supervenusfreak gets Netflix movies constantly. We’ve only had problems with a few (most of which were Arrested Development, strangely), and a spritz of Windex and a quick wipe set them right.
I’ve only ever had problems with one disk: Shrek. It froze up about halfway through. I figure that this was probably due to the disk being handled (and mistreated) by legions of little kids. I ended up renting the movie from Blockbuster, and told Netflix to just send me the next disk on my list.
I’ve only had one that didn’t play properly in the year that I’ve been with them. All of the other discs have worked perfectly.
I’m pretty new to Netflix. I just got Best in Show this weekend. The copy I got was completely clouded over with scratches. Looked like it had been used in a street hockey game. And it played perfectly, without a single glitch.
I have had occasional problems with rented DVDs in the past, and fixed them by rubbing the playing surface down with a little plastic polishing compound.
I quit Netflix for other reasons; I had no more problems with skipping discs than I did from discs I got from the public library. Par for the course. I just got a PT job at a video store though, so I don’t have to use any other source, for the nonce. Plus we have a $3000 disc-buffer, so our discs remain pretty skipless. You should buy one of those!
I’ve been a member for a couple years, and I’ve had two disks that wouldn’t play, A Christmas Carol which arrived badly cracked, and Apocalypse Now which started skipping badly (it was during the part where they started up the river, and I wish to God I’d have left it at that and not watched the rest of the movie…the horror). Both were the Minneapolis center, I haven’t had any bad ones yet from Sacramento.
Did you already send it back? I’m supposed to get it tomorrow. 
I’ve had one or two recently that froze, but with patience righted themselves. I’ve had none that crapped out entirely.
Those Apex players are incredible. We’ve had two of them, and they’ll play damn near anything. Rented discs that hang up in our other player are rarely a problem, though the Apex does have problems with deep scratches. Our first one burned out after three years of regular use (the motor on the disc drawer burned out, specifically), but we figured that’s not bad for a player that costs less than $40.
I don’t have Netflix because our mail service at our apartment is extremely unreliable, but we’re moving to a house and might sign up once we’re settled in.
I used to have problems with my Netflix DVDs when I would play them on my laptop. But I haven’t had any real problems on my other DVD player.
I agree – Apex players are awesome, especially for the price.
I’ve gotten a few disks from Netflix that wouldn’t play, but usually because they looked like they were handled with Cheeto-fingers. Washing the DVD fixed the problem.
I read that the best way to wash a disk is using dish soap and warm water. Lather up the disk and use a cotton ball to lightly scrub in a circular pattern (with the grain) until the gunk is gone. Rinse and wipe with multiple cotton balls until dry (using the same circular motion).
Yes. I got to the point that I couldn’t really enjoy a movie, because I knew it was going to crap out. What really sucked about it was that they would play fine for about an hour, and then skip or freeze. It would be better if they would just not play at all.
I dropped Netflix for this reason almost a year ago.
Some would play if I cleaned it or if I switched from my DVD player to the PS2 or tried it in my computer’s DVD player…but most times if it didn’t work, it didn’t work. I had two arrive cracked. One was broken in half!
I had such a variety, from children’s movies to foreign films to whatever was new and interesting…didn’t matter, I had problems with choices from them all.
I also had a HUGE problem with movies never coming or coming at least a week past the arrival date. Replacement movies never ever came like they were supposed to.
When I cancelled they charged me for another month claiming they hadn’t received the last DVD, but I took it to the post office the day it arrived so it wasn’t a problem on MY end.
I am no fan of Netflix.
I just signed up for a Blockbuster Online 30-day free trial. In the first shipment of 3 discs, one was so badly scratched up that I couldn’t play a couple chapters. One of the others was the wrong movie. Even for a free trial, that’s not an auspicious start.
I’ve had only one (minor) skip in all the ones I’ve rented, but I also don’t rent the popular ones. Mine come from San Jose - and really quickly.
When I reported it they automatically offered to send another copy. I’ve had zero other problems with them.
You know why I quit? Their new “feature” where everytime I add a movie to my queue, it pops up a box with recommended movies. This is so freaking annoying, even if it weren’t so sluggish. Their UI people need a slap in the face. Ok, there were other reasons too why I quit, but this pushed it over the limit.
I’ve only had one disc that froze midway through, though it worked fine (minus a few seconds of pixillation) after I took it out of the player and rubbed it clean with my T-shirt.
Maybe it’s something to do with the movies you’re selecting? Are you picking really popular titles that have likely been to dozens if not hundreds of other customers before it reaches you? Those type movies might be more problematic. I tend to use Netflix only for those movies that I can’t find elsewhere – classics, documentaries, and foreign stuff, mostly, and like someone else said above, those movies have usually been through fewer hands, and have probably been better treated by those who handle them.
I’ve had probably about 70+ DVDs from Netflix, and I’ve never had one not play.
Re-visiting the thread to let y’all know that I watched The Da Vinci Code on my bedroom DVD player, and it skipped just like I thought it would.
I took it into the living room and played it on the theater system and no skip whatsoever!
So I guess the bedroom player isn’t as "forgiving’?
One “caveat” however: I rented Code the very first day it became available, and I am pretty sure no one else had rented it before me, so I must have a defective player in the bedroom. Sorry Netflix! 
However, my local Kroger just recently installed one of those “Dollar A Day” vending machines, and since I live only 5 minutes away, I have been renting from them. Only drawback is that I can’t rent any “classic” movies.
I don’t know how to “correct” the skipping problem on the bedroom player, so I guess I’ll be getting another one. Good news is they’re “cheep”.
Any recommendations?
Thanks
Q
I’m not sure why the rest of you have problems with your DVDs. When I’m finished with a Netfilx DVD I carefully toss it on the floor of my car, kick it around there for few days then gently place it back in its envelope and return it.
Seriously though, the DVD player in my bedroom skips like crazy. In the living room we use our PS2 as a DVD player and it does a pretty good job. On rare occasions the PS2 might get finicky then I just use my Powerbook as a DVD player. It’ll play just about any disc not physically cracked in two and the video out on my Powerbook makes hooking it up to the TV a snap.
Not saying you all have to go out and get Mac Powerbooks or anything. I’m guessing the DVD drive in most people’s computers is better than their home entertainment system DVD players, is all.