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.