Netflix raises cost for blu ray at DVinfo.net

Ray Bell · March 31st, 2009, 05:09 AM

Looks like Netflix is enjoying the economy... they just announced extra charges for Blu ray renters....

Khoi Pham · March 31st, 2009, 07:45 AM

Use BlockBuster instead, they are the one that turns the tide in the format war, I sign up with BlockBuster everysince they took the lead and announced to support Blu-ray and I have been extremely happy with their service, also great to have the in store exchange, nothing beats that.

Harrison Murchison · March 31st, 2009, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khoi Pham

Use BlockBuster instead, they are the one that turns the tide in the format war, I sign up with BlockBuster everysince they took the lead and announced to support Blu-ray and I have been extremely happy with their service, also great to have the in store exchange, nothing beats that.

Blockbuster is barely in business. They really don't have many options.

Dave Blackhurst · March 31st, 2009, 01:21 PM

golly, the news made it sound like huge increases... BR discs cost 2-3x as much as regular DVD's to buy, why shouldn't Netflix charge a premium?? If I had a BR player (waiting for them to come down, seeing better prices, so it's an exercise in patience...), I'd probably pay the extra for the ability to get BR discs.

I hope that the news was at least accurate in sying that the price increase was due to high demand for BR discs - that would mean that BR burners should be coming down and it's a viable delivery format for Hi Def content. THAT would be a welcome shift!

Chris Hurd · March 31st, 2009, 01:52 PM

Here's what NetFlix sent out to their customers yesterday:

"You are receiving this email because you added unlimited Blu-ray access to your account for $1 a month. The number of Blu-ray titles has increased significantly and will continue to do so. As we buy more, you are able to choose from a rapidly expanding selection of Blu-ray titles. And as you've probably heard, Blu-ray discs are substantially more expensive than standard definition DVDs.

As a result, the monthly charge for Blu-ray access is increasing for most plans and will now vary by plan. The charge for monthly Blu-ray access on your 3 DVDs at-a-time (Unlimited) plan will increase from $1 a month to $4 a month."

So what it boils down to is a $3/month rate increase. They used to charge $1 extra for Blu-Ray, now they're charging $4.

Robert Sanders · March 31st, 2009, 01:58 PM

I understand Netflix's need to stay on top of costs. But this announcement annoys me. They already raised my rates once. And to do it a second time shortly after the first is what pisses me off. I don't mind paying extra. But get on with it and then leave me alone for a while.

Jon Fairhurst · March 31st, 2009, 02:33 PM

Netflix seems to be one of the bright spots in the current economy. In the Feb 2 issue of Variety's VB (video business) newsweekly, they claimed that their 2008 Q4 profit was up 45% and than 700,000 subscribers had signed up for Blu-ray. The company was to re-purchase 10% of its stock.

* Net income from the quarter was $22.7M
* Sales rose 19% to $359.6M
* There were 9.39M subscribers at year's end - up 26% from the year before.

Burk Webb · March 31st, 2009, 05:09 PM

Kind of a bummer but Netflix is still a pretty good deal. The thing that really has me in Netflix corner is their on demand streaming content - it's free and I can stream it through my LG BD300 Blu Ray player. Most of it looks pretty "meh" but it's a great way to watch tons of stuff that you might not rent. Watched all of Red Dwarf, now I'm working my way through 30 rock. Great way to check out stuff quick as well.

It's a hell of a value add, and there is tons of it. I could probably spend 12 hours a day watching Netflix stuff and it's still only costing me around $15 a month.

Edit: well o.k., $20 bucks...

Heath McKnight · April 3rd, 2009, 01:41 PM

I was wondering why the billing was higher this month. Oh, well... Maybe I'll try Blockbuster, but I do like the option to watch movies online (though studios aren't digging that since it hurts DVD sales).

heath

Ray Bell · April 3rd, 2009, 04:21 PM

Well I switched on Blockbuster this afternoon... they have a two week free offer and
don't charge for blu ray... plus if i don't like the movie that was sent I can take it
down the the Blockbuster store and trade it for another one....

I'm also testing out the Vunow box that lets you stream movies and such from the internet.
It supports bit torrent so maybe it'll be a good deal.

Heath McKnight · April 3rd, 2009, 09:05 PM

VUDU is the best movie download device! VUDU - Home

heath

Tom Roper · April 4th, 2009, 08:35 PM

Back when Netflix increased Blu-ray by only $1 per month, it reminded me of a small stack of unreturned disks on top of my desk. I cleared my queue and sent them back, and then cancelled the account. It's not a knock against Netflix. Their service was great for someone like me who was profiled as an infrequent user, everything I wanted was always available now. But it bothered me that if I did use it more frequently, the service would go down, so I decided to end it, and used the timing of the first price increase to do it.

I have a better anecdote for Blockbuster. Years ago, I picked up the empty box for a copy of "Dark Blue" from the shelf that carried a sign, "Blockbuster In-Stock or It's Free" guarantee. At the counter, they told me that movie was not included in the guarantee, only certain movies. I asked them if that meant the guarantee was only for movies they have in stock? She smiled...I asked for a pair of scissors...and cut up my membership card right there. Eew.... In fact, that's when I joined Netflix. How ironic.

Heath McKnight · April 4th, 2009, 09:02 PM

I have two movies, Blu-ray (Let the Right One In, which I hear has issues with subtitles, and Sunshine) that have been in my possession for over a month now. Hmmm, time to watch and return them and consider canceling.

heath

Ray Bell · April 5th, 2009, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heath McKnight

VUDU is the best movie download device! VUDU - Home

heath

Thanks Heath.... I went to Best Buy to check out the box and the quality of the picture...

Looks good.. went ahead and ordered one...

Sooner or later this looks like the direction that the movie rental biz is going to anyway...

Matt Vanecek · April 5th, 2009, 11:40 AM

NetFlix streaming is nice and all if you've the bandwidth, but it's great to be able to take a disc and go. There's a portable Blu-Ray player coming out in the not-to-distant future (if it's not out already--although I completely forget the link/company. :( ), and you can't take streaming on the road, and the office tends to frown on such use of bandwidth...

I love our PS3 playing Blu-Ray, as well as Streaming, and I keep reminding my wife to start ordering Blu-Ray titles from NetFlix if she's getting them for home. Unfortunately, she still won't let me buy the Planet Earth series--"it comes on TV way too often to buy it". blah blah blah...

Eventually, the price of Blu-ray will fall. Critical mass and all that. I doubt NetFlix will lower their fee in response (but it *could* happen), but it's still worth it for us. We haven't had any of the frequent user issues that some others have reported, although we do keep 3 out pretty much all the time.

I guess it all depends on what annoys you the most--NetFlix doesn't annoy me near as much as BlockBuster...I don't know why. *shrug*

Thanks,
Matt

March 31st, 2009, 05:09 AM	#1
Ray Bell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,414	Netflix raises cost for blu ray Looks like Netflix is enjoying the economy... they just announced extra charges for Blu ray renters.... Attached Thumbnails

March 31st, 2009, 07:45 AM	#2
Khoi Pham Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Dallas Posts: 747	Use BlockBuster instead, they are the one that turns the tide in the format war, I sign up with BlockBuster everysince they took the lead and announced to support Blu-ray and I have been extremely happy with their service, also great to have the in store exchange, nothing beats that. __________________ Khoi Pham www.proeditproductions.com

March 31st, 2009, 01:52 PM	#5
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Here's what NetFlix sent out to their customers yesterday: "You are receiving this email because you added unlimited Blu-ray access to your account for $1 a month. The number of Blu-ray titles has increased significantly and will continue to do so. As we buy more, you are able to choose from a rapidly expanding selection of Blu-ray titles. And as you've probably heard, Blu-ray discs are substantially more expensive than standard definition DVDs. As a result, the monthly charge for Blu-ray access is increasing for most plans and will now vary by plan. The charge for monthly Blu-ray access on your 3 DVDs at-a-time (Unlimited) plan will increase from $1 a month to $4 a month." So what it boils down to is a $3/month rate increase. They used to charge $1 extra for Blu-Ray, now they're charging $4. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

March 31st, 2009, 01:58 PM	#6
Robert Sanders Starway Pictures Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Studio City Posts: 581	I understand Netflix's need to stay on top of costs. But this announcement annoys me. They already raised my rates once. And to do it a second time shortly after the first is what pisses me off. I don't mind paying extra. But get on with it and then leave me alone for a while. __________________ http://www.starwaypictures.com http://starwaypictures.blogspot.com/

March 31st, 2009, 02:33 PM	#7
Jon Fairhurst Inner Circle Join Date: May 2006 Location: Camas, WA, USA Posts: 5,513	Netflix seems to be one of the bright spots in the current economy. In the Feb 2 issue of Variety's VB (video business) newsweekly, they claimed that their 2008 Q4 profit was up 45% and than 700,000 subscribers had signed up for Blu-ray. The company was to re-purchase 10% of its stock. * Net income from the quarter was $22.7M * Sales rose 19% to $359.6M * There were 9.39M subscribers at year's end - up 26% from the year before. __________________ Jon Fairhurst

March 31st, 2009, 01:21 PM	#4
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	golly, the news made it sound like huge increases... BR discs cost 2-3x as much as regular DVD's to buy, why shouldn't Netflix charge a premium?? If I had a BR player (waiting for them to come down, seeing better prices, so it's an exercise in patience...), I'd probably pay the extra for the ability to get BR discs. I hope that the news was at least accurate in sying that the price increase was due to high demand for BR discs - that would mean that BR burners should be coming down and it's a viable delivery format for Hi Def content. THAT would be a welcome shift!

March 31st, 2009, 05:09 PM	#8
Burk Webb Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 249	Kind of a bummer but Netflix is still a pretty good deal. The thing that really has me in Netflix corner is their on demand streaming content - it's free and I can stream it through my LG BD300 Blu Ray player. Most of it looks pretty "meh" but it's a great way to watch tons of stuff that you might not rent. Watched all of Red Dwarf, now I'm working my way through 30 rock. Great way to check out stuff quick as well. It's a hell of a value add, and there is tons of it. I could probably spend 12 hours a day watching Netflix stuff and it's still only costing me around $15 a month. Edit: well o.k., $20 bucks... Last edited by Burk Webb; March 31st, 2009 at 05:12 PM. Reason: update data

April 3rd, 2009, 01:41 PM	#9
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	I was wondering why the billing was higher this month. Oh, well... Maybe I'll try Blockbuster, but I do like the option to watch movies online (though studios aren't digging that since it hurts DVD sales). heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

April 3rd, 2009, 04:21 PM	#10
Ray Bell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,414	Well I switched on Blockbuster this afternoon... they have a two week free offer and don't charge for blu ray... plus if i don't like the movie that was sent I can take it down the the Blockbuster store and trade it for another one.... I'm also testing out the Vunow box that lets you stream movies and such from the internet. It supports bit torrent so maybe it'll be a good deal.

April 3rd, 2009, 09:05 PM	#11
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	VUDU is the best movie download device! VUDU - Home heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

April 4th, 2009, 08:35 PM	#12
Tom Roper Trustee Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 1,891	Back when Netflix increased Blu-ray by only $1 per month, it reminded me of a small stack of unreturned disks on top of my desk. I cleared my queue and sent them back, and then cancelled the account. It's not a knock against Netflix. Their service was great for someone like me who was profiled as an infrequent user, everything I wanted was always available now. But it bothered me that if I did use it more frequently, the service would go down, so I decided to end it, and used the timing of the first price increase to do it. I have a better anecdote for Blockbuster. Years ago, I picked up the empty box for a copy of "Dark Blue" from the shelf that carried a sign, "Blockbuster In-Stock or It's Free" guarantee. At the counter, they told me that movie was not included in the guarantee, only certain movies. I asked them if that meant the guarantee was only for movies they have in stock? She smiled...I asked for a pair of scissors...and cut up my membership card right there. Eew.... In fact, that's when I joined Netflix. How ironic.

April 4th, 2009, 09:02 PM	#13
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	I have two movies, Blu-ray (Let the Right One In, which I hear has issues with subtitles, and Sunshine) that have been in my possession for over a month now. Hmmm, time to watch and return them and consider canceling. heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

April 5th, 2009, 11:40 AM	#15
Matt Vanecek Major Player Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Denton, TX Posts: 334	NetFlix streaming is nice and all if you've the bandwidth, but it's great to be able to take a disc and go. There's a portable Blu-Ray player coming out in the not-to-distant future (if it's not out already--although I completely forget the link/company. :( ), and you can't take streaming on the road, and the office tends to frown on such use of bandwidth... I love our PS3 playing Blu-Ray, as well as Streaming, and I keep reminding my wife to start ordering Blu-Ray titles from NetFlix if she's getting them for home. Unfortunately, she still won't let me buy the Planet Earth series--"it comes on TV way too often to buy it". blah blah blah... Eventually, the price of Blu-ray will fall. Critical mass and all that. I doubt NetFlix will lower their fee in response (but it could happen), but it's still worth it for us. We haven't had any of the frequent user issues that some others have reported, although we do keep 3 out pretty much all the time. I guess it all depends on what annoys you the most--NetFlix doesn't annoy me near as much as BlockBuster...I don't know why. shrug Thanks, Matt