Netflicks?

[monkey44]

Tried to get info from NetFlicks help/chat ... must be talking in Martian tho as I can't seem to phrase my questions properly.

We're thinking of dumping the cable again - What a waste of a good TV screen - such boring junk!!

So, we have 5G hotspot - I imagine it's too small to do well with streaming videos ... Can anyone estimate how much bandwidth ONE average movie takes to watch, operate, whatever it is we do to see it?

And, as an option, we might go with a hard-line ISP at home, when we're here. But the option is DVD thru the mail (or is it UPS) ...

How is DVD mailed and returned? Is it fast or slow delivery and return. Seems like mail procedure would severely limit the number of DVDs you could watch.

Can anyone give me an overview of NetFlicks - success or failure of the experience - both streaming or DVD mail.

I tried also to find an info page, and the movie title list, but it won't let me look at anything unless I open an account - it has a free month, but don't want to waste any free days 'investigating the service' ...

Found one page, but when I ask it about movie titles, each time, it only shows ONE title,then I have to ask it again. Instead of providing a list -- time-consuming and a PITA.

[buntina]

Yes I remember those days. Now I pay $30.99 a month for a fiber Broadband connection which gives me access to my VOIP $19.95 a year telephone connection. Wifi throughout the home which gets me access to Netflix and Antenna's for local stations and all my computer stuff networked. I'd say that's pretty cheap.

[monkey44]

1775 wrote:
I did a bandwidth test and found that one hour of streaming movie uses one GB of bandwidth - so the 5 GB limit that many data plans have will be used up with two and a half average movies.

Redbox has machines in many Walmarts and supermarkets. You can rent a DVD from one Redbox machine and return it to another so this is an alternative to streaming video while traveling. There are apps to find Redbox locations and also their website should tell you where their machines are located.

yes, 1775, that's the info I want. And, yes also, the Red Box is a good resource and we've used it in the past.

Sometimes, we hear about something and want to research it - like the NetFlicks - and we often find it doesn't work well because of our lifestyle. We were looking for a way to download because we do spend a lot of time away from civilization - but it looks like this idea ain't gonna happen for us. The 5G will probably not work - nor the mail due to on-the-road ...

So, another idea bites the dust - we'll still use Red Box when we can.
Seems like tho, the electronic world at one time was going to make life more efficient - but all it's done is increase expenses and create addicts ... kids can't live for five seconds without a phone on their ear or watching a text or video while walking down the roads.

Remember when a phone was wired to your house and cost $5 a month, and you had to listen first to see if the neighbor was using it, and when you walked to the store you actually saw leaves and birds instead of a tiny screen you can barely see... LONG GONE those days - who woulda thunk it ??

[accsys]

1775 wrote:
I did a bandwidth test and found that one hour of streaming movie uses one GB of bandwidth - so the 5 GB limit that many data plans have will be used up with one and a half average movies.

Redbox has machines in many Walmarts and supermarkets. You can rent a DVD from one Redbox machine and return it to another so this is an alternative to streaming video while traveling. There are apps to find Redbox locations and also their website should tell you where their machines are located.

We subscribed to Netflix DVDs for several years but discontinued the service as it was completely unusable while on the road - streaming uses too much bandwidth in the MiFi and DVD mailing won't work on the road.

We started using Redbox and found it to be a great alternative. Redbox are almost everywhere and you can check them out of one place and turn them in several hundred miles away wherever you may be. I use the or website to locate the Redbox closest to us both where we are at and where we will be. It doesn't have the selection of old movies available at Netflix but works great for us on our 6-7 month trips every Summer and we also have one a mile from us at our S&B as well for when we are home.

[1775]

I did a bandwidth test and found that one hour of streaming movie uses one GB of bandwidth - so the 5 GB limit that many data plans have will be used up with two and a half average movies.

Redbox has machines in many Walmarts and supermarkets. You can rent a DVD from one Redbox machine and return it to another so this is an alternative to streaming video while traveling. There are apps to find Redbox locations and also their website should tell you where their machines are located.

[ktmrfs]

It's almost impossible to determine what your data usage will be with netflix or any other online source. Std def movies, HD movies, 3D stuff, all take vastly different BW. And even for a give format, BW needs can vary base on the amount of compression that can be used on the source based on the original video. still/slow motion takes less BW than sports for example.

Netflix web site will let you choose max data rate for downloads, and can give you ranges for data rates/hr for various formats. Suffice it to say pick one (lowest BW and quality, which is comparable to old NTSC broadcast video) and you can end up watching all month on 5GB. Pick another, such as HD 3D and you can use 5GB in a few hours of video or less.

[rockylarson]

RedBox is now streaming video. $8 per month and includes credit for 4 DVD rentals at their kiosk.

Red Box Streaming Video

[pauldub]

I stream netflix with a 4G hotspot when we're on a long trip. I have the millenicom 20G plan and we can do all of our web surfing and stream one TV episode per day without going over the 20G limit. I set my netflix account for minimum resolution to save data.

[Vapor_Trails]

On the complete flip side of this topic: Sports and News junkies require Directv (or Dish, but they don't have the sports packages). Compared to Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc. SAT TV is very expensive, though.

DW still uses Hulu at home. I dumped Netflix a long time ago and never looked back.

[MrWizard]

browse netflix or amazon prime

try this one

genre selection on the left side

service selection directly over the listings

search by year or title or genre or ALL

[Campfire_Time]

Think of this way. You have a 1 inch pipe that you need to pour water into to keep the pool full. It works great for a while. Now you build a bigger pool. Bigger pool needs more water. You can't get enough water through the 1 inch pipe to keep the bigger pool full. You need a bigger pipe. Now you put a 5 inch pipe in and your problem is solved.

That's what streaming is. Pushing data, that is audio or audio & video (the "water") to your receiver (the little "pool") or TV (bigger "pool"). Video requires a bigger pipe (more internet bandwidth) because it's a lot more data that needs to get to your entertainment system. Cable internet is a bigger "pipe" than 3g or 4g. But 4g is big enough to reasonably stream video. I hope that helps a little.

We have been hoping to drop cable for a while now, but there are still a few channels and shows we can't get anywhere else yet. Plus I'm finding that the alternatives are not mature enough yet. We subscribe to Netflix, both DVD/BluRay and streaming. At home we would prefer to do all streaming. But at least 2/3 of all TV shows and movies are not available to stream. That's not a failing of Netflix as much as it is a failing of studios and copyright owners to get with the program.

Here's a company to keep an eye on. They are growing, but not fast enough for me. At least they carry the major OTA networks. If they can get some cable channels like USA Network and TNT...

[MrWizard]

yes i'm a 'web' stream member, but i found that link thru google

i look for another link that peeks into netflix

[monkey44]

Thanks = lots of good info here, although some I don't understand exactly due to limited tech knowledge.

I was hoping, or wishing that one could 'download' a movie, for example, over a few minutes, and then watch it as if it was an electronic DVD, sorta.

But, am seeing it's a continuous drain on the ISP service. I watched once a live ball game and it took half my monthly BW for three innings. Not such a great idea, that one.

We don't watch a lot of TV - either on the road or home, and just returned from a six month trip with NO TV at all. And, yes, books fill the time easily. But, was looking for a more interesting way to watch it some of the time, at least. We do like movies - after an absence like this, and turning the cable back on - we realized the shows are downright terrible ... poor quality directing and acting for the most part - and complete idiocy fills the half-hour 'reality shows' - most anyway ... a few rescue and services shows are a little better (Nature shows, etc)

I guess TV truly sucks because enough of the public doesn't care and simply buys into it ... thus, no incentive for producers to improve quality of products or presentation. Reading, reading and more reading - at least there we get some learning and quality if you are selective in book choices.

AND, thanks wizard - will browse this one ...

ON EDIT: wizard, yes, exactly what I wanted - although when I try to find that, it continuously asks me to "join and sign-up' before it lets me search. Are you a member, is that why you get this? The chat tech even sent my a link, but it only allowed me to sign-up before it would let me in... Course, could be my tech stupid self.

[MrWizard]

monkey
see if this link works for you, to browse whats available

http://dvd.netflix.com/BrowseSelection

[tatest]

Netflix streaming will adjust the size of the stream to the bandwidth it detects, but NF does recommend at least 500k bits for standard definition, 1.5M bits for HD. Those rates need to be continuous, a lot of advertised rates are peak or burst rates. I do OK on a 3M bit cable connection, but a 3G MiFi device meant a lot of interruptions for buffering. I haven't tried a 4G MiFi.

If you don't like what is on TV, you might not like what is on Netflix either. Major studios do not release much to "unlimited service" streaming outlets, nor do they do the same with disks. Studios much prefer selling pay per view, which comes back to them on a per-title basis; it fits their accounting practices. Thus Netflix is heavy with old TV series, foreign films not released here, independent and Hollywood films never theatrically release, and material from old film libraries (but nothing quite like Turner Classic Movies).

There is no way for you to figure out if NetFlix works for you unless you open an account and try it. A list of their catalog is not going to help, most of what is there you will likely not recognize, the service is not about streaming box office hits, the studios simply do not do business that way. Many of the obscure titles are very good, better than the trash in the theaters, but you have to watch some to figure out whether or not that is what you want.

I tried the DVD service when it was a cheap add-on to streaming NetFlix, to get at titles they were not licensed to stream. It was not much value, turn-arounds and finding time to watch meant maybe one DVD per week. Renting from local video stores worked better, but that is shifting to vending machines having much smaller selections.

The streaming works for me because I like the old movies, indie movies, and the French and Korean films being streamed. But I still watch as much from TCM.

That's at home, because that's what your question seemed to be about, alternatives to cable. Another thing to look at would be satellite, there is a lot of video on demand and pay per view, more at least than the offerings of the only cable company licensed in my town.

Streaming does not work for me when RVing. I have not bought enough mobile bandwidth, and most of the places I go in the RV, there is no 4G service, seldom a steady 3G, and in quite a few, no cell phone at all. If you stay near metro areas you may find 4G more consistently, and along the Interstate road networks, 3G a lot of the time, but not always enough free bandwidth for continuous video streams.

My RVing entertainment solutions, when not sitting around with friends, are books.

[powderman426]

docnascar wrote:
No cable for me. Only netflix and crackle (free) using my PS3. Roku and other's give you more free options without the blue ray player that the PS3 has.

Estimated BW usage:
https://support.netflix.com/en/node/87

I keep considering adding Amazon Prime as well, since I've been shopping there more and you can get free shipping plus movies if you sign up. I hear Netflix and Amazon are very comparable.

Thanks for headsup on Crackle. Have Netflix but always looking for other options their site looks good.I wil have to see how it works. Thanks again