Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
#26
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
I don't know. I just got this in my email. Does the bolded sentence mean that the queues and rating will not be carried over?
I know I am not a brilliant CEO but this decision seems retarded to me.
Dear Brian,
I messed up. I owe you an explanation.
It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. Let me explain what we are doing.
For the past five years, my greatest fear at Netflix has been that we wouldn't make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us). So we moved quickly into streaming, but I should have personally given you a full explanation of why we are splitting the services and thereby increasing prices. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would have been the right thing to do.
So here is what we are doing and why.
Many members love our DVD service, as I do, because nearly every movie ever made is published on DVD. DVD is a great option for those who want the huge and comprehensive selection of movies.
I also love our streaming service because it is integrated into my TV, and I can watch anytime I want. The benefits of our streaming service are really quite different from the benefits of DVD by mail. We need to focus on rapid improvement as streaming technology and the market evolves, without maintaining compatibility with our DVD by mail service.
So we realized that streaming and DVD by mail are really becoming two different businesses, with very different cost structures, that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently.
It’s hard to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary: In a few weeks, we will rename our DVD by mail service to “Qwikster”. We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery. We will keep the name “Netflix” for streaming.
Qwikster will be the same website and DVD service that everyone is used to. It is just a new name, and DVD members will go to qwikster.com to access their DVD queues and choose movies. One improvement we will make at launch is to add a video games upgrade option, similar to our upgrade option for Blu-ray, for those who want to rent Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Members have been asking for video games for many years, but now that DVD by mail has its own team, we are finally getting it done. Other improvements will follow. A negative of the renaming and separation is that the Qwikster.com and Netflix.com websites will not be integrated.
There are no pricing changes (we’re done with that!). If you subscribe to both services you will have two entries on your credit card statement, one for Qwikster and one for Netflix. The total will be the same as your current charges. We will let you know in a few weeks when the Qwikster.com website is up and ready.
For me the Netflix red envelope has always been a source of joy. The new envelope is still that lovely red, but now it will have a Qwikster logo. I know that logo will grow on me over time, but still, it is hard. I imagine it will be similar for many of you.
I want to acknowledge and thank you for sticking with us, and to apologize again to those members, both current and former, who felt we treated them thoughtlessly.
Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words. But words help people to understand actions.
Respectfully yours,
-Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and CEO, Netflix
p.s. I have a slightly longer explanation along with a video posted on our blog, where you can also post comments.
I messed up. I owe you an explanation.
It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. Let me explain what we are doing.
For the past five years, my greatest fear at Netflix has been that we wouldn't make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us). So we moved quickly into streaming, but I should have personally given you a full explanation of why we are splitting the services and thereby increasing prices. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would have been the right thing to do.
So here is what we are doing and why.
Many members love our DVD service, as I do, because nearly every movie ever made is published on DVD. DVD is a great option for those who want the huge and comprehensive selection of movies.
I also love our streaming service because it is integrated into my TV, and I can watch anytime I want. The benefits of our streaming service are really quite different from the benefits of DVD by mail. We need to focus on rapid improvement as streaming technology and the market evolves, without maintaining compatibility with our DVD by mail service.
So we realized that streaming and DVD by mail are really becoming two different businesses, with very different cost structures, that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently.
It’s hard to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary: In a few weeks, we will rename our DVD by mail service to “Qwikster”. We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery. We will keep the name “Netflix” for streaming.
Qwikster will be the same website and DVD service that everyone is used to. It is just a new name, and DVD members will go to qwikster.com to access their DVD queues and choose movies. One improvement we will make at launch is to add a video games upgrade option, similar to our upgrade option for Blu-ray, for those who want to rent Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Members have been asking for video games for many years, but now that DVD by mail has its own team, we are finally getting it done. Other improvements will follow. A negative of the renaming and separation is that the Qwikster.com and Netflix.com websites will not be integrated.
There are no pricing changes (we’re done with that!). If you subscribe to both services you will have two entries on your credit card statement, one for Qwikster and one for Netflix. The total will be the same as your current charges. We will let you know in a few weeks when the Qwikster.com website is up and ready.
For me the Netflix red envelope has always been a source of joy. The new envelope is still that lovely red, but now it will have a Qwikster logo. I know that logo will grow on me over time, but still, it is hard. I imagine it will be similar for many of you.
I want to acknowledge and thank you for sticking with us, and to apologize again to those members, both current and former, who felt we treated them thoughtlessly.
Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words. But words help people to understand actions.
Respectfully yours,
-Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and CEO, Netflix
p.s. I have a slightly longer explanation along with a video posted on our blog, where you can also post comments.
#27
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
They've been wanting to separate the two (and probably eventually sell off the DVD portion) for a while now, this is just another step in it.
#28
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
#29
DVD Talk Legend
#30
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Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
It might be carried over, but it means you'll have two different queues. Which means that you no longer know when a DVD in your queue is available for streaming so that you can stream and remove from your queue. If we didn't have a gift subscription that was going to last us into next year, I think we'd have canceled by now.
#31
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
Originally Posted by Netflix Jackass
Many members love our DVD service, as I do, because nearly every movie ever made is published on DVD. DVD is a great option for those who want the huge and comprehensive selection of movies.
I also love our streaming service because it is integrated into my TV, and I can watch anytime I want. The benefits of our streaming service are really quite different from the benefits of DVD by mail. We need to focus on rapid improvement as streaming technology and the market evolves, without maintaining compatibility with our DVD by mail service.
I also love our streaming service because it is integrated into my TV, and I can watch anytime I want. The benefits of our streaming service are really quite different from the benefits of DVD by mail. We need to focus on rapid improvement as streaming technology and the market evolves, without maintaining compatibility with our DVD by mail service.
#32
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
I have never even come close to considering dumping Netflix but this is seriously making me think about. I was a huge Netflix fan from the beginning but this whole thing is truly puzzling to me.
#33
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
Dumb question, but why don’t more of you guys try out Blockbuster.com? I’ve been with them for 6+ years and still have the same basic plan with only one rate increase since I started. I have the one disc at a time program (DVD, Blu, or Video Game) for less than $10 a month and it seems more than enough for me (but I use our local library a ton for DVD releases as well). I’m pretty sure they have free streaming too with certain devices (I know a lot of Samsung’s newer products are tied in with them). The only known negative is they don’t offer streaming though 360/PS3/Wii that I know of.
#34
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Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
I don't see what the big deal is. Some people only want/use Netflix for streaming on iPods, phones, and consoles, so this is a cheaper alternative for them. Some people never use the stream, so it's no biggie for them either. After several years of providing both for a low price, I understand the separation and price increase. I will be keeping both, and will be getting my money's worth for sure. I also use Redbox for new releases.
#35
Moderator
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
I've complained about this elsewhere on the forums though I don't remember getting any actual answer (correct me if I'm wrong):
We have the one-month free trial of Netflix right now and everything streams perfectly on our computers but only tv shows that are 60 minutes or under will stream on our PS3. Absolutely no movies will stream on the PS3. It has to be a length thing but it just won't work. Are we supposed to let it load for a few minutes first, or something? I can't figure it out.
We have the one-month free trial of Netflix right now and everything streams perfectly on our computers but only tv shows that are 60 minutes or under will stream on our PS3. Absolutely no movies will stream on the PS3. It has to be a length thing but it just won't work. Are we supposed to let it load for a few minutes first, or something? I can't figure it out.
#36
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Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
I totally understand the separation of services, but fragmenting a company (one with such a strong brand name, as someone pointed out) is absolutely baffling. They kind of botched the price increase/service separation announcement as it is; should have just left it alone. Splitting into two separate entities (the new one of which has a fucking awful name) is a mistake. If they felt the need to differentiate, they should have named the services "Netflix Discs" and "Netflix Streaming" or something.
The addition of games is nice though. Too bad I'm actually thinking about ditching my "Qwikster" account in favor of Netflix. The streaming offerings have gotten significantly better.
The addition of games is nice though. Too bad I'm actually thinking about ditching my "Qwikster" account in favor of Netflix. The streaming offerings have gotten significantly better.
#38
DVD Talk Legend
#39
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
I've complained about this elsewhere on the forums though I don't remember getting any actual answer (correct me if I'm wrong):
We have the one-month free trial of Netflix right now and everything streams perfectly on our computers but only tv shows that are 60 minutes or under will stream on our PS3. Absolutely no movies will stream on the PS3. It has to be a length thing but it just won't work. Are we supposed to let it load for a few minutes first, or something? I can't figure it out.
We have the one-month free trial of Netflix right now and everything streams perfectly on our computers but only tv shows that are 60 minutes or under will stream on our PS3. Absolutely no movies will stream on the PS3. It has to be a length thing but it just won't work. Are we supposed to let it load for a few minutes first, or something? I can't figure it out.
#40
DVD Talk Legend & 2021 TOTY Winner
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
I don't see what the big deal is. Some people only want/use Netflix for streaming on iPods, phones, and consoles, so this is a cheaper alternative for them. Some people never use the stream, so it's no biggie for them either. After several years of providing both for a low price, I understand the separation and price increase. I will be keeping both, and will be getting my money's worth for sure. I also use Redbox for new releases.
Is it the worst thing ever, no, but I don't see how it makes the compan(y/ies) better.
#41
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
i must be the only one looking to ditch netflix for the dvd's. WTF do you people watch on there? the b movies? even the kids cartoons are mostly crap. i've heard good things about the anime selection but i don't watch it
#42
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
I watch a lot of documentaries and tv shows. Watched Wristcutters: A Love Story and Dog Day Afternoon last week but thats been about it in terms of movies.
Kids seem to really dig the kid shows on there as well (Yo Gabba Gabba, Scooby Doo movies, some older cartoons (Pink Panther)).
Kids seem to really dig the kid shows on there as well (Yo Gabba Gabba, Scooby Doo movies, some older cartoons (Pink Panther)).
#43
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
how many scooby movies on there now? last year there was like 10. now it's only 1 last i checked.
the good stuff like little einsteins is not there. even the old classic cartoons like transformers isn't on there. mostly the crappy stuff like care bears or strawberry shortcake.
pixar is not there. added clone wars to my blu ray queue because my older one seems to like star wars a little
wanted to watch jurassic park over the weekend, dvd only
lately both my kids are in love with the classic disney cartoons. even my almost 1 year old is mesmerized by Pinocchio on blu ray along with peter pan.
the only pixar i can find is toy story 3 which will go away if starz goes away. or at the minimum i think it will be in the top tier which will cost more. already planning to buy it on blu ray
the good stuff like little einsteins is not there. even the old classic cartoons like transformers isn't on there. mostly the crappy stuff like care bears or strawberry shortcake.
pixar is not there. added clone wars to my blu ray queue because my older one seems to like star wars a little
wanted to watch jurassic park over the weekend, dvd only
lately both my kids are in love with the classic disney cartoons. even my almost 1 year old is mesmerized by Pinocchio on blu ray along with peter pan.
the only pixar i can find is toy story 3 which will go away if starz goes away. or at the minimum i think it will be in the top tier which will cost more. already planning to buy it on blu ray
#44
DVD Talk Limited Edition
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Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
I use streaming all the time. Just finished watching Season 1 of Louie. Been catching up on Futurama, watch some MST3K now and then, anime, Star Trek, South Park, stand up, classics, etc. I don't really look to use it for new releases, but there's tons of stuff I haven't seen before that I'm interested in checking out.
#45
DVD Talk Godfather
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
how many scooby movies on there now? last year there was like 10. now it's only 1 last i checked.
the good stuff like little einsteins is not there. even the old classic cartoons like transformers isn't on there. mostly the crappy stuff like care bears or strawberry shortcake.
pixar is not there. added clone wars to my blu ray queue because my older one seems to like star wars a little
wanted to watch jurassic park over the weekend, dvd only
lately both my kids are in love with the classic disney cartoons. even my almost 1 year old is mesmerized by Pinocchio on blu ray along with peter pan.
the only pixar i can find is toy story 3 which will go away if starz goes away. or at the minimum i think it will be in the top tier which will cost more. already planning to buy it on blu ray
the good stuff like little einsteins is not there. even the old classic cartoons like transformers isn't on there. mostly the crappy stuff like care bears or strawberry shortcake.
pixar is not there. added clone wars to my blu ray queue because my older one seems to like star wars a little
wanted to watch jurassic park over the weekend, dvd only
lately both my kids are in love with the classic disney cartoons. even my almost 1 year old is mesmerized by Pinocchio on blu ray along with peter pan.
the only pixar i can find is toy story 3 which will go away if starz goes away. or at the minimum i think it will be in the top tier which will cost more. already planning to buy it on blu ray
I pissed that the Discovery channel stuff is shrinking by the day. They are down to 2 seasons of Mythbusters and a mere 10 episodes of Man vs. Wild, both of which my kids love.
I begrudgingly kept streaming for the kids despite the price hike, but they need to get their shit together and beef up the selection to make it worthwhile.
#46
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
There's alot of old classics on there I'd never seen, lots of noir. New foreign stuff is pretty good too. If there's something specific I'm looking for, chances I won't find it. But when I'm browsing I always come across stuff I want to watch.
#47
Moderator
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
Shows that are 30-60 minutes? Always work.
#48
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
I mean any program 90 minutes or longer - namely, movies - immediately plays for around five to ten seconds, then cuts to the "Loading" screen, loads 1/4 of the way on the bar, then freezes and goes to an error screen. Always happens.
Shows that are 30-60 minutes? Always work.
Shows that are 30-60 minutes? Always work.
#49
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Netflix Streaming: PS3 and Xbox 360 (?)
I mean any program 90 minutes or longer - namely, movies - immediately plays for around five to ten seconds, then cuts to the "Loading" screen, loads 1/4 of the way on the bar, then freezes and goes to an error screen. Always happens.
Shows that are 30-60 minutes? Always work.
Shows that are 30-60 minutes? Always work.