Netflix has one of the best recommendation engines on the web. I find myself wishing they'd power recommendations for other digital delivery services like books for the Kindle, music in iTunes, clips on youtube and hulu. Seriously...it's so good I'd love to offload all my entertainment discovery onto them.

Unfortunately, I rarely watch DVDs anymore, so I'm no longer a subscriber. I did a lot when I lived elsewhere, but San Francisco has lots of stuff to do so I don't spend too much time in my apt.

While I was still a member, one issue came up. It's not significant, really, but would benefit me greatly since I pretty much only watch DVDs in the company of others.

The issue is that shared queues just don't work well if you have differing tastes (really this is more a problem with people than with the service I suppose). There's a way to split up the distribution among people in the same household, allowing you to keep recommendations entirely separate, but that doesn't really work either, because they ration the shipment based upon a particular setting from each queue. This is great if you don't watch the movies WITH the other person (but who does that ;P). I guess the best solution to this issue is to rate things collectively (until of course you break up with the person you share your queue with...lol).

This could be solved simply by running a simple intersection of recommendations between two people.

Anyhow, I saw one of the top guys from Netflix speak recently and he was insanely smart, so I'm sure they're working on it and tons of other stuff too. :)

I had no problem with Netflix. Their deliveries aare super fast when compared to blockbuster.

Netflix is flat out amazing.

For years, I resisted. I felt that a Netflix subscription would make me old and tired - or worse, a yuppie.

I finally broke down when I got hooked on Battlestar Galactica, so that I could watch all four seasons at my leisure.

The turn around time is amazing - I drop a dvd in the mail when I'm done watching it, and a few minutes later, there's a new DVD waiting for me. Not really a few minutes, but it's an astonishingly fast turnaround.

They have every movie, and more and more titles are available for streaming as well.

If you haven't done yourself the favor, it's time to take the Netflix plunge.

atleast they contibute something

Fast shipping (I get my movies within 2 days after sending them back) and a good selection.

I've never used Netflix soooo I dont really know!

never used it, seem good though

i love netflix.

TIS COOL i love getting movies x]

Heard good things but never used them myself

Great idea, well executed at an awesome value.  I signed up for their free trial service, and was charged nothing for cancellation (the only reason I chose to do so was that I ended up using it too much!).  Seems to be superior than Blockbuster's comparable service and offers a good selection of movies you can watch whenever you want from your PC, which I don't believe is currently offered by Blockbuster.  Unfortunately that service requires a Windows PC, and does not yet support Mac OS X, but will support Xbox 360 (and PS3?) in the fall of 2008.

Being that postage has gone up again it would really cut into Netflix profits. I'm not a paying customer but wanted to read about customer ratings first to see if it is worth it. The ratings are all over the board and the average rating is straight down the middle; not leaving me with much to go on. There are way too many 1-star ratings for me to feel comfortable.

If I knew now that I could cancel my account at any time w/o hassles then I'd go for it for sure, but several have indicated that they even had trouble getting a response back. Pentalizing long-term customers is the biggest turnoff.

Think I'm going to continue to rent locally for now just because I don't like online transactions if they may not be reliable.

In theory NetFlix is great. The speed and movie turn around is great, the selection of movies is good but the one thing that upsets me is how many scratched, cracked, broken and burned (yes physically burned with a lighter) movies I received. So you have to return these and wait again for the possibility of having a movie arrive where you can watch the entire thing.

I started with Netflix, then switched to Blockbuster for awhile because they had all kinds of promotions in the beginning and it all seemed too good to be true...WELL IT WAS!!!! Prices rose and limitations popped up all over the place. I spent more time reading fine print than watching movies. Needless to say, I'm all about Netflix now.

Tried Netflix for about 3 months, and found that the service was great as far as speed of shipping the movies to and from. The issue I have is that the selection of movies is nothing but old, old, old and older crap! I have no desire to see movies that have been out since 1982 and have seen on Lifetime or TBS 400 times over the years for free. This is what Netflix tries to position themselves as able to recommend 'movies you'll love' but it's quite laughable. Yes, I loved Dirty Dancing....25 years ago! I still love it Netflix, but I don't want to rent it from you. I found that the new releases I did want to see were very slow to arrive in their stock. I could go down the street to Blockbuster and rent the newest movies sooner than I could get them from Netflix. So, while I had my subscription, I caught up on some older (2 or 3 years max) movies that I had somehow missed on the first time around, and once I got through those I canceled my subscription simply because Netflix doesn't have anything I want to see!

NETFLIX is GREAT! We live about 100 miles from their Oklahoma City distribution center. They must be paying the post office a premium, to get the speed of service they do. I can put a return in the mailbox on Monday,on Tuesday I get an email saying they have received it. Sometimes that same day, I will get an email saying that they have sent my next movie, and the next day I get it. Sometimes if there is a weekend or holiday in there it may take 3 days to cycle. They have a great selection and quanity. Everytime I go to our Blockbuster or Hastings store they are out of the movies that I want.

Netflix is great. Online you can read about the plot, and rating one to five stars, on practically any movie old or new (and many TV shows too). You can add movies to your list any time you hear of one you are interested in (even new ones, which will be sent as soon as become available).
Service is always very fast. I drop a DVD in the mailbox (postage-free) on Monday, and have my next movie in the mail on Wednesday. This is so much easier than going somewhere to find a movie to bring home.

I love this Netflix. I am customer of Netflix for 2 years, I had no problems with that. Fast shipping!

Netflix is a horrible company. I had a subscription with them, and like clockwork, the movies came-until the free trial ended. Then it took 3-6 days for them to receive the movies and as much as 6 days for me to receive the shipment. (I live in a small burb outside of LA, I hand the things to my postal carrier and the processing center is 10 miles away!) I really don't think its the post office, because I haven't had any other problems. I upped my subscription to 5 movies hoping that I wouldn't go completely without movies for days at a time, but that didn't even help. It's not like I was trying to watch 5 movies a night. I complained, and after numerous messages and demanding repeatedly that I receive a response to my question, not a copy of the terms of use agreement, they sent me one complementary movie, which was delayed and ended up counting against the 5 movies I pay for. I finally quit. After paying for UNLIMITED movies, held in my hands 5 at a time, I wasn't even getting 3 movies for Friday Saturday an Sunday evenings. (I initially thought that my problem was unique, then found out they had been sued for this sort of thing, settled without admitting fault and continue the practice of "throttling"-artificially limiting the number of movies a subscriber can get.) I lasted about 3 months. My advice with Neflix is to use their free trial. You'll get great service, see a lot of movies. Quit before you're charged and you'll be forever happy. Pay them and everything goes to hell. (By the way, people have said that this problem is with New Releases, I almost never ordered anything that was a new release. I made pretty broad selections from a number of genres, and the result was always the same.) I'm currently trying the Blockbuster deal where you can return movies in store and get free replacements to watch while things ship from your list. I've already noticed selection issues, but haven't been using it long enough to say if it's going to be any better. It looks good on paper, but then so did Netflix!

Have been a long time subscriber and have been very fortunate to have had absolutely no problems with the service. Netflix has a wide selection of titles and I've been able to find everything that I've looked for. There tends to be a wait for new releases, but you can always go to your local video store if you need to pick up a copy that badly. Shipping has never been a problem and I've only had two discs damaged in shipping. Netflix sent replacements quickly and with no questions.

Not a bad deal! For $10 a month you get one movie at a time, so if you watch them quickly you can watch about 16 movies a month, which would come to a little over $.50 a movie. The selection is great for western films/documentaries and ok for anime or foreign films. Shipping is always super quick, the website is easy to navigate, and there are no late fees. This award winning idea saves time, money, and will put the box chain rentals out of business.

I haven't had any problems with Netflix, and have used it for a while. The DVD's I have received have all been in good condition, and I have not encountered unreasonable delays with the shipping. I find their website easy to manage and they have the type of titles that I am looking for.

I love Netflix. The collection of DVDs is vast -- foreign films, independent films, documentaries, films I saw as a child or college student that I want to see again, etc. In my case the service has been excellent. I have never waited longer than two days to receive the next DVD on my list. I like how one can get a quick synopsis of a film by pointing the mouse on the film title(a text bubble pops up for quick reading). I also like how the subscriber can rate movies according to her/his taste and then get personal recommendations. In my opinion Netflix is fantastic for the true movie lover/film buff.

Very slow shipping, Also had deley shipping update, less selection than some other online store. Worst support online slow resopnse. only email contact to customer services.

I'd just like to agree with all the people who are complaining about priority shipping. I had a DVD on my queue for weeks going from Long Wait down to Short Wait down to Available. I'm so excited that I'll finally get the DVD, because their due to send me one. But what do they do instead? Send the 2nd DVD on my queue. As a result first DVD is now back on short wait, and I have absolutely no doubt it would be available if I were to create a new account. Additionally the service has been taking longer and longer to recieve and send me back DVDs. I live just about 45 minutes away from the servicing center, there is no reason it should take 2 or 3 days for them to recieve a DVD from me, and another 2 or 3 for them to ship me a DVD. Netflix is a great service, but they really need to put some more priority on their older customers who've continued to be loyal to their service.

Netflix is a great example of what's RIGHT with capitalism. Not only have they forced competitors prices down, they've changed policies of competing franchises such as Blockbuster to be far more customer friendly. All that, and they have some of the best selections of films anywhere I've seen.

Wow! Reading these reviews, I'm somewhat shocked. I gave up cable, so Netflix is my primary electronic entertainment, and I watch 2 to 3 movies a week, sometimes more. It's part of my workout program - if I don't peddle, I don't watch. And with a few exceptions, my disks always come on time.

I have been a Netflix subscriber nearly since its inception. I was impressed at first, and I'm even more impressed after all of this time. Any DVD/Video rental service can provide the current 'hottest', most popular films. But Netflix has a huge selection of foreign and classic old films that is unparalleled. I believe that Netflix has even begun to produce DVDs of some foreign films that, although not released in this country on US Regional format, have a demand for a discriminating audience. Hooray for Netflix!!

gullible-gingercake-thekickbacksutta-wesside310- Bravo folks!!!! You guys speak the truth-- frogger20190, maybe you should go back to 90210 and get an education on fair customer practice. Whithout reiterating the sentiment all all the above(intelligent) reviews--NETFLIX is losing money (I constantly listen to financial news) so I assume their CEO (a few months ago) decieded stall practices would save the company a ton of loot-- as for me, I'm frustrated to the point where I'm leaving them (only after 2 months)-- I still will have the blockbuster 14.99 month one movie at a time plan and belive me I take advantage of this--I average 25 movies a month-- GOOD DEAL - PS, I love this site -- steve (not really so wild) lol.

So far, so good. But I am alone in the opinion that this kind of service should have the biggest selection of movies ever. I have asked for obscure movies, to be sure. . .but for a monthly fee I want a service that has close to every DVD ever published.

unethical marketing practice. I joined Netfix because I received a promotion saying that they would send me a playstation if I became a paying member for a couple months. Based on the trust of this big name company, I signed up. But after serveral month, the promissed gift never came. Netflix customer service people kept asking me to wait weeks after weeks. then at last they simply asked me to contact their affiliate. Only at that time, I found out what they have been doing all along: in their website, they have a affiliate program, which basically greenlights just about anybody to do the promotion for netflex service. those affiliates will get at least $9 referral fee for each new customer they can get. the idea is that those affiliates may do whatever they want to get customers on board and netflix is not responsible for any of those rogue affiliats' false advertisements. By the time to pay the bills, netflix will redirect the blames to the affiliates and the affiliates may simply disappear and only reincarnate to new affiliates so the games will start all over again. Never realized Netflix was in such a desperate situation to get customers.

I think it's all about false advertising. I joined Netflix because it has a huge selection of DVDS. So far, I think their price is the cheapest. I don't mind paying $25 for the 3-out plan. But their service has been going downhill lately. What I hate most is their delay tactics. I agree with the commements from 'thekickbacksutta.' The more you watch, the slower they are to send you the movies. And that's what bothering me the most. They shouldn't advertise unlimited DVDs on the Web site. If they intend to 'limit' the DVDs you rented out, they should say so on the Web site and people will not be so pi$$ed off. I used to get 22 movies the first month I joined Netflix, then down to 18 the next month, then 16 and now 12 movies a month if I am lucky. I think Netflix is stupid to go for $18/month fee. All they need to do is maintain their good quality and people will try their service eventually. Unfortunately, their bad customer service and 'fraud' advertising are scaring away so many subscribers each month. They should look at their file and see the turnaround numbers. My colleague who decided to join the Free Trial membership was so mad at Netflix. Apparently the 15 day Free trial is not free afterall. He must give Netflix his credit card / bank account in order to join the trial version. Within days, he realised that Netflix already charged him the monthly fees from his bank account. Believe me, he was mad as hell. He is going to cancel the account now.

Netflix starts off good and quickly turns sour. Their advertised policy of unlimited rentals is not the case. The more you watch, the slower they are to send you new movies. A comparison between a new account and an old account shows that new accounts get priority on movies (they are never listed as having a wait). Their customer service is difficult to get a hold of and consists of scripted emails and voice responses. Don't waste your money on Netflix.

I'm usually a leader not a follower. But I have to admit like everyone else, Netfix started off good when I joined; now it takes a week to receive one movie for that matter. Damn 2 and 3. I'll be lucky to get all 3. But I was getting them like clockwork like 6 months ago. LOL. I got Fargo and Event Horizen on Thursday Sept 23rd. I watched them, and threw them back in the mailbox that same night. A gambling man would say the post office should get the DVD's Friday morning when they open up and out they go. Man, it is now Wednesday Sept 29 and they just got the DVD's back this afternoon. Terrible service! I should have gotten at least 2 other movies by then. It now takes a week to get 1 to 2 movies. I like to report the DVD's as missing so when they do get it back at Netflix they can have on record that it's their fault complaints are rolling in, it's their incompetence. Not customers. I want the head to see what's going on. When people start bouncing out of Netflix he will see why. What are they doing there? This company could be real hot too if they would just do it right. It's sad, because I told 3 of my boys to join and they did. Wait till I tell them I may be bouncing out now. LOL. For $22 a month I'd rather go back to Hollywood Video than get 3 movies a week. Even though if you compare the price to rent 3 movies a week from HV, it comes out more expensive, Netflix still is better. But, It was a better feeling knowing I was getting like 6 movies a week. To see it cut down kills me.

Can I give a DVD rental place six stars? If so, Netflix would earn them. I have not stepped foot inside a video store in nearly two years. I was sick and tired of seeing entire walls taken up with copies of Scooby Doo, and NO copies of classics like Touch of Evil and Wild Bunch (both of which are available on DVD). Netflix's selection is great--if it's available on DVD, they have it. And not just movies. Great service and prices too. I have not tried the other DVD-by-mail places (like WalMart and --gasp-- Blockbuster), but I can't imagine their selection being better.

I have 2 say alot of the comments here are very true about netflix. The service is good when you're a new customers then they really screw you over once you're a regular member. I personally think they really delay shipmwnt on certain title despite what's on your account activity. I wouldnt recommend if you want the new release cause you will never ever get it right away. I'm considering cancelling it and pay that extra $25 a month for the blockbuster service and get my new release right away.

One of the top spammers of my email. Get thee behind me, o Satan of the rental world.

I had been a netflix member for 2 months. Like a lot of people have been saying, I noticed that the deliveries were getting slower and slower. It took 2 days to get my movies and 2 days for netflix to receive them back. It's funny that it took 2 days considering that the distribution center is 30 miles from my home. Wouldn't you know it, after I cancelled my service (for Blockbuster)and returned the dvd's it only took 1 day. I mailed it yesterday 6/28 and they received it today 6/29. Isn't that odd!!!! I have sent back over 40 dvd's and 37 of 40 took 2 days transit time and after I cancelled the service the last 3 dvd's took one day. Is this a coincidence? You make the call.

They had a problem w/ my checking account (which was thier fault). I was going to just use my Paypal account, but they couldn't do that. I think if you are going to ask for monthly payments online, give alternative online payment options, not just credit cards and echecks.

I've been with Netflix for about 4 months now and have had no problems. They just opened a new distribution site in NC and are receiving my returned movies overnight. 2 movies have been lost after being returned in the last 4 months but I see that as acceptable. Much better value for your mondy than Blockbuster.

many dvds were broken and were not playable.

I love Netflix. I have been a member for a couple of years now and it is great. It has saved me money because of no late fees. And I think the movies arrive very quickly. If I send a movie back on a Tuesday (for example), I usually have a new one on Thursday. It is great and I highly recommend it!!

They have everything! And if they don't have it, no one else will. It's cheep and easy. You get everything in a short amount of time and you just mail it back. Pretty nifty.

It is definitely true that Netflix service becomes worse the more you use it. We keep a long running queue of movies, including those that have not yet been released, new releases and older classics. Lately, all the new releases have VERY LONG WAIT, LONG WAIT, AND SHORT WAIT notations, though the DVDs have been out for more than a month, and they went into our queue well before release. We phoned Netflix to complain, and were told they had an inadequate supply. To see if this was true, we asked our neighbor to take a 2-week trial and request the same DVDs (Lost in Translation, Mona Lisa Smile, Cold Creek Manor), and...you guessed it. All three were available NOW and shipped the next day. Meanwhile, LONG WAIT still appears on our request list, and we continue to receive movies from the 1990's and 1980's, which seem to be the only ones available to seasoned subscribers. Netflix clearly hooks you with good service, then leaves you flat. I do not appreciate dishonesty like this, and will seek an alternate service or return to Blockbuster.

how many of you use this service? how many of you realize you are being billed but never signed up for the service?and how many of you who signed up for the service actually dont use it, did you know your going to be billed untill hell freezes over, they dont care. im not a member but have been billed some 170.00, it has taken an act of congress to get a refund

A good idea that has gone bad in its efforts to stay profitable. The company has actually admitted to prioritizing movie delivery to new customers and those who rent just a few titles per month. The complaints have been pouring in as the delays between movie titles being shipped (as well as an ever-increasing number of titles which report as being available only after a long wait) increase. A comprehensive report of this activity is available here: http://dvd-rent-test.dreamhost.com It's actually amazing to see a new customer find a title available now while long-standing customers face a very long wait of a half year or more for the same title. It's incredible that a company builds a business plan on treating their long-standing customers like dirt just to attract new ones. No thanks.

Love Netflix. Have only had to return 3 DVDs that wouldn't play. All you naysayers just like to complain about things. Netflix is a great service.

I always thought that people were just being impatient when they complained that service slowed down the longer one was a member and/or the more DVDs one rents. However, I just had some of this confirmed for me. I have had Lost in Translation in my queue for more than two months! it just was released last Tuesday, and it is now listed Very Long Wait, aka 4-6 month wait. now it is possible that just that many people have been on the waiting list for two months and one day. So I asked a friend at work to test it for me. (she gets ~6 movies a month, and i'm in the 12-15 category) Sure enough, the movie immediately came up as available Now! I am amazed at this. I'm supposed to wait for 4-6 months and she can have it now, simply because they are making more of a profit on her? I'm quitting the service.

We have had Netflix for over 6 months and have had no problems but my brother in law signed up and never received his DVDs. Then Netflix told him that he reported too many DVDs missing and they refused to let him rent anymore (he never got to watch even one). What a lot of people don't realize is how many thieves we have in our postal service. On June 14, 2002, a former mail handler at the Tampa, Florida, Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC;) was sentenced to 18 months in prison, three years' supervised release, and restitution of $21,295 to Netflix, Inc., an online DVD rental company that mails millions of DVDs to addresses throughout the country. After numerous complaints from Netflix about missing DVDs that customers claimed they had mailed back to the company, Postal Inspectors identified the postal employee in November 2001 for the crime. Inspectors recovered thousands of the company's DVDs while searching the subject's vehicle and residence, with losses exceeding $100,000. As a result of this investigation, Postal Inspectors are now working closely with Netflix on a national level to increase mail security.

I have been a Netflix customer for 2 years, and have been very satisfied with it. The recurring flat fee is reasonable ($20/month), and I get 9-12 rentals per month with 2-4 day turnaround in this area (Nashville, TN). Most of the complaints I have seen seem to be from the NY warehouse, so maybe that's the problem. I haven't had any of the problems with damaged discs or lost DVDs. In any case, I am terrible at getting DVDs back to the video store, and one night of rentals can quickly become a $50 affair, or I end up returning movies I haven't yet seen. So, this has been a great service for me.