Comment Re:Yet another way Netflix is superior to Blockbus (Score 1) 277
I love Netflix, I have been a continuous member so long that in-fact my rate is still $13.99 and I get 4 DVDs out at once.
I digress, when Netflix first began (or more accurately when I first joined), there was no throttling. When their subscriber base went up they did start "holding back DVDs" for very high rate customers. Basically anyone exceeding 2x the number of DVDs in the plan per month fell into this category. So if you had a 4-out plan, then when you were on your 9th DVD in a 30 day period, the 9th, 10th, and 11th DVDs would take quite sometime to get to you (it would not ship, it would show as available). Now realize I have a national talk radio show so I wouldn't put my name on the line if I wasn't sure. My mother also has a Netflix account and I ordered the SAME DVD one day later (on several test occasions) and it would arrive at her house first.
When this started looking like some really bad PR for Netflix, they fixed it, stocked up on titles, put DCs in cities around the US with the highest Netflix user population, this improved their mailing times, and started researching allowing users to watch movies over the web (which consequently is now deployed). Needless to say, throttling is no more with Netflix, and the customers who do get their monies worth -- Netflix just looses cash on. The rest (the people who let the DVDs sit at home) is how they make their profit.
Some months I too rent and return 30-40 DVDs, others I do 0. And now with no throttling, but yes, it was a reality. Netflix rocks, and Blockbuster is no comparison unless you're willing to give up diversity, a better site, excellent rating and suggestion abilities, for the ability to go grab the latest movie off the shelf without paying $3.99 to walk out of Blockbuster with it (directly) -- not to mention, using YOUR gas to go get the DVD. Think about Blockbuster is 2 miles from your house and you pay $3/gallon then its $0.66 to go grab the DVD from Blockbuster. It's free to get it in your mailbox. Blockbuster is saving themselves money everytime you come in -- and its more expensive than Netflix.
Anyway, just my thoughts and experiences! Take care television and movie lovers.
I digress, when Netflix first began (or more accurately when I first joined), there was no throttling. When their subscriber base went up they did start "holding back DVDs" for very high rate customers. Basically anyone exceeding 2x the number of DVDs in the plan per month fell into this category. So if you had a 4-out plan, then when you were on your 9th DVD in a 30 day period, the 9th, 10th, and 11th DVDs would take quite sometime to get to you (it would not ship, it would show as available). Now realize I have a national talk radio show so I wouldn't put my name on the line if I wasn't sure. My mother also has a Netflix account and I ordered the SAME DVD one day later (on several test occasions) and it would arrive at her house first.
When this started looking like some really bad PR for Netflix, they fixed it, stocked up on titles, put DCs in cities around the US with the highest Netflix user population, this improved their mailing times, and started researching allowing users to watch movies over the web (which consequently is now deployed). Needless to say, throttling is no more with Netflix, and the customers who do get their monies worth -- Netflix just looses cash on. The rest (the people who let the DVDs sit at home) is how they make their profit.
Some months I too rent and return 30-40 DVDs, others I do 0. And now with no throttling, but yes, it was a reality. Netflix rocks, and Blockbuster is no comparison unless you're willing to give up diversity, a better site, excellent rating and suggestion abilities, for the ability to go grab the latest movie off the shelf without paying $3.99 to walk out of Blockbuster with it (directly) -- not to mention, using YOUR gas to go get the DVD. Think about Blockbuster is 2 miles from your house and you pay $3/gallon then its $0.66 to go grab the DVD from Blockbuster. It's free to get it in your mailbox. Blockbuster is saving themselves money everytime you come in -- and its more expensive than Netflix.
Anyway, just my thoughts and experiences! Take care television and movie lovers.
