Hacking NetFlix

New Netflix Shipping Centers

A Netflix spokesperson has confirmed that two new Netflix shipping centers have opened recently. The first, in Oklahoma City, opened 3 weeks ago, and the second in Columbus, Ohio, opened last week. This brings the total number of shipping centers to 44.

Netflix is expected to have a total of 50 shipping centers by the end of the year, and 50 truck routes. The shuttle trucks pick up the Netflix envelopes at distant post offices around 2am, and deliver them to a shipping center for the 3-4am shifts.

Red Envelope Entertainment in American Way Magazine

The March issue of AmericanWay Magazine has a feature story, "Star Search," on the Netflix Red Envelope Entertainment division (unfortunately the story is not available online).

Bahman Naraghi was at a loss when he first started his job. As the recently appointed head of Red Envelope Entertainment, a new division of the online DVD-rental-service company Netflix, Naraghi was tasked with the seemingly formidable mission of finding high-quality films that didn't yet have anyone to distribute them. It sounded like an impossible feat: If a movie was good, wouldn't Hollywood studios be battling each other for the rights to get it into theaters and out on DVD?

Much to Naraghi's surprise -- and relief -- that turned out not to be the case.

Thanks to Barry for sending this in.

Blockbuster Rent "3 for $9.99" Promotion

On Friday Blockbuster will launch a national "Rent 3 for $9.99" in-store promotion. Customers will be able to rent any title from the middle of the store (library titles), and also movies from the new release wall with special gold and blue stickers.

Thanks to CVH for sending this in.

LOVEFiLM Considering Options

The TimesOnline is reporting that UK-based LOVEFiLM is considering a possible $100 million float or sale.

The attraction to buyers lies in Lovefilm’s database of subscribers. In four years Lovefilm has amassed nearly 500,000 subscribers. It generates more than five million postal transactions each month.

The group, which is chaired by Charles Gussara, the former chairman of Virgin Mobile, offers an online film download service and aims to be in prime position to exploit the nascent distribution model as it takes off.

In 2005 revenues from the combined Video Island/Love-film group totalled £25 million.

LOVEFiLM is the #1 online DVD rental service in the UK, where they compete with Blockbuster Online and Amazon.

via UK DVD Rental Guide Blog.

GameFly Opening East Coast Shipping Center

Kotaku is reporting that videogame rental company GameFly is in the process of opening an East Coast shipping center in Pittsburgh.

One of our readers tipped us today to let us know that the Los Angeles based company was informing its subscribers about the change which would be rolled out to a limited number of members while they get up to speed.

Thanks to "D" for sending this in.

Inside the Boise Netflix Shipping Hub

The Idaho Statesman takes a look at the Boise Idaho hub, one of the smaller Netflix shipping centers:

The center employs a dozen people who spend each day unpacking returned DVDs and repacking them for delivery to the next customer. An average of 8,000 to 9,000 DVDs leave the center each day. Tuesday is the center's busiest day and the number of DVDs typically tops 13,000. Swasey said.

The company has developed a highly-guarded process that uses bar codes and high tech sorting equipment to make sure the DVDs leave the distribution centers quickly.

Netflix Scratched Discs Problem?

Jeff complained that 4 of his last 8 Netflix rentals were so "significantly scratched" that they wouldn't play. Here's the list of movies:

House of Flying Daggers (2004)
24: Season 1, Disc 1 (2001)
24: Season 1, Disc 1 (2001) - the replacement DVD was damaged too!
24: Season 1, Disc 5 (2001)

Jeff makes a good point about damaged movies:

Its an odd business model to think of it: Rent out potentially damaged goods and require customers to screen for damage at a high inconvenience.

I wonder if Netflix tracks how many times a given DVD is mailed and then retires it at some point. I wonder if they've considered some amount of sampling to see if a movie is scratched (probably expensive and manual process). I wonder what % of movies are marked as "damaged" upon return. I wonder if this will become a bigger probably as Netflix's library ages (assuming they aren't replacing old DVDs).

How many scratched or damaged movies have you received from Netflix and/or Blockbuster lately?

Inside Canada's Netflix: Zip.ca

ITBusiness.ca has an interesting story about Canada's Netflix, Zip.ca.

On the day in 2004 that Ottawa-based online movie rental company Zip.ca opened its e-doors, it didn't even have some of the very first 11 DVDs requested, sending an exec scuttling to Best Buy to get the right titles.

Tidbits from the story:

Zip.ca has 54,000 DVD titles.

They are owned by Momentous.ca, a Canadian registrar.

Zip.ca has 37,000 customers and 380,000 DVDs.

They call the movie queue a "ZipList"

via Digg.

Fastest DVD Turnaround Time Ever?

Tom writes about a recent DVD shipment from Blockbuster:

I received notice that BB had shipped the second disk of Brosnan's "Around the World in 80 Days" with a time stamp of Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:53:10 +0100 (they use a form of GMT) and a bit over two hours later, I received a notice that they had received the same film with a time stamp of Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:55:03 +0100.

That's just two hours, one minute and 57 seconds later...

When I reported it, I got the usual apology (and e-coupon for a free rental) and the following "explanation": "This was likely due to problems with shipping, such as the envelope being damaged in transit. If the post office does not have the portion that has your shipping address, they automatically mail it back to our distribution center."

Has anyone else had a similar experience with Netflix or Blockbuster?

Wal-Mart Testing Smell-O-Vision DVDs

CNN Money is reporting that Wal-Mart is "rolling out experimental DVDs with "smell-o-vision," electronic scent wafers that release the odor of a burning building, say, or a freshly fired gun, at precisely timed moments during the movie."

via Veit.