Netflix Review
by David
Most of you are probably familiar with Netflix already… but did you know that most Netflix subscriptions include unlimited, instant streaming of thousands of movies and television shows through an easy-to-use web interface?
This is a free addition to their standard DVDs-in-the-mail rental program for which Netflix has become so popular. Oddly, I’ve known people who were devout Netflix subscribers who didn’t even realize they had this option available to them (here’s looking at you, mom).
Netflix also offers the best instant gratification of any of the video services I’m reviewing. With their generous free trial and the fact that their streaming videos literally begin instantly, you could start watching one of your favorite movies or television shows only a couple minutes from the moment you finish reading this sentence:
Netflix Unlimited Streaming Video & DVD Rentals – Try For FREE
In this Watch Free Movies Online review, I will try to review just the quality, reliability and value of the streaming service as that is all its competing services provide. However, you have to remember that Netflix has an undeniable, innate edge over its competition because their streaming service — as robust and evolved as it is — only represents a bonus to their established DVD rental program.
Netflix Review: Costs
For the sake of comparison with the other services I’m reviewing, Netflix costs $8.99 a month for unlimited streaming movies or television shows. This makes it — by a good margin — the least expensive of the services I’ve reviewed so far. You never have to buy or pay an additional fee to watch anything they offer in their Watch Instantly category. With just $8.99, your viewing time and viewing options are unlimited.
Netflix offers a cheaper subscription option ($4.99 a month), but note that this option does not include unlimited streaming video. Netflix also offers more expensive options, but those allow you to receive and hold more physical DVDs at a time, so they don’t really factor into the internet movies competition (but if you want to receive and keep up to 8 DVDs or Blu-Ray discs at a time with no late fees, the option is there).
(It’s worth noting that you really can keep those DVDs a long time. I have a not-so-responsible friend who once kept a Netflix DVD for 10 months. Netflix really doesn’t care as that DVD just takes up a slot in your queue until you return it.)
For the $8.99 a month you can receive one-at-a-time unlimited DVD rentals with no late fees AND watch unlimited streaming video through Netflix’s well-designed website.
One option Netflix lacks which some of the other services provide is the ability to permanently purchase digital films or television shows. This doesn’t seem like much of an issue, however, as you’re free to watch any movies or television shows on Netflix whenever you wish and however often you wish. You can even watch them wherever you wish, as long as you can connect to the internet and log into their website. In addition, you can in fact purchase real physical DVDs if you desire. Physical DVDs cost $5.99 to $9.99, with frequent sales that rotate blockbusters and television series into the $5.99 range.
I think providing the ability to make digital purchases will become necessary in the future, but for the time being, the ability to watch anything they offer whenever you want makes a nice substitute. It’s worth noting that digital purchases on other services aren’t very flexible, rarely allowing you to burn and carry a disk from your digital purchase.
How Netflix Works
To figure it out faster than I can explain it, go here. I will explain just the streaming service, as their standard no-late-fee DVD rental service is well-known and beyond the scope of my site’s watching movies online purpose.
When you log into your Netflix account, you will be presented with 3 main tabs and 3 smaller tabs. The three main tabs are Browse DVDs, Watch Instantly & Your Queue. To watch streaming movies or watch streaming tv shows, you can head straight to the Watch Instantly tab, then either search for a particular film or show or browse by category until you find what you want. Then just hit the blue PLAY button and voila! You’re watching your show! It’s really that quick & easy. See what I mean for yourself here.
You can also click on the Browse DVDs tab where you can search or browse all movies or shows available in all formats. As you view various lists of films or shows, beside them you’ll see their available formats. The formats include DVD, Blu-Ray and Watch Instantly. From here you can click on a film with Watch Instantly available, click on the blue PLAY button and presto! You’re watching your show.
On most systems and most broadband connections, there will be no delay (and no ads!) before the feature starts. If you have a really, really old computer and an old dial-up connection, you may experience a bit of delay… but believe it or not, it will still play eventually, although at lower quality.
If you’ve added movies to your Queue, you can click on the Your Queue tab to choose a movie to play. From there, you’ll see additional sub-tabs for each format (Blu-Ray, DVD & Instant). Your main queue will include ALL selections in your queue at once with available formats for each entry indicated with clear little icons, but if you want to see just what you can watch instantly, click on the Instant sub-tab.
To stream Netflix video to your living room, you have three choices: You can use a Windows Media Extender, you can stream Netflix at no additional cost through an Xbox 360 (a recent addition to the service), or you can purchase their Roku set top box, which allows you to connect to your internet connection via wired or wireless network and provides an easy-to-use remote for navigating Netflix’s web interface on your TV.
None of these are necessary, but they offer luxurious options to the service as it already operates.
Netflix‘s Library
Because everything imaginable is available from Netflix’s main DVD delivery service, it’s hard to fault them for limitations, but the available current blockbusters isn’t quite as great as their physical DVD selection. You will find no better selection of television series or classic films than what Netflix’s Watch Instantly service provides, but their selection of recent-release films isn’t quite up to par with the best of the bunch: the Amazon Unbox. In Netflix’s defense, however, their Watch Instantly collection grows every single time I log on to browse it.
Netflix deserves a special mention for their television selection. It’s really pretty amazing. Whether you want to watch recent series like NBC’s The Office or indulge in a little nostalgia with something from the 50s or 60s, it’s probably there. Do you like anime (japanese animation) or obscure British comedies? They probably have the whole series.
Where’s My HD Video?
Like most of the other services I’ve reviewed, Netflix doesn’t stream high definition content yet. However, they do plan to roll that out soon and the Roku set top box is even already able to handle it. In addition, Netflix does offer high definition Blu-Ray discs for a ton of their unparalleled catalog.
So What’s The Netflix Conclusion?
In case you couldn’t tell, I’m pretty thrilled with what Netflix provides as a whole. The fact that it is the cheapest of all the streaming video services yet provides the most overall content makes Netflix the undisputed title holder. The fact that in addition to their unlimited streaming service you also get their established and wildly popular DVD-by-mail, no-late-fee rental service just makes it more difficult for the competition to compare.
You might knock them down a couple notches for their less competitive current release selection or their lack of streaming HD video, but since none of their competition can provide a knock-out punch in either of these areas, it’s hard to see it as too much of a negative for Netflix.
But why trust a review when they make it so easy to check it out for yourself for free?