Yes, instant watch and streaming are the same thing by different names. The content is streamed over the internet either directly to a PC hard-wired to a modem or through a wireless router and then to a laptop, Wii, Xbox, etc.
What I think is really cool is that you get to “take your account with you” in the sense that I can go to my parents house and if for any reason I feel like watching something or showing them a movie, I can do so on one of their devices. Its not restricted to your IP address or anything.
Eh, I think the sheer volume of content (which also includes a head-spinning amount of TV shows, both from cable networks and major networks) pretty much trumps the ability to “see something sooner”.
My guess: They’ve only got one copy, and it’s either out of print or not popular enough to get another one, and its sitting on someone’s shelf at home because they’ve forgotten to return it or just haven’t gotten around to watching it yet.
It has never been a few weeks (which is just insane even suggesting it). Right now the average amount of time is between four and six months. For example, Kick-Ass just came out on DVD this week, four months after its theatrical opening. Meanwhile, a bigger movie like Iron Man 2 was released in theatres on May 7 and will come to DVD on September 28, a span of five months.
It was longest in the early days of VHS, but over time the interval between the last airing of the film in the theater and its release kept slowly shortening, until now when films are sometimes available on DVD as soon as a week after they’ve stopped playing on the big screen. So it’s just a matter of what point in that approximately 25-year interval we’re looking at.
The complaint makes complete sense. When a new release comes out, sometimes it can be weeks before it is sent to you. This can be frustrating.
You are correct that back in the day of video stores, it would be common for a new release to be out of stock. What you are missing is that, while it may have been difficult to get the movie on the specific day you wanted it, it would not be difficult to get it a short time after. Typically no more than a day or two. With netflix it can be weeks.
Exactly. And it isn’t like you’re paying some exorbitant sum, either. Netflix is ridiculously cheap for the amount of entertainment we collectively get out of it.
It does if you’re sane. The real value of Netflix is of course its huge library. But I suspect the folks who are doing most of the whining signed up for Netflix so they can get their DVDs delivered to their door rather than having to drive to Blockbuster, and don’t have a lot of interest in older or more esoteric films. In other words, they’re using the wrong service, and don’t quite seem to grasp that fact.
Yes, pretty much. Blockbuster seems to be not doing so well. Every store I’ve seen when I’ve passed by one in the Cincinnati area seems pretty empty. I can remember the halcyon days of the 1990’s on a Friday night, scouring the new releases and the return cart, hoping a copy of latest hit movie was available.
WAG: The title isn’t in print and they have no copies, or was never released on DVD. They’re hoping that someone will dig up a copy or that some publisher will decide to release it someday.
I just saw my first “blue box” this morning. It’s Blockbuster’s attempt to remain viable by competing with Red Box. I can’t imagine it will work. Red Box is in every McDonald’s in Indianapolis - making McDonald’s the largest video rental store in the state. That took years of market penetration. Good luck BB.
On top of my WAG - for this particular title, I see that it’s available via Amazon, but I’m pretty sure that this isn’t how Netflix gets hold of its DVDs - not to mention permission to distribute them for others to view. So maybe in this and some other cases they haven’t negotiated rights for some films that are in-print on DVD. Consider shooting them an E-mail saying ‘hey, what’s the deal?’ and maybe they’ll look into it?
I have just recently started using torrent software and on the site I use to download them, I’m amazed at how many movies that I’d consider recommendable, and in some cases, compulsory viewing, would be dying on the vine, but for that site. I will certainly be looking to acquire legit hard copies of a few films on there, if I see them at the right price, ie. under a fiver.
Netflix doesn’t have to work out permissions with anyone to rent their DVDs. The very act of purchasing the DVD enables the owner to then rent it out, trade it for something else, give it away or sell it to another party.
Oh, that’s a major problem - any time there’s a format shift, plenty of significant content is never ported over into the new form. It’s amazing what never made it onto VHS, let alone DVD. Maybe some of the stuff that’s currently only available on torrent sites will become more widely available once instant streaming is common. (Of course, that will only happen if the reason the stuff wasn’t ported onto DVD was due to lack of interest/ poor projected sales rather than active suppression by the copyright holders.)