Jordan and I were watching TV this past week and a commercial for Netflix came on. Normally I just ignore them, but the tag at the end said 'now in Canada' - which of course got me thinking.
Netflix claim to fame is "Unlimited TV episodes & movies instantly over the Internet" For $7.99/month - we can supposedly use our Wii/PS3/Computers to watch anything/as much of it as we like - interesting proposition seeing as how we currently spend about $60/month just on our TV/Movie package with Shaw.
Right off the bat I see that our favorite shows are not available: House and Bones - though we can watch those on Global TV's website and I can watch all my favorite Slice shows (Gail Vaz Oxlade) on their website. Law & Order SVU is also not available on Netflix, but I can watch that on CTV.ca.
hmmm... this is not looking so good Netflix. Perhaps, it's not so good for current TV shows.
I went to the blockbuster website and did a random search on Netflix to see if I could find any new releases. I looked for Toy Story 3, Sex and The City 2, and Splice - not of which are available yet on Netflix.
So what is? Well, it appears that the only movies/TV shows that are avilable are quite old - movies that have been on the shelves of blockbuster for months if not years.
Maybe I'm not looking into this deep enough - but I'm not sure that Netflix could replace our Shaw subscription - so I ask you. Do you Netflix? Does it supplement your TV with Shaw or another provider, or does it replace any service you have?
Do You Netflix?
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I've looked into Netflix after a few colleagues raved about it. The cost is pretty reasonable, except that I'd either need to buy a Wii/PS3 OR increase my internet package with Rogers by $30-40 to cover the amount of data coming in.
ReplyDeleteThe extra cost just isn't worth it for me. Right now I am watching TV show episodes I miss during the week on http://tvshack.cc/tv or http://www.casttv.com/shows - the sites are great for computer tv-watching and has tv show seasons that go back a number of years.
That's the point of Netflix... it's not brand new shows or anything. It's just a more convenient way to get movies to your home instead of going to a movie rental place. I love it. I hardly ever go to the movies anymore. Whenever I see something that looks interesting, I just add it to my queue
ReplyDeleteWe did do Netflix for a little while but we decided that it wasn't worth the 10 or 12 bucks per month. I think it was a little bit more expensive for us because we did the Blu-Ray discs. We usually just received them in the mail. We tried to do the instant stream through our Wii but the shows were all old. For the most part, we just want to watch new release movies.
ReplyDeleteIt totally depends what you are into - as long as you watch at least 2 movies a month, it has paid for itself. We don't have cable, and I love being able to turn on a movie whenever I want, and I have seen some with Netflix that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. I think their selection of titles for Canada is only going to get bigger too.
ReplyDeleteIt's less of a tv replacement and more of an old-ish movie depository, kind of like watching syndicated television. Sometimes there are newer movies but then you realize they're terrible. I don't know if they still do, but they have a month-long free trial, where you can decide if you like it.
ReplyDeleteWe thought about getting netflix to replace our cable, but we watch a LOT of sports and not that many movies. There is a redbox (they rent movies for $1/day) right across from our condo too. We decided AGAINST it for those reasons..
ReplyDeleteI wish we could get rid of cable completely, but we'd end up spending $50 a night at the sports bars if we got rid of it.
So far that has been Jordan's biggest concern as well - a lack of sports. So it doesn't sound like it makes sense as a replacement service - but it might be something to supplement/replace renting movies.
ReplyDeleteConsidering that my husband manages a Blockbuster, I'm totally against Netflix. =P
ReplyDeleteIf you ask him, he'll tell you that the movie selection is small and out of date (I don't have any personal experience with it.) I'm sure he's biased, but if you like watching older movies, then it might be a good buy - but I don't ever see it being a replacement.
He gets 10 free rentals a week, including new releases a week before they're out, so we obviously don't need a service like this.
We use Zip.ca and love it. They have ALL the new releases, and you can reserve movies that are still in theaters. Cheap too, we pay $12 a month.
ReplyDelete