving stations from basic cable to digital cable to digital premium, etc. Then they try to sell you up to the next level of service.
sometimes.. I feel we just live and think what tech companies want use to... who cares about a darn android or a iOS when you can open your $500 (laptop) + $150 (Office 2010) and get along with your chores.. Open couple of browsers, IE 9 and a Chrome.. do your job.. pay your bills and shut down your laptop in 30 mins.. who wants a tiny tot iPhone screen to read a document or a presentation.. seriously have we completely lost it in a rat race for OS, which are still not even 25% of what a XP was
Maybe it's just that I don't watch much TV, but I never opted for cable or DVRs. The future always seemed destined to be "everything on-demand, from the web". No one would voluntarily *want* to be tied to a viewing schedule, so (except for breaking news and live sports) why should we be?
Koans and fables for the software engineer
Which is more likely. That netflix is antagonistic toward android out of some vendetta, or that netflix is afraid of Google and their ability to marginalize netflix at some point?
Because that's what their contracts likely say, and it doesn't matter if no one would bother if the contract says "you must do X", then you have to do X if you want to do whatever the contract is giving you the rights to.
'sides, Comcast is a bloody canonized saint compared to my last ISP - a regional cable provider, who took a line from Vader and repeatedly altered the terms of my service agreement, and insisted I should pray they didn't alter them further.
I can't say my regional cable provider has repeatedly changed the terms of service, but since a few months ago, their upstream connection will randomly drop out for 10-15 seconds at a time.
Which is hell on online gaming.
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
From the Netflix site, a break down of the devices that support streaming:
Game consoles: PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
Stand-alone media devices: AppleTV, Logitech Revue, Roku, FreeAgent Theater+, Sony Dash, Sony NMP, WD TV, Boxee, Tivo
Select Blu-ray players from: Insignia, LG, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Yamaha, Vizio
Select HDTVs from: LG, Samsung, Sanyo, Sony, Vizio, Panasonic
Handheld devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Windows Phone 7
Home theater systems from: Insignia, LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony
And more are announced every month, it seems. But just looking at game consoles, most households with internet service and someone under 30 probably have at least one of them..
Netflix having so many customers demonstrates a viable business model. One that has more or less destroyed the Blockbuster empire. I would have no problem with being a Netflix customer myself, except that Netflix still demonstrates they have no desire for DEAF customers. They insist on pretending that Closed Captioning is an arcane and difficult technology to implement.
So, while I applaud Netflix for their massive customer base, I do NOT welcome these Netflix overlords, because they insist on treating me as a second class citizen. Shape up, Netflix!
Aternatively, Netflix could use some of their billions to pay MS to create a mini-port of Silverlight to Android sufficient to play the videos. Porting their existing video player seems to have worked fine for Adobe with Flash. That would be pretty easy and would include the DRM bits that the content providers want.
If only "common" sense was actually that common...
1999 called
OMG, did you warn them about 9/11?!?!
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Bullshit. Even with a pirated Netflix app, you'd still have to log in to your Netflix account - there's no way to break that.
And if you're using a pirated, DRM-broken Netflix app to rip media - well, why would you do that in the first place? You can almost always torrent it hours after it shows up on TV or days after it shows up in theaters, and there won't be missing episodes like in the Netflix streams.
Their stated reason is because the Android ecosystem is too fragmented and too insecure. The fragmentation would required them to test their app on dozens of platforms. Security is a major concern of the content providers.
This is a boring sig
Apple is getting their asses handed to them and it's not because of an Amazon promotion. Besides, if someone wants to give me a good deal on a phone that doesn't require Grampy Steve's seal of approval, why is that a bad thing?
Customer Service, which Netflix actually cares about, is one of the main reasons why I continue to espouse their greatness. Compared to the other digital entertainment providers, Netflix is a Knight in Shining Armour.
We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
Netflix is one of the only big companies that still uses POPUPS and POP-UNDERS to advertise. We despised all companies that used those in the past. Why support them now?
Nope, but did tell them to stock up on booze, ammo, and busty chicks for Y2K. Is gonna' be a hell of a party.
I drank what? -- Socrates
Since you don't pay anything [...] You're the product they sell to other people.
If I'm the product they sell, then I would say that I'm giving something up, and giving something up for a service is the very definition of paying for it. The account may not have a credit card attached to it that gets charged each month, but it's hardly free to use. I'd say "swindle" was the right word, but I will readily admit my bias.
I think it is inevitable and probably already happening that service like Netflix and Hulu become throttled or limited by bandwidth... it would seem a logical business move for these type high throughput services to just skip the Comcasts and Time Warners and just start their own ISP services. THAT would be some competition...
You're exactly right. Although, I'd still recommend mentioning any operating systems or devices you'd like to have a Netflix client for whenever you talk to their customer service. The more requests they get for clients on open systems, the more pressure they are likely to put on content providers to reduce or eliminate DRM requirements.
Knowledge Brings Fear
If you watched the last 9 episodes of The Daily Show, then you're probably going to watch the next one. That means your computer doesn't need to wait for you to record it
Automatically joining a multicast of the next episode at the same time as a unicast of the current episode works when you have told the system that you are having an archive binge or are otherwise watching each episode in order, or when the system determines that you are. But it doesn't work so well for the model of random access to individual clips cited on other web pages.
If you're unpredictable, or refuse to plan ahead on general principles, or just have a sudden lark, then ok, you will need to incur the extra cost of unicast in order to get the job done. But most of the time, that just shouldn't be necessary
Except most of my online video streaming experience has in fact been unpredictable and/or long-tail. How would multicast help video providers like Dailymotion and YouTube, which don't have as much of a concept of "all episodes of a series in order"? How would it work for movies, when the system can't predict which I'm going to want to watch first as easily as it can for TV shows? And how would multicast get routed over the backbone, or would publishers of video need to negotiate with individual ISPs?
By "extra cost of unicast", you appear to refer to Netflix switching from "watch instantly" to "we'll choose a few films in your queue to send to your DVR, or you can pay extra to watch instantly". Do I understand you right?
Apple is getting their asses handed to them
So that's why they rake in 50% of the profits from worldwide smartphone sales while the Android manufacturers combined taken in less than 20%? And Apple does all that while only being 4th place in worldwide market share.
My Linux mp3 player is doing great, so is my wife's and my son's. The 3 different ones we use around the house for music also work great. Our Linux tablet is working great too, although to be fair, that is one of our Linux mp3 players also. "Even Android" is a strange statement, as Android IS Linux. And if you think that those phones that are advertised as free really are, then it isn't surprising that you are an Apple fan, as you don't seem to understand what you are paying for.
You are correct! This "Microsoft controls Netflix" line of thinking is a bit silly. In order to use Netflix on the Xbox360 you have to be a an Xbox Live Gold member. Silver (basic) memberships are not allowed. This means that you have to pay an extra $60 per year to watch movies on your Xbox360 in addition to any fees that you might already pay to Netflix. It is my understanding that there are no such restrictions on the Wii and PS3 consoles. That would imply that Microsoft does NOT want Netflix users on its consoles unless we pay extra.
This was true for me until very recently. I only currently have a Gold membership because I bought it at a deep discount during a "This weekend only" deal. Now, because my PC and my TV use the same monitor, I can watch Netflix from either my PC or my Xbox360. Because of this, I can easily see the limitations of the Xbox360/Netflix interface. So while I have yet to decide if I will renew my Xbox Live subscription, considering multi-player doesn't interest me, if the interface for Netflix on the Xbox360 continues to be as clunky and slow as it is now a renewal of my Xbox Live Gold subscription is unlikely. That doesn't sound like Microsoft has much control over Nexflix to me.
Yes, but just like Windows: the iPad is closed source. Android is not. And Android has already surpassed the iPhone in sales. http://gigaom.com/apple/iphone-flat-in-u-s-as-android-takes-market-share-lead/
Meant to say iPod not iPad.
I have a blu ray, xbox360, wii, and PC all hooked up to the same tv and the wii and the PC requires nothing special to connect to the internet (outside the wifi which is with it already), unlike xBox360 which requires the Gold membership like you said. Granted, I have to use the pc, xBox 360, or my blu ray to watch optical disks, but does it really matter any more. lol
It does seem asinine for the Anon coward above to think that MSFT has a say in NetFlix useage, and double rape you to use netflix when there are free alternatives (using the same software) already. Granted, yes, Netflix was on xBox 360 for a while before it was on the other console formats, but that is not the case to worry about anymore. The comment above from "Anonymous Coward" isn't completely insightful, but troll insightful. like symbolset at the top of this section.
Than again, if they (MSFT) controlled what Netflix was on, they could be slapped by the government like they were in the 90's (on non-competitive issues).
they saw you trollin, they hatin.
wait... the toilet paper has an mp3 player as well?
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRYHlZDuVtdxW0Y1ow3k5YahUJ-owbMioowPOQDvAlwrHx1k_E-&t=1
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Yes, I know this is a troll, but had to laugh at it.
That is ridiculous. Windows is FAR more "fragmented" than Android, and they have no problem with that. "Fragmentation" is a red herring.
we don't have to worry about the devil (MSFT) as long as we have the Super Devil (every other tech company out there).
http://blog.netflix.com/2010/11/netflix-on-android.html
"The hurdle has been the lack of a generic and complete platform security and content protection mechanism available for Android."
"Although we don’t have a common platform security mechanism and DRM, we are able to work with individual handset manufacturers to add content protection to their devices. Unfortunately, this is a much slower approach and leads to a fragmented experience on Android, in which some handsets will have access to Netflix and others won’t."
The lack of general platform content protection on Android makes them have to do it on an individual basis. The fragmentation of handset makes this difficult. Windows makes every comply with a base set of APIs. In Android you can mess with them as much as you want.
I think tablets are more important, and they run android
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
While it is technically possible for the handset manufacturers to mess up the base OS, they really are not messing with the parts that would generally have any effect on that. And in fact, the same problem exists on Windows. The OS may be closed source, but there is plenty of room for system manufacturers to muck around with the system, and they do. Netflix does not test on every configuration of PC. If your PC won't run Netflix, they will simply say that your PC is the problem, and that is the end of it. There is no reason that the same could not be done with Android phones. In fact, once it was released, you could bet that the handset manufacturers would do the testing themselves to make sure that Netflix ran on their models. Heck, Netflix could dust off the Flash client, and if it didn't run on your Android phone, they could push the blame off as an problem between Adobe, and the handset manufacturer.
Again, there is no difference between the Windows platform and the Android platform except excuses.
You're correct that Microsoft first sold a package called "Office" for the Mac, but Microsoft has never ported the entire Office suite from the Macintosh to Windows. Both the Macintosh and Windows versions of Word, for example, were ported from the original DOS implementation, albeit with the Mac version coming first. In general, this makes far more sense, as porting an x86 program to 68k and back again would be a colossal waste of time; by contrast, porting a DOS program to Windows is as simple as writing a new interface for it. One exception is Word for Mac 6, which was ported directly from Windows (and extremely slow, causing it to die in the marketplace and be replaced again by Mac Word 5.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Word#Origins_and_growth:_1981_to_1995
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Excel#Excel_2.0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Microsoft_Office
The exception to this trend is Powerpoint, which was originally a Mac application.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Powerpoint#History
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
Sort of a tangent, but how do you know if you're getting an HD stream from Netflix? Or is there any sort of comparison chart of different Netflix devices? I've got some cheapo Insignia Bluray player I picked up partially because it came bundled with Netflix playback. That works fine and all and streams seem fine to me but I've wondered how my experience compares to other devices. I saw the Netflix menu on a friend's PS3 and it blew the BR players' interface away. What's going to give me the best Netflix streaming experience? A Roku box? A tivo? A DIY Boxee box? I like having it bundled with a disc player or DVR or something just so I don't have to have yet another device but how do I know?
Why would Apple care purely about market share figures when they make 2.5x the profit of all their Android competitors combined?
Your ideas only hold up if you make the assumption that I did not take advantage of any other aspect of the service, which is not the case. During those six months, I watched the entire X-Files series, a good chunk of Top Gear, plenty of other TV series of lesser fame, and dozens of movies. You suggesting that I didn't get my money's worth is like suggesting that a person who goes to an all-you-can-eat buffet but doesn't eat one particular item is just wasting their money, even if they eat loads and loads of other things that are there.
It's worth it.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
The producer of content can set their price to what ever the fuck they want, if you don't like it don't fucking buy it
Say I produce my own work instead of subscribing to major-label works because I "don't like it don't fucking buy it". Then the owner of copyright in a work that I "don't like it don't fucking buy" still accuses me of copyright infringement, claiming that I plagiarized their work. What should I have done differently?
Basically if you don't vote with your dollars
How do I vote with my dollars against, say, a record label that has got its music into all the grocery stores' background music systems?
If however, have no way of getting it legally then there could be some leniency as it is your only means of acquiring something. If you cannot afford or are willing to pay for something then I am afraid you should just live without it.
To take your viewpoint to the extreme, people who cannot afford half the market capitalization of a movie studio's parent company have no room to complain. What's the legitimate way to obtain a copy of Walt Disney Pictures' film Song of the South, other than by spending $42 billion on half the company's stock?
Netflix, great for people who are bad at math!
I come here for the love
Eh, I probably watched a few hundred TV episodes and/or movies during that time. I still got my money's worth.