Uncritical Netflix

My favorite movie review writer, Leonard Maltin, used to have a page on Netflix.com at http://www.netflix.com/MaltinPicks, like Roger Ebert, TV Guide, etc., but Netflix has done away with critics recommendations, and replaced it with a "taste preference" for "critically-acclaimed" genres. Therefore, I read Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide on my iPhone to get his take on the movies.

I don't rely on Netflix.com for movie recommendations any more. I'm interested in the star ratings they predict I'll give a movie, but it's not the biggest influence on what I watch. I'd say it's about a 30% influence. The biggest influence on me is my friends/family. Next is the the Flixster app on my iPhone, which I use to check out the new releases. I go to the movies almost weekly, so I have to keep up with the buzz.

Gatsby

I searched Netflix.com for The Great Gatsby, because I just saw the Baz Luhrmann version, and wanted to rate it, and the fifth result was Hemlock Grove, a Netflix Original Series. Coincidence?

Netflix bias

I was going to write a post about how disappointed I am that Netflix recommendations for me always include Netflix Original Series. I used to trust Netflix to recommend to me titles I would like, based on my own taste in movies. Netflix usually predicts pretty closely what I'm going to like, so much that my star rating is almost always identical to the predicted star rating.

 But, now that Arrested Development Season 4 is on Netflix, I can't look at Netflix.com without being reminded to watch it. It is a Netflix Original Series, and they predict I'll love it. This made me suspicious that maybe their recommendations are biased in favor of their own content.

Well, maybe to begin with. I used to be confronted with an ad for Hemlock Grove every time I opened Netflix.com. However, they predicted I would give Hemlock Grove only two stars, even though it's a Netflix Original Series. So is it OK to trust Netflix?

Netflix DVD wins 2012

This month marks my ninth anniversary with Netflix. I still love Netflix, but 2012 was not a big movie year for me. My attendance at the movies was way down for several reasons. I worked longer hours. The people I usually go to the movies with were less available, due to work and school commitments. After seeing over two thousand movies in the last eight years, my interest in movies is flagging. I'm more particular in my taste. I've completed some great movie lists: AFI, Academy Awards, Leonard Maltin, and almost all of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. You can see my progress at I Check Movies.

I saw 136 movies in 2012

73 were on Netflix DVD
21 on Netflix Instant via Roku
37 at a theater or other public venue
5 were on DVD from another source

Still worth it

I'm paying $21.33 per month for Unlimited Streaming + 2 DVDs out at-a-time (Unlimited) and I think it's worth it. On the nights I don't have a DVD, I watch something from my instant queue. I easily go through two DVDs each week, and one or two instant titles each week, in addition to the weekly trip to the theater to catch the latest blockbuster or IMAX movie. I like watching older movies by streaming, like The Naked City (1948), because then the picture quality isn't compromised by my slow connection. Keep in mind, I haven't had cable TV since 2004, and because of Netflix, haven't missed it a bit.

I'm glad Netflix changed its mind about splitting up and moving me to Qwikster, but boy, was that embarrassing. I felt bad for Reed Hastings. What a miscalculation.

Qwikster fan?

Not. Qwikster represents the beginning of the end of the DVD. DVDs are old school. I am a movie fan first and foremost. It doesn't matter to me how I get my movie fix. I was one of the first to buy a Roku box and get my Netflix movies streamed to my TV. However, I am one of those who will be moved to Qwikster, because I still have to have my movies on DVD.

The reasons I still want my movies on DVD:

Even with an HD TV and broadband, the picture quality is still better on DVDs most of the time. I admit this is probably my fault. It's cheaper to get DVDs from Netflix than to increase what I pay for broadband in order to possibly improve picture quality.

Of the 455 titles in my queue, only 176 are available instantly.

Optional subtitles, especially on English-language films. Try watching Trainspotting or The Hill (1965) or without them. Oops, bad example. The Hill is available only on DVD.

P.S. I'm still in shock as to Netflix splitting up. The name Qwikster makes me think this is all a bad joke and we're being pwned. It sounds like a mashup of Quitter and Flix. I thought about buying the name qwiksterfan, but I'm not going to do it.

Can't afford the new prices for Netflix?

For those of you upset about the price hike, help has arrived. I just learned about the Netflix Relief Fund.

Netflix and their new prices

Netflix is charging different prices for their services. Some folks are upset about this. Here's a link to the press release announcing the new plans.

The way I see it is that Netflix has a right to charge whatever they want and you have a right to choose whether to use their service. You can vote with your dollars. It doesn't matter how long you've been a "loyal" customer. You got what you paid for, or you would have quit.

You people who think it's "greedy" for companies to charge for their products and services certainly don't think it's greedy when the labor unions demand higher wages. You don't think it's greedy for the government to confiscate our money and our property to redistribute it to people who won't keep their pants zipped. Funny how you don't think it's greedy of you to keep your own money instead of giving it to Netflix.

It's a crime to share Netflix password in TN

I think it's unwise, but should it be a crime? Netflix sharing will be a crime in TN

IMDB 250 on Netflix Instant

PaulIsAGeek has done a great job of finding the IMDB Top 250 on Netflix Instant so you can easily add them to your Instant Queue. I have seen all but the last one.

Still a Netflix fan

I'm still a huge Netflix Fan, but I'm slowing down. I saw only 202 movies in 2010, compared to 473 in 2006. I rented 52 of those on DVD from Netflix, and watched 40 instantly. I saw 67 movies in a theater. I'm still waiting to see the last seven movies of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 2002 edition. I've been without cable TV for seven years.

Roku Lives!

Thanks to my commenters for their good advice! I replaced the power adapter, and now it works!

Dead Roku

I am forlorn. My Roku player is dead. It lasted two and a half years. I think a power surge killed it. The little light doesn't come on. What should I do? Should I buy another Netflix-ready device? Or should I replace my Roku?

My AT&T DSL connection is only 768Kbps at $19.95/month, and the Roku made it possible for me to get streaming content at 2-dot quality, which was tolerable with most of the stuff that I watch.

Because of my slow Internet connection, streaming on my Mac Mini is not an option. I have tried watching Netflix Instant in my Firefox browser, but it took forever to buffer, and there is no remote control. I can't watch instantly on my laptop, because it's not compatible with Ubuntu.

I don't want a game console, or a Blu-ray player, or a new TV, or a DVR, or a new home theater system.

I would consider an Apple TV.

Netflix Surprises

I have seen Searching for Bobby Fisher, King of Kong, and Serenity, but I'm going to have to check out the rest of these: "Suggestions and Hidden Gems!" from a new Netflix fan blog whose focus is on Netflix Streaming.

Netflixers.com

Netflixers.com looks like it's meant to be a social-networking forum for Netflix Fans. From their What is a Netflixer? page, it "was created by a group of students at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business as part of a project for our Information Systems for Business and Management class." I hope they haven't received a grade yet, because it's incomplete. The log in goes to Wordpress. I think it's not a serious thing. I'd give it a B for passing the quick-look test, but a D for being shallow. Maybe it's a test to see how much traffic they can get by using the Netflix brand name and posting links to other Netflix-related sites?

Still prefer DVDs

I may be a luddite, but I still prefer DVDs to Instant Netflix. I don't have a very fast internet connection, (I have the cheapest DSL you can get from AT&T) so I get only two star quality when streaming. I don't mind if what I'm watching is not really affected, but sometimes the movie really suffers. However, I love having an alternative to TV, and I love having something to watch when the DVD is in the mail, so Instant Netflix is a great feature that adds value to my membership.

I like using my Instant queue as kind of a overflow for the DVD queue. I have already maxed out my queue, so I frequently add things to Instant that I don't want to forget about.

Saturday shipping

Today is the first Saturday I have ever seen Netflix acknowledge receipt of a movie I returned on a Friday, and it's the first Saturday Netflix told me they are shipping a title which is due to arrive Monday.

Fun with IMDb

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) should be a familiar destination for all movie fans, because they are the only place online where you can find out about nearly every movie ever made. Even Netflix doesn't do that.

You can go year-by-year to find the top movies by boxoffice or MOVIEMeter(tm) rating, which is how I look for movies to put in my Netlfix queue, sometimes.

IMDb maintains a constantly-updated list of the top 250 movies by MOVIEMeter(tm). I would like to brag about how many I've seen of them. How do I keep track? I use 250films.net. 250films.net is a well-made site where you can actually check off the films you've seen. Click on this button to see which ones I've seen:




Here is another cool site for looking at the IMDb Top 250, where you can see monthly snapshots of the list going back to 1997, as well as do month-to-month comparisons to see which titles have been added or moved up or down.

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'.

Friends without Netflix

Do you have any friends who still haven't tried Netflix? I was astonished to learn that my nurse at the doctor's office still hasn't signed up. I will not rest until she does.

I think it might be ignorance. I have to explain to them how it works. It helps if I show them the envelope, because it's hard for folks to imagine how easy it is. They think they have to get a stamp and address the envelope and buy envelopes, and all that old-school stuff. Even when I tell them it's postage-paid both ways, they are skeptical. They think there's a catch.

I also think it's hard work for some people to find stuff to watch. With TV, it's passive. You watch whatever is on, or you hit one button on the remote. Netflix requires a bit of thought and more effort than switching on the TV. You have to go online, look at pictures, and click a button. If you're really ambitious, you read the description and reviews.

Even with Roku, you have to decide what to watch. The TV doesn't decide for you. People can be paralyzed by choice. Well, Netflix solves that problem by suggesting movies. All you have to do is rate movies. Is that so hard?

I look at some of my Netflix Friends, and I'm frustrated at how few movies they've rated. Or maybe they really haven't seen that many. They must be the people with the social lives and beautiful lawns.