Despite Price Increase, Netflix Still A Good Value

July 20, 2011 by 1 Comment

In 1998 Reed Hastings founded Netflix, the lar...

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For several years, off and on, I have been a customer of Netflix.  As technology changes, they are adapting their business model.  They now offer both Blu-ray and regular DVD’s.  In addition, many movies and TV shows are available through online streaming.  For the past couple of years, I have been on the one DVD at a time plan, which offers unlimited streaming.  Starting soon, the cost of these services will dramatically increase.  My current plan costs about $10 per month, but to keep what I have now, I would need to absorb an approximate 60% price increase.

Netflix is separating DVD plans from streaming.  I can keep my one DVD at a time, or I can have streaming; or I can keep both and pay the increase.  Netflix has not offered any spin to suggest that this is in any way beneficial to customers.  In fact, they said in an email to customers, that the new prices are meant to reflect the costs of providing each service.  (They could have said that they would be able to provide more content online with the price increase, but it is interesting that they did not.)

I have generally been happy with Netflix, and utilize a box connected to my TV to stream content.  I do not watch much broadcast TV, and do not subscribe to cable or satellite services.  Since Netflix announced their price increase, I shopped around to see what alternatives exist for people like me.

For DVD’s, there is a service called GreenCine.  They offer a similar plan to Netflix, one DVD by mail at a time, for about $10 per month.  They are not as “mainstream” as Netflix, though.  They have more independent and alternative movie content.  Sounds OK, but I like the offerings from Netflix, and the cost is about the same.  No compelling reason for me to switch.

For streaming, Amazon offers Instant Video.  New releases can generally be rented for about $4, and purchased for $10-$15.  A bit pricey if you watch more than two movies per month though.  However, if a person pays an annual fee for Amazon Prime, they can get access to a Netflix style library of mostly older movies and TV shows for unlimited viewing.  (Prime customers also get free two day shipping on Amazon orders.)  Amazon Prime costs $79 per year, which is cheaper than Netflix.  The available library at Netflix is still much larger though.  For the Amazon junkie though, the value of Prime seems like a good one.  I like Amazon, but not so much as to take the plunge on a Prime account.  At least not yet.  If they add more titles to their unlimited streaming, I could see signing up for it.

For the immediate future, I think I will get new releases on DVD from Redbox, where I can rent them for about $1 per night.  For older content, I will keep streaming from Netflix, but drop their DVDs altogether.  In the coming months, Redbox is planning to start its own streaming service.  How that will compare to what Netflix is offering is yet to be seen.  Also, Amazon will keep adding to its online content, and is not to be ignored.

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CARS 2 Movie Review; 2,200 Pennies Worth

June 29, 2011 by Leave a comment

Picture from DisZine

Cars 2 is a great movie for small children.  Mater steals the show in this sequel.  Some reviews and critics that I have read have expressed surprise that Mater gets the prominent emphasis in the sequel, but they may not be thinking about the boys under age eight that respond more to his character than that of Lightning McQueen.

As a person who self-professes love for movies, it is somewhat surprising that I only go to the movie theater a few times a year.  There are many reasons for this, but a significant reason is that it is easier to watch a movie at home with small children, where it can be paused or stopped, and where they can be noisy without disturbing anyone.  As such, I usually wait for family movies to come out on DVD.

Given this background, it comes somewhat as a shock to pay full fare for a first run flick.  My kids’ mom watched the youngest child, while I took the older two to the theater.  We saw a matinee (which is cheaper than the evening show) and it cost us 2,200 pennies to get in.  This price was for one adult and two children.  A scan of our ticket stubs is included in this post.

I won’t complain about the snack bar prices, as I know that is the only source of real profit for the theater owner.  Most of the revenue from ticket sales goes to the big Hollywood studios.  The snack bar is what pays the bills for the local theater operator.

Now, dating myself, I will note that when I was a teenager, I would go to the newest theater in my town, and pay three dollars for a matinee, or five dollars for an evening show.  Enough with the talk of “back in my day” and back to this new movie.

Cars 2 is almost completely different from the original.  Very little of the movie is set in the charming back-country fictional town of Radiator Springs.  The sequel is like a James Bond, Agent 007, style spy flick.  It comes complete with guns, explosions, and violence.

The bad guys consist of cars like Gremlins, Pacers, and Yugos.

One somewhat disturbing scene portrays a car being tortured, by having its engine revved up to the point that it explodes (off screen).  As a father, this was the most uncomfortable part of the show for me.

Mater is mistaken by British spy “Fin McMissile” for an American agent he is to rendezvous with, and from there the hi-jinks continue until the very end.  Lightning continues racing oblivious to the spy-action taking place around him, while Mater gets himself in the thick of the action without realizing what is going on.

The racing in this sequel is not modeled after NASCAR like the original, but instead has more of a Formula 1 feel, with international road courses in large cities around the globe.  This is very different from Radiator Springs indeed.

I won’t provide any more spoilers here, but highly recommend this latest movie from the folks at Disney/Pixar that produced it.

Cars 2 is rated “G”.

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Redbox vs. Netflix

December 26, 2009 by 1 Comment

Versus

Like many red-blooded American males, I enjoy watching movies as a form of entertainment.  At one point in my life, for a short time, I even took a job managing a 10 screen multiplex.  (This was before I moved to Sunnyside.)

However, the love of watching movies has remained, and occasionally I find time to sit and watch one.  At this point in my life, I probably only go to the movie theater 2-3 times per year, but I do watch a decent number of movies on DVD.

For many years, I had Netflix, the industry pioneer in DVD rentals by mail.  It is a wonderful service, and still is an inexpensive option for renting.  At the time I signed up for Netflix, it would cost between $4-$5 to rent a video from Blockbuster for just one night.  Blockbuster also became infamous for its excessive late fees (which was a significant source of corporate profits).

Urban legend has it that one of the founders of Netflix was inspired to start the company because he was so upset over the late fees he had to pay at a Blockbuster store!  They revolutionized the whole industry of home video rentals.

Members can get the widest variety of rental choices delivered to them, without paying any late fees.  Netflix members do pay monthly recurring charges for the privilege, with the most popular plan running between $15-$20 per month.

In the past few years since I moved to Sunnyside, I enjoyed having Netflix.  They have even started to stream programming directly to computers over the Internet, and I enjoyed having that option also.

In tightening up my personal budget recently, I cut out the Netflix service, as it is a luxury I do not depend on for my survival.  Over the past week, I had some down time, and decided to rent a DVD.

In the last few years, we have seen two local video rental businesses either close down or leave town.  Netflix is still available, but I do not want to sign up for a monthly bill at this moment, so I checked out another option: renting from a video kiosk called Redbox.

In Sunnyside, there are two Redbox machines at the local Wal-Mart.  It costs $1 per night for a movie, and the kiosks are completely automated.  They have been there for a while, but I never tried them because I was using Netflix up until recently.

I rented a video from Redbox and was pleased with the experience.  It filled the niche need I had to be able to rent a video, and not have to sign up for a monthly plan.  The service was fast, and they immediately sent me an email receipt for the billing to my debit card.  Returning the video was equally smooth, and they even sent me an email to confirm it was returned to the machine.

Redbox allows customers to reserve movies on their website, so if you are anxious to have a selection available, you can be assured it will be there when you go to rent it.  They specialize in new releases, and due to limited space, do not carry the large selection that is available through Netflix.  However, it is a good option, and one I was happy with this week.

Redbox has over 20,000 locations nationwide, and movies can be returned to any of them.  The company was developed with money from a McDonald’s Corporation subsidiary, and McDonald’s owned almost 50% of it until February 2009.  Because of this history, you will see Redbox machines at many McDonald’s locations throughout the country.  They are also found at Wal-Mart stores, pharmacies, grocery stores, and other places as well.

While Redbox is not the only video rental service using automated kiosks, it is the largest.  Redbox’s Chief Operating Officer, Mitch Lowe, helped to found Netflix, has worked at McDonald’s Corporation, and now is working with one of the fastest growing vending services the nation has ever seen.

Some industry analysts have even said that Netflix views Redbox as their most serious competitor.  They are upsetting the apple cart for sure.  Redbox has multiple lawsuits pending against Hollywood studios because they won’t allow new releases to be placed in Redbox machines.

The movie studios say they are losing DVD sales to the cheap priced rental service.  Redbox says this is a violation of anti-trust laws.  While the courts sort it out, I am happy to see competition and change being made with customers benefiting from increased market choices.

The bottom line is: it is hard to beat paying $1 to rent a movie.

Reference:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Redbox

Time: Netflix vs. Redbox vs. Blockbuster: What’s the Best Movie Rental Deal?

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