| I love movies. When DVD technology came along, movies
only got better. The quality is nearly perfect, and never degrades like
VHS tapes do. When I got my first DVD player back in 1999, I had to
"feed" it. The first step was to join a DVD club.
Most people know about the Columbia House Music Club Then, in February of 2000 I decided to try the Netflix DVD rental service How it Works For just $17.99 per month Netflix delivers DVDs right to your door. You can have 3 DVDs out at any time (other plans, starting at just $9.99 per month, are available if you want fewer movies or more movies), and you can keep them as long as you want. I kept one movie for seven months, until I finally watched it! Try doing that at your local movie rental place! After you watch each movie, just seal it back up in the prepaid mailer provided with each movie and drop it in any mailbox. When Netflix gets it, they send you another movie of your choice. When you setup your online account, you will go through the Netflix site and select movies you would like to rent. When you find a movie you want to see, you place it in your rental queue. You can add as many movies as you'd like to your queue. Rearrange your queue whenever you want, as often as you desire. The queue determines which DVD is mailed to you when Netflix receives a movie that you return. The movie in the number one position is mailed to you as soon as you send back a movie. As movies are mailed to you, the queue is automatically updated, shifting all your movie choices up. You might be wondering if you can rent popular new releases. Absolutely! One of the best things about Netflix is that they have all the latest releases so you can keep up with the movies you missed in the theater. Every week I check my Sunday paper for the sales circulars from electronics retailers to see what DVDs will be released in the coming week. Then I just pick the movies I want to see and add them to my Netflix queue. You can add movies to your queue months before they come on the market. That way, you won't forget about a movie. Availability Most movies are available immediately. However, there are times when a movie is very popular and Netflix simply does not have enough copies of a particular DVD to meet the demand. But most of the time I get the new releases right away. Here's a sample of new releases I have rented recently. This will give you an idea of what you can rent:
Your rental queue will tell you if a movie is available now, or if there is a short or long wait. If a movie is next in your queue to be rented, but is not available, Netflix automatically sends the next available title. The key to getting movies you want to rent is to make sure you have lots of movies in your queue. Typically, I'll have about 250-300 movies in my queue at any given time. Ratings and Recommendations One of the most enjoyable aspects of Netflix is the recommendations it gives you for movies you will probably like. Netflix uses an advanced technology that lets you rate movies you have seen, then it makes recommendations of movies that you will probably enjoy, based on other members who have similar tastes. The rating process is important when you first join. In fact, you can rate movies and get recommendations before you join. But as a member, you'll want to rate several dozen movies so the system can give you accurate recommendations. Rating movies is easy. Netflix will show you a picture of the movie cover and a short description. Netflix uses a 5-star ratings system. Simply click on a star next to the movie and your rating is recorded. After you have rated enough movies, Netflix will begin to make recommendations of movies you will like. The more movies you rate, the more accurate your recommendations should be. A great thing about the recommendations feature is that Netflix will recommend movies you have never heard of, but that you will like. I have chosen to rent dozens of movies that I never would have considered if I was walking the aisles of a movie rental store. It's nice to find a "diamond in the rough." Most of my recommendations have been accurate. When a movie is recommended, the system predicts how many stars you will give a movie. About 90% of the time, I agree with the predicted rating. In about 9% of the cases, I rate a movie one star away from the predicted rating. Only about 1% of the time will I find a movie that totally misses the predicted rating. But as I rate more movies, the system's predictions get more accurate. More Site Features The Netflix site also gives you:
Shipping Probably the most unusual aspect of Netflix is the method for getting and returning movies. It's all done by mail. For me, this was much better than having to drive to a store, fight the crowds, wait in line, drive home, watch the movie, and drive back to the store to return the movie. And if you ever forget to return a movie to the store by the due date, you pay ridiculous late fees. When I first started Netflix I was a bit skeptical that renting movies through the mail would work. But my concerns were unfounded. The movies arrive in a simple envelope that becomes a postage paid return envelope when you are ready to send it back. The envelope is light enough so that Netflix can afford to ship the movies without having to charge members a fortune for the service. This type of rental program simply would not have been financially workable with VHS tapes, since they weigh a great deal more and postage would have been cost prohibitive. I love the fact that there are no late fees with Netflix. Because Netflix is a monthly subscription service, you can keep a movie as long as you want. If you keep a movie, then Netflix simply doesn't send the next movie in your queue. When you finally return a movie, the next movie is sent to you. As I mentioned earlier, I kept one movie for two months before I finally watched it and returned it. I have kept other movies for several weeks until I finally got around to watching them. This gives you much more flexibility to watch movies at your leisure. Shipping time can vary, depending on the postal service. Until recently, most movies would reach me in 4-5 days. However, Netflix has diligently expanded, opening 29 regional distribution centers throughout the U.S. to provide faster service. The facilities, which supplement the company's main distribution facility in San Jose, CA, are located in the Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Newark, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Portland, Stamford, Seattle, and Washington, DC and other metropolitan areas. Since I'm in Atlanta, movies now are getting to me in one day! Returning movies takes about the same amount of time. Shipping time to your location will obviously depend on how close you are to a Netflix distribution center. According to Netflix, the new distribution centers will reduce shipping time for almost 90% of the country. Netflix says that they now reach more than 85% of subscribers with generally one-day delivery. I'm guessing that Netflix will open more locations as their customer base grows, locating themselves near the larger clusters of customers. Netflix says that each facility can handle approximately 50,000 DVD orders per day. Combined with the main facility in San Jose, Netflix believes it has the capacity to handle up to a million orders a day. Currently, they are shipping over three million DVDs per week. Out of all the movies I have rented, two have been lost in the mail, either on their way to me, or on the return to Netflix. When this happens, you simply go to the Netflix site and report that a movie is missing. Netflix will make a note of this, and immediately send the next movie in your queue, or resend the missing movie. I have never had a problem with Netflix when this happened. If someone started reporting lots of lost movies, obviously Netflix would question this, but I'm sure they expect some movies to be lost or damaged.
On only one occasion I received the wrong movie. I reported this, and a new movie was sent right away. Not bad for the hundreds I have rented. The Bottom Line If you love movies, and hate the hassle of renting them, Netflix is a tremendous service. You'll have over 25,000 movies to choose from, with new releases added almost daily. Your DVD selections arrive in your mailbox, so you'll avoid trips to the rental store. You don't have to worry about late fees. You can keep a movie as long as you like. Returning a movie is as easy as a trip to your mailbox, using the postage-paid return envelopes provided with each movie. The recommendation system will guide you to select movies that you will actually like. Over 2,000,000 members are using the service, so you know it works.
Click here to give Netflix a try Fred Kelley |