Netflix Continues to Step Backwards and Forwards at the Same Time
I don’t know what it is about Netflix. They’re a company I love and hate at the same time. I won’t get into it to much here (Jason and I have talked plenty about it on the Podcast), but they seem to do so many things right and at the same time screw up just enough to give me fits.
Now, they are raising prices for those of you who want Blu-ray discs, a “premium” HD fee they call it, because the discs cost them more. I understand that the discs do cost more, but that can be made up for in other ways. When Netflix is done renting most of their discs, they sell them anyway, we know they will charge more for a used Blu-ray then they will for a used DVD, won’t that make up the difference for them? Also, by charging this premium, does it mean they will actually start to get enough of titles? It’s now almost 6 months after the fact and Blade Runner: The Final Cut is still very long wait, no matter what format you try and get it in. Maybe this is a legitimate concern for Netflix, but it just feels like price gouging to me.
At the same time this is all going on, they seem to be running full steam ahead with their streaming service (or as I like to call it, “The Future”). Originally they only announced a partnership with LG to put Netflix streaming into an upcoming Blu-ray, but now they have deals with other major manufactures (who they won’t name), to include Netflix in their devices. A good call, choice is always good, and I really didn’t want to buy an LG player to get my Netflix functionality, being pretty picky on my electronics manufactures, LG just isn’t a name that gets to the top of my list, no offense to them. The rumors that Netflix will appear in the PS3 and Xbox 360 would be great, as most people already own these devices (although I don’t see this happening on the Xbox, Netflix Streaming is a direct competitor to Microsoft’s Movie Marketplace, but Sony doesn’t have this kind of infrastructure set up, nor does it seem interested in getting one set up, but they need to and Netflix can get them where they need to be faster. Then again maybe they won’t be interested either, as it could be seen as competition for Blu-ray).
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
I can’t beleive that. They’re actually going to charge people MORE for Blu-Ray discs, even though they’re one of the companies that ended up deciding the format war?!?!
Well, I guess they just solidified the fact that I’ll never be returning to their service again. Good thing too, since I prefer to watch movies before they’re so old they show up on TBS Saturday afternoons…
Screw that, that will kill their blue-ray rentals, no one will pay extra for it, not even me. If it’s the same price, I want to enjoy the better picture, but not pay more for the same movie that looks just fine on DVD. Greedy bastards…
Exactly. And this is almost a bigger problem for Blu-ray than it is for Netflix. Ever since the demise of HD DVD, Blu ray sales haven’t taken off the way everyone (except me) expected:
http://www.techspot.com/news/29907-Bluray-sales-slow-despite-of-lack-of-competition.html
The studios didn’t give consumers what they wanted with Blu-ray (price is too high, lack of features) and now they could pay the price by just having another Laser Disc on their hands.
I doubt this will kill their blu-ray rentals as much as people seem to think. While Blu-ray isn’t doing as well as everyone thought it would, for those who have upgraded to Blu-ray they’re going to want to make use of it, and that means throwing down the extra dough to rental companies like Netflix.