Why rent the cow when you can borrow the milk for free? That seems to be the mindset of many Americans, as a new study claims that more DVDs are borrowed from libraries each day than are rented via Netflix, Redbox or Blockbuster. [More]
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Netflix To Offer Streaming-Only Service In Canada
By 7.20.10
We know that Consumerist has readers in Canada; we can hear them gloating every time we write about health care. But for years, we’ve had something our neighbors to the north (unless you’re reading this in Alaska) have been coveting — Netflix. Alas, that piece of Americana is soon to go international when it launches a video-streaming service in Canada later this year. [More]
Redbox Wants To Get Into Online DVD Rental & Streaming Biz
By 7.19.10
While Redbox might be doing bang-up business with their 24,000 DVD rental kiosks around the country, the company knows how quickly you can go from the front of the pack to the rear (just ask Blockbuster). So in an attempt to compete with online rental and streaming service Netflix, Redbox’s president says it’s hatching a plan to expand its market to online users. [More]
Can You Stream Netflix Movies At 30,000 Feet?
By 7.13.10
Not happy with your in-flight entertainment selections? Well, if you have access to onboard WiFi, the folks at HackingNetflix.com say you might be able to stream Netflix films to your iPad or laptop. [More]
Netflix Is Fine With No Saturday Mail Delivery; Amazon, Not So Much
By 6.24.10
When we first wrote about the US Postal Service’s plan to put an end to Saturday deliveries, only 35% of the 7,000 readers polled thought it would be a hassle to their way of life. However, many commenters wanted to know what this would mean for deliveries of their precious Netflix DVDs. Yesterday, they got their answer. [More]
Lacking Nicolas Cage In Your Netflix? There's A Hack For That
By 6.15.10
I, like most Netflix customers, have a ridiculous number of movies in my DVD and Watch Instantly queues. But until this morning, I hadn’t realized one thing my queue was desperately missing: Nicolas Cage saturation. Thankfully, someone has come up with a remedy for this error. [More]
Is Comcast Choking My Bandwidth To Keep Me From Watching Too Much TV Online?
By 6.14.10
Gen fears Comcast is choking his bandwidth because he’s streamed too many TV shows. He keeps getting suspicious messages that say his internet connection has slowed when he tries to watch episodes of Law & Order: SVU. [More]
Report: Blockbuster Exploring Bankruptcy Options
By 6.13.10
Hear that rattling sound? It’s coming from the chest of Blockbuster Video. A new report claims that the once-mammoth video rental chain, which admitted only months ago that bankruptcy might be in the offing, is now prepping for the harsh reality of Chapter 11 protection. [More]
Netflix Is Indeed Coming To iPhone Says Steve Jobs
By 6.7.10
Back in April, Apple and Netflix ticked off a vocal handful of iPhone owners by deciding to launch the first mobile version of the video service’s streaming videos on the then-untested iPad. But at today’s much ballyhooed new iPhone announcement, Apple’s Chief Executive Guru Steve Jobs was happy to let everyone know that Netflix is coming to the iPhone. [More]
Redbox CEO Scoffs At Netflix's Video Library
By 6.4.10
In April, it was Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes ragging on Netflix’s selection of streaming video, now it’s Mitch Lowe, CEO of more relevant competitor Redbox who is scoffing at Netflix’s growing archive of older movies and TV shows. [More]
Postal Worker Pleads Guilty To Stealing Netflix Discs
By 5.25.10
Being a Netflix customer requires a certain amount of trust in the US Postal Service — that they’ll deliver your movie promptly and without stomping on it and that they’ll return it in the same condition. But a former postal worker in Texas violated that trust, and has admitted to swiping Netflix discs before they got to their intended destinations. [More]
Netflix Now Offering HD Streaming On PCs And Macs
By 5.13.10
Netflix customers using computers can now get something that Xbox 360 and TiVo users have taken for granted: HD streaming. However, the fact that Netflix is now apparently making most of its HD titles available for high-def computer streaming doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll actually get the highest resolution on your rig. And, no matter how sharp the picture is, some films will still be just as bad. [More]
Netflix Rolls Out Some Captions For Streaming Video
By 4.20.10
Netflix streaming is great. If you’re like me and most of your Netflix queue consists of TV series and independent movies, it’s the best deal in entertainment. One of its major flaws, though, is that video streams lack captions or closed-captioning. Netflix is starting to fix this problem…but only for a limited number of videos and only for users who stream on their Mac or Windows PCs. [More]
Analyst: Blockbuster Losing Customers At Unprecedented Rate
By 4.19.10
In spite of its recent moves to remain competitive, video rental dinosaur Blockbuster continues to lose ground to newer services like Netflix and Redbox. And a new report from analyst Michael Pachter with Wedbush Morgan Securities makes the scenario look even more bleak. [More]
Blockbuster CEO Slams Netflix Streaming Selection
By 4.15.10
With one foot in the grave already, Blockbuster is doing everything it can to keep from being dragged down into bankruptcy hell. From making risky deals with studios to get a 4-week head start on new titles to considering getting into the video game biz, they’re throwing everything against the wall in the hopes that something sticks. And in a new interview, the company’s CEO takes aim at the video-streaming service offered by Netflix. [More]
Netflix For Wii Discs Shipping To Everyone Now
By 4.12.10
A few weeks back, we wrote that Netflix had shipped out a load of discs to Wii users as the final test of their streaming video product for the Nintendo gaming console. And while the initial results weren’t exactly mind-blowing, they must have been good enough because Netflix has decided to fully launch the program today. [More]
Blockbuster Considering Adding Games-By-Mail Service
By 4.9.10
Flailing video vendor Blockbuster, which has gone so far as to gamble all its Canadian assets to sidestep the bankruptcy train, also has another potential trick up its sleeve — video games by mail. [More]
Netflix Users Must Now Wait 28 Days For New Fox & Universal Titles
By 4.9.10
Hot on the heels of Blockbuster’s announcement of a deal with Fox and Sony that would allow it to offer new titles for rent and streaming on the day of DVD release, comes news of what appears to be another bad deal for Netflix subscribers — They’ll now have to wait 28 days for new releases from Fox and Universal. [More]
