Can you join Netflix without a computer?

Do you know anyone who uses Netflix, but doesn't have a personal computer? You have to be able to go online at least once to join Netflix, but you don't really need a personal computer or to access the Internet more than a few times a year. Because of how the queue* works, you can get online once when you join, and go a very long time without seeing your queue again. If you can get online at a friend's house, or the public library, or at work, all you need to do is fill your queue with 26 movies, and you can go six months without seeing your queue again, if you watch just one a week. This works only if you're OK with watching whatever is in your queue in random order. If you're the type who has to be in the mood for a specific movie, this won't work. If you have a phone that connects to the Internet, you should be able to change your queue that way.

If you're OK with watching streaming movies only, and not DVDs, you can get a "Netflix-ready device." I have an iPod Touch, with the Netflix app, so I can see my Instant queue any time I have WiFi. There are Blu-Ray players, game consoles, TVs, and streaming players that allow you to see your instant Netflix without needing a computer.


*Q:
What is the Queue? How do I use it?
A:
Your Queue is the list of the movies you want to see, in the order you want to receive them. You may add, delete or change the order of movies in your Queue at any time.
To add a movie to your Queue, just click the Add button next to any movie. We'll send you as many available movies from your Queue as your plan allows.
Once you've finished viewing a DVD, simply return it in the prepaid return envelope and we'll send the next available selection from your Queue as soon as possible.
To change the order in which movies are delivered from your Queue, you can change the number in the Priority column, use the 'move to top' button, or simply drag and drop the movie to where you want it in the list.
To remove movies from your Queue, click on the 'X' under the column labeled 'Remove'.

Feedflix

From a comment on my blog, I learned about FeedFlix, a handy place to share your Netflix Queue and reviews with anybody (even if they aren't Netflix members). As far as I can tell, they have less than a hundred users signed up, but if they ever get a substantial number, the data could be really useful. The FeedFlix feature that's most interesting to me is that you can see who else is watching or waiting for the same movies you are. It's totally anonymous. All you have to share is your Netflix Queue RSS feed link, and FeedFlix keeps your page updated. My page is http://feedflix.com/netflixfan.

Mad queue disease

I've emptied my queue! Yes, I'm just kidding. My queue hasn't been empty since January 12, 2004. But in a way I have. At one point, I had maxed out my queue with 500 titles from the book of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

Netflix has just sent me the last one.

According to my Netflix History, which I keep in Netflix Freak, Netflix has sent me 606 titles since I joined.

But an empty queue is the devil's playground, so I am madly refilling it with the 389 movies I haven't seen of the Best 1000 Movies Ever Made.

Progress report on the 1001 Movies

It's been three months since I last reported on my quest to see all of the titles in Stephen Jay Schneider's book, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, the 2002 edition. I started in 2004, having seen about 200 of them, and now I have seen 978.

Netflix sent me 595 of them.

Of the 23 remaining, eight are in my Netflix Queue. I have three from Netflix at home. I bought two on eBay. One I have to rent at the video store. One I have to watch at the UNC Chapel Hill library. The final eight are unavailable on home video, or if available, in a foreign language without English subtitles.

I'm going through the book in chronological order, and I just finished the decade of the Nineties.

If you're working on the same list, please let me know how far along you are. I haven't heard of anyone who has completed the list yet. You can track, share, and compare your progress on the fourth edition (2006) of the book at Lists of bests.

Now you can drag and drop movies in your queue

Netflix has made it possible for you to change the position of your movies in your queue just by dragging and dropping them. You have to put your pointer over the movie until it turns into a little grippy-hand. Then you can click and drag the movie to a new queue position. Or you can still sort them by changing the movie's number and clicking the "update your queue" button.

I'm glad that the Netflix Web site announced this new feature, instead of waiting for us to figure it out.

Another queue milestone

For the first time since I joined Netflix in January 2004, my queue has dipped below 100 titles!! I haven't had to add anything in a long while, since I'm working on the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. I haven't put anything in my queue unless it's in that book. I have seen 881 of the 1001, which leaves 120. I have 97 in my Netflix queue. I own 12 which I haven't watched yet. I'm still looking for 11 of them. I have just 16 to watch before I'm done with every movie through 1990.

Another viewing milestone: 801 out of 1001

The greatest thing about Netflix is their enormously wide selection. They have something like 60,000 titles in their catalog. This big selection of movies gives me the opportunity to do something I could never otherwise have attempted: I am trying to watch ALL of the movies in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die at least once. As of today, I have seen 801 of them! In February 2006, I posted that I had seen 704 of them, so I've seen 97 in the last four months. A year ago, in May 2005, I posted that I had seen 501 of them, so I've seen 300 in the last 13 months.

Here are some of my other viewing statistics:

• I have seen all of Leonard Maltin's 100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century
  
• I have seen all of the The AFI 100 Years, 100 Movies
  
• I have seen 243 theatrical movies this year
  
• I have seen 77 movies from Netflix this year
  
• I have 166 movies in my queue, 9 of which are in the Saved section
  
• I have rated 2,042 titles on Netflix, and Netflix has 140 recommendations for me.

What are your statistics? How many movies have you rented from Netflix this year? How many have you rated? How many recommendations does Netflix have for you?

242 to go

I have seen 759 of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.
I have 193 of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die in my Netflix queue, including eight in the "saved" section.
I own 11 of them on VHS.
I know where I can rent about six of them on VHS.
That leaves 40 missing titles, which I will have to beg, borrow, or steal from somewhere.
The remaining films are going to be difficult to obtain. For example, Bruce Conner's Report, is a 13 minute film, distributed by Canyon Cinema on 16mm, for a rental fee of $40.00.
This quest is going to end up costing me a lot of dollars.
I may have to be content with beating Roger Ebert's record, which is 943.

Queue progress report

For the first time in two years, my Netflix queue has finally dropped below 200. It was at 500 at one time, which was the limit then. Now, with Profiles (sm), you can have as many as 1500 in your queue, with 500 under each of three profiles.

Technically, my Netflix queue is at 206, but seven of the titles are in the saved section, with "release date unknown." Everything in my Netflix queue is from the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. I have seen 743 of the titles in the book. If I have 199 in my Netflix queue, that leaves 59 which I must obtain from other sources, unless they become available from Netflix. I feel like I'm on the home stretch.

I'm working my way through the list chronologically. Right now, I'm in the Seventies. At a rate of 20 per month, I will be done in a year, if I succeed.

I still subscribe to Blockbuster Online, but I am not using them for this project, unless they have a title Netflix doesn't have.

Another viewing milestone: 704 out of 1001

I have seen 704 of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. My goal is to see all of them, but that may be impossible, since there are about 75 titles on the list which are either out of print, never released to home video, or never released to theatres.

When I started my quest, in May 2004, I had seen about 200. Of the 504 I've seen since then, 340 came from Netflix. I now have 219 movies in my Netflix queue, all of which are on the list of 1001. Eight of them are in the saved section, because they are "release date unknown."

I am using the 2002 edition of the book, which is out of print, but you can buy it used, or find the 2004 edition, which has a few different titles on the list.

You can see the list of Films I've Seen of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die on Listology.

The last time I posted a milestone from this book was October 13, so it has taken me four months to see 100 films on the list.

Are you in the 500 club?

Jer at nyquil.org has just joined what I've decided to call the "500 club" of Netflix members who have 500 titles in their queue--which is the maximum you can have.

I was in the 500 club last year, but I promised myself not to add any more to my queue until I finish 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. I'm down to 359 now. (Of course, I cheat every now and then).