Netflix Needs To Crack Down On Sharing

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If you ask me, this is a seriously dumb idea. Now mind you, this is NOT Netflix suggesting this, it's an armchair quarterback giving his two cents on the matter.

“It’s time to change,” Pachter said in an interview. “They can say they’re cracking down on piracy. They can appeal to fairness. It’s great if the parent has a subscription and the kid watches it in the college dorm.”
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You know, this was one of the nice things about having Netflix.

Once more people get wind of this, I am hoping it goes the way of the original "Split Plans" they was gonna do. (Separation of Stream and Physical Media).

Netflix aint losing a damn thing. But I am sure they will lose people if this was to happen.

Other places to venture to. Or the classic pirating.
 
I have a netflix account. I don't know why, nor can I tell you the last thing I watched on it, but I have one. This last weekend I was discussing this with a few friends. We all figured $8 wasn't hurting anything going to "waste" but today I hear that 2 of them both cancelled after our conversation.

It's "coolness" has worn off for most people. I'd almost rather have DVDs back instead of the streaming.
 
I never want DVDs back. I just want Netflix to have a larger library for streaming. They can drop DVDs entirely imo. I'm sure it costs a lot of money to handle the physical distribution, and for worse quality than what you can just stream over the internet.

If I absolutely want to watch something in 1080p with DTS or similar quality audio I just grab a BluRay rip.
 
I already cancelled my DVD service when they split the plans and raised prices. If anything this guy talks about happened, then I would cancel my streaming plan as well.

I use it enough that I feel it's worth the $8. But Netflix would have to greatly improve the quality of both its programming and streaming to make me pay more.
 
JC, people are tightwads. Sharing an $8 a month service?
 
ChedWick said:
And whiny self entitled public outcry in 3, 2, 1....
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No whiny entitlement, it simply is not worth it to me if I can't tell my friend I'm not using it right now go ahead.

Straight up consumer decision.
 
I never want DVD's back. I buy Blu-ray only. DVD just looks like crap after having great 1080P video.

I completely forgot that Netflix had the physical media option. I just use it for streaming shows. My wife watches that and Hulu. We don't subscribe to any cable/satellite anymore and Netflix/Hulu make up for it, along with OTA antenna. I also don't share it with anyone. My sister shares with my parents, but they rarely use it (once a week, if that).

I am sure that if it were that big of a problem, Netflix would say something.

It's well worth the money, if you ask me. The quality isn't perfect, but for catching up on TV shows or movies in the bedroom (Roku, FTW!), it's perfect. $8 a month is a great deal for what you get. If Netflix could get HBO to add a channel for $5-$10 a month without cable/satellite, I'd probably bite on that, too.
 
They need to obtain and continue to get more fresh and new content. Renting new movies off there is like watching a slug travel 3 miles. Boring, takes forever, and you most likely lost interest in it or went elsewhere.

Older content. And other stuff. That is fine, but we've all pretty much watched them.
 
I can't stand the streaming selection that Nutflix has. I still do the DVD rental however.
 
Netflix original content is worth the $8 monthly imo. House of Cards was fantastic. I haven't checked out Hemlock Grove yet.
 
Ruoh said:
JC, people are tightwads. Sharing an $8 a month service?
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I have about 8 streaming devices in my house between TV's, consoles, PC's, tablets

My wife and I may be watching different shows on different devices.

Currently they limit me to 6 active devices (i think) and two streams at the same time. If they limit it to 1 stream and charge for another that is BS
 
Since a house might have multiple sources that are capable of streaming in a given house I see nothing wrong with allowing users multiple connections ... I think they should give you 2 connections if you have basic streaming and add one connection for each upgrade in service (I carry streaming with 2 blu rays at a time so they should allow the higher revenue customer like me say 3 or 4 connections) ... I always find it amusing when somebody proposes they take away features :eek:
 
Rizen said:
Netflix original content is worth the $8 monthly imo. House of Cards was fantastic. I haven't checked out Hemlock Grove yet.
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If they continue with the original content, prices may go up a bit. But, judging by the quality - I'd pay it. Especially if they picked up Jericho (they have been in talks with CBS) :D
 
Rizen said:
I just want Netflix to have a larger library for streaming.
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This. Seriously.

kbrickley said:
Since a house might have multiple sources that are capable of streaming in a given house I see nothing wrong with allowing users multiple connections ...
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Exactly, like most people, I have at least 8 - 10 devices all capable of streaming Netflix in my house and they are used for that on a regular basis.
 
I have the Blu-Ray plan from Netflix.. I just get them Rip them in MKV and watch them when it get time. I don't share them and delete them when I'm done watching them. Not may movies now days are worth watching more then once. Blu-rays cost to much for me to go spend 20+ for them to watch one time. I think it's a great service.. Less then the cost of 1 movie I can watch 8-12 a month on blu-ray. Also love the streaming.. Just watched Supernatrual from the start. Picture quality looks good. I love the streaming for watching TV"S that I never got to watch on cable.
 
They got assraped in the court of public opinion last time they tried this. A price hike on streaming will make it happen again.
 
Limiting devices will cause some backlash for sure. That being said, I only do the Blu-ray rentals. I get DVD's when BD's are not available. I want HD audio and best possible picture if I'm going to watch a movie and the steaming just doesn't cut it.
 
k1pp3r said:
I have about 8 streaming devices in my house between TV's, consoles, PC's, tablets

My wife and I may be watching different shows on different devices.

Currently they limit me to 6 active devices (i think) and two streams at the same time. If they limit it to 1 stream and charge for another that is BS
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There's multiple streams from the same address, then there's "loaning" your account to friends.
 
limits each account to playing two video streams simultaneously.
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Exactly this. It's not a widespread epidemic of people sharing their login info for an entire forum to use. It's severely limited. They have it "open" because of how many devices have Netflix access now (PC, TV's, Phones, Tablets, your cat).

What this guy is proposing is just silly. Going from a per-user access to a per-device access would be dumb and counter-productive. That's circa-2011 Reed Hastings.
 
I like Netflix for the most part. I have streaming and two at a time with Blu Ray. I also have an Amazon Prime membership so I get the free streaming with that as well. With those three options I really do not have a lot that I can complain about. I tried Hulu, it was horrible. They did not even have full seasons for some shows. I still have Directv. I have a base package so that is not very expensive, but it has crossed my mind to dump it and just use the streaming services.
 
Rizen said:
Netflix original content is worth the $8 monthly imo. House of Cards was fantastic. I haven't checked out Hemlock Grove yet.
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It's Twin Peaks meets Supernatural, but with a sprinkling of R-rated language and T&A. There's boobs in the first 10 minutes, so that's a plus.
 
Ruoh said:
There's multiple streams from the same address, then there's "loaning" your account to friends.
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I can have multiple devices at the house playing at the same time (kids + adults in different rooms). Plus, I like to watch movies when I'm out of town on business. So, there is that occasionally. So, there has to be that allowance. Then, there is the mobile phone/tablet market. Same account, but over a different network with a different IP.

That'd be difficult to manage. Multiple IP's for various situations.

I don't think that people should just let others use their account so freely, but how would you stop it? Per device would force me to drop my account. I have too many devices that I use to access Netflix: Xbox (2), Roku, HTPC, PC's, laptops, iPads (2), phones (kids phones + wife). Nope.
 
I mostly watch old tv shows that I never had time to watch years ago. Myself and my ole lady do share an account. But we literally use that account on a bunch of devices.
For just me, there is the crapper tablet, my phone, my home office pc, my gaming pc, my htpc, and my laptop. For her there is the laptop, here phone, and a tablet. Per device would piss us off. Two simultaneous streams is perfect.
 
A friend of ours gave us his Netflix account info. I'd say we log in about once a quarter to see if the selection has gotten any better, watch maybe a movie or two per year.

We use our Amazon Prime membership for streaming on occasion also, and I think we would have our own Netflix account if we could pay for a year at time (hopefully with a slight discount for locking in). I dislike recurring monthly bills for services like that, I try to keep things like that to annual payments. MLB TV, MMO subs, satellite radio, etc.

I have no idea why Netflix doesn't offer an annual plan outside of gift subscriptions.
 
At this point in their market penetration it would be stupid for them to do something that encourages companies to not support them ... with the general account it becomes a feature that they can get TVs, videogames, phones, and others to support ... if each account was locked to a specific device then the device makers might not find it so attractive to have that service there (or they might charge Netflix more to include it) ... limit the concurrent streams to a reasonable number and give people more concurrent streams the more they pay (I had more streams available when I had a 4 Blu Ray plan plus streaming but I was paying a lot more too) ...

don't fix things that ain't broken ... or as the famous flowchart goes (Is it broken ---> No ---> Don't F*ck with it) ;)
 
No whiny entitlement, it simply is not worth it to me if I can't tell my friend I'm not using it right now go ahead.
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Not worth it to you?

Then why sign up? Why make a deal and then break it?

Why is it so easy for people to think that it's OK to get away with whatever they want to get away with, and then say something like this?

You got a morals issue ... like, you ain't got none :rolleyes:
 
k1pp3r said:
I have about 8 streaming devices in my house between TV's, consoles, PC's, tablets

My wife and I may be watching different shows on different devices.

Currently they limit me to 6 active devices (i think) and two streams at the same time. If they limit it to 1 stream and charge for another that is BS
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They already charge for more than 2 simultaneous streams. We pay for the 4 stream plan so my parents (1), brother's family (2), our kids (3), and we (4) can stream without worrying about someone else preempting our stream.
 
Makeroflostsouls said:
I have the Blu-Ray plan from Netflix.. I just get them Rip them in MKV and watch them when it get time. I don't share them and delete them when I'm done watching them. Not may movies now days are worth watching more then once. Blu-rays cost to much for me to go spend 20+ for them to watch one time. I think it's a great service.. Less then the cost of 1 movie I can watch 8-12 a month on blu-ray. Also love the streaming.. Just watched Supernatrual from the start. Picture quality looks good. I love the streaming for watching TV"S that I never got to watch on cable.
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Why would you be paying 20+ for a new release? They can usually be found within a month or so for $7-13, and you end up owning it. Plus it's a lot less hassle ;). For example I just got wreck-it-ralph for $8.50 shipped (bluray), amazing spider-man for $7 shipped, etc. the other day. Skyfall was on the same deal but I had already paid $9.xx for it a few weeks ago elsewhere. Unless you just go to amazon.com on the day of release and pay whatever they ask, it's super-easy to find good deals on blu-ray titles quickly :).
 
i have hulu+ netflix and hbogo

none of the accounts are mine haha
 
k1pp3r said:
I have about 8 streaming devices in my house between TV's, consoles, PC's, tablets

My wife and I may be watching different shows on different devices.

Currently they limit me to 6 active devices (i think) and two streams at the same time. If they limit it to 1 stream and charge for another that is BS
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They won't. The studios and Netflix strike deals together that have nothing to do with anyone else. Netflix will continue to do what it does and I seriously doubt they will do anything to fuck with the formula that's winning right now considering they are more actively watched the any cable channels in the world.
 
GoldenTiger said:
Why would you be paying 20+ for a new release? They can usually be found within a month or so for $7-13, and you end up owning it. Plus it's a lot less hassle ;). For example I just got wreck-it-ralph for $8.50 shipped (bluray), amazing spider-man for $7 shipped, etc. the other day. Skyfall was on the same deal but I had already paid $9.xx for it a few weeks ago elsewhere. Unless you just go to amazon.com on the day of release and pay whatever they ask, it's super-easy to find good deals on blu-ray titles quickly :).
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Family Video? I got a few good movies that way, too. Also, if you have some old DVD's, check out DVD2Blu, they just recently added a whole lot more movies. :)

Unless I bought them on release day, which is rare, I've never paid over $15 for a Blu-ray. Most of the time it's < $10. Amazon has sales, Wal-mart has sales, used market, etc.. I've gotten 2 month old movies for $5 and $6. I have a good collection going, and continues to grow. Prices are good if you know how to shop. Same with anything.
 
At least this announcement isn't as bad as what analysts had suggested earlier today.

The company also today disclosed its intention to offer a new family streaming plan in the United States. In a letter released to shareholders, Netflix said that the upcoming offering would cost $12 and let subscribers stream as many as four devices simultaneously. Netflix's current plan, which costs $8 a month, allows a couple of streams at the same time. Management predicted that "fewer than 1 percent" of current subscribers would be attracted.
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Ur_Mom said:
Family Video? I got a few good movies that way, too. Also, if you have some old DVD's, check out DVD2Blu, they just recently added a whole lot more movies. :)

Unless I bought them on release day, which is rare, I've never paid over $15 for a Blu-ray. Most of the time it's < $10. Amazon has sales, Wal-mart has sales, used market, etc.. I've gotten 2 month old movies for $5 and $6. I have a good collection going, and continues to grow. Prices are good if you know how to shop. Same with anything.
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Yep, I get stuff from gohastings and familyvideo dirt cheap (the two I ordered just now were from family video). I sometimes have found some really good deals on amazon as well... I got The Avengers 3d blu-ray combo pack right on release for $10 shipped thanks to a price drop from pre-order plus coupon deal. I've actually accumulated a lot of backlog due to how good deals tend to be at times... I never was much of a movie collector until bluray hit the scene and deals became commonplace.
 
Eh, my account has - AT MOST - three active streams. And even that is rare.
1. HTPC hooked up to the big TV.
2. AppleTV hooked up to repurposed HDMI-equipped 22" monitor in the bedroom.
3. Mobile device.

I can only think of once that I have had a mobile device going at the same time as BOTH "TV-like" devices.

Then again, maybe a family of four instead of three, with one away at college, would have it come up more often...
 
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