Netflix increasing Bluray Charges - What will you do?

[johnnypark]

Just received this email from Netflix, as I'm sure many others have:

You are receiving this email because you added unlimited Blu-ray access to your account for $1 a month. The number of Blu-ray titles has increased significantly and will continue to do so. As we buy more, you are able to choose from a rapidly expanding selection of Blu-ray titles. And as you've probably heard, Blu-ray discs are substantially more expensive than standard definition DVDs.

As a result, the monthly charge for Blu-ray access is increasing for most plans and will now vary by plan. The charge for monthly Blu-ray access on your 2 DVDs at-a-time (Unlimited) plan will increase from $1 a month to $3 a month. The price of your 2 DVDs at-a-time (Unlimited) plan is not changing and remains at $13.99 a month.

The new charge for Blu-ray access will be automatically added to your next billing statement on or after April 27, 2009 and will be referenced in your Membership Terms and Details (http://oac.netflix.com/Netflix/10000/redirect.asp?sid=21674&vid=0&lid=1012227&o=1&rt=0&mk=0&eid=T1U0JOrdBXRHukQkavflQq06AblftIuZnXOHLePsolvb0-&domainid=GMAIL.COM).

If you wish to continue unlimited Blu-ray access for $3 a month, you don't need to do anything. If not, you can remove Blu-ray access anytime by visiting Your Account (http://oac.netflix.com/Netflix/10000/redirect.asp?sid=21674&vid=0&lid=1012228&o=1&rt=0&mk=0&eid=T1U0JOrdBXRHukQkavflQq06AblftIuZnXOHLePsolvb0-&domainid=GMAIL.COM).

If you have questions about this change or need any assistance, please call us anytime at 1-888-923-0898.

-The Netflix Team

I can't decide if I'm going to drop it or not. Thoughts?

EDIT: Courtesy of Dmaul1114 and Gizmodo, here's a chart of the Bluray price increase:

Chart from Gizmondo that has the price per plan after increase:
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/03/netflix-blu-ray-price-increase.jpg

As Shrike has pointed out, it appears that it's $1 extra per the number of movies you have on your plan the original $1 base fee.

[shrike4242]

From what I read, it's not $2 additional on top of the $1 additional previously. It's a 10% increase in the price, so if you're on some of the higher number of discs out at a time, it could be as much as $4 or $5 more additional on top of the $1.

For the 2 out at a time plan, yes, it's $2 additional.

[slidecage]

then dont rent them.... local video stores charge anywhere from 1 to 2 bucks more per rental..

dont these movies cost almost doubled then the normal DVD.... I be happy they are not charging twice as much to rent them


is there really that big of a difference between the two

[johnnypark]

Interesting, Shrike. Thanks for the info... I was wondering why I saw some people saying it was $4. Any chance the poll could be edited to more general terms?

[VipFREAK]

I don't have a Netflix account. Why bother?

[dmaul1114]

I'm keeping mine, it's annoying but I watch a lot of movies and it's much cheaper than renting locally.

I don't have a Netflix account. Why bother?

Because I watch a lot of movies and renting locally is more expensive and a hassle as it requires leaving the house. Movies are my top hobby, I hardly even play games anymore.

[Frogurt.man]

From what I read, it's not $2 additional on top of the $1 additional previously. It's a 10% increase in the price, so if you're on some of the higher number of discs out at a time, it could be as much as $4 or $5 more additional on top of the $1.

For the 2 out at a time plan, yes, it's $2 additional.

I was on the 4 at a time unlimited and they bumped it up to 5$. I switched to a lower plan.

[af7lm]

Yeah, Shrike is right... I have the 8.99 plan plus 1.00 for bluray. And now it's going up to 10.99 for my plan, so a total of 2.00 for bluray disks.

[optimusprime8062]

I dont know man, I think thats a little too much. Blu-Ray is an all around expensive thing right now but a 10% increase? I dont know about that...

[dumari]

To be honest I was amazed at how cheap it was to begin with. I hardly think the additional charge is a big deal considering the added cost on their end. If you don't like Blu Ray enough to justify paying up to another $5 a month than maybe you really didn't need it in the first place. Netflix is still a hell of a deal at that price, considering I get unlimited blu rays a month for less than I'd get a single rental at a local store.

[exileinoblivion]

I'm dropping it. I was on the fence about keeping netflix anyways after seeing the choices they had on their stream instantly anyways and now with this I'm just done.

[bmachine]

$21 a month is still better than any other alternative that I can think of. I'm staying.

[dmaul1114]

Chart from Gizmondo that has the price per plan after increase:

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/03/netflix-blu-ray-price-increase.jpg

[VipFREAK]

Because I watch a lot of movies and renting locally is more expensive and a hassle as it requires leaving the house.

Oh, yeah. I watch a lot of movies too. I don't rent period.

[dmaul1114]

Oh, yeah. I watch a lot of movies too. I don't rent period.

Cheaper than buying too, and doesn't fill up my DVD racks (which are getting full with 300+ mostly bought 2+ years ago) of movies I'll seldom rewatch. So I prefer renting (along with going to the theater) and just buying the couple of movies a year that I will rewatch often enough to justify purchasing.

And I don't do torrents/pirating if that's what you're referring to.

[CombatCraig]

$21 a month is still better than any other alternative that I can think of. I'm staying.

Same here. I'm definitely not happy about it but I use Netflix way too much to drop it over $4. I think the BD is worth it because I can rent it first and see if it's worth getting the BD or just getting the DVD if I decide to purchase the movie later.

[VipFREAK]

Welp... I don't deal with discs period either so. I guess so. I ain't payin prices for digital stuff either til they actually have sane prices and don't have the drm crap to limit you where you can watch them.

[bzchanboy]

Option F: Keeping it for the streaming content, the blurays are a plus for me. Oh and I'll make the girlfriend pay for it, wait she already does.

This doesn't affect me much but it is still pretty crappy of them to push this. I wonder what the reasoning is behind all of this.

[javeryh]

is there really that big of a difference between the two

If you have to ask then you don't need to add blu-ray to your netfilx account.

[Moffman82]

I have been a loyal Netflix subscriber for over 6 years now and their rate increases have just gone too far with this latest Blu-Ray upcharge. They upped the price an extra buck like 3-5 months ago which I thought was crummy but could kind of understand. Now with an additional four bucks for the three at a time plan is just plain fucking ridiculous. Netflix does not pay any more loot for the Blu Ray titles from the studios than standard dvd costs to justify this type of rapeage. The studios may at best charge a small additional percentage but Netflix is straight up price gouging the consumer with this type of rate hike. We are afterall in a fucking recession! Fucking corporate scumbags! What are they gonna do when standard dvds totally fall by the wayside? Still keep charging us these extra astronomical fees? Anybody still watching standard dvds clearly has their head in their ass anyway and they should pass on the hike to those people without the Blu-Ray access and not the Blu Ray using Elite. Up the price of the cheap ass one at a time standard dvd plan to offset the costs if they need extra cash from somewhere!

[dmaul1114]

Welp... I don't deal with discs period either so. I guess so. I ain't payin prices for digital stuff either til they actually have sane prices and don't have the drm crap to limit you where you can watch them.

Then you just shouldn't watch at all rather than breaking the law.

I'm happy to support films by renting and buying ones I like, same with music (buy CDs not mp3s though) and games.

If I don't think something is worth the money, then I simply don't watch it.

[shrike4242]

Chart from Gizmondo that has the price per plan after increase:Damn, that makes it even worse, as it looks like they're dinging you an additional $1/disc out-at-a-time. Gets really ugly for the 8 out-at-a-time users, as that's almost a 20% increase.

[rodeojones903]

I will be dropping netflix. I really do not use it much, and their instant watch movies are very lacking.

Ill be changing to redbox rentals.

[jm2u]

I replied with "You suck." Not that anyone will read it, but still...they do. Can't decide if I should go back to Blockbuster. The price is now the same for 1 at a time.

[Sporadic]

Continue to enjoy my grandfathered Blockbuster Online account which has 3 at-a-time unlimited mailings, unlimited in-store movie exchanges and +2 FREE bonus Movie or Game Rental E-Coupon / Month for $19.99 a month 8-)

[VipFREAK]

Then you just shouldn't watch at all rather than breaking the law.

I'm happy to support films by renting and buying ones I like, same with music (buy CDs not mp3s though) and games.

If I don't think something is worth the money, then I simply don't watch it.

Why should I have to suffer and miss out when protesting is not going to do squat because others cave and just pay for overpriced stuff. My beef is not with the movies or kind of movies it's the distribution and sale of them. When they start doing reasonable stuff I'll be happy to pay. It's like trying to end EA's crap, will it happen? no... Or how we had Bush for two terms... :roll:

[Sporadic]

Why should I have to suffer and miss out when protesting is not going to do squat because others cave and just pay for overpriced stuff. When they start doing reasonable stuff I'll be happy to pay. It's like trying to end EA's crap, will it happen? no... Or how we had Bush for two terms... :roll:

Because downloading it won't do squat either?

If everybody took your stance, studios wouldn't be willing to take chances with niche titles (hope you enjoy shitty action/comedies) and they would just take away the lube from everybody else when they see their sales slipping (like what's currently happening, multiple places are using the recession as an excuse to raise prices)

Also is not watching movies really "suffering"?

If you want to take stuff, just do it. Don't come up with some phony excuse to justify your actions.

[madara]

I finally let them go last month. Never got new releases with the empty monday queue trick the last eight months and rumors of the post office going down to 5 day delivery soon.

[bballplaya210]

I signed up about a month ago and I'm now canceling it. It's not worth the increase to me and I'm not paying for just regular dvds. I think they chose a horrible time to do this considering the economy and it only being a few months since the first price increase.

[dmaul1114]

Because downloading it won't do squat either?

If everybody took your stance, studios wouldn't be willing to take chances with niche titles (hope you enjoy shitty action/comedies) and they would just take away the lube from everybody else when they see their sales slipping (like what's currently happening, multiple places are using the recession as an excuse to raise prices)

Also is not watching movies really "suffering"?

If you want to take stuff, just do it. Don't come up with some phony excuse to justify your actions.



Exactly. Breaking the law is breaking the law. regardless of what lame justifications you put forth.

And movies (Blu Rays aside) are reasonably priced. You can find most anything on DVD for $5-10 if you wait a few months after it comes out. Blu Ray prices do need to come down as hardly anything worthwhile is ever on sell for less than $15--but I don't mind much since I cut back purchasing drastically a couple years ago and mainly just rent now.

And if movies aren't worth $5-10, or a the cheap prices of a Netflix or Blockbuster subscription then you're either broke (which sucks but doesn't justify piracy) or not all that into movies in which case missing some wouldn't be much "suffering" for you.

[agilesoldier]

If everyone would have canceled in protest the first time, I guarantee you they would have dropped the $1 charge. Now they are just seeing how much they can get away with.
I bet Blockbuster is enjoying the extra business. I switched to Blockbuster and have been enjoying my free Blu-Rays (Still paying $10 a month for unlimited 3 at a time, 5 free in store exchanges) + I got 6 coupons for free previously viewed dvds already. Netflix never treated me as well as Blockbuster has already done.

[johnnypark]

Why should I have to suffer and miss out when protesting is not going to do squat because others cave and just pay for overpriced stuff. My beef is not with the movies or kind of movies it's the distribution and sale of them. When they start doing reasonable stuff I'll be happy to pay. It's like trying to end EA's crap, will it happen? no... Or how we had Bush for two terms...

I don't think the "personal suffering" argument is going to get you anywhere when it comes to taking things that aren't paid for. Take that into the general gaming section and make it an argument in favor of game piracy and see how far you get.

[Loonknight]

This new fee just solidifies my choice of not opting for Blu-rays with my account. So thanks for making that decision that much easier for me Netflix

[mtxbass1]

I have been a loyal Netflix subscriber for over 6 years now and their rate increases have just gone too far with this latest Blu-Ray upcharge. They upped the price an extra buck like 3-5 months ago which I thought was crummy but could kind of understand. Now with an additional four bucks for the three at a time plan is just plain fucking ridiculous. Netflix does not pay any more loot for the Blu Ray titles from the studios than standard dvd costs to justify this type of rapeage. The studios may at best charge a small additional percentage but Netflix is straight up price gouging the consumer with this type of rate hike. We are afterall in a fucking recession! Fucking corporate scumbags! What are they gonna do when standard dvds totally fall by the wayside? Still keep charging us these extra astronomical fees? Anybody still watching standard dvds clearly has their head in their ass anyway and they should pass on the hike to those people without the Blu-Ray access and not the Blu Ray using Elite. Up the price of the cheap ass one at a time standard dvd plan to offset the costs if they need extra cash from somewhere!

Do you want some cheese with your whine?

Do you work for netflix? Do you know how much they pay per disc from the studios? No? Then you have no ground to stand on in regards to their costs. You simply don't know any of the facts here.

If you can't afford the extra $4 during this recession, then what are you doing renting movies anyway, and blu-rays none the less? You're complaining about them raising the price of a premium offering? Somehow everyone else should have to bear the brunt of the costs because you want to watch blu-rays? Get real. DVD's aren't going to "fall by the wayside" anytime soon, no matter how hard you want them to. Anyone with their "head in their ass" can see that.

Those "fucking corporate scumbags" are in this business to make money. They are already doing you a favor by catering to a niche market. Get over it or go elsewhere.

[msajeff]

You know if most of the newer BR releases weren't always on "Long Wait" status I could see the justification some of you have made. Paying an extra $4 a month when I'm not likely to see more than 1 or 2 new releases a month...forget about it. The account has been on hold since November and it's getting cancelled as soon as this is posted.

[KyleN]

I would gladly give up the useless streaming stuff (which I never use) to not have to pay the extra $4 for my blu-ray discs. If they want to charge that much extra, then the 10 blu-rays that have been at the top of my queue for months should be available "now" and not "xxx wait"!

[dmaul1114]

You know if most of the newer BR releases weren't always on "Long Wait" status I could see the justification some of you have made. Paying an extra $4 a month when I'm not likely to see more than 1 or 2 new releases a month...forget about it. The account has been on hold since November and it's getting cancelled as soon as this is posted.

That's the one gripe I have, but even that doesn't bother me all that much. I always have around 100 DVDs/BRs on my queue and 50-60 things on my instant watch so it's no big deal if I have to wait a couple weeks after something comes out to get the Blu Ray.

Plus anything I was dying to see I usually caught in the theater anyway.

But yea, Netflix for Blu Rays isn't worth it for people who mainly care about seeing the new releases in a timely manner. Probably better off with Red Box for that.

I'll stick with them for their incredible selection, with a lot of foreign films, indie films, documentaries etc. that are hard to find from other rental services. The streaming service in particular is very good for that, but not so much for hollywood movies--especially recent ones.

[my2k2zx2]

I havent got the email yet. I'm on the 1 at a time plan.

[blackhole82]

I knew this would happen. I remember when a lot of people said that $1 a month extra for blu-ray was not significant and that everyone should just suck it up that wanted it. But now look where we are :)

[djduke316]

I cut off Blu-Ray when it went up a buck. Never could get any new releases in that format.

[friedram]

I have been a loyal Netflix subscriber for over 6 years now and their rate increases have just gone too far with this latest Blu-Ray upcharge. They upped the price an extra buck like 3-5 months ago which I thought was crummy but could kind of understand. Now with an additional four bucks for the three at a time plan is just plain fucking ridiculous. Netflix does not pay any more loot for the Blu Ray titles from the studios than standard dvd costs to justify this type of rapeage. The studios may at best charge a small additional percentage but Netflix is straight up price gouging the consumer with this type of rate hike. We are afterall in a fucking recession! Fucking corporate scumbags! What are they gonna do when standard dvds totally fall by the wayside? Still keep charging us these extra astronomical fees? Anybody still watching standard dvds clearly has their head in their ass anyway and they should pass on the hike to those people without the Blu-Ray access and not the Blu Ray using Elite. Up the price of the cheap ass one at a time standard dvd plan to offset the costs if they need extra cash from somewhere!

lol at Blue Ray - digital download FTW

Sticking with DVD and Digital Download. Netflicks rules, those of you who are so bitter- please do just quit.

[RAMSTORIA]

Oh and I'll make the girlfriend pay for it, wait she already does.

.

high five on the gf paying for it!

[bigdaddybruce44]

I think I will be keeping Netflix, but dropping the Blu-ray rentals. The unlimited streaming for less than $10 a month is still a great deal, in my opinion. Of course, I'm sure they will soon jack up their base rates all together and justify it by the unlimited streaming. Can't wait.

[bones56]

I think i will be keeping it, but tripling the charge is a little lame. If they were going from 1$ to 2$, then i guess it would have gone over a little more quietly...

[luvmysegadc]

I have been a sad Netflix member: Too busy with other things in my life, like looking for a job!, to relax long enough to enjoy a dvd of any type. I've got dvds, HD DVDs and Blu-rays that I own that I've never opened to view once. I'm so bad that I still have a HD DVD rental ("Bubble") from Netflix on my shelve that has gone unviewed. To be honest, the price increase really isn't that bad and the it's really just a sign of the times. But for me, it's a reminder that I've been avoiding something that I should have done months ago: cancel my membership.

When things change in my life, I'll be back to being a member because I think Netflix is a deserving company.

[CaseyRyback]

I just signed up again yesterday. Fuck this. I guess I will just go to one at a time. I mainly wanted it for the streaming anyways.

[Hestar]

I don't have a Netflix account. Why bother?

So why post in the thread then? :roll:.

But yeah,Netflix raising the prices i'll just cancel blue ray .I hardly rent blue ray movies anyways.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

I have to admit, I have only been doing the $8.99 (plus $1 for blu) for a couple of months (busy at work) and with this price change, I will probably go back to BB. I was doing the 3 at a time for probably a year before that. I have seen most of the Netflix/xbox live movies that I want to see and with a BB so close to my house, I will use the in-store returns as well.

[Scorch]

I went down to one at a time, so I'm not bothered much by this. $10.99 isn't bad considering the amount of DVD's I get in a month.

Though I've gotta say, since I went from 3/month to 1/month, the streaming has gotten terrible. I don't know if it's just my connection or what, but it stops and downgrades the stream often. It's annoying.

[soccerstud652]

My pain complaint with Netflix isn't the price. For a whole month's worth or unlimited rentals, even the higher BR price, is fine with me.

I would GLADLY pay it EXCEPT every fucking fucking fucking movie on my queue that is a new release is / has been on very long wait / long wait for 2 months now. I haven't even seen Pinapple Express yet. Fuck Netflix in the fucking ass.

I will be downgrading my account to one-disc at a time. I originally had it from a movies class I was taking, but now I really don't need all the dvd's.

Are the blu-ray movies queues just as bad as the normal dvds? If not, I may add it for the asking price of a one dvd plan. I just cannot stand waiting for new releases. What is the point?

[thelonepig]

I really enjoy my Netflix subscription. It has saved a lot of money with rentals/blind buys and I rarely have issues getting the newer releases quickly. $4/month for bluray access is reasonable as far as I'm concerned, but in my 100+ video cue I've only got 6 blurays. It's getting nixed.

If I rent the DVD and enjoy the movie enough to own it, I'll buy it on bluray, but $4/month isn't worth the one or two blurays I'd get monthly.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

I have friends at work who get new releases right away (they are on 3 at a time and regular dvd's) while all of my same choices (dvd or blu, I am on 1 at a time) are always long waits.

[Sgt Barone]

i dont freakin care. $2 a month for Blus? thats still great.

[lassiterb]

I've had Netflix ever since they started a distribution center like an hour away so I get my movies the next day. All I ever rent is Blu (2 at a time) but I was thinking of canceling my subscription last month, due to all the movies I actually own and have never watched. I guess this increase clinches it for me. While still not a bad deal, I have a feeling this increase will cause a lot of people thinking about canceling their accounts to actually do so.

Also, I never got the Pineapple Express BD either, I ended up having to buy it like a month after it came out.

[thelonepig]

I have friends at work who get new releases right away (they are on 3 at a time and regular dvd's) while all of my same choices (dvd or blu, I am on 1 at a time) are always long waits.

I've got a distribution hub nearby, so there's a 2-day turnaround (day 1 - send back, day 2 - receive/ship new, day 3 - get new movie). All I do is time it such that I send back a movie on Friday or Saturday. It arrives Monday and Netflix ships out the new release for Tuesday. Works every time.

[lorddct]

Any reason why they are increasing the price for blu-ray? Is it because of the cost of the title? Or is it just not enough interest?

It's just odd that blu-ray would cost more when they probably have insane amounts of one given dvd. But probably only a very few or so of the given blu-ray title.

[sunnysky]

My plan is to just cancel my Blu Ray option. So I can't place a vote.

[Bluth Superfan]

If they use the money to actually buy MORE blu rays then I am ok with this. They really need to do something about the availability situation.

Also I should get a discount for not using the streaming service.

[bickle]

Charging extra for Blu-ray was lame in the first place, so I opted out a while ago.

FWIW, as instant-view becomes more popular, I'm betting they will charge extra for that.

[Labbo94]

Charging extra to your valued customers = FAIL

There is no way I'm paying an extra $4 a month for Blu-rays, especially since the selection is so shaky.

[Mud_BooDa]

I'll probably drop it.. and maybe pick it back up when they add the streaming only accounts as that's all Ive been using NF for as of late.

[ilivas]

I have friends at work who get new releases right away (they are on 3 at a time and regular dvd's) while all of my same choices (dvd or blu, I am on 1 at a time) are always long waits.

When new releases are released on tuesday I have them at my house on wednesday. You just have to time it depending on your location. I make sure the mail man picks up my movies on saturday, and they're received by netflix on monday, and then they ship out on tuesday.

I have the 3 at a time, and all my new releases for today were shipped out, and will be here tommorow.

[ilivas]

I'll probably drop it.. and maybe pick it back up when they add the streaming only accounts as that's all Ive been using NF for as of late.

There is a stream only account, I think it's 8 bucks a month.

[DestroVega]

it's still a good overall deal per month... and usually I only target blu-rays...

My only gripe is, they didn't make people who rented TV seasons or Criterion DVDs pay more before... this seems to me like a way to just make some more cash.

[Apostle22]

seeing as how if you dont get the movie right away, all you see is very long wait, this price increase cant be justified. My subscription to Netflix will end when my billing date comes up. Stupid ass move Netflix. You're greed will cost you. I'll buy my blu rays and rent from redbox.

[bigdaddybruce44]

To me, it's tough to beat $9 a month for the unlimited streaming and whatever discs I rent. I don't know if I'll give the extra $2 a month just for the privilege of waiting 2 months to finally rent a fairly new BD, but I doubt I'm gonna drop their service.

[cplater]

I just removed Blu Ray access from my account. I'll put the $4 a month away, and buy the few Blu Ray movies that I really want to see.

[Walt Jay]

I've been looking for an excuse to degrade, and I think this is it. I want to keep an unlimited plan (3-at-a-time now) so I can stream on my Xbox, so I'll probably knock it down to 2 or 1.

[Viva Las Vegas]

I just dropped the Blu-ray disc plan. Wasn't an option on the poll. I have an excellent Panny HDTV and a Bluray player and the picture quality with Bluray isn't that big a jump to me. DVD is fine.

[doubledown]

I will keep the Blu-Ray around for a while, but I may just drop it and go back to DVD....I'm on 1 at a time, so it's basically $2/extra to get BD's a month...which just sucks.

[MrNEWZ]

I just dropped the Blu-ray disc plan. Wasn't an option on the poll. I have an excellent Panny HDTV and a Bluray player and the picture quality with Bluray isn't that big a jump to me. DVD is fine.

Are you sure you're watching it on Blu Ray? These no difference arguments make no sense.

[ChernobylCow]

I have been considering getting a NF account for a while since I got my ps3 for playing blurays over the winter holiday. I haven't really gotten that many BRs or rented many...I guess since this has happened I'll stick to the occasional rental from our local video stores: I <3 Video. The cheap ass in me wants a better deal but there is something so endearing and wonderful about walking into a well-outfitted rental shop.

[minos1067]

I just dropped the Blu-ray disc plan. Wasn't an option on the poll. I have an excellent Panny HDTV and a Bluray player and the picture quality with Bluray isn't that big a jump to me. DVD is fine.

In that case, send me your Bluray player and I'll send you my Apex DVD Player plus $25 so that way we'll both be happy with what we can appreciate; unless, of course, $25 isn't that big a jump for you.

[blk00civicsi]

I'm undecided. I pay the $9.99 already (8.99 + 1.00 for BR) $1.00 isn't going to break the bank but I am really only doing it for streaming on XBL. So BR may go by the wayside.

[johnnypark]

I just dropped the Blu-ray disc plan. Wasn't an option on the poll. I have an excellent Panny HDTV and a Bluray player and the picture quality with Bluray isn't that big a jump to me. DVD is fine.

The choice, "$12 a year is fine, but $36 a year is BS. I refuse to pay that much" kind of implies that you'd be dropping the Bluray option by refusing to pay the additional cost for Bluray. Sorry if that wasn't more clear.

[blackhole82]

I'm keeping mine on, but I may get rid of it if it keeps going up with the same long wait times for new releases.

[ButchGoesToIndoChina]

If it means that i'll actually be able to get Blu-Ray movies on the release date without getting a "Long Wait" or "Very Long Wait" status all the time, i'll gladly pay the extra buck (i have a 1-unlimited plan)

[ilivas]

Are you sure you're watching it on Blu Ray? These no difference arguments make no sense.

If you have a top notch upscaler like an oppo unit then the visual difference isn't huge, but the audio is another story. HD audio is a big jump from standard dvds assumining you have the audio equipment to fully utilize it.

[parkerpic]

Make sure you write to Netflix and tell them you are unhappy, they ended up keeping the profiles due the customers request. I've been slowing down on how quick I've been turning movies so it gives me a good excuse to cancel the membership. $218.28 saved for the year.

[Katmandoo22]

I have my account on hold for a while (until end of May) because I am tired of the long waits on blu-ray. I'm a 2 at a time member for the last 3 years, but I got a blu-ray player about a year ago. At first I'd get blu-rays in a timely manner, but now I think a lot more people have players. I had to wait over a month for Vantage Point. In fact I took everything off my cue and only had Vantage Point on and it still took an additional 2 and a half weeks to get it. Most of the new releases on Blu-ray seem to be that way. I'll get them on my cue long before they are released, but still long waits. DVD's on the other hand just take a day to get here. Our Netflix distributor is only 50 miles from where I live. So I'm probably going to use netflix over the summer and then put her back on hold.

[gunm]

I'm disappointed, of course. But on the other hand, it's just a $1 more and I'd rather pay that than drop full price on a disc I'm not necessarily ever going to watch again. It's still a good deal for those of us who like to sample out movies for PQ, etc., or view BR versions of titles they aren't willing to buy otherwise.

Plus, if this helps them pick up more stock so we don't have to wait as long for titles, then it's probably for the best. Anyway, I blame Sony...hehe, I mean I blame BR itself for being as yet unpopular with the masses (and subsequently no where as cheap as DVD).

[bigdaddybruce44]

The first $1 increase really didn't do much to decrease wait times for popular Blu-rays. I'll hold out hope that maybe service will improve, but their track record says otherwise.

[AllahBomber]

geez that Poll is quite inconclusive haha

[ilivas]

It's still cheaper than going to the local rental and renting them individually. I have the 3 at a time plan. I'll still hold on to it. I use the streaming as well so that's a plus for me not to use the blockbuster plan.

Also, I'm not a thief so I won't be torrenting these or anything. Even if I did, torrent quality sucks.

[guyver2077]

im also amazed ppl throw out there the "no difference" excuse..

anyways i may downgrade to the 2 out plan...and maybe evven to the 1 out plan later on.


whats blockbuster charging nowadays? dont they have some unlimited rental plan + online?

[hiccupleftovers]

As long as they don't start charging for instawatch/XBL streaming, then I don't give a fuck what they do to BluRay. I honestly don't really care for BluRray, and i have a PS3/laptop with BluRay capabilities. I only own a few BluRays, and don't care to pay more for movies when I can get them on DVD and with the selection on DVD. If they start chargin for Instawatch, then mark my words, I guarantee that I will cancel my subscription.

[freshzen]

You were only paying an extra $1 for blu-ray rentals instead of DVD though, I mean, how long did you really think it'd last before they increased that price? They're probably having to buy a lot more blu-rays because they are being rented a lot more, and Netflix is smart enough to realize if you own a blu-ray player you can afford an extra $2-5 a month and you won't cancel the service because of this small increase in price.

[magiic]

Just be glad you have Netlflix. I havent found a service in CA that matches up to it.

[CocheseUGA]

I dropped BD when they started charging. I'd rather spend that money and buy them.

[Dainbramaged]

An extra $2 a month is nothing. Hell, I may pay the extra $4 to upgrade to 3 out at-a-time.

Besides, and I'm sure someone already stated this, buying a blu-ray over a dvd will cost you $10 - $15 more, why shouldn't Netflix recoupe some of that extra expense?

[Filmmaker]

I voted "I don't get Blurays from Netflix so this doesn't effect me", but more importantly, it doesn't affect me, either...

[AlphakirA]

Gamefly charges me more money for cheaper games, gives me longer wait times, and has shitty customer service. Netflix is alright with me - their only mistake was not making this the deal since day one to avoid whiners like the ones posting about a $2 increase here...

[DestroVega]

Well, this move will backfire on them.... some people might cancel all-together, some only remove the blu-ray... they might take in less money per month now because of this move.

[Stryffe2004]

I would rather keep my $12 per year (1 out at a time plan), but it is still a whole lot less expensive than buying an extra movie or two a month. To those with the multi-DVD plan, you can always downgrade and play more games.

[techstar25]

I've been subscribing to Blockbuster online mainly because it's cheaper. When I did the trial for both them and Netflix, I found them to identical as far as movie selection and speed of shipping. As far as I'm concerned, the only difference is the color of the envelope, so I just went with the lower price. They don't seem to charging any additional fee for Blu, so I'll just stick with them.

[digitalbabe]

IMHO, cancelling your Netflix subscription in protest makes little sense. You would spend more in gas and on (1) B&M rental, than you would on the extra fee. Netflix has contracts with suppliers-they are not buying their BD's at Walmart and Amazon, and the cost is significantly higher. The release slate for Blu-Rays has increased significantly, over the last year, as has the adoption by customers, due to decreased prices on players/movies, overall. Their initial $1 fee may have offset initial costs to aquire more copies, but as more customers purchased players, and wanted to enable their queue's for BD, more copies were needed.

Like all of us here, I am a deal hunter, but aside from Blockbuster, there is no where else to "try" BD's out, before you buy, or rent those you wouldn't buy, on an unlimited basis. The plan is still cheaper than any other option, if you want to enjoy packaged media. If you download, you can't do this on an unlimited basis, and not at this price.

I agree that they could have announced it better, and in a more timely fashion, but for the cost of 2 coffees, or 2 sodas/month, you can still rent unlimited BD's, depending on the cost. Most of us spend more buying on impulse, lol. Netflix is one of the last CE companies standing in this dreadful economy, and thank god, otherwise we'd all be squawking, that we need to "pay per rental".

[guyver2077]

question.. i went to change my plan and this came up:

Your plan is no longer offered

You currently have Blu-ray access on your plan for $1.00 a month. Blu-ray access on this plan is now $4.00 a month. If you select a new plan, you will not be able to return to this price.

Does this mean that current subnscribers wont get the price hike?

[blackhole82]

question.. i went to change my plan and this came up:

Your plan is no longer offered

You currently have Blu-ray access on your plan for $1.00 a month. Blu-ray access on this plan is now $4.00 a month. If you select a new plan, you will not be able to return to this price.

Does this mean that current subnscribers wont get the price hike?

No, it just sounds like to me that when you change your plan you will be paying the new higher price.

[Brian9824]

Honestly this isn't a surprise. Look at it logically. If they have 100 people who use bluray then they need enough copies to supply those hundred people. Copies that cost more then a normal dvd.

As the number of bluray users increase those 100 copies turn into 1000 copies and they need to purchase more to keep up with supply or else people complain about the wait times.

It all comes down to how the extra money will be spent, if your extra $2-8 a month goes towards purchasing new bluray's to reduce wait times and increase supply can you really complain?

[typeRJ]

Last week I bought a crapload of Bond movies, which came out to 7 movies on Blu-Ray. Maybe $20 doesn't seem bad, but a total of $140 does.

I can't spend that much every week. So I don't really mind. A total of $36/year for just Blu-Ray is perfectly fine with me if it means not missing out on a bunch of high def goodness.

[ctrek3]

$21 a month is still better than any other alternative that I can think of. I'm staying.

yeah but thats before taxes, it will be almost 23. mine as well switch to the 4 out at a time and drop blu. i might do that, i find that most movies i'd rather have on dvd cause i think the blu menus suck and are too tiny to read.

[postulio]

this is a funny poll!!!! with each of the 5 options getting 20% vote!

however, if you combine them into "not affected, pissed, will deal with it" categories, the breakdown is 20-40-40 still!!!

i for one will probably lower my subscription to 2 movies a month plan. i dont have too much time to watch them anyway and they end up sitting for over a week at my house. i use netflix streaming a lot, however!

[Lethal04]

I canceled the blu-ray access b/c of this. Haven't had time to watch as many movies lately so I am doing 1 at a time and would rather save the $2 extra for blu-ray since I would only get 1 or 2 blu-rays a month and the rest dvd probably.

[Okari]

I might cancel it for awhile. I've already downgraded to 3 DVD plan so I could get the Blu-Ray access back in December so I'm not doing it again for a few movies. There hasn't really been anything to watch on Blu-Ray for the past month or so either. If it was $2 I wouldn't mind, but $4 is too much for me.

[GTZ_NSR]

I dropped Blu-Rays from Netflix back when they started charging $1 extra. $3 is ridiculous IMO.

[dmaul1114]

I dropped BD when they started charging. I'd rather spend that money and buy them.

I get not wanting to pay the extra fee--but before it was $1. That meant you saved $12 a year--so at most you bought one cheap Blu Ray with that saved money! :lol:

Even if we're now paying $24, or $36 for the 3 out at a time plans that's still only 1-3 Blu Rays.

I understand canceling as one doesn't feel it's worth it, but it's still much cheaper than buying--especially since Blu Ray prices still suck.

I don't like the fee, but I won't cancel as I love movies and prefer watching in HD when possible, and the price is still very reasonable for what I get out of the service personally. I'd have of course prefered the fee not be raised, but it would have to get a good bit higher for me to cancel as it's still a good value to me vs other legal options for watching the same amount of movies. Will still be under $20 for the 2 out at a time plan--which is a good deal for access to Blu Rays, their huge DVD selection and the free streaming selection.

[orgy08]

Your forgetting the base price in your "calculations"

[dmaul1114]

Your forgetting the base price in your "calculations"

Because he said he dropped the Blu Ray access with the original $1 increase, not that he canceled his Netflix account.

[bigdaddybruce44]

Any which way you want to slice it up, it's still a good deal. Even with the extra $1 a month, my membership would come out to $142 a year after tax. How many quality Blu-rays are you getting for that? Even if you find a great, great sale, what, 14 movies? Between whatever movies I get in the mail and what I watch on my 360, I get to watch more than that in a month.

Don't get me wrong. I'm still annoyed, because it's the principle of the thing, and I'm worried about when these little increases will actually stop. How many times are they gonna keep doing this and justifying via the cost of BDs? As far as I am concerned, they should have some kind of deal for existing customers. I know my XM radio subscription just went up, but I was able to sign up for an extended period and get my old rate. We should be able to do that with Netflix, as well, and be able to avoid this and any other future increases.

[ToddManG]

can we add a poll option for "piss and moan, but keep the same service"? actually i might drop down to 2 and keep blu. at least in my head it makes sense because it'll cost the same.

[butaneko]

This price hike really got under my skin and basically killed all the warm feelings I had for Netflix as a company. I was on the 4-at-a-time plan which is switching from the $1 BD surcharge to $5. I dropped down to 3-at-a-time w/ Blu Ray right after I got the e-mail and have subsequently signed up for a 2 week trial w/ Blockbuster which is like $4 or $5 cheaper than Netflix. If I get comparable service I'm dropping Netflix.

[Demolition Man]

I just dropped my Netflix account due to this. Sorry but I'm not paying even more when the wait times on Bluray discs are very long in many cases. Anyone who is upset by this I highly recommend you call 1-866-716-0414. Even if you end up just dropping down to fewer rentals at a given time its good to tell them personally why you are doing so is because of the Bluray price increase. According to the woman I spoke to she admitted that they have had a LOT of phone calls including a number of people dropping their account entirely because of this.

Again, call 1-866-716-0414 and tell them politely why you are either lowering your rental plan or leaving Netflix.

To anyone on Blockbuster Online how good is their service for Bluray rentals? Are they speedy with their delievery or is it slow? Wait times good or bad?

[bigdaddybruce44]

I would definitely decrease my plan, if I wasn't already only using the one-out plan. Anyway, I might call, anyway, and say I'm gonna cancel.

[blackhole82]

I would decrease my plan but I'm already down to one at a time unlimited.

[SithFran]

I have the one unlimited out plan only cause that's the lowest I could go for streaming on my 360 which is what I'm really paying for. While the extra charged irked me at first, I'm fine with it. Not only do I get HD movies for a couple bucks a month, I get movies on demand. If they work on increasing the streaming selection, I would be more than happy to pay a rate increase for it. My 360 gets more streaming time than gaming time and I couldn't be happier.

[dmaul1114]

Maybe this will end up helping with wait times on BR new releases some. If not from them using the fee to buy more discs, maybe from a smaller user base from people canceling their subscriptions or just dropping BR access.

[handisnacks]

Netflix is a waste of money. It's a better investment to just buy most blu-rays. Like a few days ago when I got 10 (most disney/pixar) blu-rays for $10.50 ea from Amazon. Keep an eye out for deals.

[bigdaddybruce44]

Not everyone wants to buy every, single movie they have an interest in watching. Even at $10 a piece, which you certainly are not going to find all the time, it's a waste if you are only going to watch a movie once or twice.

[RedvsBlue]

I just got done dropping blu ray access from my account. I'd drop my netflix altogether but the discs in the mail accounts for such a small portion of my usage that there's really no point in getting too bent out of shape about it. That having been said, I'm not paying an extra $2 a month just to get HD on a small portion of the movies I watch.. Mark my words though, if they start jacking with unlimited streaming pricing structure, I'm done.

[dmaul1114]

Not everyone wants to buy every, single movie they have an interest in watching. Even at $10 a piece, which you certainly are not going to find all the time, it's a waste if you are only going to watch a movie once or twice.

Yep. I made that mistake with DVDs and have 300 some DVDs and hardly ever watch any of them. I'd generally rather watch something new for the first time.

So I joined Netflix 2 1/2 years ago and have cut back my buying of DVDs and Blu Rays drastically, just picking up favorites that I'll at least watch every year or so.

Now to buckle down and sell/donate DVDs I don't need to own....

[doubledown]

Yep. I made that mistake with DVDs and have 300 some DVDs and hardly ever watch any of them. I'd generally rather watch something new for the first time.

So I joined Netflix 2 1/2 years ago and have cut back my buying of DVDs and Blu Rays drastically, just picking up favorites that I'll at least watch every year or so.

Now to buckle down and sell/donate DVDs I don't need to own....

I'm in the same boat....I actually ran out of room on my DVD shelf and pulled some DVD's aside to EBAY, still haven't done it yet though. I honestly could sell most of the DVD's I own as I rarely go back to watch something over as Netflix keeps me updated with new movies.

[CocheseUGA]

I get not wanting to pay the extra fee--but before it was $1. That meant you saved $12 a year--so at most you bought one cheap Blu Ray with that saved money! :lol:

Even if we're now paying $24, or $36 for the 3 out at a time plans that's still only 1-3 Blu Rays.

I understand canceling as one doesn't feel it's worth it, but it's still much cheaper than buying--especially since Blu Ray prices still suck.

I don't like the fee, but I won't cancel as I love movies and prefer watching in HD when possible, and the price is still very reasonable for what I get out of the service personally. I'd have of course prefered the fee not be raised, but it would have to get a good bit higher for me to cancel as it's still a good value to me vs other legal options for watching the same amount of movies. Will still be under $20 for the 2 out at a time plan--which is a good deal for access to Blu Rays, their huge DVD selection and the free streaming selection.

I don't have a ton of time anyways, so cutting back on my movies isn't that big of a deal. I never pay more than $16 for a BD, and get anything I want or need. I'm saving for a HDTV, so paying extra for renting BDs never made sense anyways. It was one of those, 'hey, it's free...' things.

[dmaul1114]

I don't have a ton of time anyways, so cutting back on my movies isn't that big of a deal. I never pay more than $16 for a BD, and get anything I want or need. I'm saving for a HDTV, so paying extra for renting BDs never made sense anyways. It was one of those, 'hey, it's free...' things.

To each their own I guess.

To me I'd rather take that $16 and pay for my month of Netflix where I can watch several movies in mail and streaming vs. buying 1 BR that I'll likely only watch 2-3 times over my lifetime.

So it's more cost effective to me to rent and just buy the select few that I'll watch at least once a year or so.

But definitely save up for an HDTV as that's a huge "must have" kind of luxury for anyone big into movies, games etc. Are you just replacing an older HDTV? If not, you're buying Blu Rays without an HDTV?

[mer71]

I used to be with Netflix. The increase would bother me. Currently, I am on the BB one at a time for $3.99. Between BB and Redbox, it serves my needs. Plus Redbox's free Wednesdays or Monday codes, are a bonus.

[nikkai]

I'm on their lowest plan anyway so no change for me. I don't mind it - a lot of blu-rays I get are ones that I realize I'm glad I didn't buy - and it still sure beats paying $10+ going to a movie theater and walking out not liking it.

[CocheseUGA]

If not, you're buying Blu Rays without an HDTV?

Yes. At a cost difference of about $2 a title, it's a no-brainer.

[dmaul1114]

Yes. At a cost difference of about $2 a title, it's a no-brainer.

$2 a title? That's a hard sell since the vast majority of DVDs are on sale for $5-10 6 months to a year after launch where as most blu ray sale prices are in the $15-20 range. New releases you're looking at $15-20 for the DVD and $25-30 for the Blu Ray.

Not saying there's anything wrong with buying them for the future--though I'd personally just hold off on buying movies and put that money towards your HDTV savings fund and then start buying again once you have one. The BRs or DVDs will be available cheaper at that time most likely as well.

And an HDTV makes a huge difference (especially a large one) with movies, games, TV, sports etc. so I cut back spending on all that stuff for a few months a couple years back to save up money. It's something you'll really want as quickly as you can save up for it as it enhances all your media.

[arcane93]

I jumped from Blockbuster to Netflix recently, despite the $1 extra for blu-ray, because of the streaming service. I have to say, I've been more than a bit disappointed -- not in the streaming selection (I went into it knowing it was going to be mainly older titles, and am relatively happy with the options within my expectations), but rather in the quality of what is offered. I've run into several movies now which have been mysteriously cropped to a 4:3 aspect ratio (and badly at that -- no "pan and scan" there, just a straight crop down the sides regardless of what gets cut from the scene), even though the BD/DVD releases are widescreen-only. When I called Netflix to (politely) complain about this, I got a very rude woman who informed me that "not all users have widescreen TVs, and it wouldn't be fair to them." (lamest excuse ever!) All of the foreign films that I've tried to watch have been bad dubs with no option for the original language and subtitles (most of them, I've given up after a few minutes and added the film to my BD/DVD queue).

As far as I'm concerned, those issues are the much bigger problem. But the sudden price jump just adds insult to injury. And, at least for my 3-at-a-time account, it's a 17% increase (and a total of 23% over the cost of a non-blu-ray plan), not 10%. That's a pretty steep jump.

I personally don't really buy the "extra costs" argument, because once you amortize the extra cost of the blu-ray disc across all of the users who rent it over the course of its rental life, it really should be pretty minimal. And if the "extra costs" are such a big factor, why isn't Blockbuster charging extra as well?

[dmaul1114]

That's odd, I haven't watched any streaming movies that were cropped yet. Only had a problem with one--Gonzo (Hunter S. Thompson documentary) being very grainy/blurry and unwatchable. And I just deleted it and requested the DVD. The couple foreign films I've watched thus far have been subtitled as well.

Otherwise the service has been great for me, most SD stuff looks just a tad worse than DVDs and the HD stuff just a tad below HD cable (especially current stuff like Heroes season 3).

I can't complain. I wouldn't sign up for the streaming mainly, but it's a nice free bonus on top of the DVD/BR disc service.

I'd probably run into more problems if I used it more, but as is I have a hard time getting through 2 or 3 discs a week (have the 2 out at a time, may go back down to 1 soon as I'm getting busier and the weather's getting nicer soon) so I haven't watched a ton of stuff on the streaming. The first two seasons of Weeds (which looked so-so), Heroes episodes (since it's on the same time as 24) and 10-15 movies I'd guess since the Xbox service launched in November.

[mattstockton12]

I don't mind paying an extra few dollars to receive Blu Rays. I do mind when 80% of my queue are items that are not even on Blu Ray. They should have as system wherein you don't pay the extra if none of the disks sent to you in a particular month are high-def. Unrealistic idea, but it would be nice.

[arcane93]

That's odd, I haven't watched any streaming movies that were cropped yet.

The two offenders for cropping that I can remember right off were the movie Smart People and the anime Dead Leaves (which also was one of those dubbed-in-English-only offenders, FWIW). There have been a couple of others, though, and I haven't had the service that long, so I haven't tried to watch that many things yet.

Another dubbed one was the Thai horror film Art of the Devil 2. The dubbing on that one was so bad that I had to just stop it after a few minutes, I couldn't take it anymore. The DVD is in my queue now, but I would have much preferred to have been able to watch it instantly when I wanted to watch it.

Maybe I'm just hitting all of the bad ones somehow?

[CocheseUGA]

$2 a title? That's a hard sell since the vast majority of DVDs are on sale for $5-10 6 months to a year after launch where as most blu ray sale prices are in the $15-20 range. New releases you're looking at $15-20 for the DVD and $25-30 for the Blu Ray.


That maybe what you pay, but it's certainly not what I pay. Anything I want I can usually find traded into the CD store within a week or two of release and they are never more than $15.99.

[dmaul1114]

That maybe what you pay, but it's certainly not what I pay. Anything I want I can usually find traded into the CD store within a week or two of release and they are never more than $15.99.

Still, $15.99 is a good bit more than DVDs go for--especially if you buy used DVDs or wait a few months for price cuts and sales. So I still don't get your $2 more than DVD comment. Unless you're comparing used Blu Rays to new release DVDs or something. Or you're used store is owned by retards that only sells the BRs for $2 more than the used DVDs! :D

And again, I hardly buy any movies anymore. Just a waste of money and space for me since I could just get it off Netflix in a couple days anytime I want to watch it. I've pretty much gotten over my collector's bug and just pick up at most 5-10 favorites a year when they're on sale.

[dmaul1114]

Maybe I'm just hitting all of the bad ones somehow?

Yeah may just be bad luck. Or maybe they're just sloppier with very obscure titles? I've never heard of any of those you listed, so they may just not put much effort into stuff they know relatively few people will every watch?

[DaddySasquatch]

Well...I was on the 3 at a time plan and I just cut back to two at a time and kept the Blu-ray option. For me, I don't really want to pay over $20 a month for the few movies I do get to watch. And after the tax and fees are added it would approach $25. That starts to cut into my game budget.

[ilivas]

That maybe what you pay, but it's certainly not what I pay. Anything I want I can usually find traded into the CD store within a week or two of release and they are never more than $15.99.

It's still far more economical to rent movies. I understand some people are collectors, but from a cost standpoint netflix is better.

For the cost of one of your used movies, I can view ~10 movies.

[sononkyo]

I just canceled netflix.

I am not going to be a supplicant for Netflix taking my money to subsidize a high revenue low quality product such as their video streaming DRM technology. If you take off the sheen off the marketing wrapper, you get something like "HD-quality" streaming for what is really is -- Translation: 480p upconverted to 720p videos with 640kbps Dolby Digital.

I'm sorry, humans are suppose to be progressing. Trading a superior product (Blu-ray) for nascent DRM-infused inferior technology is not going to happen with my money. It already happened with DRM'd 128kbps iTunes mp3 music and the eventual "double the quality to 256kbps" if you pay more approach. What's to stop Netflix from charging the same tier fees in the future.

Netflix PR is dubious for the rationale: "Blu-ray disc cost more". If I go to amazon and see CONSUMER prices with a delta of $1-5 difference for DVD versions, I am skeptical that Netflix cannot leverage their subscriber base to gain, at the very least, the same BULK rental distribution contracts with studios as they do currently with DVDs.

This is plain theft to get consumers to pay for developing their DRM'd video streaming and to pay the licensing contracts they signed with hardware manufacturers to get Netflix video streaming in their TVs, blu-rays, consoles, and DVR devices. The CFO and his cohorts in the accounting department probably looked towards their company stock prices with this move since the Wall St. loves nickel and dime approaches to meet and exceed quarterly earnings in the middle of this recession. Look at NFLX stockholders and you see they are hitting 52 yr highs because they are moving away towards the consumer friendly model and more towards the bottom line (meet and beat quarterly projections to squeeze as much money as possible).

Thanks, but no thanks.

[dmaul1114]

I get the gripes, but kind of silly to complain about DRM with a rental services where you have no ownership rights anyway. Quality complaints, not thinking it's worth the money etc. are fine. But drop the DRM non-sense--it's only worth bitching about with a digital product that you supposedly "buy"--mp3s, ebooks, downloadable games etc. But not with a rental service where you're just paying a subscription price to have access to the streaming content.

[bigdaddybruce44]

Wow, yeah, you can't complain about DRM when it comes to a product you aren't even buying. The whole rallying cry behind DRM is that it's like renting the product. Well, in this case, that's all you are doing, so what's the issue?

[gorgonzola238]

It's still far more economical to rent movies. I understand some people are collectors, but from a cost standpoint netflix is better.

For the cost of one of your used movies, I can view ~10 movies.

+1

I made it a point not to purchase a DVD this whole calendar year, and in exchange i'm doing netflix. For 1 movie unlimited I can manage 8 movies a month which averages to $1.25 a movie (including tax).

My bank account is thankful.

[Blue Jackets Fan]

I opted to drop from the 3 movie to 2 movie at a time plan. That keeps my costs about the same.

[doc005]

I also dropped from the 3 movie to 2 movie plan. Hopefully new release blu ray movies will be easier to get when they come out since it seems a lot of people will be removing blu ray access from their accounts due to the higher fees.

[franz ferdinand]

I canceled my account. I had the 2 at-a-time, with $1 more for Blu-Ray. Increasing the cost just made it not worth my while. I have a PS3 and 1080p display, and own maybe a dozen Blu-rays, but its just not worth it to me.

I don't mind paying an extra few dollars to receive Blu Rays. I do mind when 80% of my queue are items that are not even on Blu Ray. They should have as system wherein you don't pay the extra if none of the disks sent to you in a particular month are high-def. Unrealistic idea, but it would be nice.This was the other killer. Out of the 100 or so movies in my queue, maybe 5 were on Blu-ray. Can't justify the cost when I hadn't rented a Blu-Ray from Netflix in months. I like the format, but nickel-and-diming us in a bad economy is a great way to lose customers. But maybe that's what they wanted.

[unopepito06]

Yes, I was in the same boat. I wanted 1 or 2 blu-rays (Futurama - Bender's Game mainly), I waited 3 WEEKS to recieve it, it still just said long wait. I wasn't paying $1 to recieve blu-rays, I was paying to put them in my queue and wait. Besides, the biggest t.v. in my house is 26". Hardly worth the extra cost. However, if I DID need blu-rays, I'd be happy to pay a few extra dollars a month to actually recieve them.

On Netflix in general, I'm unhappy with their streaming content, I don't actually watch anything. Now that I think about it, I'd rether have in-store exchanges than streaming... :-k

Oh, I gotta go :lol:

[CocheseUGA]

Still, $15.99 is a good bit more than DVDs go for--especially if you buy used DVDs or wait a few months for price cuts and sales. So I still don't get your $2 more than DVD comment. Unless you're comparing used Blu Rays to new release DVDs or something. Or you're used store is owned by retards that only sells the BRs for $2 more than the used DVDs! :D

And again, I hardly buy any movies anymore. Just a waste of money and space for me since I could just get it off Netflix in a couple days anytime I want to watch it. I've pretty much gotten over my collector's bug and just pick up at most 5-10 favorites a year when they're on sale.

Demand for DVDs>>>>>>>demand for BDs. That's just how it works. They can sell BDs at a lower profit because they move so many DVDs for big $$$$. Plus, they only give back a dollar or two more in trade than regular DVDs, so it's not that much of a hit. I think you've said that you don't buy movies anymore at least twice - we get the picture.

It's still far more economical to rent movies. I understand some people are collectors, but from a cost standpoint netflix is better.

For the cost of one of your used movies, I can view ~10 movies.

That's nice. I can still rent the same titles as you can, for less money. Then use that savings to own at least two more movies a year for the same price I would pay to rent BDs. If I'm renting, I really don't care if it's upscaled or native.

[ilivas]

Demand for DVDs>>>>>>>demand for BDs. That's just how it works. They can sell BDs at a lower profit because they move so many DVDs for big $$$$. Plus, they only give back a dollar or two more in trade than regular DVDs, so it's not that much of a hit. I think you've said that you don't buy movies anymore at least twice - we get the picture.



That's nice. I can still rent the same titles as you can, for less money. Then use that savings to own at least two more movies a year for the same price I would pay to rent BDs. If I'm renting, I really don't care if it's upscaled or native.

I guess it's a matter of preference. I refuse to watch dvds. Blu-rays only for me. I need quality. Eitherway for the price of your one blu-ray, I can watch all of my movies in blu-ray

[arcane93]

Yeah may just be bad luck. Or maybe they're just sloppier with very obscure titles? I've never heard of any of those you listed, so they may just not put much effort into stuff they know relatively few people will every watch?

Haha, they're not that obscure (Smart People is the most recent movie starring Ellen Page of Juno fame, Dead Leaves is an anime by Production I.G, the same studio responsible for Evangelion and Ghost In the Shell).

Thing is, I would expect it to be more effort to make these 4:3 cropped versions (even if it didn't take much, given how poorly it was done), as the DVD releases are wide-screen only.

[aheineken]

When I got the notice, I changed my membership from 2 BRs at a time to 1 BR at a time. I've only been watching about 1 movie a week anyway.

[dmaul1114]

I think you've said that you don't buy movies anymore at least twice - we get the picture.


And you don't rent but keep fucking posting about why you don't rent in a RENTAL THREAD, so stuff it hypocrite. :D

If you didn't have (or want) a Netflix account, you really had no reason to post here anyway since the thread is a poll and discussion asking Netflix members what they're going to do in response to the rate increase.

In short, don't complain about people repeatedly saying why they don't BUY when you're posting repeatedly in a RENTAL thread stating why you don't RENT. :D

[MSUHitman]

I'm on the 8.99 plan to allow streaming to the 360 and swallowed the first increase, but I'm not biting on the second. I don't use Neflix enough to justify $11/month. If I want to rent something that bad, I'll get a Blu-Ray from BB or Hollywood for the $6 or whatever it is for a rental.

[CocheseUGA]

If you're going to try and insult someone, try on some reading glasses. Then, show me where I don't currently have a 2-disc Netflix account.

[dmaul1114]

Guess I missed that part.

And I wasn't insulting you, just saying not to bitch at me for saying I don't buy a few times when you've been talking repeatedly about how renting is a waste of money in a RENTING thread and how you can buy so many movies with the money you save by not renting in the future.

i.e. don't complain at someone for repeating themselves in making a point when you've been doing the same thing. For threads are by nature repetitive as people keep arguing the same points over and over and over and over...

[CocheseUGA]

I made a singular statement and was going to leave it there, but you and others disagreed and started a conversation. Would you rather I ignored you?

[dmaul1114]

I made a singular statement and was going to leave it there, but you and others disagreed and started a conversation. Would you rather I ignored you?

Not at all. No problem with your posts other than bitching about me saying I don't buy repeatedly when you were repeating your argument as well. :D

We were having a discussion on buying vs. renting and which is more cost effective that was a good debate until that point.

But I still see no case on how buying is cheaper--it's not, at least for people who watch a lot of movies a year. And buying is also better for people like to own and collect movies even if they're stuff they won't watch more than once or twice. Which is fine.

But for people who watch a good bit, it's certainly cheaper to use a rental service and spend $1-2 per disc they watch. So that's why we had a debate, there is no objective argument that buying everything you want to watch is cheaper than renting unless you're just watching a few movies a year. You just can't average $1-2 a disc for DVDs or Blu Rays when buying them.

It's fine to prefer buying to renting--many do and that's totally legit. But saving money isn't a legit reason for preferring buying unless you're only watching a couple movies a month.

So hence the repetive arguments and you keep asserting that buying is cheaper and that's just not the case.

[joeyatog]

i'm pretty disappointed with this. mostly because my netflix account has multiple profiles but mine is the only one with blu-rays active and i don't watch that many BRs a month. i'll have to pay a lot more for blu-ray access than i should now. i'll probably drop the blu-ray option at this point but i'm still on the fence.

[CocheseUGA]

Not at all. No problem with your posts other than bitching about me saying I don't buy repeatedly when you were repeating your argument as well. :D

We were having a discussion on buying vs. renting and which is more cost effective that was a good debate until that point.

But I still see no case on how buying is cheaper--it's not, at least for people who watch a lot of movies a year. And buying is also better for people like to own and collect movies even if they're stuff they won't watch more than once or twice. Which is fine.

But for people who watch a good bit, it's certainly cheaper to use a rental service and spend $1-2 per disc they watch. So that's why we had a debate, there is no objective argument that buying everything you want to watch is cheaper than renting unless you're just watching a few movies a year. You just can't average $1-2 a disc for DVDs or Blu Rays when buying them.

It's fine to prefer buying to renting--many do and that's totally legit. But saving money isn't a legit reason for preferring buying unless you're only watching a couple movies a month.

So hence the repetive arguments and you keep asserting that buying is cheaper and that's just not the case.

You completely didn't read what I wrote, then.

I said, it's a smarter decision (for me, anyways) to take the money I save from not renting BDs - not dropping Netflix - than to pay the up charge for a slightly better viewing experience. I said I would take the money I save from the up charge and buy a couple of extra movies - not drop renting entirely and switch to only buying.

And no, I don't watch a lot of movies anymore. 50+ hours a week, three kids, new house...it's simply not important anymore.

[dmaul1114]

Fair enough. You were just vague and made it sound like you were dropping renting all together rather than just BD access and that renting was cheaper than buying.

And I feel your pain on being busy, I work a ton but don't have the kids or new house to deal with, so you have it even worse. I usually get through 1-3 movies a week--probably should drop back down to 1 out at a time rather than 2 (bumped it up when I got a BR player and was watching more initially).

[Nam]

hm. I had the 3 out plan with the upgrade bluray for 1$, they didnt charge me the extra 3$? So dont I just pay 1$ for bluray before the upgrage. basically if you grandfather it you're ok?

[bigdaddybruce44]

The increase hasn't taken place yet, and there will be no grandfathering.

[guardian_owl]

Didn't originally jump on the +$1 per month until I could see if the extra money improved wait times. From what I can gather it did not improve Blu-ray wait times. So I'll wait and see again if $4 a month improves it before I put any money toward it.

[blackhole82]

There's still a long wait for me for Role Models on blu-ray :/

[fignutz32]

It would be worth it if there was shorter wait times and a higher percentage of my queue was available on blu.

[bigdaddybruce44]

Seriously.

[powercreep]

I'm on the 1 out/unlimited plan so it's going up another dollar a month for me. Still, I'm getting 8 movies/month for $11 + tax which would only be 2 movies at the local video store. I don't care about new releases that much. I have plenty of BR movies in my queue. Guess I'll just suck it up and pay even though I'm not gaining anything with the price increase except the privilege to continue receiving BR movies.
I've never used Red Box; they don't have BR in them do they?

Edit: Just checked Blockbuster prices and it's $12/mo for a comparable plan I'm using now from Netflix. They say that don't charge extra for BR, yet it would still cost me a dollar more for the BB plan. Also, no streaming from BB. They lose.

[arcane93]

Edit: Just checked Blockbuster prices and it's $12/mo for a comparable plan I'm using now from Netflix. They say that don't charge extra for BR, yet it would still cost me a dollar more for the BB plan. Also, no streaming from BB. They lose.

That's for a plan with 2 in-store exchanges per month (how they're "free" when the plan costs more is beyond me). A comparable mail-only plan (which is closer to Netflix, since Netflix has no stores to exchange in) is $8.99/month. But yeah, no streaming.

For me, with my 3-at-a-time plan, it's now $20.99 for Netflix vs. $15.99 for a Blockbuster mail-only plan. I'm debating whether the streaming, as it currently exists, is really worth that.

See https://www.blockbuster.com/signup/y/plan and click on "See all available plans" for a list of all of their plan options. The mail-only plans are down at the bottom.

[Apostle22]

The problem I face with Netflix as well is their throttling of service. I canceled with them a few months back because they throttled my service when I was renting the back seasons of Battlestar Galactica. I even put movies that were a year old in my queue and they were all long waits. I have them now but with the price increase of blu ray, I'll cancel and use Redbox or BB and not have to hold on to movies days after watching them in fear of being throttled again.

[devil_blog_dracula]

I dropped Blu-Ray back when they made it $1 more expensive on every plan.

[dickybeans]

I think its ridiculous to charge more. Sure, Blu-Ray discs cost more than standard discs, but they also are 10x more durable. 5 copies of a film on BD should last as longer (if not longer) than 10 copies on DVD.

I'm dropping from 2-at-a-time unlimited to 1-at-a-time unlimited. Just got a Tivo HD XL, so I can stream to my tv for the couple of days between sending and receiving BDs in the mail.

[dmaul1114]

Actually, from what I've gathered from complaints on forums. Netflix has had more problems with BR getting damaged. They tend to get small cracks on the edges from the post office sorting machines and then won't play. I've only had one myself--was the first one I got and it freaked me out as I thought my player was broken since it was the first disc I'd tried.


As for shipping speeds--I got Quantum of Solace shipped out today--one day shy of 2 weeks past release. It was on very long wait initially. So maybe the cancellations are speeding up things a bit. Still doesn't bother me much as I'm never renting new releases that I'm dying to see--just stuff like this that I want to see but reviews etc. kept from seeing in the theater. And no rush on those with 100+ titles in my queue.

[powercreep]

See https://www.blockbuster.com/signup/y/plan and click on "See all available plans" for a list of all of their plan options. The mail-only plans are down at the bottom.


Yeah, didn't see the tiny type under the other options. Thanks.

[FRAUD_WHATS_THAT]

I'm really on the fence with this one. I don't currently have the Blu-ray option yet, but was thinking of pulling the trigger because of a major recent TV upgrade. Now I'm not sure about adding the option because I feel I use the instant watch feature way more often than even getting DVDs in the mail. Keep in mind I'm super cheap & only have the 1 DVD at at tiome unlimited option. I'll probably just put it off longer now until I feel I really really want the blu ray option.

[FRAUD_WHATS_THAT]

The problem I face with Netflix as well is their throttling of service. I canceled with them a few months back because they throttled my service when I was renting the back seasons of Battlestar Galactica. I even put movies that were a year old in my queue and they were all long waits. I have them now but with the price increase of blu ray, I'll cancel and use Redbox or BB and not have to hold on to movies days after watching them in fear of being throttled again.

I do this exact same thing. If it's a new movie I really want to see now, I go to Redbox. The whole throttling thing sucks but now with instant watch, I'm happy if they want to delay me a day or 2 on certain titles. This was one of the major reason I left Netflix the first time in 2005 but this was also before Redbox came to my area. If the instant watch becomes a added cost, then I probably would really consider dropping the service, which is really something I can see them doing. If only redbox would add more TV shows, I would consider dropping Netflix altogether but right now I'm happy.

[Moffman82]

Do you want some cheese with your whine?

Do you work for netflix? Do you know how much they pay per disc from the studios? No? Then you have no ground to stand on in regards to their costs. You simply don't know any of the facts here.

If you can't afford the extra $4 during this recession, then what are you doing renting movies anyway, and blu-rays none the less? You're complaining about them raising the price of a premium offering? Somehow everyone else should have to bear the brunt of the costs because you want to watch blu-rays? Get real. DVD's aren't going to "fall by the wayside" anytime soon, no matter how hard you want them to. Anyone with their "head in their ass" can see that.

Those "fucking corporate scumbags" are in this business to make money. They are already doing you a favor by catering to a niche market. Get over it or go elsewhere.


What do you know? I know what shit costs, I'm an economist. I know what studios charge for distribution rights, I've worked in the movie industry and also have a degree in Film. I am currently working on securing financing for my first feature film. The studios are only charging a small premium to distribute their hi-def material that in no way translates to a 4 dollar upcharge per subscriber fee. Blu-Ray is not exactly a "Niche Market", it's not like this is 19 fucking 85 and they are sticking laser discs in cardboard boxes and shipping them out to people across the U.S. The cost isn't the issue, I gross over 6 figures annually. It's the principle of it. 4 extra bucks a month from thousands of subscribers is highway robbery. Get YOUR head out of YOUR ASS! Open your fucking eyes douchebag.

[actripxl]

I don't understand how people complain about $4 a month for better quality versions of movies, but have no problem paying $5 a month to MS just to play online even though its free on the PC and PS3.

[dmaul1114]

I don't understand how people complain about $4 a month for better quality versions of movies, but have no problem paying $5 a month to MS just to play online even though its free on the PC and PS3.

Well to be fair this is a gaming site, so many (probably most) here are much more into gaming than movies, and thus willing to pay more for gaming.

[ilivas]

What do you know? I know what shit costs, I'm an economist. I know what studios charge for distribution rights, I've worked in the movie industry and also have a degree in Film. I am currently working on securing financing for my first feature film. The studios are only charging a small premium to distribute their hi-def material that in no way translates to a 4 dollar upcharge per subscriber fee. Blu-Ray is not exactly a "Niche Market", it's not like this is 19 fucking 85 and they are sticking laser discs in cardboard boxes and shipping them out to people across the U.S. The cost isn't the issue, I gross over 6 figures annually. It's the principle of it. 4 extra bucks a month from thousands of subscribers is highway robbery. Get YOUR head out of YOUR ASS! Open your fucking eyes douchebag.

rofl

[Pookymeister]

There's still a long wait for me for Role Models on blu-ray :/

Don't worry - i'm sending mine back tomorrow

[jatty]

I'll wait and see if the extra money goes to me getting new Blu Ray releases faster. Eagle Eye on Blu Ray was on my list at #1 for about 2 months before I received it (I go through about 10-15movies a month).

If it stays the same 'eternaly long wait' status on all blu rays i'll be cancelling blu and going back to regular dvds. If i start getting new releases then I think the price is still fine considering that I go through so many movies per month.

[rsigley]

Where do you live that you get long waits on blu-ray? I'm in NJ and every blu-ray [17] I have in my query is available now. I don't remember seeing a wait on any blu-rays in a couple of months and I always get my first choices.

They also just shipped three new movies that came out this week (Doubt, Earth Stood Still, and Final Destination) this morning.

[ilivas]

I actually received "the day the earth stood still", "bedtime stories", and "yes man" yesterday, as it was shipped monday. Suprised me because they didn't actually get released till yesterday.

[dmaul1114]

I live in the DC area about 20 miles from the local distribution center. A lot of my new release Blu Rays had been taking a month or so to get. When I first added BR access in November I was getting the right away.

So maybe they give preference to new Blu Ray members. I also had a few new releases that I kept for 2 weeks to a month when I was traveling a lot earlier this year, so maybe they throttle people who get new releases and keep them for a long time since it makes the waits longer for other people? Who knows.

It seems to be getting a bit better, as noted I had about a 2 week wait for Quantum of Solace to ship out (which should have came yesterday but didn't, hopefully will be here today). Also, some new releaes I just added (Doubt, Let the Right One In, Rachel Getting Married) are all listed as available now, so maybe they're finally ordering more BR copies of new releases.

[psunami]

I just removed my Blu-Ray access for my 2 disc account. My wife does most of the movie watching and thought that the premium wasn't worth it.

[bigdaddybruce44]

Where do you live that you get long waits on blu-ray? I'm in NJ and every blu-ray [17] I have in my query is available now. I don't remember seeing a wait on any blu-rays in a couple of months and I always get my first choices.

They also just shipped three new movies that came out this week (Doubt, Earth Stood Still, and Final Destination) this morning.

I've been falling behind on my queue for awhile, because I've been mainly using the streaming. But for the longest time, I had long, long waits on all the really, really big BD releases. Month-long wait for Iron Man. Month-long wait for Halloween.

Looking at my queue now, I have zero titles with any wait time, but I really don't have any newer titles on there. The test will come in the next few weeks, because I have some bigger-name releases, like The Wrestler and The Spirit.

[gimmepilotwings]

So maybe they give preference to new Blu Ray members.


There was a class action lawsuit against them for this on the DVD side. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it is still happening.

[ilivas]

I live in the DC area about 20 miles from the local distribution center. A lot of my new release Blu Rays had been taking a month or so to get. When I first added BR access in November I was getting the right away.

So maybe they give preference to new Blu Ray members. I also had a few new releases that I kept for 2 weeks to a month when I was traveling a lot earlier this year, so maybe they throttle people who get new releases and keep them for a long time since it makes the waits longer for other people? Who knows.

It seems to be getting a bit better, as noted I had about a 2 week wait for Quantum of Solace to ship out (which should have came yesterday but didn't, hopefully will be here today). Also, some new releaes I just added (Doubt, Let the Right One In, Rachel Getting Married) are all listed as available now, so maybe they're finally ordering more BR copies of new releases.

I've had my account much longer than that. I just time it right.

[dmaul1114]

I've had my account much longer than that. I just time it right.

Fair enough. I just add stuff when I think about it as I don't really care about waiting a while.

I'm still a big theater goer, so anything I was really wanting to see I've already seen in the theater. So disc new releases are generally just stuff I didn't want to see bad enough to warrant a theater trip.

But it does seem to be getting better since I added a few new releases today and they're all showing available now, where as in the past when I'd do that a day or two after release they'd show up as long wait.

[mmmend01]

it is worth it if they get more copies of the movies, so we don't have wait three months to watch a movie after it is released. i will keep the plan i have only because i love to watch blu-rays.

[ilivas]

Fair enough. I just add stuff when I think about it as I don't really care about waiting a while.

I'm still a big theater goer, so anything I was really wanting to see I've already seen in the theater. So disc new releases are generally just stuff I didn't want to see bad enough to warrant a theater trip.

But it does seem to be getting better since I added a few new releases today and they're all showing available now, where as in the past when I'd do that a day or two after release they'd show up as long wait.

If the movie isn't at your house on either the day of, or day after the release date, you're not going to get it for months. Yeah, movies that I don't ship on time, are always long waits.

[Trojita]

I read an article that stated that Netflix's method of operation is that they do give priority to certain customers. If you are the type of person that is on a 3 Movie Plan and you get them in the mail watch them right away and send all three back the next day, Netflix basically flags your account and starts sending you movies later and later. Now you would think that with the money they are getting from your membership they would be buying more copies of movies so that they can send them out to people without long delays. But they don't and now they want to charge you $4 extra for Blu-ray movies.

Just because you utilize your membership more efficiently, should you be treated different under the same membership?

Myself I am not very efficient when it comes to sending movies back. Partly because I have my family which I share movies with and also that sometimes I'm just not in the mood to watch them at the moment, but I don't want to send them back. I've had Prince Caspian for AWHILE.

I will probably be canceling my account. One because of the bad economy, Two I'd kind of like my PS3 in my room, and Three using your power as a consumer in a capitalist society you are able to tell these companies that you won't put up with their crap. What I don't understand is that if the economy is bad and they are using that as an excuse to raise prices, how do they plan on making money off of people in a worse situation with less money? I guess they figure some people won't even bother to cancel, which they are probably right.

I may end up going to blockbuster though, they seem to be the lesser of two evils.

[ndheah]

I canceled.
I'll stick with Hulu.com for now.

[cheapndirty]

I canceled too. I will use the money and buy 2 BR a month now.

[bigdaddybruce44]

Lately, it seems like I am getting less "long waits" on newer releases, so that's good. Also, it looks like Netflix wants to bring the streaming to more gaming platforms.

[dmaul1114]

Yep, I'm getting new releases now. The Spirit is shipping today, and all the stuff that's came out recently is listed available now in my queue.

So they're either buying more discs now, or the added fees cut back BR subscribers a lot, or a combination of the two.

[pROvIs]

I have been very impressed with my experience with Netflix and bluray. I send a movie back they register they got it next day and have always shipped the next item on my list the same day. It also has always arrived the next day after shipment . That being said I usually have movies 1-2 weeks at a time on a 3 movie plan. I will continue my blu-ray subscription because i do appreciate the quality.


Edit: Also just returned 3 movies yesterday. Three more just shipped today. I have had my subscription since NXE

[soliddragon]

Canceled my Blu ray service, im sorry, its just too much. It should be built in to the cost of their service, i mean, over the whole subscription base, dvds and blurays, you can't tell me it's costing THAT much more for them to buy the Blurays.

[Steve0Matic]

I was a bit pissed about this, then I check Blockbuster's pricing and it's the same as the raised prices for Netflix. Seems Netflix probably noticed this too and decided to "price match" BB. Bastards. Netflix is one of the few companies out there that has seen growth and profits the past year and they decide to celebrate by RAISING their fees? I would cancel if it weren't the best option for mail video. BB is set to offer game rentals to everyone via mail in the summer, so perhaps I'll jump on that when it happens.

[arcane93]

I was a bit pissed about this, then I check Blockbuster's pricing and it's the same as the raised prices for Netflix.

See earlier in the thread; that's the price for a BB subscription with in-store exchanges. If you remove the in-store exchanges (which Netflix doesn't offer anyway), BB is cheaper. Of course, with BB, you don't have instant watch. So it all depends on how you're going to use it.

[DigitalFirefly]

I'm on the 1 at a time plan unlimited. Mine went up $1. It's still cheaper and easier than going to Blockbuster, or Hollywood Video. I've got about 45 Blu Rays in my Que and all but 2 are in stock.

[von551]

If I did get Blu from Netflix, i think I'd rather pay $2 more and get the HD Extra package from DirectTV. It has HDNet Movies, Universal HD, anf MGM HD for movies. HDNet is cool because they show one movie each month before it comes out in theatres (Great Buck Howard, etc.) and has a ton of relevant movies all day. I think I'd rather rent in SD and then if it's a good enough movie, I'd buy in HD. Save the extra $3 a month...

[LucerinRed]

Fuck this shit, I just cancelled my Bluray portion of netflix. I'm on the 3 at a time package and I'm not paying $4/month for the one or two movies I get that are actually on bluray. They look nicer for sure, but not enough to warrant a 20% increase in price. Fuck Bluray in the first place. I wish HD DVD was alive still so we could get some price competition back.

[Demolition Man]

Oh lordie... now cracked discs are arriving in mailboxes.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/04/18/netflix-blu-ray-movies-showing-up-cracked-and-unplayable/

[psunami]

I had that happen twice to me with Blurays in the past.

Could happen with any discs. People are just more inclined to complain now.

[gunm]

I just got a cracked BR yesterday. Might be the surge in new subs and new BR subs causing these to go through the automated mail processing machines a little more than before, I dunno.

[dmaul1114]

Well I finally decided to downgrade my service. Was on 2 at time unlimited with Blu Ray, decided to drop down to 1 at at time.

At 10.99 for 1 vs. 16.99 for 2 with Blu Ray access it just wasn't worth it since I've gotten busier and seldom watch more than 2 movies a week and don't take much advantage of the streaming (despite having a lot of stuff on my instant queue).

If it weren't for the extra blu fees I may have kept it, but now I'll save the $6 and make more use of the streaming and On Demand movies on Comcast.

[token2k6]

Didn't see this thread! Yeah, I cancelled mine the first day I possibly could after hearing about this. See, the joke on them is that if you have an upscaling DVD player to go with your fancy HDTV, it's "virtually" all the same, and you get to save money. I also really had a problem with the fact that not every movie would be on blu ray, so how does that work if you only get one or two blu ray discs a month?

Now, I just buy the movies I really want on Blu Ray for less than $25 somewhere during release week and upscale all the dvd's I get from Netflix.

[bigdaddybruce44]

I still save a ton a money every month, so the extra $1 hasn't swayed me one bit.

[Busyman]

I buy my Blu-Rays. I wait for them to drop in price a bit though and usually don't spend more than $12 a disc. Just got Harry Potter 1-5 for $56 and Ghostbusters for $9.

Tbh, I thought the $1 extra for BRs was dumb. Adding the additional $2 (or more) on top of that is really ridiculous.

I canceled my entire NF membership and use torrents now from time to time. I can watch on laptop at work or on my PS3 at home with no hassle.

I still buy BRs but I don't rent anymore. It seems NF act like people don't have alternatives.

[dmaul1114]

Oh I still love the service and kept it at 2 at a time for a long time. Just now its not worth it as I am much busier with a new job after finishing grad school and the $6 difference just didin't make anymore. If it was only the $3-4 difference it was before the last increase, I may have kept it as 2 out at a time is good when going through a TV series to get discs quicker or to just have one movie and one episode disc continuously.

But it's a great service. And to the person who said and upscaled DVD is just as good is blind I think. Upscaled DVDs do look nice, but Blu Rays look much better and I don't regret getting a BR player or having BR access on Netflix.

I balso uy very few DVDs or BRs now. I used to buy a lot--have over 300 DVDs and maybe 10-15 BRs, but since joining Netflix 2 or 3 years a go I cut WAY back.

I hardly ever watch anything on my shelf as I'd generally prefer to watch something for the first time over re-watching stuff, so renting just makes more since financially and storage space wise for me personally.

I really should buckle down and sell/donate at least 50-100 of the DVDs that I probably haven't watched in 5+ years (or at all) since buying them.

[ohboy10451]

downgraded from 3 at a time w/ bluray to 1 at a time w/ no blu-ray. Times are hard!

[styl3s]

Does not bother me 1 bit.. still keep 3 w/ BR.. why not? i watch ALOT of movies and would be paying 5x that if i rented this much at a local store + i use netflix on 360 so its an amazing deal

[elessar123]

But yea, Netflix for Blu Rays isn't worth it for people who mainly care about seeing the new releases in a timely manner. Probably better off with Red Box for that.

I wish I had Red Box with Blurays here =( A lot of you are complaining when this is still going to end up costing less than physical stores, which I don't get. The Hollywood Videos and Blockbusters in town (I don't know about nationwide) rent blurays for $4-$5+ EACH, and it doesn't matter if it's a new release or not. It's a price hike, but it's still a deal, imo.

[lilboo]

The minute redboxes around here get blu ray, I'm ditchin Netflix

[pete5883]

Just signed up for Netflix, 1 at a time w/ Blu-ray. Even with the $2 increase, it's cheaper and easier than any other alternative I have of renting HD movies.

I plan on renting 4 movies a month, which comes out to $2.75 per rental. PSN/XBL/Blockbuster are $5.99/4.99 per rental. Cable on demand here is $4.99.

[dmaul1114]

The minute redboxes around here get blu ray, I'm ditchin Netflix

I couldn't do it as I watch a lot more than just hollywood new releases and the convenience of getting movies in the mail and watching them whenever I find time is too great given my hectic schedule.

[bigdaddybruce44]

Yeah, redbox is nice to have around, but I'd never drop Netflix, unless they simply get out-of-hand with the subscription pricing. For me, the movies I can watch instantly on my 360 almost pays for the sub on its own.

[dmaul1114]

One thing also worth noting is that since the last BR price increase I've had no problems getting new releases. Some still show up as long or short wait, but they still ship out. Have Watchmen on it's way now, and I just put it at #1 yesterday and it said short wait.

So they either started buying more copies, a lot of people dropped BR accesss or both I guess.

[bigdaddybruce44]

Yeah, same here. When I first started with Netflix, I could never get a new BR release. In the last couple of months, though, I have gotten all of the ones I wanted within a week. And Watchmen also shipped for me, even though it was listed as a long wait.

[Gorge]

Why was this bumped up?

[dmaul1114]

I just thought of the thread as it was current when I took a break from CAG/forums in general, and I had just decided to downgrade my service in part due to the last price increase making it not worth it now that I'm not watching as many movies.

*shrugs*

[Mako1215]

I use Netflix for streaming to my 360 and will get a DVD sent to my house every now and again. I use the very basic unlimited plan, and won't be upgrading to the BR plan until I get a BR that can stream the Netflix content, but paying and extra 2$ a month isn't all that bad for BR IMO.

[LeRoy]

I guess I'm in for the long haul, price increases and all. I'm too much of a movie buff to give up renting blu-rays.