FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: hugman on July 12, 2009, 07:24:04 PM
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I recently knocked my account down to one at a time because the things I really want to watch end up with very long waits while I just collect the filler from my queue. My question is this: is there some secret to getting in the front of the line for new releases? Do you gotta add them the second the release date is announced, save them, and put at the top of your queue?
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I haven't done it myself as I tend to stick to older releases but I've heard from people their strategy is this:
The week before the DVD is to be released, send your DVD in on Friday. Netflix processes it on Saturday or Monday, and if you have the new release at the top of your queue, you should have it being sent home for Tuesday.
Thats what I hear. I can't attest to it's usefulness.
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What kind of movies have these waits? I'm been using Netflix for 6 or 7 years now and I almost never get a wait.
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What kind of movies have these waits? I'm been using Netflix for 6 or 7 years now and I almost never get a wait.
Basically any new release that anyone is remotely interested in seeing.
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The week before the DVD is to be released, send your DVD in on Friday. Netflix processes it on Saturday or Monday, and if you have the new release at the top of your queue, you should have it being sent home for Tuesday.
This.
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I've also heard that Netflix favors people who have a smaller draw, so for a new release, you with 1 at a time would get a disk before someone who has 5 a time. I saw that happen when I had a 1 at a time acct, when I wasn't watching a lot of movies. Something at the top of my queue would say "long wait" but I'd get it anyway.
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I've been resisting getting a netflix account because my old roommate had one and every disk he recieved was scratched beyond watchability. This was 5 or 6 years ago. Does this problem still exist?
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I've been resisting getting a netflix account because my old roommate had one and every disk he recieved was scratched beyond watchability. This was 5 or 6 years ago. Does this problem still exist?
I've had this happen once in my 3 years of experience with Netflix and even that was resolved with a bit of hand soap and tap water.
Also, I've never had to wait for a movie*, but come to think of it, I don't think I've ever rented a new release from them.
*With the exception of Eat my Dust, for which I waited two whole weeks.
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Thanks, maybe it's time to get on board.
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maybe its just me but i have HUNDREDS of movies on my queue so i hardly ever wait, but when i do, i merely watch everything else on my queue instead. i can lways find another movie to add to it. ive spent hours adding movies to my queue before. even better, if the movie is available to watch instantly, i remove it from my dvd queue and watch it online instead. its not for everyone but it works for me (ive even considered getting the Netflix instant queue box so i can watch it from the comfort of my own couch).
id say given the amount of money it costs to go to the movies anymore, i watch more movies in a month for the $20 i spend than if i went to the theatre. not to mention, i have the 3-disc package so if a movie is damaged i just send it back, let them know online, and they send me a replacement right away. ive got enough things to catch up with online and on the dvr that i dont mind waiting.
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(ive even considered getting the Netflix instant queue box so i can watch it from the comfort of my own couch).
You can watch instant Netflix on an xbox 360 for free (with an existing account).
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(ive even considered getting the Netflix instant queue box so i can watch it from the comfort of my own couch).
You can watch instant Netflix on an xbox 360 for free (with an existing account).
what?! this tells you how far behind the times i am.* send me a PM directing me how to do this.
*i still read print.
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(ive even considered getting the Netflix instant queue box so i can watch it from the comfort of my own couch).
You can watch instant Netflix on an xbox 360 for free (with an existing account).
what?! this tells you how far behind the times i am.* send me a PM directing me how to do this.
*i still read print.
You can also watch instantly online (with an existing account), which I really like since we got a new iMac some months back. One step close to getting rid of our TV. They have "Clifford" too!
I've been a member since 2005 (and my queue is almost always full) and my 3-at-a-time fee has actually decreased from $23 or so (including tax) to $18. I have no interest in cable (I don't think it's ever been worth as much as it costs) and don't really even miss broadcast TV that much, except, I will admit, PBS, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.
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With Hulu and Netflix (and Bittorrent), the only thing I miss is baseball. ESPN 360 and MLB.tv kind of suck. The Internet is even better than TV for breaking news.
I basically see cable as a scam, and I don't like scams.
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thanks for the tips!
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thanks for the tips!
well, you made out like a bandit. now if only i could get my chai tea tips/answer from the Tea thread....
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I'm finally going to jump on this bandwagon (the fact that my ancient computer hasn't allowed me to chat to speak of for the last several shows was the clincher). I'm ordering me a new computer, getting a decent monitor, and splurging on a wireless keyboard/mouse (rechargeable) so I can sit in a comfy chair to watch the endless hours of pabulum with which I while away the day. By getting rid of cable, I'll save enough to pay for all these treats in half a year. Don't quite know how I'm going to rearrange the furniture to accommodate this new lifestyle, but it's all very exciting nevertheless.
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Anyone else doing the roku thing? Netflix has recently beefed up there selection and changed the interface. Now you can actually browse on the roku, which means I will make a lot of spontaneous selection from my layzboy.
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Anyone else doing the roku thing? Netflix has recently beefed up there selection and changed the interface. Now you can actually browse on the roku, which means I will make a lot of spontaneous selection from my layzboy.
oooo, how new is the browsability? I haven't watched Netflix in a few days, I've been watching disks. I love my Roku.
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I didn't try the 'search' feature but I am guessing you can search all the instant watch titles. I browsed last night and I think they cater to your interests. For instance I could browse the 75 new releases in each category like tv, foreign, independant, horror, critics picks, documentaries. They scroll from right to left like on the site. Then the last two were like 'if you liked...' Its really fun and you can browse in a more fluid motion. Previously browsing your queue on roku was kinda slow and freezy.
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In the universe of Roku, I've played a lot with watching Netflix on the TV.
If you have a computer attached to your TV, you can use Boxee, which has a pretty good Netflix app. (XBMC, which it is a fork of, is a lot better at actual media files for lots of geeky reasons, but it can't do online content.)
If this living room computer is a Mac, you can use Plex, which is another fork of XBMC but is better than both Boxee and XBMC at everything.
Or, you can run Kylo, which is a browser designed to be used from far away on giant screens.
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I could be wrong but I think I remember reading that there isn't and HD option when viewing on the computer. HD videos look really good through the rocku. I am rewatching Friday Night Lights. I wish they'd dump a lot more tv on there. The Wonder Years, Are You Afraid of the Dark? or Salute Your Shorts would be fine additions.
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Roku is great. I've actually met those guys, through work. But HD streaming is available through PCs now:
http://www.switched.com/2010/05/13/netflix-introduces-hd-streaming-for-pc-and-mac
Given that you can buy a teeny-tiny PC with direct HDMI outputs for about $200, it can be a touch choice to decide what to go with. (After buying a laptop-style wireless keyboard with built-in trackpad, though, for $90, the PC option does start to cost a little more.)
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Got the Roku box ($100) to watch Netflix streaming on my old-timey TV - really great. Roku also gives you access to non-Netflix stuff through other providers (blip.tv and media fly) - mostly online shows and video podcasts. Have been enjoying the Kevin Pollack Talk Show - he's had on many friends of the Best Show, including James Urbaniak and PFT.
Netflix also provides a disc for subscribers to allow your Wii to stream to your TV. But I think only the Roku gets you access to the non-Netflix services.
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I had issues going from my computer to HDTV via HDMI. It looked ok but vlc would skip a frame every 5 seconds or so and it was just unbearable. All other players I tried were even worse. Most of these were HD tv shows. Treme and Breaking Bad became unwatchable. A cool thing I have, though, is a dvd player with HDMI out and a USB port. All I do is put a file on a flash drive and it plays great. I worked for weeks trying to fix the PC to TV situation and finally gave up. Once Hulu is on roku and Amazon makes a monthly charge available I will be a very happy man.
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A cool thing I have, though, is a dvd player with HDMI out and a USB port. All I do is put a file on a flash drive and it plays great.
Paul, you are a rock star. I have been having the same issues, but never considered the USB on my LG blu-ray/netflix machine. So excited to try this out!
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Hulu won't be on Roku. It's obsessed with the idea that you're not allowed to watch it on "TVs," only on "computers."
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I've checked out Netflix's streaming options and am not impressed. Oh well.
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A cool thing I have, though, is a dvd player with HDMI out and a USB port. All I do is put a file on a flash drive and it plays great.
Paul, you are a rock star. I have been having the same issues, but never considered the USB on my LG blu-ray/netflix machine. So excited to try this out!
Anayajay don't get your hopes up. The usb on my LG bluray doesn't play video. It's only on my phillips dvd player. Those can be found for $30 or so and I'd say it's worth it.
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I've checked out Netflix's streaming options and am not impressed. Oh well.
There's hours and hours of great stuff on there but they suck at helping you find it. All but getting rid of the "Friends" feature hasn't helped, which is why I no longer bother to rate movies I watch.
On another note, they also suck at carrying box sets now. They still haven't gotten the Oshima Eclipse set that came out a few weeks ago, and they're only carrying the Oprah-narrated version of the BBC's Life, not the Attenborough version. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE MY LIFE UNTIL THESE PROBLEMS ARE RESOLVED?!!?!!??
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There's hours and hours of great stuff on there but they suck at helping you find it. All but getting rid of the "Friends" feature hasn't helped, which is why I no longer bother to rate movies I watch.
Did they get rid of the rank too? I was always trying to drive that up a couple of years ago.
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Is anyone else having issues with the new roku interface? The videos are playing perfectly but he menu takes forever to load and often shorts out.
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I don't use Netflix to find streaming movies, instantwatcher.com is much better.
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I've checked out Netflix's streaming options and am not impressed. Oh well.
It depends on what you are looking for. If you want bigtime new releases, look elsewhere. But there are a lot of high quality offerings. Though I agree, they can be difficult to find. For example, I only found out here:
http://forum.maximumfun.org/viewtopic.php?t=4792
that over 200 episodes of Comedy Central Presents are now available.
So, what might be of interest to FOTs?
Well, there are lots of Criterion DVDs available; great foreign films like The Host and 35 Shots of Rum; older classics like All About Eve, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and A Streetcar Named Desire; and lots of great TV like full seasons of Buffy, Angel, 30 Rock, Dr. Who, Archer, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Arrested Development, X Files.
For a smaller set of FOTs (and for smaller FOTs), there is also a wide range of great kids stuff.
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Instantwatcher lets you find Netflix streaming movies by rating and rottentomatoes rating and also sorts in order of when they were added to Netflix so you don't miss anything. It also links to your acct. so you don't have to go back and forth. It also tells you what is in HD.
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Instantwatcher lets you find Netflix streaming movies by rating and rottentomatoes rating and also sorts in order of when they were added to Netflix so you don't miss anything. It also links to your acct. so you don't have to go back and forth. It also tells you what is in HD.
Thanks for this pointer, Gilly, fantastic service. I think it's so helpful for me that it's one of those I would actually pay for if it went to that format.
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No problem, I just wish Netflix would get their act together and make the site just as easy instead of using a 3rd party website.
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With Hulu and Netflix (and Bittorrent), the only thing I miss is baseball. ESPN 360 and MLB.tv kind of suck. The Internet is even better than TV for breaking news.
I basically see cable as a scam, and I don't like scams.
Agreed. The internet is my television. Live sports are all i'm missing, but once hockey season and world cup is over I wouldn't care anymore.
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Hulu question: You don't have to download the player to watch stuff, right? It's only if you want to subscribe?
In a related question, my mother recently downloaded the player and is convinced it made her brand-new computer sick. Is there any basis for this fear?
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For Hulu you don't need a player. However not a single computer I have ever owned has played Hulu without lagging.
The is a lot that is annoying about Hulu, primarily the commercials. Thank God for torrents.
On sites like entensity.net and nothingtoxic, when they link to heavy.com (a site with 30 second commercials sometimes proceeding ten second videos) I'll just x out and not watch the video.
I watch a lot of shows don't get me wrong. But it's really cool to be blissfully oblivious to certain movies, reality shows and products due to not having cable. Like I didn't hear about the Greek movie or Kickass until a few days ago.
Consider torrents, Sarah. No commercials!
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Oh, believe me, I already know about torrents (and will be studying the torrenting thread afresh in days to come). I'm just trying to find out what all my various options will be.
Am I right, though, in thinking the only reason to download the Hulu player is to subcribe to specific shows? And to suspect that my mother is being hasty in blaming Hulu for her computer problems (she already hated the player because the first thing it showed her, unbidden, was a chunk of pornography and so was predisposed to find fault).
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Instantwatcher lets you find Netflix streaming movies by rating and rottentomatoes rating and also sorts in order of when they were added to Netflix so you don't miss anything. It also links to your acct. so you don't have to go back and forth. It also tells you what is in HD.
Anybody have a good app to do something like this for the entire Netflix library?