Raw_and_Vital

Well this does it for me. Closer to the end of this billing... End of April I will cancel my Blu-Ray rentals from netflix. I was okay with them charging a dollar. Not okay with them charging 4. Not at all worth it IMO.

bunkaroo

This just happened to me today. Had a movie in, had two new BD releases today in #1 and #2, not only did I not get them, but NOTHING shipped today as a result.

They're making the decision easy.

naitram

I'm sticking with for now to see if Blu availablility gets better, but I think it's a BS-campaign to raise prices overall. They don't charge more for higher-priced DVDs, but Blu-ray is an easy target for "premium content" charges.

lamphorn

Been with Netflix a long time, but this is making me consider BB, especially since I just moved a five minute walk from a BB store.

A couple questions, though, for those who have been with both... how does the selection on BB compare with Netflix? Do they get all the Criterions and stuff like Netflix does? Do they rent NC-17 and unrated films or is it like in their stores, specially edited Blockbuster versions?

Finally, I have never understood their store exchange Total Access thing- if I bring a mail rental to the store and take a free store rental in return, are they still going to send me the next mail rental or do they wait until I return the store rental before going to the next movie on my queue?

PerryD

I use $8.99 Netflix for non-bluray and instant movies, and $19.99 Blockbuster online for my blu-ray online and in-store rentals, and it works out pretty nicely so I'm not affected by this increase. I'm very happy with Blockbuster, especially with their in-store selection. It's typically easier for me to get a new release in store since I can show up mid-week and get a decent selection of movies. Blockbuster's new policy of counting in store rentals as part of my queue just forces me to watch the movie the same night that I rent and return the next day, not a big deal on my part.

Regarding the questions above, they do not have any special "Blockbuster" versions of any blu-ray movies that I know of, and even in the days of DVDs, there were very few occasions that they stocked R rated cuts of NC-17 movies, what would more accurately be called "Wal-Mart" versions rather than "Blockbuster" since Wal-Mart has more pull.

AmityBoatTours

I dont know about you but i bought my bluray player to watch BLURAY discs, Not upconverted DVD discs. and there reasoning for uping the price to 4 dollars is not logical considering bluray media has been falling in price for a few months now. I feel for the people in L.A. cause not only do they have to deal with the 3 dollar increase from netflix, but also will see an additional increase on the netflix bill since sales tax goes up to 9.25 percent tomorrow.

AmityBoatTours

speak for yourself, but i can promise you i wont go back to them unless they lower the fee back to 1 dollar.

dan30oly

I switched to the one out plan the last time they pulled this crap.

It's been so bad that I'm just now getting Zak and Miri make a porno and that was released 2 months ago.

An extra dollar isn't going to get me to switch, but the long waits had better damn well improve quickly.

lamphorn

Blockbuster does not carry NC-17 films in their stores, regardless of format. Take a look at the DVD of "Lust, Caution", and what you'll see is "R-rated version not seen in theatres!"... as if you should be excited about renting an edited version. You also can't find the original cuts of "Showgirls", "Henry and June" or ANY cut of "Shortbus" at Blockbuster. All of those ARE available on Netflix. Just wondering if Blockbuster's online service also has that policy.

That said, I would consider Blockbuster because I do like the notion of supplementing mail renting with instant grat store-going.

Michael Corvin

There is a thread here dealing with Blockbuster exclusive discs. Zack & Miri make a Porno being one of them. It has some bonus feature that isn't in the retail release. That's minor though.

PerryD

I think we are saying the same thing. As far as I know, there are no edited versions of Blu-ray discs available that Blockbuster stock, and on DVD, there are very few DVDs that are rated NC-17 where they stocked the R rated version. Blockbuster stocks plenty of Unrated versions of movies that are available in both R and Unrated versions. I agree that it would be better if they stocked everything, but it's not like Netflix stocks adult or Girls Gone Wild videos either, so the disparity is limited to a handful of discs out of 10s of thousands of mainstream movies available.

HerdfanWV

I'm a little surprised about the frustration of Netflix. Let's face it folks, costs are going up in many areas.....my gym increased its monthly fee by about $3 recently...and we don't get any extra services.

For me, Netflix has provided great service. I've been a member since 1999, and was grandfathered in for the 4 out at a time plan for the price of 3. I understand that Blu-ray costs more...just look at the prices on Amazon....blu-rays are almost always at least $10 more....and I understand that Netflix does not have the publishing agreements for Blu-ray that it does for DVD.

Additionally, I never have the delays that people speak of. In fact, the most recent movie from my queue had to be shipped from a West Coast facility - I live on the East Coast - so, because of the delay, Netflix sent me an additional movie...so I have 5 out currently. Now that's great customer service.

applesandrice

Increasing subscription prices during the recession just seems like a bad choice. It's also really curious given that so many B&M stores seem to be lowering their in-store prices (in order to compete with Netflix/Redbox/etc., no doubt).

Someone else mentioned it already, but when the Redbox machines here in Boise start offering Blu-ray rentals, my own relationship with Netflix will definitely need to be reassessed.

dan30oly

Congratulations. They have NEVER done this for me.

For a while my top 8 were "long wait" for at least 2 weeks straight so they kept sending me stuff I really wasn't that interested in from the bottom of the queue. I could have removed the stuff, but then I wouldn't have received anything.

I hope this backfires on them so badly that it results in lowering prices back even further - or dropping the BlueRae fee altogether.

jiggawhat

I wouldn't put all the blame all on Netflix. The studios certainly have a hand in this. No doubt. I wouldn't be surprised if they are trying to recoup costs because more people are renting right now than buying and could be one aspect of this increase.

davidh777

I'm annoyed by this:

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0730938/

kefrank

On the other hand, Blu-ray is a luxury item and I'm guessing most people that can afford a Blu-ray player in this recession can also afford a few more dollars a month for rentals. At least, that's probably some of the rationale that Netflix is using.

dan30oly

When the numbers start coming out regarding cancellations and decreased revenue due to people dumping blu-ray or lowering their plans to off-set the price increase the stock will nose-dive (I predict half of where it is now).

On the other hand, if I knew anything about the stock market, I wouldn't be making $11 an hour working retail...

AmityBoatTours

sorry i dont buy that argument. especially when a good player can be had for under 199.00 presently.

Mr. Salty

Perhaps, but Blu-ray renters were already paying a higher rate. This is a 200 percent increase (for my membership level) on top of that. Netflix's costs did not increase 200 percent.

Like many people here, I bought my Blu-ray player long before the recession hit.

TheKobra

With the $4 increase I will be canceling my membership on the 8th of April. I get 12 free rentals from Red Box each month, and the one by me has Blu-ray movies.

Gizmo

Link to this good player under $199?

AmityBoatTours

is there any reason why you dispute everything i write? honestly you have taken issue with me since the first day i signed up for this site,(when you accused me of being someone else)
its really not that hard to go on amazon and find it. right now you can get a brand new bp-p1500 from samsung for 189.98 (a good solid player that is profile 2.0 upgradeable) i bought this player last year when it was 399.99 shortly there after they offered the firm ware update to make the machine profile 2.0
its a great machine, and i has played every disc i have put in it.
thats just one example.

Michael Corvin

Sure you can get that player under $200 but your original post implies that sub $200 players is the norm (not a limited time offer via only a single website).

Even so, I'm with kefrank, BD is considered a luxury item. Even if you nab a player like the one you mention, you still have BD discs retailing for $10+ more than the DVD counterpart. Factor in if a consumer already has a decent DVD player, there is little incentive to upgrade in this economy.

Qui Gon Jim

Right. He was only referencing the parts of his argument that make him irrefutably correct. You guys must have missed the "FinkPish Rules of Debate" memo.