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Netflix Is Killing BitTorrent in The US

torrentfreak.com

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Re: Netflix Is Killing BitTorrent in The US

#21

Post by jaysonelliot »

danilocampos wrote: post #16
jaysonelliot wrote: post #14

If I could rely on a streaming movie from Netflix to play uninterrupted and without flaws from beginning to end, it would be wonderful. That, and if I could find the movies I want to watch, of course. The reality for me, at least, is that I cannot watch two hours of streaming video from Netflix without the picture freezing or skipping at some point, even if it's just a little bit. I love film, and that's unacceptable…

This sounds like a network issue – though that doesn't take away from your point. In my case, I can Watch Instantly for an entire movie, in HD, without any trouble at all, and it does start almost instantly. If you're getting the bone, though, that points to the limitations any bandwidth-intensive business has to contend with as they scale. A decent number of potential customers are stuck with sloppy internet. I wond…

It could be a network issue - but one that has followed me through two apartments, three routers, and four computers. The only constants in the equation have been Time Warner Cable and me.

No matter what the cause, however, the fact is that streaming media is vulnerable to network issues, and downloaded media is not. It may take longer to get, but once you have it, you know you have it.

I think your point about sloppy internet is so true. American ISPs are in a sorry state overall.

Re: Netflix Is Killing BitTorrent in The US

#22

Post by garyrichardson »

kbatten wrote: post #8

When I want to watch a movie, the first place I go to is netflix. I won't tell you the second place I go to. I'd pay an extra 5 bucks a month if it could increase the rate at which netflix lets me "play now" movies. Yes, some movies I specifically want to get on bluray, but there are plenty of others that video quality matters very little to me.

My DVD player broke right around the time that I got Netflix/AppleTV (I'm in Canada). I was planning on getting a new one, but turns out I can watch all the movies I want between Netflix and iTunes.

Now I have a giant box of DVD's I spent $1000s on and aren't worth a fraction of what I paid.

Re: Netflix Is Killing BitTorrent in The US

#23

Post by dfc »

The article fails to establish any causal link between Netflix subscriptions and decrease in bittorrent use. It is just as likely that an increase in Netflix subscriptions is evidence of a renewed interest in movies; and this renewed interest will also produce an increased demand for movies not yet available on Netflix.

Re: Netflix Is Killing BitTorrent in The US

#24

Post by sudonim »

enjo wrote: post #12
pdubroy wrote: post #4

The article doesn't actually offer any evidence, apart from the fact that Netflix has doubled its subscribers.

Exactly. If anything I'd bet the opposite might be the case. After all, Netflix streaming and Hulu have both been an enabler for a lot of folks to drop their cable subscription altogether(my wife and I have, for one). The only problem is that there are still a few shows we really want to see (like Game Of Thrones) that we can't find a way to legally acquire. Without cable there is no HBO. I bet more and more people a…

HBO on a cable subscription is still 15 - 20 clams. Even if it was available streaming or unbundled, that's still a lot more than the cost of netflix.

Re: Netflix Is Killing BitTorrent in The US

#25

Post by dhughes »

kbatten wrote: post #8

When I want to watch a movie, the first place I go to is netflix. I won't tell you the second place I go to. I'd pay an extra 5 bucks a month if it could increase the rate at which netflix lets me "play now" movies. Yes, some movies I specifically want to get on bluray, but there are plenty of others that video quality matters very little to me.

When I want to watch a movie, the first place I go to is Netflix Canada, half of what I want is unavailable and it doesn't update very often (at least not this month) so the second place I go to not too hard to figure out.

Re: Netflix Is Killing BitTorrent in The US

#27

Post by earino »

derekp7 wrote: post #10
lotusleaf1987 wrote: post #6

Easy trumps free.

Flat rate also trumps free. That's why Netflix is better than Comcast on-demand (at $1 to $5 per movie) -- I want the ability to turn off a movie after 20 minutes if it is junk, without feeling like I just wasted a couple Washingtons or a Lincoln.

exactly. it lowers the risk associated with watching new things.

Re: Netflix Is Killing BitTorrent in The US

#29

Post by ChuckMcM »

protomyth wrote: post #11
phlux wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, I dont buy this due to the fact that piracy is largly around fresh content, where netflix movie library is fairly old. Sure, it is getting better titles all the time - but given the fact that hollywood thinks that paying $30 to see a movie at home after it has been in the theatres for 60 (or was it 90) days is a viable price - You will always see piracy of the latest content. Further - given the quality of…

I could see Netflix's library of older content taking the place of some fresh content pirating. There was a theory that the iPod dropped sales of new music because people now had an easy way to listen to their entire music library and "rediscovered" old songs. This lead to not purchasing new music for a period. Netflix could inspire much the same phenomena with the added bonus of newer content being added.

This I could see, there is an interesting phenomena that happens when you have your entire music collection on your portable device where suddenly you have lots of stuff to listen to without going to new sources. I know I'm personally stuck in the 70's :-) but sites like Pandora help expose me to artists I wouldn't listen to on a whim.

This seeding effect was once the property of radio stations but more and more often I don't listen to the radio.

If a similar effect occurs in video then I would guess there is a market opportunity for a video 'exposure' service ala Pandora for video customers. I wonder if any of the new streaming players are looking at that angle.

Re: Netflix Is Killing BitTorrent in The US

#30

Post by r0s »

danilocampos wrote: post #16
jaysonelliot wrote: post #14

If I could rely on a streaming movie from Netflix to play uninterrupted and without flaws from beginning to end, it would be wonderful. That, and if I could find the movies I want to watch, of course. The reality for me, at least, is that I cannot watch two hours of streaming video from Netflix without the picture freezing or skipping at some point, even if it's just a little bit. I love film, and that's unacceptable…

This sounds like a network issue – though that doesn't take away from your point. In my case, I can Watch Instantly for an entire movie, in HD, without any trouble at all, and it does start almost instantly. If you're getting the bone, though, that points to the limitations any bandwidth-intensive business has to contend with as they scale. A decent number of potential customers are stuck with sloppy internet. I wond…

There's really only one answer to that problem: full downloads.

I would tolerate a fair amount of DRM for that functionality. I have to compare it to Steam, where streaming a game isn't an option. Steam's convenience simply leaves no reason for complaint.

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