Netflix Turns Focus Back to Disc

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

IMO, the thread has been hijacked. Need to continue this in another 4K thread if one exist, if not we need a new one on 4K.

Well, blame it on the babe from Barranquilla, for she started it. Her and dem hips of hers….

Shakira - Hips Don't Lie ft. Wyclef Jean - YouTube

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Well, blame it on the babe from Barranquilla, for she started it. Her and dem hips of hers….

Shakira - Hips Don't Lie ft. Wyclef Jean - YouTube

She can hijack all she wants.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

She can hijack all she wants.

In my opinion, you’re opinion is correct, i.e. Shakira is a worthy momentary diversion to the merry-go-round debate of any thread.

But, to appease Wendell and perhaps others who believe the circular ride has strayed a bit too much out of the groove with the adjunctive discussion of 4K (and the nasty realization that a whole lot of people probably aren’t abiding by the THX guidelines for 1080p viewing…be it Netflix content or not) let me direct slick

Originally Posted by slick1ru2

Everyone is different, of course, but when you talking visual acuity their is a point that limits acuity due to human physiology. You get people claiming the acuity of a hawk, literally, when the macula of a human is totally different and evolved for a different purpose that didn't need the same level of acuity....

to a 4K thread where there has been prior discussion of the retina as it relates to the human visual system and V.A. (visual acuity) > https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...ce#post7964858 so that at least he and I may advance this conversation (if so inclined), for I am always willing to learn facts about eyesight since we watch our displays with our eyes.

So continuing over to a more 4K-oriented thread, Slick, what is this ‘macula’ thing you’ve mentioned and how does it relate to the ‘fovea’ thing mentioned in the above post from the personal opinion 4K thread linked above? And if the macula were thickened would that be better or worse for human visual acuity? And if it’s bad, how do you think dem doctors and scientists diagnose and treat such a thing? Inquiring minds wants to know….between watching Shakira dance for us.

[slick1ru2]

In other news, Blockbuster closing most of its stores,

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/1...n_4226735.html


DISH Network Corporation DISH -0.90% today announced that its subsidiary, Blockbuster L.L.C., will end its retail and by mail DVD distribution operations by early-January 2014. The company will close its approximately 300 remaining U.S.-based retail stores, as well as its distribution centers.

"This is not an easy decision, yet consumer demand is clearly moving to digital distribution of video entertainment," said Joseph P. Clayton, DISH president and chief executive officer. "Despite our closing of the physical distribution elements of the business, we continue to see value in the Blockbuster brand, and we expect to leverage that brand as we continue to expand our digital offerings."

The Blockbuster By Mail service will end mid-December and will serve existing customers until that time.

[rickah88]

Back on topic....
I can't believe how many dvds are being upgraded to BD over the last couple of months. In the 2 years I've been keep track, the numbers have grown signifigantly. Definitely liking this new trend!

[slick1ru2]

From last Friday

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_2456888.html

A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that Netflix Inc got an unfair advantage from the U.S. Postal Service's special handling of its DVDs, and ordered postal officials to remedy the discrimination or offer a good explanation.

The unanimous decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is a win for GameFly Inc , which said the postal service should treat the games it ships similarly to Netflix DVDs.

[slick1ru2]

http://www.businessweek.com/articles...her-than-later


Netflix May Ditch DVDs Sooner Rather Than Later
By Janko Roettgers October 21, 2013

But there’s going to be another interesting story hiding in today’s earnings, one that barely gets any attention anymore. Around 7 million customers still pay Netflix to send them DVDs of movies and TV shows via mail. Two years ago, that number was twice as high. Fast-forward another two years, and there could be around 4 million customers left who get their red envelopes from Netflix. Or maybe even less.

During the first quarter, scale won over margins, and Netflix made for the first time more money with streaming to its U.S. customers than with DVD subscriptions. Since then, that gap has widened. DVDs still contributed $109 million to Netflix’s bottom line in Q2, but domestic streaming became the real cash cow, contributing $151 million.

Mind you, $109 million is still very significant, especially as Netflix is continuing to underwrite its growth in foreign markets, where it lost close to $66 million during the same quarter. But the writing is on the wall: Even from a financial perspective, DVDS are mattering less and less to Netflix.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

I can't say that I'm surprised. Honestly the whole idea of disc-by-mail always seemed stupid to me. While there's arguably the convenience of not having to drive to a store and then return the movie, there's always the unpredictability in it arriving (i.e. if you want to get the family or some friends together to watch a movie, it's kind of hard to do so if the movie isn't there), and at least for me personally, sometimes I need to be in a certain mood to watch a certain movie. Maybe I would feel like watching a particular film when adding to a Netflix queue, but by the time it arrives, I might not be.

In that sense, it seems less efficient than a physical store, and physical rental stores are just shy of dead.

I'm all about physical media when it comes to buying a movie, but for rental, I can see why streaming is coming out ahead.

[slick1ru2]

I thought Blockbuster was done when Dish stopped the physical disc aspect of their $10/month add on. They told everyone with a disc for the 'inconvenience', we could keep the disc we had out and we also got 3 PPV vouchers. When they said we could keep the discs I figured the stores would quickly follow and sure enough.

NetFlix had this adverse postal service ruling last week, and on top of their cutting their number of distribution centers to about half of the all time high, probably means greatly increased turn around times in the future which will lead to more people dropping.

I did try the Redbox streaming which includes vouchers for physical discs but the 24 rental period, to me, harkened back to the old days of late fees that turned so many people off of physical stores and on to NetFlix with no late fees.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

Honestly the whole idea of disc-by-mail always seemed stupid to me.

You need to look at a map of the US. There is a good part of the populous that does not live in or near a large metro area.

My Netflix disc rental averages about $2.00 per disc. The closest rental store to me is 3 miles one way so 6 x 60.8 cents (mileage) = $3.65 + $1.50 = $5.15 per night of the rental. Doesn't make much sense to rent from the store when Netflix will place it in my mailbox for less than half that and I can keep more than one night and not incur additional charges.

[slick1ru2]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

You need to look at a map of the US. There is a good part of the populous that does not live in or near a large metro area.

My Netflix disc rental averages about $2.00 per disc. The closest rental store to me is 3 miles one way so 6 x 60.8 cents (mileage) = $3.65 + $1.50 = $5.15 per night of the rental. Doesn't make much sense to rent from the store when Netflix will place it in my mailbox for less than half that and I can keep more than one night and not incur additional charges.

60 cents a mile? Your car gets 6 mpg? Redonkulous. I have a conversion van that gets double that. What do you have? An M1 Abrams tank?

Why don't you bike there?

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

You need to look at a map of the US. There is a good part of the populous that does not live in or near a large metro area.

My Netflix disc rental averages about $2.00 per disc. The closest rental store to me is 3 miles one way so 6 x 60.8 cents (mileage) = $3.65 + $1.50 = $5.15 per night of the rental. Doesn't make much sense to rent from the store when Netflix will place it in my mailbox for less than half that and I can keep more than one night and not incur additional charges.

Exactly discs aren't going anyhere. They have been, and continue to be Netflix's bread & butter.
LOL this thread will be going on for years with the same people stating "discs are done", yet I've got preorders into Q2 2014.
Let's see Star Wars, at best, will be released in theatres mid '15, most likely late 2015...That means Epidsode VII on BD in 2016. Sorry don't see physical media going anywhere anytime soon! And my collection will just continue to grow!

[slick1ru2]

Clearly streaming is now Netflix's bread and butter per the latest quarterly, contibuting 50% more to the bottom line than the mail plan. No one said discs are going away, just that they are headed that way at Netflix. And it's been headed that way for years as people dropped off the mail plan and they have so far closed half the distribution centers.

[rickah88]

[slick1ru2]

Originally Posted by rickah88

So now that streaming is dominating physical discs in both number of subs and revenue and Blockbuster closes its physical stores and keeps it's streaming service with a statement that consumers prefer streaming, this reaction you had to these facts today means your comments years ago were a lie https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...6&postcount=40. Not surprised at all.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by slick1ru2

And it's been headed that way for years as people dropped off the mail plan and they have so far closed half the distribution centers.

According to the article you cited they had as many as 58 distribution centers and they now have 39. You'd need quite a bit of rounding error to make 39 half of 58, wouldn't you?

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

You need to look at a map of the US. There is a good part of the populous that does not live in or near a large metro area.

My Netflix disc rental averages about $2.00 per disc. The closest rental store to me is 3 miles one way so 6 x 60.8 cents (mileage) = $3.65 + $1.50 = $5.15 per night of the rental. Doesn't make much sense to rent from the store when Netflix will place it in my mailbox for less than half that and I can keep more than one night and not incur additional charges.

Well, first of all, to springboard off of slick1ru2's comment, you really need to look into a vehicle with better gas mileage if that is what it is costing you just to drive 3 miles.

That said, I do see your point, and if you are the type that doesn't mind waiting for random movies from your queue showing up at random times, that's fine. It just always seemed very unappealing to me.

I'm sure Netflix will likely still have a disc business for at least a few years to come, especially since B&M rental stores are going away more and more. People might go that route to find movies that they can't get any other way.

My wife does work in a library where they check out DVDs, so once in a while she will bring home a movie from there that we haven't seen (and if we like, I will buy the Blu-Ray, where applicable). Unfortunately they don't have Blu-Rays, but since she can get them from work (no going out of her way for them) and it's free, we'll take it.

I'm overall on the side of physical media. I will continue to purchase physical media as long as it is an option when it comes to buying a movie for my collection, since I have NO desire to "buy" a download. But I do think from the rental side of things, for better or worse, streaming and on demand is where things are shifting. I actually do think that it kind of sucks in a lot of ways (a lot of physical video rental stores would still have out of print movies to rent, while when deals end on streaming services, the movies just 'go away'), but I just see the reality for what it is.

When the purpose is short term entertainment gratification with no concern of long-term ownership, people are going to pick the option that requires the least effort and gives them the fastest results. Driving to a store to rent physical media just to take it back, and waiting for a disc in the mail and then having to mail it back no longer fit under that category. Heck, if a movie on on Netflix streaming or on demand, I will be more inclined to go that route than bother with either of those two other options. Sure, for something that I want as a long term part of my collection, I don't mind driving to a store to buy it or waiting for it to be shipped. While I may watch it shortly after receiving it, the bigger picture is having it to keep for the long run. But renting is another story altogether.

[slick1ru2]

Originally Posted by octagon

According to the article you cited they had as many as 58 distribution centers and they now have 39. You'd need quite a bit of rounding error to make 39 half of 58, wouldn't you?

1/3rd. Happy? Still a significant number.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by slick1ru2

So now that streaming is dominating physical discs in both number of subs and revenue and Blockbuster closes its physical stores and keeps it's streaming service with a statement that consumers prefer streaming, this reaction you had to these facts today means your comments years ago were a lie https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...6&postcount=40. Not surprised at all.

LOL! A post from over 2 years ago...brilliant.




I'm sure if I were so inclined I could quote new articles(some on this site in fact) that state the blu-ray medium is growing year over year.

Like I said, this thread will be going on for years, and you'll still be reaching and grasping...which is quite entertaining in and of itself. By all means keep me entertained.

[slick1ru2]

Originally Posted by rickah88

LOL! A post from over 2 years ago...brilliant.




I'm sure if I were so inclined I could quote new articles(some on this site in fact) that state the blu-ray medium is growing year over year.

Like I said, this thread will be going on for years, and you'll still be reaching and grasping...which is quite entertaining in and of itself. By all means keep me entertained.

And in years, I am pretty sure I know which one people are going to be laughing at. I'll let you get back to your 8 track collection.