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Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

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Re: Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

#451
post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Umm... there are about 100 services that will rent/sell you a movie online. I use Amazon for all my movie rental needs. Works great.

Could you recommend some that have deep catalog? I find the that iTunes and Amazon don't have anywhere near the deep catalog that I once enjoyed at my local video store. For a real film buff being able to go rent F. W. Murnau's "Noseferatu", Michelangelo Antonioni's "Blowup" or Polanski's "Knife in the Water" was really important to me and something I took for granted. Almost every large city had a least one such fil…

I just looked up those three movies at dvd.netflix.com and they are all available.

Re: Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

#452
post #413

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This assumes the product can still be purchased or is for sale in the country. Not every country has a licence to sell certain movies. Literally can't pay the money the makers of the films what they want to charge me because they don't want to charge me . This also applies to music and other products (though other products can't necessarily be pirated). My options are: a) Pirate the movie at no cost to the creator b)…

I'm not sure why you're getting downvoted. This is actually a pretty good argument for why piracy is still relevant. There's been numerous occasions when I wanted to share something with a friend, but the content was blocked just because of geographical differences. These limitations create incentives to find the content elsewhere, which is usually illegitimate means.

I didn't downvote, but... well, honestly this is a bit of a strawman, if you consider that most of the internet using public is able to legally view the content in question.

That a small percentage of people can't... OK that's true. but bringing that up as a reason why piracy can be justified doesn't really seem conductive to a cross-discussion.

Re: Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

#453
post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that's the case, that leaves the problem (from the consumer's point of view) of where to get access to a complete(ish) catalog of films. Netflix actually achieved this back in the disc-by-mail days. So we're actually moving backwards. I'm not particularly ashamed to say I turn to unlicensed torrents for this purpose, but I would prefer if it weren't necessary.

"Netflix actually achieved this back in the disc-by-mail days." Netflix's DVD service still exists.[1] They have a fantastic selection, compared to their streaming service. [1] - https://dvd.netflix.com/

Their DVD service may still exist, but my DVD player does not.

Re: Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

#455
post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that's the case, that leaves the problem (from the consumer's point of view) of where to get access to a complete(ish) catalog of films. Netflix actually achieved this back in the disc-by-mail days. So we're actually moving backwards. I'm not particularly ashamed to say I turn to unlicensed torrents for this purpose, but I would prefer if it weren't necessary.

"Netflix actually achieved this back in the disc-by-mail days." Netflix's DVD service still exists.[1] They have a fantastic selection, compared to their streaming service. [1] - https://dvd.netflix.com/

http://imgur.com/a/d6ZTM

Re: Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

#456
post #318

TL;DR: A former Netflix employee isn't surprised because films very little business sense for Netflix. Former Netflix employee here--though I left in late 2013. I remember sitting at a company meeting and Reed Hastings explaining that AAA film content was never going to be the bread-and-butter for Netflix for several reasons. Most importantly: Between traditional, "linear" television and Netflix, the experience that…

If that's the case, that leaves the problem (from the consumer's point of view) of where to get access to a complete(ish) catalog of films. Netflix actually achieved this back in the disc-by-mail days. So we're actually moving backwards. I'm not particularly ashamed to say I turn to unlicensed torrents for this purpose, but I would prefer if it weren't necessary.

With Amazon Prime, iTunes, and Redbox, you can get access to pretty much anything. Yes, it costs $1-4 per movie, but that was actually the price of a rental anyway and I had to get in my car, drive to the store, and hope that they had what I was looking for. Netflix still has DVD service if you choose. For me, the risks of being caught stealing outweigh the benefits of saving a few bucks.

Re: Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

#457

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Netflix actually achieved this back in the disc-by-mail days." Netflix's DVD service still exists.[1] They have a fantastic selection, compared to their streaming service. [1] - https://dvd.netflix.com/

That was my thought as well.. no, it isn't instant gratification, but it does have value... I wonder how legal a dedicated feed rental system would be. Effectively, you rent a movie (as available) and someone puts it into a drive in a data center, that is then played for you directly, with the software interface controlling playback... you then click "return" when done watching... maybe a bonus for early returns (vs…

There was a company that did this. They don't exist anymore:

https://www.wired.com/2011/10/streaming-movie-service-zediva...

Re: Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

#458

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Netflix actually achieved this back in the disc-by-mail days." Netflix's DVD service still exists.[1] They have a fantastic selection, compared to their streaming service. [1] - https://dvd.netflix.com/

That was my thought as well.. no, it isn't instant gratification, but it does have value... I wonder how legal a dedicated feed rental system would be. Effectively, you rent a movie (as available) and someone puts it into a drive in a data center, that is then played for you directly, with the software interface controlling playback... you then click "return" when done watching... maybe a bonus for early returns (vs…

Believe it or not, this was tried years ago:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/03/is-zedivas-new-re...

It turned out that the courts were not impressed by this workaround.

Re: Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

#459
post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Umm... there are about 100 services that will rent/sell you a movie online. I use Amazon for all my movie rental needs. Works great.

Could you recommend some that have deep catalog? I find the that iTunes and Amazon don't have anywhere near the deep catalog that I once enjoyed at my local video store. For a real film buff being able to go rent F. W. Murnau's "Noseferatu", Michelangelo Antonioni's "Blowup" or Polanski's "Knife in the Water" was really important to me and something I took for granted. Almost every large city had a least one such fil…

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Nosferatu-Silent-Max-Schreck/dp/B001O...

https://www.amazon.com/Blowup-Vanessa-Redgrave/dp/B000I157KO

https://www.amazon.com/Knife-Water-Leon-Niemczyk/dp/B004D22R...

Amazon + Netflix + Blueray player has become my perfect combination. The few titles that I can't get streaming I just buy the discs.

Re: Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

#460
post #318

TL;DR: A former Netflix employee isn't surprised because films very little business sense for Netflix. Former Netflix employee here--though I left in late 2013. I remember sitting at a company meeting and Reed Hastings explaining that AAA film content was never going to be the bread-and-butter for Netflix for several reasons. Most importantly: Between traditional, "linear" television and Netflix, the experience that…

If that's the case, that leaves the problem (from the consumer's point of view) of where to get access to a complete(ish) catalog of films. Netflix actually achieved this back in the disc-by-mail days. So we're actually moving backwards. I'm not particularly ashamed to say I turn to unlicensed torrents for this purpose, but I would prefer if it weren't necessary.

A while back I decided it wasn't worth trusting any online service - netflix or otherwise - for my personal favorite content (whatever that may be). For that reason I invested in a nice NAS that can stream to my ps3/ps4, phones/tablets etc and to just rip my own content. Otherwise you may suddenly find Twin Peaks is not available to you (it's on Amazon Prime now btw), or some other such lost classic film or tv show.
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