Tuesday, October 05, 2004

How Netflix deals with dirty discs

Per Video Business Online : "At Netflix, discs are wiped when they are returned and before they are sent, said Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos. Those discs flagged by customers as being unplayable are sent to its main distribution center and resurfaced if necessary.

Aside from the annoyance, the discs can be costly to resurface because it is labor intensive, Sarandos said. Perhaps unsurprisingly, children's movies tend to have the most problems, he added."

3 comments:

  1. I find it a little hard to believe that they wipe every disc that comes through the warehouse. With the emphasis on processing speed (as I've read in the past), this seems like it would as much as double the amount of time it takes to handle a disc. Nevermind that careless handling of the disc is likely to scratch it or leave finger prints. I'd almost find it hard to believe that they even take the disc out of the sleeve to verify that it's the right disc.

    Many of the discs I get show signs of not having been cleaned in awhile.

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  2. I'm sure, as with any company, there is a great divide between what the executives say and what the rank and file employees actually do. Imagine a sub-contractor with a room full of temporary employees at minimum wage processing 50,000 discs per day (and wiping them!). Can't see it.

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  3. I believe they do that with discs that are tagged as not working, but wiping each one when they come in & out? No way.

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