Netflix or Blockbuster?

[agame2323]

Im currently with Netflix but Im starting to look into Blockbuster. Any thoughts?

 

[CharliNye]

Blockbuster is going under in all ways. They have filed for bankruptcy and most of their stores have closed, their online rentals aren't any better.

If you want a larger variety, Netflix is the way to go. Plus their prices are much better and the streaming quality is better.

For every ten movies Blockbuster has to offer, Netflix has 100. I don't even think they're going to last much longer for online rentals. Especially now that more and more studios are inking deals to release streaming to Netflix.

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

Don't even start with Blockbuster. They will probably be gone by 2012. Every store I know of them near me has closed except one. Netflix is the way to go.

 

[bicker]

While I'm not as confident in their eventual demise as pp, there is truly no good reason to switch to Blockbuster at this point. Any advantage that they have is probably going to be going away anyway.

 

[HonnyDipp]

There's no longer BlockBusters in my area. We use iTunes and Netflix. We also have Red Box in my area, but I've never used them.

 

[bicker]

Red Door? You mean Red Box?

 

[HM]

I was going to say the same. The only Blockbuster near us is closing this month. They are selling all their stock. We have friends who've used them very happily for a long time....not so happy that they don't have a brick and mortar store for returning any more.

 

[TiggerTails57]

I got so tired of Netfix I have my account 'on hold'..........I'm gonna give them another try maybe they they have improved?
My account has been on hold for four months. I got so sick of all the blu rays being out (and I was paying extra for that service?) and new releases I was waiting for 2-3 months on average.

 

[bicker]

I got so tired of Netfix I have my account 'on hold'..........I'm gonna give them another try maybe they they have improved? My account has been on hold for four months. I got so sick of all the blu rays being out (and I was paying extra for that service?) and new releases I was waiting for 2-3 months on average.

Netflix's service is deliberately designed to be a service for the mainstream entertainment marketplace. The issue is that it needs to be substantially affordable for a great number of people. Given how much consumers are willing to pay for a subscription service like Netflix, they cannot design the service so that it provides every new release, in your chosen format, within a few days of your wanting it; they cannot even promise to get any narrowly characterized set of titles (i.e., "new releases on Blu-ray") to you within a week or two - it would be simply way too expensive for the average customers.

Netflix's offering is primarily (1) streaming (but not for my family, because we have a hearing impaired member); and (2) their vast catalog of titles - decades upon decades of movies and television series. New releases, and new releases on Blu-ray, are indeed available, but there is only a limited number of copies of each available, and of course there is very high demand for these titles as soon as they're released. If you wait a few months, and then seek out those options, you'll have a much higher level of satisfaction with Netflix.

It should be noted that no one actually does it better. That's a reflection of the fact that there simply isn't a demand for a service that is substantially better than Netflix, in the ways you were addressing (at a suitably higher price-point, of course - while surely everyone would love better service at the current price, that's an unreasonable expectation from an industry with profit obligations to shareholders).

There is a way to get new releases on Blu-ray, reliably, shortly after they're released: Buy the discs retail. If you're looking for a rental situation, then you can create your own rental simulate: After you're done watching the discs, sell them on eBay. The cost of your rental is the difference between how much you pay for them and how much you receive for selling them.

 

[FireDancer]

I got so tired of Netfix I have my account 'on hold'..........I'm gonna give them another try maybe they they have improved?
My account has been on hold for four months. I got so sick of all the blu rays being out (and I was paying extra for that service?) and new releases I was waiting for 2-3 months on average.

Netflix wants to be out of the physical media game and move to 100% streaming. While the resolution may be lower I would much rather have the convenience than the higher resolution.

Once the studios get past this outdated model of different release dates for physical media and streaming (which is only a matter of time) it will be one step closer to allowing companies like Netflix to get rid of the snail mail option. Of course there is also the matter of poor broadband availability in much of the country but that is a whole other issue.

There will come a day when you can stream movies the day they are released in theaters. That is what I'm waiting for. The narrow minded industry will continue to hold onto their outdated business practices as long as they can but luckily they will eventually have to yield to the march of progress. People who want the theater experience will still go to the theater while those that don't want that will watch at home. Just like being able to buy music didn't eliminate the demand for live concerts the same day availability for watching new movies won't eliminate the demand for movie theaters. It will just lower that demand to it's natural place as opposed to the propped up place it now has because there is no alternative.

 

[bicker]

I don't doubt that the model will change, but I think you can see how things are going to work out by taking a look at the pricing for Kindle editions of books: When a book first comes out, the Kindle edition is very close to the cost of the hardcover. It is only later, after the paperback is released, that they drop the price of the Kindle edition, to below that of the paperback.

So while I do believe that we'll gain the ability someday to stream a movie that is just released to theaters into our homes, I suspect that the price for it will be just a little less than the cost for a typical family of four to go to the theater and see that movie. And since that price is pretty significant, the industry will insist on having a way to ensure that someone doesn't take the data and pass it off to some other family to watch the next day. They'll want something in place to ensure that each family watching the new release pays for the movie themselves.

 

[pixiewings71]

I got so tired of Netfix I have my account 'on hold'..........I'm gonna give them another try maybe they they have improved?
My account has been on hold for four months. I got so sick of all the blu rays being out (and I was paying extra for that service?) and new releases I was waiting for 2-3 months on average.

I have not had this problem at all with netflix. I've received many DVD's on the release day. Maybe my timing is good, or I'm just lucky, but we have been able to watch a lot of movies the day they are released.

OP I say netflix, it's really easy to use.

 

[bicker]

I should have noted my personal recent experience.

We generally put Netflix on hold from September 21 to December 12, and then again from February 12 through May 21. (In other words, the service is active for two months around and after New Year's, and for four months over the Summer.) We put Netflix on hold because during those time periods the big network (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, etc.) are presenting a significant amount of programming, so the time we have available to watch television is pretty-much filled with what's being broadcast at that time. When the big networks are presenting mostly reruns, we tend to run out of programming to watch from those sources, and so that's when we turn (back) to Netflix.

This time, so far, we waited 3 days for Dexter Season 4 Disc 1 on Blu-ray, and instead were sent Pillars of the Earth Disc 1 on Blu-ray (which we were going to watch anyway, of course). For the discs that are already released, right now we're seeing smooth sailing: Everything is showing immediate availability, except Eat Pray Love is a Short Wait. Inception comes out on January 4, and so we have roughly a month (before we put Netflix back on hold) for it to find its way to our mailbox. (It is sitting in the #1 position in our queue.)

So at least for us, we don't encounter the kind of delays that the pp mentioned.

 

[HonnyDipp]

Red Door? You mean Red Box?

Oops! You can tell I dont use it!

 

[DeluxePrincess]

I've used them both. The only advantage Blockbuster has is that they get all the new releases on the release date. You have to wait about a month for many titles to get to Netflix. That's not a problem for me, but I do sometimes find myself disappointed that I have to wait longer for the movies to be released on Netflix.

 

[scot@dvcstore]

Up until 6 moths ago, I had Netflix and Blockbuster, now only use Netflix.

 

[LilyWDW]

I use Netflix and love it.

I think of it this way... if I want to see a movie SO bad that I have to have it the day it comes out on DVD, then I am most likely going to buy it anyways. Since these movies are few and far between (I think only one this year) I don't mind if I have to wait a bit for them.

 

[AristocatFan]

I just canceled Netflix last month after having been with them since they started. Their pricing is going up after the first of the year and I was tired of waiting for new releases. We now are trying DVDsByMail which is through Comcast & Blockbuster. They are $3 cheaper, can also rent video games and no waiting on new releases. So far no problems.

 

[TiggerTails57]

I have not had this problem at all with netflix. I've received many DVD's on the release day. Maybe my timing is good, or I'm just lucky, but we have been able to watch a lot of movies the day they are released.

OP I say netflix, it's really easy to use.

I'm hoping it was my region (I was living in the North East and have moved South)..........I'll just have to see. It just burns me up paying extra for blu ray and not getting them!
BTW I love the 'on hold' feature...........

 

[Andtototoo]

I tried Blockbuster for their "Free" month-long trial. It sucked. In that month, I only got two movies -- waiting two weeks in one case and three weeks in another case to receive them. Then after the month was over, they kept sending me more movies and because my card was on file, they charged me for a month's usage.