Netflix (DVD Delivery Discussion Only)

[flyonthewall2983]

Bad timing, I guess.

[Noiradelic]

Once Film-Focused, Netflix Transitions to TV Shows

[Perkins Cobb]

Buried lede:

Mr. Olson’s firm reported last week that only four of the 50 top-grossing films of 2011 were currently available for streaming on the service, and that one of them, Disney’s “Gnomeo and Juliet,” would vanish on Wednesday.

Why aren't reports like this wondering who will supply this content, if Netflix can't?

[Matt]

We're in such an awkward transition. There is more money in studios trying to prop up physical formats than in licensing content for streaming, so the former is what they are doing. But there's not much money anymore in physical formats for brick-and-mortar retailers, so floor space devoted to them is rapidly contracting. That leaves online retailers and rental, of which the two giants are Amazon and Netflix, respectively. Both of which are concentrating on streaming, not physical formats.

[Perkins Cobb]

So the trickle of rebound titles seems to have slowed to a stop, and I'm starting to think it's a mixed blessing. Some of them are fine but a couple of them have taken two or three extra days to get to me, then arrived cracked and requiring a replacement, meaning that a slot in my queue was tied up for over a week. Not really worth it.

Meanwhile, Netflix seems to be skimping on recent foreign films: Lucas Belvaux's Rapt and Godard's Film Socialisme (!) are DVD only. Blockbuster has the Blu-rays for both.

[Drucker]

I just noticed along with the regular "recommended if you like..." section is now a section called "Local Favorites for Maplewood, NJ" which is where I live. So I guess that's...the discs other people in town are renting? I find this sort of creepy...I must say

[cdnchris]

I think that's been there for a long while. I've always gotten a kick seeing what people in my area rent, most of which I find I care very little about.

[domino harvey]

Charm City truly is eclectic

Tin Men
Tyler Perry's Laugh to Keep from Crying
Diner
35 and Ticking
Making the Boys
Gattaca
Layer Cake
Melinda and Melinda
Mama, I Want to Sing!
the Good Shepherd

You can actually check any zip code's local favorites as well

[duck duck]

Does anyone know how to get a list of "Streaming Only" films?

[kingofthejungle]

Does anyone know how to get a list of "Streaming Only" films?

I don't know about a list, but you can search Netflix's Streaming Only database at instantwatcher.com. It's allowed me to track the abysmal selection Netflix offers and resist occasional impulses to re-subscribe.

[duck duck]

That site didn't seem helpful but thanks, I'm really looking for a way to make sure I've seen the Never on video or DVD titles before I give up on Netflix streaming completely.

[duck duck]

Year of the Horse is now available for streaming... you may have to look it up as "Neil Young Live"

[Perkins Cobb]

So now it looks as if Netflix has removed the ability to search directly for actors and directors. For instance, if I put in Veronica Lake, all it gives me are movies with "Veronica" or "Lake" in the title. If I want to select movies starring Veronica Lake, I have to back-door it -- think of a movie she's in (say, Sullivan's Travels), pull up that record, and then click on Veronica's name to get to the list of Veronica Lake movies that Netflix has on disc. Don't be surprised if those filmography pages disappear next.

Why on earth is this company so hellbent on self-destruction?

[dustybooks]

Weird, it still seems to be working for me but not specifically with Lake. I typed in "Alfred Hitchcock," "Cary Grant," and "Teresa Wright" and got filmography lists as before, but Veronica Lake just gives me movies that have her name in the summary. Just a glitch maybe?

[Perkins Cobb]

I can't pull up any of the filmography pages through name searches.

[Perkins Cobb]

For those of you who enjoy Netflix streaming: Apparently all of the Epix titles (which includes the MGM Library, which is arguably the biggest trove of not-on-disc stuff they have) are now available in SD only. They've yanked the HD encodes, presumably because Epix is now a streaming competitor.

And more great news: They've also stopped providing expiration dates for streaming titles.

I'm starting to root for Netflix's demise with the same visceral hatred I used to have for Blockbuster, but with more uncertainty as to what will take their place (hint: it starts with a "pi" and ends with a "racy").

[mfunk9786]

You can hardly blame that first thing on Netflix.

[Perkins Cobb]

It's not that I'm "blaming" them, it's that they've lost one of their most valuable streaming assets (at least for hardcore cinephiles) and thus their already dubious streaming offering looks all the more pallid.

[mfunk9786]

I'm with you that the quality of the service is declining, it just sort of sucks to pin actions brought on by their competitors on them. It'd be like a hurricane knocking over your local Blockbuster and then saying that the company is going downhill fast.

[Ishmael]

And more great news: They've also stopped providing expiration dates for streaming titles.

Your summary is very misleading. What that post says is that Netflix will still provide the expiration dates 2 weeks in advance of the title expiring (though I've only ever seen them do this 1 week in advance on their own site). So I'm guessing the 2-week thing applies to other sites who track availability dates much longer in advance. OK, so that might affect people who like to plan what movies they want to watch more than 2 weeks in advance, but what I thought when I read your statement is that titles were going to start disappearing from my streaming queue without notice, which is absolutely not what this article is saying.

[Perkins Cobb]

I'm with you that the quality of the service is declining, it just sort of sucks to pin actions brought on by their competitors on them. It'd be like a hurricane knocking over your local Blockbuster and then saying that the company is going downhill fast.

Well, no. Netflix is a content provider and its streaming service remains hobbled by its inability to make deals for content with some of the major content owners. I wouldn't blame Blockbuster for losing a fight with a hurricane but I sure would take my business elsewhere if they lost a fight with, say, Warner Bros.

However ... One of the Hacking Netflix commenters is reporting that the Epix HD files are back, so hopefully this was just a technical glitch.

And, since it came up, is anyone watching these via Epix? Do they look any better or worse than they do on Netflix's platform?

[stroszeck]

Michael and Drive both up on Netflix Instant. Definitely worth a look if you haven't seen either.

[Perkins Cobb]

So now it looks as if Netflix has removed the ability to search directly for actors and directors. For instance, if I put in Veronica Lake, all it gives me are movies with "Veronica" or "Lake" in the title.

This is back to normal now, too, thankfully. Some people on Facebook experienced the same issue, but it sounds like at least one poster here didn't. Some kind of sneaky beta test, maybe.

[captveg]

FYI, the Instant Streaming of Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould is unfortunately a 16x9 image horizontally squeezed into 4x3. Unfortunately there's no way to report this to Netflix in the Problem Report.

[Cash Flagg]

Does Netflix only carry one copy of The Interrupters on Blu-ray? It's been 'long wait' for three months now.