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The Kitchen Table

Movie rentals

17 years ago

Our local movie rental place is going out of business. I live in a small town so there's really no where else to get movies without driving 40 miles. I was thinking about trying Netflix. Anyone used this service? Is it easy to quit if you don't want it anymore? How fast do the movies come? Does it really pay off?

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Comments (12)

gwanny2three
17 years ago
I loved netflix when we had it. So convenient and fast service. The only way to go for us! I cancelled it only because we weren't watching the movies and DH's shows new seasons started....the movies just sat for days. I would for sure start again when he gets back into watching them again. I had no problems with netflix.
mary_c_gw
17 years ago
Neflix is great. I've had it for 2 years now, and only got because our local good video rental store went out of business.

I'm very pleased with the service, and I've never had a single issue with it.
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I just spent a little more time on the netflix site, and I agree that the quality of the downloadable stuff isn't spelled out clearly. I have comcast cable and they have some SD and HD movies that are truly on demand and start pretty much right when you select them. There will be a delay in downloading content off the netflix site, it seems like it could be 10-15 minutes. Not sure of that though. The netflix print, to paraphrase, says something along the lines of "the quality of your movie will depend on the speed of your internet connection. At 3mps, the quality will approach that of a DVD." I have a fast connection so I should get the best they have to offer. But that tells me it won't be HD (1080 or 720), and that it may barely be DVD (480). So yes, I take from that that the downloadable stuff on Netflix isn't HD. And with a fast connection you just might get DVD, which is 480. What's standard-def TV, something like 320, right? And VHS tapes were 240? I guess the good news for me is that my projector has a pretty decent upconverter in it, but the question begs as to how well it can upconvert what I download from netflix. A plus for me is that if the picture quality isn't great at 133", I can choke the projector down to display a smaller picture and improve quality. There are a variety of boxes you can use to download content from netflx. Personally if I was going to get a box I'd probably go for a blu ray player. But my wife wants to be able to also play games for the kids, so we'll probably go with PS3 or Xbox, more likely xbox. She wants to get dance dance revolution for my daughter! I don't have a real good feel for just what movies netflix has available for download. They claim 12000 out of their offerings of 100000. We were very happy with netflix when we just used them for discs years ago. We switched to blockbuster more for the kids, they liked being able to go into the store and pick up a DVD (a couple free in-store pickups per month) on their way home when they were having friends over. But blockbuster has gotten away from that feature, and blockbuster always seems to send discs in the que out of order. Makes it tough when you're watching a series. So I guess what it comes down to is that we're changing back to netflix for the DVDs via snailmail. At this time we look at the downloadable content as bonus stuff, and an excuse to get an xbox, and by getting an xbox it will allow us to watch bluray and work on our dance steps via DDR. One big slippery slope! But I do have a bit more head scratching to do...
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We have Dish. Have had them for 14 years. We upgraded to the Hopper w/2 joey's. So satellite on 3 TV's. The bill was going to be $100 a month. We called and said we are on a fixed income and CANNOT afford that. They lowered our bill by $30 for a year. Our bill is $66.77 a month. We have 250 channels. We can dvr any show, anytime, and watch it only any of the 3 tv's we have. I have to say, I do love having a dvr. When the year is up, I'll call them again. Our problem is all the channels we like are on the satellite. The only show I really do not ever want to miss on regular channels is Survivor. And if push comes to shove, I can watch it online the next day. Oh, and we dropped our landline years ago. Were very unsure about doing it, but absolutely no regrets at all. We both have a cell phone so our house phone rarely even rang.
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liz
17 years ago
We've used it since 2005...just LOVE IT!! we watch them and back they go the next day...we do three at a time and usually watch over 20 movies a month...DH and I and the kids usually pick one...our service center is just one day mail so they come quickly...we pay 19.00 a month for three at a time!! You can also watch several of them instantly on your PC!!

Blockbuster also does this as well...I wish I had a free coupon for a free month for you...there always sending them to us and wouldn't you know now that I need one...don't have one...maybe someone else here will have a free promo code...
jannie
17 years ago
I had Netflix for a month because I got it for free. They have a very large assortment of movies. I ordered a few comedies, they came quickly and I sent them back using their pre-paid mailers. Got to see some nifty movies for free. Sounds like it's made for you. It's nice to have options. I have one Blockbuster near me. I joined long ago but my kids lost ny card. They let me use my drivers license now.
JoanMN
17 years ago
I live out in the boonies and it works great for us! I have the one-at-a-time, unlimited plan. We can get two movies a week if we watch them immediately. I LOVE their selection. They have such a huge inventory and lots of the old ones I love.
JoanMN/FL
sushipup1
17 years ago
Love love love netflix. I was reminded of an old movie a few days ago, entered it, and got in next on my list. Saw it tonight, and it was wonderful. Anyone remember "Lovers and Other Strangers" from 1970?

Here is a link that might be useful: Lovers and Other Strangers
sable_ca
17 years ago
Sushipup - thanks for the recommendation! I'm always looking for something new from Netflix.

If I had to choose between regular TV and Netflix, it would be Netflix hands down. Their inventory is enormous - every movie ever made that's on DVD - thousands and thousands of old classics, hundreds of TV series, including British, all the miniseries and Masterpiece Theatres that have been made here and in Britain, documentaries about the most unusual subjects, a huge selection of children's films. Their most useful feature is their recommendation of movies based on what you've already ordered.

We've never had a problem with them; we mail in one DVD and the next one arrives two days later. It's worth every penny.
missindia2020
17 years ago
Have it and love it! I think someone asked about this a few weeks back.
workoutlady
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks all. I think I'll go with it. I can't get movies here except to drive a long ways. I'll probably start with the 2 movies at a time option and if I want more, I'll go with the 3 movies. Not sure how much I'll use it -probably more than I know because it comes to my door!
chisue
17 years ago
We are SO lucky to have a good public library! DH and I often have 'teatime matinee' with a DVD and a cup of tea around 3 p.m. Sometimes cookies. Sometimes popcorn.
OklaMoni
17 years ago
I started it about a month ago. One at the time. Love it so far.

Moni
socks
17 years ago
We had a thread about this not too long ago. I don't think there was one person who didn't like Netflix. They don't trade off your name and address either. The website is super-easy to learn. The movies come so fast. The emails you get from them are to let you know what's coming and ask when you got certain movies so they can track how things are going. Try it.

I think I've had to call maybe twice, and I didn't wait long and had a very polite, helpful person on the line.

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