New Netflix Features: Move to top, and In Queue

New titles are added to the bottom of your queue by default, but this "Move to top" button allows you to put it in your #1 slot instead:

I'm always forgetting what's in my queue, so this "In Queue" button saves me from getting dumb looks from Netflix when I try to add the same movie again.

GameZnFlix--Taking on Netflix

via Nashville Business Journal 10-25-04

"Based in Franklin, Ky., GameZnFlix's inventory of 28,000 video game and DVD titles comes from Ingram Entertainment Inc. in La Vergne. Fulfillment services are provided by National Fulfillment Inc. in Lebanon and California.

"We consider ourselves to be the third-largest company in this business," says John Fleming, chairman and CEO of GameZnFlix.

That business is being led by NetFlix , which has about 2.4 million subscribers. And GameZnFlix (OTC:GZFX) isn't the only recent entrant: Big names like Blockbuster and Wal-Mart have joined the fray with similar business models."

They're going to have a Superbowl ad, too.

Commentary: Competition could help Netflix

The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Competition could help Netflix: "Netflix, after all, is almost as much a cult as it is an e-commerce site. You run into someone at the post office returning DVDs and it's instant bonding. At a party talking movies, soon you're off in a corner with other Netflixers. " Read more

Scary movie suggestions

I've noticed that all the horror movies in my queue have been on "long wait" status for the entire month. Hmmm, must be because Halloween is coming up. If you're looking for ideas, may I recommend the following two lists for inspiration? Both sites take a while to load.

THE 100 SCARIEST MOVIE SCENES OF ALL TIME!
As determined by the writers of Retrocrush Web site.

100 Greatest Scary Moments from TV and movies: as chosen by Channel 4 viewers.

ReelTime Public Beta Test

ReelTime Rentals Announces Public Beta Test Registration to Evaluate Cutting-Edge Technology

SEATTLE, Oct. 22, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Reeltime Rentals, Inc. (Pink Sheets:RLTR) is pleased to announce that it is offering the public an opportunity to participate in a free beta test to evaluate the Company's revolutionary Rental-on-Demand (ROD) service. ReelTime invites consumers who are interested in becoming a part of this groundbreaking product development to apply at ReelTime's website, www.reeltimetv.net. Participants will be able to view a full feature length movie free of charge.

This test marks substantial progress for ReelTime as it prepares for a full-scale national launch. "We have been very successful with our initial evaluations," said Alex Stanczyk, CEO Reeltime Rentals, Inc. "Consumer feedback is imperative to our product's ultimate success in the national and international markets. Inviting potential consumers to participate will provide us with more extensive feedback than any controlled focus group might offer and we anticipate exciting results."

Their web site contains no information regarding system requirements, but it looks like you have to view the movies on your computer in streaming format. There is no pricing or movie information available until you register for the service. If you try this service, please post your comments here :).

Queue trivia update

My Netflix Queue Stats

147--Number of movies I've rented from Netflix since I joined.
266--Number of movies in main queue
3--Number of movies I have out
3--Number of movies in "DVDs Awaiting Release" queue
31--Number of movies I've rented in the last 3 months
1--Number of movies labeled "Very Long Wait and Out of Print”
3--Number of movies labeled "Very Long Wait"
1--Number of movies labeled "Long Wait"
4--Number of movies labeled "Short Wait"
0--Number of movies in the queue that are actually television shows on DVD
8--Number of movies in the queue that I've already seen
0--Number of movies I feel are categorized wrongly
7--Average number of times I check the queue per week

Inspired by Megan at jumpingmonkeys.com
Here's Megan's queue.
Here's my queue.

Nicheflix has something to offer, too

I'm in the middle of a two-week free trial of Nicheflix , which is more of an alternative to Greencine than Netflix but they all work the same. Nicheflix , as the name suggests, offers otherwise hard-to-find "multi-region DVD and D-VHS" rentals by subscription model. They have a very narrow selection, but what they do have is nearly impossible to find anywhere else. You have to have a special DVD or D-VHS player in order to play these titles, because they might be encoded for another country. Their database is very fast and easy to search, but small. I signed up on Friday and received my first two discs on Tuesday. They ship from Indiana. If you're looking for something not available from Greencine , Netflix , or Blockbuster , and you must have it digitally, they are worth a look. Here's what I have in my queue so far:

Boudu Saved From Drowning (1932) Received
Top Hat (1935) Received
Ju-on: The Grudge (Juon) (2003) Available Soon
Pandora's Box (1929) Available Shortly
The Wolf Man (1941) Available Now
Cat People (1942) Available Shortly
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) Available Shortly
A Matter Of Life And Death (1946) Available Now
Bright Young Things (2003) Available Shortly
La Jetee / Sans Soleil (1962/1983) Available Shortly
Belle De Jour / Diary of a Chambermaid / The Milky Way (1967/1964/1969) Available Now
The Taming of the Shrew (1929) Available Now
Napoleon (1927) Available Now
The Battle of Algiers (1965) Available Now
Cul-De-Sac (1966) Available Now
Dr. Mabuse - The Gambler (Disc 1 of 2) (1922) Available Shortly
Fist of Fury (1972) Available Now
Croupier (1998) Available Now

Hastings speaks regarding Amazon entering the fight

Via IMDb.com's Studio Briefing for 10-20-04:

" Netflix Founder Predicts Online DVD Shake-Out

Netflix founder Reed Hastings said that he 'went through the normal anger, denial and grief syndrome' when he confirmed rumors that Amazon was planning to enter the online DVD rental business. However, he told today's (Wednesday) Wall Street Journal [subscribers only], he had been expecting some such occurrence. 'From inception, we have been telling our employees, there will be big new competition coming in the future; we don't know when or how. So everyone is pretty prepared for a big fight.' Hastings expressed confidence that Netflix will eventually obtain the rights from studios to distribute their films electronically as well as by mail. He said that Netflix will be able to compete with more established firms in online delivery 'by having the best brand, the best service, the best movie-choosing, the best pricing. ... Somebody has an opportunity to build a 20-million subscriber base here ... and if you do the math, 20 million subscribers is about $4 billion in [annual] revenue.' " (c) Studio Briefing

Nearly One Billion DVDs Shipped to Retail This Year; Robust Fourth Quarter Expected With Top Grossing Box-Office Hits Coming to DVD and Variety of Players

Via Businesswire : "Nearly 110 million DVD players have sold since launch (including set-top and portable DVD players, Home-Theater-in-a-Box systems, TV/DVD and DVD/VCR combination players), bringing the number of DVD households to over 63 million. Currently, 42 percent of all U.S. DVD households have two or more DVD players. "

Hastings speaks on Blockbuster threat

Via Reuters.com:

"Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings told Reuters on Monday he had expected Blockbuster to do something 'drastic' because the stakes in the growing industry were so high. 'I think it's important for them to get a toehold in this market,' Hastings said. 'We are the leader with 2.2 million subscribers and they waited five years to enter it so they have to play catch up.'
Hastings said the lower prices would expand the market of online subscribers and steal market share from traditional retail rental stores. 'The important aspect of that is the video stores in America will be vacant,' Hastings said. 'We are going to see a complete shift of the video service to go online. Blockbuster is recognizing that online rentals are a better way to go.' Hastings said the coming year would be dominated by a 'land grab' between Netflix and Blockbuster as the companies race to reach 5 million subscribers. That number represents the 5 percent of U.S. households that own a video recorder or DVD player. That 'critical mass' would position the industry leader to dominate a market set to grow from $500 million in sales to 'a few billion,' he said."
"We think and Blockbuster thinks that online movie rentals will be bigger than online book rentals. It may be one of largest online markets ever," Hastings said. "Maybe we'll both be winners with 5 million subscribers, and the only losers are store-based rentals."

Netflix tracker on Listology

Here's another great reason to join Listology.com: Jim the Webmaster over there has developed a great online tool, called Netflix Tracker, which you can use easily to track your Netflix usage and generate reports. All you need to do is create a username and password and supply a little anonymous information: your Netflix cookie shopper ID, your distribution center, and membership anniversary, all of which he'll show you how to find. With this tracker online, you can see your Netflix history from any computer, check your turnaround time, and know at a glance if you're getting your money's worth out of the service.

It's still in Beta, so be sure to report any weirdness to webmaster@listology.com.

HackingNetflix: Engadget Interviews Mike Ramsay, TiVo CEO

Via Hacking Netflix:

Tech site Engadget cornered Mike Ramsay, CEO of TiVO, in the hallway of Web 2.0 conference.

Ramsay had this to say about the Netflix relationship:

Engadget: Tell me about the new deal with Netflix.
Ramsay: It’s about video rental. Most people these days, at least in this community, are buying music electronically. They’re not buying physical media. And I think the same thing will happen with video. Instead of going to the video store or getting your Netflix in the mail, it’s going to show up in your TiVo. It’s a natural. It doesn’t matter if it takes a day to get there, because Netflix takes a day anyway. People will get used to having a pipeline where content drips through. The transition to electronic distribution will be complete and we won’t be dealing with physical media.

Engadget: So you’ll be competing with services like Movielink and CinemaNow?

Ramsay: Not really. Netflix will be a download, and those other services are streaming. All broadband Internet distribution will be a download for the foreseeable future. Streaming offers less than television quality. We believe that everything you deliver to the television has to be TV quality or better—you can’t compromise on that. The only way you can do that in the U.S. today is by download.

Will Netflix drop their price even further?

This business analyst suggests that Netflix should drop their price even further, and has included a screenshot of the Netflix Web site where he claims they have done just that:

Price War!

NewsFinder: "Blockbuster cuts monthly online DVD rental rate (BBI) By Anne Stanley
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Blockbuster (BBI) said early Monday it's cutting the price of its online DVD rental subscription service by $2.50 to $17.49 a month, effective Oct. 25. The company also said that, as part of new consumer incentives, the two free in-store rental coupons that online subscribers receive each month can be used for game rentals as well as movie rentals."

Bring it on!

He's angry, and he's not going to take it anymore...

By Bill Mann (TMF Otter)
October 14, 2004
Fool.com: Arrogant, or Desperate? [Motley Fool Take] October 14, 2004: "I have a deep well of ire, and this week the company that has raised it is Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX). Some dear friends of ours gave us a three-month gift subscription to Netflix, which we enjoyed thoroughly. One would think, though, at the end of a gift subscription, that a company would let you know that, for the first time, your credit card was going to be charged should you wish to continue with the service. So being a naturally unaware person, without such notification I allowed the three-month mark to come and go without canceling. I missed by one day. It's not really the company's business to save me from myself, so my fault.

But check this out: When I went to the Netflix site to cancel, one day too late, I found that I could cancel at any moment, but at the moment I cancel, my subscription ends, and company policy is for no refund for the unused portion of the month to be granted. Miss canceling by a day? That's $23." Read more.

Af if you didn't already have enough reasons.

How did she do that?

I have the same movie title ("Forgotten Silver") in my queue twice, which should be impossible. Netflix usually warns me if I try to do that. I got around it this time, because I added the movie to my queue back when it was available. Then, it went "out of print". I added it again, without deleting the first one, and it ended up in my "awaiting release" section. Now that it has a release date, it's in my regular queue area.

Hacking NetFlix : Major Netflix Announcements!

I was out sick yesterday, so I'm a bit slow with the news. Hacking NetFlix reports several big ones:

1. Netflix is lowering the price of the 3-out subscription plan to $17.99 per month, starting in November.
2. Amazon is entering the DVD rental maket, according to Netflix.
3. Netflix announces GAAP Net Income of $18.9 million for Q3 2004, based on revenue of $141.6 million for the quarter.
4. Netflix has postponed European expansion plans to focus on the increasing U.S. competition.
5. The churn rate remained constant at 5.6% since last quarter.
6. The stock dropped from $17.43 per share to $10.99 in after-hours trading tonight.
7. Netflix is expecting to break even over the next year instead of being profitable.

Read more.

Mike says Netflix is on the defensive, trying to deal with increased threats from competition with Amazon, Blockbuster, Walmart, Greencine; hence the price change and the more conservative strategies. Sounds about right to me. He has a list of links to news reports around the Web.

Netflix Freak version 1.3 has new Browse Tab

Netflix Users: Get Your Freak On With Version 1.3 || The Mac Observer: "Version 1.3 adds a new Browse tab to the interface, which allows you to view the following:

This week's new releases from Netflix
Personalized recommendations from Netflix
Top 100 movies from Netflix
Top 25 movies by genre from Netflix "

Netflix Freak is available as shareware from Little App Factory.

Netflix redesigns Web site, now accepting checks...

Alex Designs analyzes Netflix's Web site. Netflix seems to be testing two different versions of it to see which is more effective at getting you to sign up. You'll get one or the other only if you're not a member or if you appear not to be.

Netflix has also begun accepting checks in addition to credit cards for payment.

Video Without Boundaries

Video Without Boundaries makes all-in-one devices which enable you to use your TV to view E-mail, Internet, Games, play MP3/CD/DVD/MPEG-1/MPEG-2/MPEG-4, and download movies. You can use it to record TV. With it, you have access to anything on your PC from your TV. They also have a built-in hard drive and DVD recorder.

Home Is Where The Movies Are; Home Theaters Replace Cinema

BY PATRICK SEITZ

INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Today in Investor's Business Daily stock analysis and business news:
"The growing popularity of DVDs and home theater systems are factors in declining movie theater attendance, some observers say."

"Nearly 36% of U.S. adults polled recently by TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence say they're going to the movie theater less often than just a year ago.
And owners of home theater setups are cutting back on trips to the cinema even more. About 45% of them say they're going to movie theaters less than a year ago. "

"The rise of DVDs and home theaters isn't the only reason behind the slide in movie theater attendance. High cost is the most cited reason by those who go to the cinema less often. 20.5% of respondents cite high movie theater prices.

Almost as many — 17.8% — say they prefer watching movies at home as their main reason for going to the theater less."

"Other reasons for avoiding movie theaters include people being too busy to go and not liking the quality or selection of movies in the theaters."

"There's some evidence that when a movie is announced theatrically, people make up their minds whether they're going to see it in the theater or wait for it (on DVD)," Alexander said. "As the in-home display stuff gets better and better, it will become an increasingly important decision."

70% of people who rent and 40% of people who buy a DVD never saw the movie in the theatre.

How Blockbuster Snared Me

How Blockbuster Snared Me Motley Fool contributer Nathan Slaughter gets caught by Blockbuster online:

This morning, my inbox was full of inviting offers: everything from rock-bottom prices for Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE - News) Viagra to a promotional code for 10% off any order at Target.com (NYSE: TGT - News). There was also an unusual notice -- not junk, but a congratulatory welcome message from Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI - News). That's right, I am now a proud member of Blockbuster's online movie rental service (on a free trial basis, anyway).

However, HackingNetflix has this to say:

I am a paying member of both services and believe that Netflix is superior in many ways (see my prior posts about movie availability and distribution centers). The fact that Nathan picked Blockbuster because of the 2 free rental coupons worries me -- Netflix has no counter to this offer at this time (next year they could offer 2 free movie downloads).

My experience with the coupons is less than satisfactory. The first time I used one it took them at least 15 minutes to sign me up (they can't pull up my old membership and I didn't have my card with me). The fine print on the coupon limits you to only one coupon per visit, so that means multiple trips to the video store, and multiple attempts for the store personnel to try to tempt you with carbohydrates like candy or popcorn. I joined Netflix to avoid the hassle of going to the video store, and I always forget to return movies. I know that I will wind up paying a late fee on the "free" movies.

Don't get Blockbuster, unless you really need to go to the store twice per month.

Netflix Fan interview in Video Business Online

You think blogging about Netflix is weird?. This week's Video Business Online interviews Netflix Fan!!

"I wanted to know every detail on how they operated," Netflix Fan's Becky explained. "I was partly wanting to maximize my value. I found very little out there from the users point of view. And Netflix seemed very mysterious and kind of hidden from view. Nobody could drive up to a Netflix store."

Becky has since tried to take some of the mystery away, tracking locations--and location changes--of Netflix shipping centers so that users can estimate shipping times and giving tips to getting movies faster."

Read more.

More on Hollywood Video's in-store program

"They don't even have to walk in the door with money in their hands," said Ralph Noe, a store director for Hollywood Video. "The customers are really enjoying the convenience. We've had people rent as many as three titles a day for three weeks in a row.

"...the newest releases do not become available to MVP cardholders until they have been on store shelves between three to five weeks, Noe said customers are renting more from the store's library to either see fairly recent movies or to catch up with a classic.[This happens with Netflix, too--Becky]

"'It's been terrific, absolutely terrific,' he said. 'People are realizing their membership is much more now.' " Source

Hollywood Video starts all-you-can rent program **Updated

What the other guys are up to, via Recordnet.com: "At Hollywood Video , for example, a customer who pays a $9.99 monthly fee for the first three months -- the price goes up to $14.99 a month after that -- can check out dozens of DVD movies a month for less than the cost of three movie rentals at the $4 each regular price. "

Also,

"Wal-Mart just opened its 13th distribution center and will soon open another. Wal-Mart also expanded its catalog of titles to 15,000, compared to more than 25,000 for Netflix ."

**Update: The Hollywood Video deal, called "movie value pass", is for 5-day rentals only, and includes "most new releases" and all Hollywood Film Library(r) titles.

With Friends on DVD Who Needs Real TV?

Straight.com: Dot Comment: "If you're old enough to remember the days when a VCR was an expensive novelty item that you or your parents occasionally rented from a video store (along with a couple of prerecorded movies to watch over the weekend), then you've lived through the biggest period of transformation the entertainment industry has undergone since commercial television caught on in the 1950s. " Read more.

The Netflix Neurosis

by Gabriel Sherman

In the mental iconography of the New York culture junkie, the Netflix queue has joined the line of must-have life accouterments. The kind of person who fixates on arranging just the right titles on his built-in bookcases or artfully stacking back issues of Granta and The New York Review of Books now spends countless hours searching the Netflix Web site. His Netflix neuroses requires him to add to his queue all the high-end movies that he never got around to catching at the theater—if not necessarily to watch them. Read more.

Protect the environment--use Netflix!

If Netflix members, instead of receiving movies by mail, drove two miles each way to a rental store, they would consume 250,000 gallons of gasoline per day and release 750,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Breaking even

I managed to get nine discs from Netflix in September, at an average cost to me of $2.61 each. That is a good value. Netflix saves me the 40 minutes of driving to and from the store twice, the hour it takes to find what I want in the store, and the headache of due dates.

My local Blockbuster and Hollywood Video stores charge about $3.75 each plus 7% tax, but Video Review charges just $2.79 for DVDs and $1.99 for VHS. If you live in the Greensboro, NC area, I recommend Video Review , an independent video rental store with two locations and a tremendous selection of rare classics and new releases. As long as there are still so many titles unavailable on DVD, I will continue to go to Video Review for their extensive library of VHS.

DVD collectors thrill to the chase, not the viewing

Via AZCentral.com:
Adam Graham
The Detroit News
Oct. 5, 2004 12:00 AM

"'We're a society of collectors. We just want to own stuff,' says Scott Hettrick, editor in chief of Hollywood-based DVD Exclusive magazine. 'It's a social phenomenon capitalizing on a very common part of human nature - the want to own things and buy things.'

Hettrick says consumers form a strong personal connection with DVDs.

'People have more passionate personal feelings about movies and TV shows than a lot of other things,' he says. 'People start to identify with characters in movies and TV shows, and they feel like the movies or the characters really speak to them. They somehow touched a nerve. It can be as simple as the music in 'The Breakfast Club' bringing back some sort of nostalgic feelings, and they want to own that somehow and have a piece of it.'"

Studies show people are buying movies, rather than renting them, more than ever. In the first half of this year, sales of DVDs and VHS tapes were up 23 percent over the same time last year, while rentals of VHS and DVDs fell 19.1 percent, according to data complied by DVD Exclusive.

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."

Netflix Announces 3rd Qtr Numbers

Netflix announces 73 Percent Year-Over-Year Subscriber Growth for the Third Quarter; Raises Guidance for GAAP Net Income


"For the last several years, the rich content on the Netflix web site, including personalized recommendations, has driven high utilization rates as subscribers have been discovering great movies from the Company's huge library of DVD titles, including the inventory of older titles."

DVD recorder sales lagging

New Zealand News - Technology - DVD recorder sales lagging "DVD recorders are getting cheaper and easier to use, but that may not be enough to spark demand for the sluggish selling devices." People are reluctant to let go of their VCRs for recording purposes, even though they are happy to have a DVD player. DVD recorders are not catching on fast enough.

One Month Trial is GONE--again!

Sorry, but the one month trial offer has once again disappeared from my Netflix homepage. I gave away over 30 one-month trials. People said the two-week trial was too short, but that a one-month trial was long enough to find out how many movies you could watch the Netflix way. You can still get a two-week trial by clicking here.

Netflix and TiVo Officially Announce Deal

Netflix and TiVo Announce a Joint Development Agreement : "LOS GATOS, Calif., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) and TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO) have signed an agreement to work together to develop a joint entertainment offering. Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will develop technology and will work with Hollywood studios to secure content for digital distribution.

As a result of the new agreement and in an effort to avoid any potential conflicts of interest that might develop, Mike Ramsay, chief executive officer of TiVo, submitted his resignation from the Netflix Board of Directors, effective September 29, 2004."

Netflix distribution center locations

Hacking NetFlix compiled this list of 29 Netflix shipping centers, as of September 29, 2004. (29 on the 29th. Hehe)

Baton Rouge, LA
Chicago, IL
Cleveland, OH
Columbia, SC
Coppell, TX
Denver, CO
Duluth, GA
Flushing, NY
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Gaithersburg, MD
Greensboro, NC
Houston, TX
Kansas City, MO
Lakeland, FL
Lansing, MI
Las Vegas, NV
Louisville, KY
Minneapolis, MN
New Brunswick, NJ
Phoenix, AZ
Pittsburgh, PA
Rochester, NY
Salem, OR
San Jose, CA
Santa Ana, CA
Southeastern, PA
St. Louis, MO
Tacoma, WA
Worcester, MA

United States Postal Service Reports Mail Theft Investigations

Two different incident reports from the Official USPS Web Site:

"On June 14, 2002, a former mail handler at the Tampa, Florida, Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) was sentenced to 18 months in prison, three years' supervised release, and restitution of $21,295 to Netflix, Inc. , an online DVD rental company that mails millions of DVDs to addresses throughout the country. After numerous complaints from Netflix about missing DVDs that customers claimed they had mailed back to the company, Postal Inspectors identified the postal employee in November 2001 for the crime. Inspectors recovered thousands of the company's DVDs while searching the subject's vehicle and residence, with losses exceeding $100,000. As a result of this investigation, Postal Inspectors are now working closely with Netflix on a national level to increase mail security."

"In June 2003, Netflix, Inc., a major retailer that rents DVDs via the U.S. Mail, asked Los Angeles Postal Inspectors for help when it encountered problems with mail theft. Inspectors tracked the cause to four Netflix employees who worked in the mailroom and an outside co-conspirator, who together were believed to have stolen more than 1,000 DVDs-plus another 403 on the day of their arrests. The employees opened the DVDs in the mailroom and placed them in the trash, then paid a collaborator to pick them up from Netflix's outside garbage dumpsters. They sold the stolen DVDs for $2 to $3 each. The employees lost their jobs, and prosecution is pending."

I recommend you report each lost DVD to your local Postmaster , just to protect yourself, in case it is part of a larger problem.

Top Oscar Failures

Here's a list of movies from the BBC news Web site that, although they were great, inexplicably failed to get a Best Picture Oscar (r), or even a nomination, in some cases, the year they were eligible.
Film critic and Radio Times columnist Barry Norman said: "Looking at this list really exposes the major voting mistakes Academy members have made over the years.

"Each of these films have left their own indelible mark on the face of movie history, but amazingly, all managed to go home empty-handed in the major categories on their respective Oscar nights."

Number one on the list is The Shawshank Redemption . Rent it from Netflix .

Internet Beats TV

Plugged In Online has a new poll: if you could have only one media avenue in your home, which one would it be?

The winner so far is the Internet, beating out radio, TV, Recordings (DVDs, CDs,), and all print media.

Paid Movie Downloads Follow Digital Music's Lead

The NPD Group notes similarities between early days of music downloading and digital movie rentals today: "NPD data show that digital music customers tend to be heavier buyers of music CDs, and that pattern is echoed in digital movie rentals. Those consumers paying to rent digital movies from the Web are twice as likely to be heavy movie buyers (i.e., they purchased seven or more movies in the past three months) relative to consumers who acquire movies though PPV [pay-per-view] or VOD [video-on-demand]. In addition, 34 percent also reported being heavy renters (i.e., they rented seven or more movies in the past three months), which is significantly higher than those who used PPV or VOD. "

Another example of great customer service

Via The Colonel Sanders Conspiracy Here's a screenshot of the message they received from Netflix when they tried to cancel the service. They offered him a better deal. This happened over a year ago, so it might not work now.

Infernal Affairs

I'm getting Infernal Affairs (2002), a Hong Kong action movie not yet released in the U.S., from Greencine, instead of Netflix, because Greencine has it now (short wait), and Netflix has it listed with "release date unknown". I think it's because Greencine buys imported copies, whereas Netflix has a deal with the American studios not to distribute it in the U.S. until it's legally available here.

George Lucas vs. the Stormtroopers

Is it fascism? Box Office Mojo has an interesting commentary regarding the recent brouhaha over George Lucas's "improvements" to the original Star Wars movies released on DVD. Scott Hollaran proposes that we as fans have no right to tell George Lucas what to do with his own movies. Lucas owns the movies; we do not. Rent Star Wars from Netflix
and see the changes for yourself.

European options for home flicks

As Netflix prepares to move into the U.K., this article details the online DVD rental options already available to Britain and Europe.

Akimbo Systems

Akimbo Systems: "Akimbo is proud to introduce the first high quality video on demand service over the Internet straight to your TV!" The Akimbo player, "matchmaker between your TV and the Internet", is the first device that allows you to download TV or movies from the Internet directly to your TV. You no longer have to watch downloaded programs on your tiny monitor, sitting at your computer desk.

Akimbo just made a deal with Turner Broadcasting to provide content from CNN, Cartoon Network, and others for download to their set-top box so you can watch these channels via the Internet, without having to have cable TV service.

This is the sort of thing that the Netflix/Tivo rumor is talking about.

Secrets of Netflix - How to Maximize your Netflix Rentals

wooba.com has posted an article with some great tips for using Netflix , essential for new subscribers.

Map of Netflix locations

Here's a map of Netflix locations.

Most searched movies

These are the top movies as being searched for on IMDB.com, collected via Blogsnow.com. Blogsnow.com has some interesting ways to search for what's happening on blogs around the world.

End of an Era

I started with Netflix in January. Soon after, I decided to put my queue in chronological order. Since then, I've rented 118 discs from them. Out of those, about 90 were made before 1930, meaning they were made before the techniques of adding sound to film were effective. I have finally finished watching all the silent films in my queue.

Watching such a silent film is like reading a book, in some ways. The viewer must use her imagination to understand what's going on beneath the surface. It takes more concentration, because you must watch the faces, the hands, the background, very closely. The actors use a type of pantomime to convey emotions. If necessary, the filmmaker will interrupt the action with an intertitle periodically, which is a blank screen with brief text on it, for dialog or a scene description, to help you along. Otherwise, all the action takes place on screen. Because they can't tell you much, they have to show you. This makes the films more active and visual. Netflix has hundreds of silent film titles. I recommend you start with The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

Play nice, and your DVDs will too

From the Everything I Needed To Know I Learned In Kindergarten Department:

Netflix has over two million subscribers. None of us wants to receive a damaged DVD, or one with fingerprints or scratches on it. Someone else had it before you did, and someone else will get it after you. 99% of the discs at your local distribution center go to someone else the next day. Please use care in handling your DVDs from Netflix. Here are a few tips:

Handle a DVD more carefully than a CD.

Do not bend or twist discs.

Handle discs only from the edges and the center hole.

Do not touch the disc surface.

Don’t stack discs.

Make sure the disc is properly seated in the tray before closing the door.

Single-sided discs should be inserted with the titles and artwork facing up.

Always store the disc in its sleeve.

Keep discs away from extreme heat or direct sunlight (don't leave them in the car).

Do not use any abrasive solvents or cleaning solutions (liquid soap or window cleaner works best).

Wipe discs gently in only a radial direction (a straight line between the hub and the rim) NOT in a circle.

Dog Eat Dog Video Market

From the Tahoe World - News

Some video stores are being eaten alive by the combined forces of DVD and Netflix. The Watchdog Video store in Tahoe City, Nevada just closed. However, other stores are enjoying an increase.

Steve Hanson, owner of Video Stop in Tahoe City and Video Maniacs in Incline Village, said "There's a slim margin of survivability in the video rental business," Hanson said. "Business is volatile, but stable."

Hanson said the impact of stores like Blockbuster and online rental businesses like Netflix affect local video stores - both positively and negatively.

"Businesses like Netflix give people easy access to DVDs, but they also create more publicity about movies in general," he said. "So basically, it offsets itself, and doesn't actually change my business."

The rising popularity of DVDs has affected business, Hanson said. "Starting in January, it was the first time where I was making more money on my new release DVDs than on my new release VHS tapes." Now, he says DVD rentals are up 35 percent more over VHS.

True, DVD rentals now have 75% of the market. If your corner store can't afford to convert their inventory to DVD, say goodbye.

New Netflix Poll on Listology.com **Corrected

Please visit Listology and vote on how long it takes you to get your movies from Netflix. You'll have to sign up, but all it takes is an email address and a password. Very simple and anonymous.

**Correction: Jim at Listology.com very kindly pointed out that you don't need an email address at all, just a made-up user name. Sorry about that!

Forbidden Planet (1956)

I removed Forbidden Planet from my Netflix queue, because I received it from Greencine instead. Netflix had it as "Very Long Wait-Out of Print" when I first added it to my queue. When I added it again, it was not available, with release date unknown. I don't know where Greencine got their copy, but it was in good shape. It had no special features. Maybe MGM is holding onto it in anticipation of a 50th anniversary re-release in 2006. Or maybe they sold it to Sony.

KLM to Offer Revolutionary In-Flight Entertainment Via APS; digEplayer Provides up to 64 Feature Length Movies For Passengers

Daily Business News reports that KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will provide portable digital movie players to their passengers on which you can watch an available library of 64 titles!!

Or, you can bring your laptop and a few Netflix discs. Your choice.

Netflix, Warner Bros. in video-on-demand test

CNET News.com reports that Netflix, Warner Bros. have an arrangement to test a new video-on-demand movie download service that Netflix is planning to begin providing next year. Sources at Tivo, Netflix, and Warner Brothers all deny the existence of such a deal, but "industry sources" report that Warner is allowing Netflix to use their movies to test the video-on-demand service they're working on.

CBS News Reports Old News: Online Renting Grows

According to their Web site, "CBS News This Morning", a TV show I do not watch, aired a feature September 21, about the online renting phenomenon, covering handbags, videos, videogames, and even dogs. It included an undated video clip from an interview with Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, which was apparently about a year old. The reason I believe that it was old, is that he says Netflix has "14,000 titles", which is a figure they haven't used in ages. They reported having 15,000 titles over a year ago. The current figure is 25,000. The video is available on the "CBS News This Morning" Web site.

Box Office Express comes to Greensboro, NC

This is hometown news to me. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, my alma mater, has just installed a couple of Box Office Express machines in the student center and cafeteria, from which students can rent latest movie and game releases on DVD with the swipe of a credit card. Up 'til now, I've heard of these kiosks being available only in airports and Times Square, but now my city has them. They won't carry a very wide selection, so Netflix has nothing to fear :).

Netflix Official Site Crashes

I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

Netflix Opens Three New Shipping Centers

Netflix Brings Faster Delivery to More Than Five Million Households With Three New Shipping Centers
LOS GATOS, Calif., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX - News), the world's largest online movie rental service, today announced the opening of three new shipping centers. New facilities in Pittsburgh, PA, Baton Rouge, LA and Columbia, SC now serve more than five million households in Pennsylvania, Louisiana, South Carolina and Mississippi.

Netflix has said it expects five percent of all U.S. households to become Netflix members by 2006, resulting in five million members and generating approximately $1 billion in revenue.

Netflix can reach more than 85 percent of its subscribers with generally one business-day delivery.

More reasons to rent, NOT buy

There is a battle afoot among the video industry regarding which format of high definition will prevail. They are trying to make you upgrade your equipment to HD, including your DVDs. Going from VHS to DVD was a big enough step, but going from ordinary DVD to HD-DVD, is it worth it?

Sony has its own version of HD, called Blu-Ray. The New York Post reports that the reason Sony acquired the MGM movie library, was so that they could flood the market with their Blu-Ray formatted titles, essentially forcing everyone else to adopt their HD standard. They want you to replace your entire library of DVDs with Sony-formatted versions of the same thing, only "high definition".

"Most people are not eager to upgrade all over again", says Bill Hunt, editor of The Digital Bits newsletter.

Duh. Rent, don't buy. Don't let them milk you.

Netflix Official Site

Have you noticed that the Netflix ads on Google say "Netflix (r) Official Site"? It's because of all those pesky fan blogs masquerading as the Netflix site, that Netflix is afraid poor Googlers haven't been able to tell the difference! Or, it could be their affiliates' sites have been leading too many poor Googlers astray from the real site. Alas.

Star Wars is on DVD

By the way, Netflix doesn't list Star Wars as being a new release, but it's available on DVD now. If you wanted it to ship to you tomorrow, they should have received your latest returned disc today.

I wouldn't buy it, because George Lucas has fiddled with it too much, but I might rent it some day, just for laughs.

New trivia

Since I've known about Netflix for nine months now, I feel like an "expert", so I'm continually astonished at the online newspaper articles that report on Netflix like it's a brand-new phenomenon, like this one, from Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota.

Not alot of news here, but there are a couple of bits of new trivia to be found:

"We're in every state, in 3,000 cities," says Shannon Clouston, senior manager of corporate communications for Netflix

and

Last month...an astonishing 15 percent of Netflix shipments included the title "The Whale Rider."

and

95% of all online DVD rentals come from Netflix.

Motion to be filed in Securities Action against Netflix, Inc. on September 20, 2004

Scott Scott, LLC, Announce That It Intends to File Lead Plaintiff/s Motion in Securities Action against Netflix, Inc. on September 20, 2004

I think this is a silly lawsuit, but I must alert you anyway, because there is the potential that one of my readers is a member of the class.

European squatter

Here's an Austrian German-language (correct me if I'm wrong--I don't speak German) Netflix imitator who appears to be trading on the Netflix brand. Naughty, naughty.

The Cult Brand

Ryan Saghir, in his article Building the Cult Brand, discusses how Netflix can market their business using us rabid fan-bloggers:

Mass Customization is key to connecting the consumer with the brand. We're not talking about Cookie-writing techniques for "the page you built", but instead consumer outreach efforts for fan sites, community sites and blogs. These sites are tenticles of communication from the company directly to the consumer. Companies can simply wind up the people behind these sites and let them go; creating unpaid workers who put more effort behind the product than employees do (think the "unofficial guy" from Wendy's). As companies nuture these sites with information, support, and especially empowerment, they gain hoards of cultlike masses following (and purchasing) their every move.

Sound like anyone you know? He goes on to ask

Why is there no cult for Blockbuster, yet one for Netflix? Because the Blockbuster experience is plain old horrible.

If you're interested in marketing, it's a fascinating article.

Netflix's collection grows

I have removed the following movies:
Mean Streets (1973),
Freaks (1932) ,
The Sentinel (1977) , and
Shaolin Soccer (2001) from my Greencine queue, because they are "available now" via Netflix .

One Month Trial is back up!! ***UPDATED

I don't get paid by Netflix to do this, but if you email me, I can get you a ONE MONTH FREE TRIAL with Netflix. If you click on the link in my sidebar, or here, or any of the underlined Netflixes, you will get just a TWO WEEK TRIAL. You must be aware that you will be billed when your trial ends, if you fail to cancel before your anniversary date comes around again.

***THIS OFFER WAS DISCONTINUED 30 SEPTEMBER 2004.

The Internet at 35

Netflix is one of several good things about the Internet we can enjoy today. Did you know the Internet turned 35 this month?

Failed experiment

Y'all know I was on vacation last week. Well, I wanted my nephew to see The Black Pirate while I was out of town, so I changed my delivery address to his address, before Netflix sent it. I thought it would be a simple matter for Netflix to mail it to him rather than to me. Wrong! They still mailed it to my address. I think it's because I failed to change my billing address, too. They require your billing address and shipping address to be in the same zip code. Perhaps I could have gotten away with it, eh? If you try this experiment, let me know the results.

I can gloat, can't I?

Astute observer Anonymous, who said "Man, you had this idea long before it was announced", points out that I proposed the idea (now a rumor in Newsweek) of a partnership between Tivo and Netflix back in June. I hope all the hype doesn't jinx it. I think it's a great idea (if I do say so myself).

11 Things to Do With Your Netflix Account

Thanks to Luke for the tip: Screenwriting.ugo.com has a nice list of suggestions for your Netflix queue, in case you've run out of ideas.

Hacking NetFlix : Netflix Launches RSS Feeds

Mad props to Hacking NetFlix for staying on top of things while I was incommunicado. RSS feeds are something for which we Web-heads have been clamoring, so praise be to Netflix for making it happen! Y'all subscribe, now, y'hear?

P.S. If you're wondering where I was, I went to Dragon*Con Labor Day weekend, then Boston, the following few days, for the Lord of the Rings exhibit at the Museum of Science. I was a total geek for a week.

Misguided Affections: Hooray for Netflix

Another Netflix fan expresses her joy at discovering this great service.

Shanafelt Sector Reviews Peerflix & Number Slate

Thanks to HackingNetflix for this link.

Mike over at the Shanafelt Sector, he does a great job reviewing Peerflix and Number Slate. Mike takes an extremely in-depth look at two smaller Netlfix alternatives and he shares his experiences with us.

They both work by relying on users to mail the discs to each other, rather than using a centralized shipping warehouse.

If you're thinking about cheating on Netflix, er, trying out an alternative, I suggest you check out Mike's review first.

Self-serve videos in NYC

From the New York Times (registration required):

The store will resemble a bank lobby full of vending machines that renters can use to select a movie or video game.

Besides convenience and a large selection, Mr. de Laforcade is betting that customers will be attracted to the self-service store by the price. Movies will cost 99 cents for six hours or $2.50 for 24 hours with a free membership card. Users can also reserve a movie in advance on the company's Web site, www.moviebankusa.com, and the video will be blocked from other customers at the store for three hours. In addition, customers can sign up online to get an instant message or an e-mail when a movie that is not available is returned to the store's inventory.

Why no advertising on the Red Envelope

Fool.com recently suggested several ways Netflix could enhance their business. One of those ways is exploiting the red mailer as an advertising vehicle, which reminded me of this old article in which Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO, addresses (pardon the pun) that very issue:

By David Gardner and Tom Gardner
October 29, 2003
David and Tom Gardner recently interviewed Netflix http://quote.fool.com/uberdata.asp?symbols=YHOO(Nasdaq: NFLX) CEO Reed Hastings on The Motley Fool Radio Show on NPR. This is the second of four parts.

TMF: Reed, about your company's red envelope. They are an increasingly recognizable package to U.S. postal workers. Hundreds of thousands of customers open these up each month with delight. Our question for you then, on behalf of some shareholders who may think you are leaving money on the table, when will you sell space on those red envelopes to outside advertisers?
Hastings: Well, if you look at some of the great brands that have been created, Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) is an example. A lot of people would like to advertise in the Starbucks store, but they have been very strong about creating a unique space and a unique brand. That is our philosophy also. We have got a very clean brand. We have got a brand that really represents something special and we don't intend to expand into advertising, no matter what the associated revenues, and it is really focused on, again, creating this pureness and this great brand. We think that is the right strategy to build the most valuable company.

Join the Netflix Tribe

Tribe is "A place to meet and interact with friends and others who share your interests." There's a Netflix Queue tribe! Share and discuss your queue with other Netflix members.

Disclaimer: it's still Beta, which means it could still have bugs in it, I guess.

They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?

I don't agree with all their choices (I think Bill Georgaris is a fool--in the Biblical sense--for recommending Fahrenheit 9/11) but I think They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? is an excellent site nonetheless. Here, you can find many lists of great movies. It is "an excellent starting tool for aspiring movie buffs to begin (and also plan) their 'serious' film-viewing experiences". If you're looking for suggestions for your queue, they have thousands. I love lists. They have several lists of the 1000-best and 100-best type.

I also recommend Filmsite, which has lists coming out the wazoo, but beware of pop-ups.

Cancel Blockbuster, get a deal!

From the Netflix_operations_discuss Yahoo! group, one user states that if you cancel your Blockbuster Online subscription, they [Blockbuster] will offer you a deal of six months for $16.99 per month.

Netflix new search results layout

I don't know how long it's been there, because I haven't been searching for new titles to add to my queue (479 already), but there's a new layout to Netflix's search results. If you look for a term like silent, it returns the results on tabs. There is a tab each for Popular Matches, Movie Matches, People Matches, and Genre Matches. They make it easy and fast to switch between lists, especially where there are enough results to fill a page, because you don't have to scroll down as much.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

I finally saw Breakfast at Tiffany's which all my friends say is a great movie, and if I loved Gone With The Wind I should love it, too. But, I'm prejudiced against Audrey Hepburn. She's too skinny, and I've never forgiven her for stealing the singing role of Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady from Julie Andrews. However, I tried to keep an open mind. It has some very cute love-story moments, and a few funny scenes. Patricia Neal is great, as the older woman who keeps George Peppard in high cotton. I think the movie is fascinating on another level: underneath the veneer of sixties-style prudery, sophistication and urbanity, what it boils down to is, a prostitute (Audrey Hepburn) falls in love with a gigolo (George Peppard) and decides to keep her cat. If you like classic romantic comedies, you'll love it, but you've probably already seen it.

Are DVD Sales Really behind the Decline in Video Rentals?

Lyra Research, Inc. has a new report, released August 23, 2004, based on survey results which question the assumptions of the DVD rental industry, which believes that cheaper DVDs available for sale at discount retailers is responsible for the decline in rentals. On the contrary, the survey shows that the more DVDs you own, the more you like to rent them, too. Many DVD buyers say they like movies period, and renting them helps them decide which ones to buy. The survey included users of
Netflix.

48 Hour Film Project

This past weekend, I attended a showing of the ten best films of the Greensboro, NC 48 Hour Film Project. It was hosted by a local independent theatre, the Carousel Luxury Cinema. I enjoyed nearly every film. I was amazed by the local talent and resources represented by the films.

Each film has to be made entirely within a 48 hour time period, from concept to execution. The films have to be four to eight minutes long, and the filmmakers pick their genre out of a hat, like horror, action/adventure, superhero, or comedy. They are given a line of dialogue, a certain prop, and a character, which they have to incorporate into the movie, somehow. The results are fun to watch. Imagine a four-minute horror movie! The one I saw, was about a woman getting her hand caught in the garbage disposal.

I think it would be neat if Netflix distributed the national or international winners on a compilation DVD, or sponsored it, or something. If the DVD comes available, I recommend you check it out.

Facets Multimedia online rental option

I'm excited about Facets Multimedia, a new-to-me online movie rental option. They've been around for over a decade, but I'm just now discovering them. From their Web page:

Rent in person or by mail from over 25,000 rare and out-of-print films - virtually impossible to find anywhere else! Early rare silents, the darkest noir, today's lightest French comedies...we also carry an extensive line of fine arts videos - hundreds of programs on art, dance, theater, photography, opera, and jazz.

Formats available are VHS or DVD, PAL or NTSC, Laser, or CD-ROM, even books. Their Facets Freedom ValuePass , similar to Netflix, is unlimited rentals by mail. Postage is free for DVDs, but

renting VHS tapes over the mail will entail an outgoing surcharge (because they weigh more): $5.00 for one tape, $8.00 for two and $10.00 for three. You are responsible the return postage.

There’s a special kids’ only membership and special options available for Chicago area members, including a brick-and-mortar store and theatre showings.

They offer many more titles for sale, too.

Facets.org is

called the "No. 1 Resource and public movie library in the entire United States" by Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune and "A temple of great cinema" by Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times. Voted "Best Video Store in the Country" by New City three years running!

Netflix Nielsens

According to InternetRetailer, if you feel like you've been seeing nothing but Netflix ad banners lately, you have. They're the number one retail goods and services advertiser on the Web. Of course, Blockbuster is moving in on them.

The top 10 cited by AdRelevance and their number of online ad impressions, in millions:
Netflix, 405.3
Classmates Online Inc., 154.4
True, 142.9
Amazon.com Inc., 110.9
Target Corp., 76.2
EBay Inc., 65.3
Best Buy Co. Inc., 62.7
SmartBargains, 49.7
Date.com Inc., 49.4
AllPosters.com, 45.9

Netflix Freak 1.2.5 update available

Netflix Freak is a little shareware application that lets you view and edit your Netflix queue on your Mac, rather than using the slow Netflix Web site. Using Netflix Freak, in Mac OS X, I can rearrange the order of titles by dragging and dropping them. I can move groups of them all at once. I can order them by columns (for Mac OS 10.3 and above). I can make individual notes regarding the movies (like the date I received it or returned it, so I can keep track of turnaround times) in Netflix Freak. I can see at a glance all the details of the movie. I can keep all my history (unlike the 90 days Netflix limits you to), so I can tell what all I've seen. Here's the official list of features:

- 6 ways to rearrange your rental queue (drag & drop, swap, shuffle, move to top/bottom, renumber, and cut & paste)
- Fast searching of the Netflix DVD catalog
- Print your rental queue (with and without DVD images)
- Import your entire rental history (not just the last 90 days)
- Add multiple movies to your queue in one action
- Add new movies to the beginning of your queue, the end, or shuffle afterwards
- View and assign star ratings to movies directly from any queue
- Keep track of who rented which movie in your household
- Assign custom categories to your movies
- Simple, one window access to all your queues
- Applescript access to all your movie data
- Jot down notes about individual movies and search them later
- Unlimited undo of queue rearrangements

UPDATE: One month trial promo is GONE

Sadness. The one-month-free-trial promo button is gone from my Netflix.com home page. It didn't last long at all. I gave away exactly one trial. You snooze, you lose. Besides, I ain't makin' squat off this thing. You can still get a two-week-free-trial anytime. You don't have to know me.

This is not where you go to change your address!

Another blogger has been mistaken for Netflix. She had a reader try to submit an address correction to her. This is a tragic abuse of Google-power.

One Month Free! New Netflix promotion

I just noticed on my Netflix.com homepage today, that they've upped the trial period to ONE MONTH, by invitation only, apparently. If you want an invitation, comment on this post with your email address, or email me (see my profile for email address).

Dragon*Con

Attention: stalkers. I will be totally geeked-out on Labor Day weekend at Dragon*Con. It's the only convention I attend each year. Here's a press-release containing more info.

The future of Netflix

I like the service. I have found nothing suitable to replace it, yet. It is a good value.

Will cheap DVDs threaten Netflix? Netflix saves me from having to buy any DVDs. I see no point in buying, no matter how cheap they are, because I seldom watch a movie more than once or twice. I have hundreds of VHS tapes I never watch.

Will pay-per-view replace Netflix? That is unlikely for someone like me. I am unwilling to pay the extra money for digital cable or a special tuner in order to get pay-per-view, even if they had all the movies in the world. I hear the quality isn't very good yet, either. (Sidebar: I hate being a slave to the cable industry. Years ago, they promised us a plethora of a la carte channels with the advent of digital cable. The greedy muggers lied. I hate being forced to accept twenty channels filled with foul-mouthed prostitutes, just so I can watch Farscape or Animal Cops.)

Will I ever download movies? I don't have a big enough hard drive, video card, bandwidth or computer screen for downloading and watching movies. so it wouldn't work for me unless they made a cheap appliance, like Tivo, that I could attach to my TV. Why should I pay a thousand dollars for a new computer, just so I can watch movies?

I am considered by some to be an "early adopter", so Netflix is no problem for me. However, I have many friends and co-workers who hardly ever turn on their PC at home (or don't even have one), seldom go on the Internet or check email, but they watch two or three DVDs or movies on premium cable per week. These people are great potential Netflix customers, because they can understand and use the rent-by-mail model without having to learn any new technology.

Whatever movie-download or cable pay-per-view service moves in, in order to replace brick-and-mortar stores or rent-by-mail, will have to have technology that's really intuitive and invisible to the consumer.

Until they solve the hardware, technology, and bandwidth problems, Netflix's rent-by-mail service is the best way for me and my friends to get a wide selection of movies really cheaply and easily, without having to be slaves to Tivo, Bellsouth, or Time-Warner cable.

Today's Featured Competitor: Gameznflix

Have you had any experience with this service, Gameznflix? Like Netflix, only with video games, too.

Unholy alliance

Hackingnetflix reports that Blockbuster has teamed up with Microsoft's MSN to promote their new online DVD subscription service. It makes sense to me that those two would get together. Birds of a feather....

Blockbuster distribution centers **corrected

Manda has posted a list of Blockbuster distribution center locations. Here they are:

Charlotte
Dallas
Denver
Lansing
Miami
Minnesota (city unknown)
Flushing, NY
Sacramento
Santa Ana, CA
Seattle, WA

**Correction: I thought her name was Jen. It's Manda.

About Blockbuster

I have to admit, I am prejudiced against Blockbuster 's new online DVD subscription service. However, as a service to my curious readers, I am giving you some information about it. For background, Blockbuster began this service yesterday, Wednesday, August 11. It is very similar to Netflix. Here are some bits of news about it from the AP news wire. I have put interesting items in bold and my comments in brackets:

The roots of the new offering go back two years, to when Dallas-based Blockbuster bought Film Caddy, which charged $19.95 a month and shipped movies from Arizona. Blockbuster studied Film Caddy for a year - learning, for example, that 40 percent of its customers still visited video stores - then began testing online ordering among employees and consumers.

Blockbuster said it will offer a catalog of 25,000 titles, far more than any one of its stores. Blockbuster stores are stocked from a warehouse in McKinney, Tex. but the company built 10 regional centers to fill online orders and hopes to also tap store stock by next year. [Compared to Netflix's 25 centers--B]

With the new distribution centers, Blockbuster officials said they will fill about half of all orders on a next-day basis, with the rest arriving after two days. [compared to 80% of Netflix discs arriving within one day.--B]

Some analysts think the online-subscription model is just a placeholder until movies are widely rented by downloading them from the Internet.

"We believe video on demand is a very nice upgrade from pay-per-view," said Travis, the Blockbuster president, "but we think video-on-demand being a huge business like rentals is still a long ways off."

I'm trying to keep an open mind. If Blockbuster proves to be the better value, I would convert. I am still a Capitalist.

Netflix: FAQ du Jour Damaged or unplayable

I have found that I can make an unplayable disc play just by cleaning the disc, most of the time. Fingerprints on the disc cause more problems than scratches.

Netflix:

Question: I received a scratched, damaged, or unplayable DVD. What do I do?

Answer: If you have received a DVD title that is unplayable, try cleaning the disc first. (Windex on a paper towel works well.)
If the disc is cracked, damaged, or still won't play, you can report it at the Rental Activity page in Your Account.
On this page you also have the option to request that a replacement disc be sent to you immediately.
Please return the damaged disc, as many damaged discs can be repaired with our polishing machine. Also, for many titles, Netflix must account for, or pay the movie studio for lost discs; your return of the damaged disc is appreciated, and helps keep costs low for all our customers.

Not that Red Envelope

In case you're wondering, I adopted the tagline for this blog, "Red Envelope Madness", even after I realized there was another Red Envelope out there. However, I intend to retain that tagline, since it is true. Netflix DVDs come in a big, beautiful, red envelope, like this one. No trademark infringement intended. I'm not making a cent, not one unit of legal tender, off this endeavor. But this blog is worth 8 Billion in fantasy-dollars on Blogshares! Ha!

This is NOT where you go to cancel your Netflix subscription!

This poor blogger wrote a post about cancelling his Netflix subscription. According to the comments attached to his post, several readers thought he was Netflix and could cancel their Netflix subscriptions, too!

I have discovered, having a blog named Netflixfan, that some visitors to my blog think I'm the offical Netflix Web site. No, I'm not. I'm just a fan of the business. Click here for the official site.

I chose the blue color scheme so I wouldn't be confused with an "official" blog, but it still happens.

I rarely do movie reviews or movie lists. If you're looking for those, check my sidebar for links.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em **UPDATED

UK company Alteraxion partners with Netflix for its UK invasion this Autumn. Why? Netflix is the best at what it does. See their blog for a very good analysis of the reasons for Netflix's success.

**Update: From Andrew P. Carton, Managing Director at alteraxion, "although we have had regular discussion with Netflix we do not currently work for or with them in their efforts to enter the UK market."