The Website of Jeremy D. Frens
Rants
For about eight years I subscribed to several movie channels through cable, DirecTV, and digital cable. I just unsubscribed because I no longer need them; I have discovered an excellent way to rent DVDs through the mail.
I enjoy watching movies. When I had premium movie channels, I'd typically watch three or four a week, often several on the weekend. The flat-rate fee made the channels affordable, they were terribly convenient, I didn't have media problems (e.g., bad tapes), and the selection was usually pretty good. Granted, I had to conform my tastes to whatever was on at the time or tape a movie and watch it later, but that wasn't a big deal to me.
I think my only real complaint was the pan-and-scan format of the movies, and this is not a trivial complaint for me. I detest pan-and-scan; it's the worst artistic crime ever committed.
I had been looking forward to DVDs for a long time. The technology is better than laser disks, (certinaly) video tapes, and even premium movie channels. More importantly, movies would be released in letterbox format. However, even after getting a DVD player, I wasn't particularly pleased with the selection of DVDs at my local video rental stores, and I found renting DVDs (or videos) to be obnoxious.
This all changed when I tried out NetFlix.com.
NetFlix.com is a DVD-rental outfit that works entirely by mail. For a flat monthly fee (with no hidden charges), you get a certain number of DVDs at one time. (The basic plan is three DVDs at a time for $20/month; I've opted for eight DVDs at a time for $40/month.) A DVD arrives in a simple envelope; you pull off a flap to pull out the DVD; when you're finished watching it, you put it back in the same envelope, seal it up, and drop it in the mail (pre-paid postage). (It's even simpler than it sounds.) When they receive a DVD from you, they send you another one.
You pick out the DVDs that you want to watch at their Website. You put rank them in the order in which you'd like to watch them. Whenever you return a DVD, the next available DVD in your queue is sent to you.
I had some fears going into this.
First, I was worried about selection, but they have everything. Anything on DVD, you can get it from NetFlix.com. (At least I haven't come up empty yet.)
Second, I was worried about availability. While in high school, I checked out videos from the local library. They had a fairly good selection, but new videos were very hard to get. I feared the same from NetFlix.com, but that's not the case. In fact, I've found that I actually have a better chance getting new releases that some older DVDs! Just today (September 6, 2002) NetFlix.com told me that they're sending me Blade 2. This movie was released on DVD three days ago! How in the world am I getting it so soon? I'm not complaining; I'd just like to know!
Third, I really feared that NetFlix.com would cut costs by slowing down the turnaround time on sending out DVDs. I'm paying a flat fee per month; it's actually in their cost-cutting interest to keep the turnaround time as high as possible. But all of my experience tells me that NetFlix.com is doing the opposite: keeping the turnaround time as small as possible. NetFlix.com gets, by far, most of my returned DVDs the next day. It appears that NetFlix.com is distributed. Their return address (corporate headquarters?) is located in California, but the address label on my return envelopes is in Lansing, MI (about two hours away from where I live). So I return DVDs to the closest NetFlix.com location, but DVDs are sent to me wherever they're available. Consequently, DVDs sent to me can take two and maybe three days to get to me, but, still, this is an amazing turnaround time.
So, my fears releaved, I can enjoy the benefits of renting DVDs from NetFlix.com. It's most cost effective for me than store-rental or premium movie channels. I get letterboxed, high quality, digital movies.
That's "drawback" singular, not plural. The only drawback I've found is that I don't get to pick the movie based on my immediate mood. If I go to a video store, I can pick out a movie based on my immediate mood and start watching the video as soon as I get home. With NetFlix.com I have to pick my movie a few days in advance.
I haven't found this to be a real problem, though, especially since I get eight DVDs at a time. Eight DVDs usually provides me with enough variety. Plus, I've never found myself in the mood to watch only an action flick and nothing else will do. And even if this were to happen, I could always watch one of the action flicks that I already own.
The bottom line is that I love NetFlix.com. Lest you think I'm hiding anything, I am in no way connected with NetFlix.com, and I have never been contacted by them about my opinion. I'm just a consumer very interested in their product, and I have found them to be an excellent company. There's absolutely no question that I'm getting great service and excellent products. What more could I ask for?