Hacking NetFlix

Should Microsoft Buy Netflix for CEO Reed Hastings?

With Netflix growing to more than 13 million subscribers profitably, rumors of Amazon, Microsoft, Apple or other companies buying Netflix make the rounds from time to time. Digital TV guru Jeff Vinson adds another reason that Microsoft should buy Netflix: CEO Reed Hastings. Hastings has been a Microsoft board member since 2007, he's also been the founder and CEO of two public technology companies (Pure Software and Netflix), and with this background Reed Hastings just might be the CEO Microsoft needs to compete with Google and Apple.

Microsoft has been in a slump for years, and while Bill Gates is off saving the world Microsoft is having trouble finding new businesses that make money beyond Windows, Office, and the Xbox. The Redmond-based company has been struggling under Ballmer for years to compete in search and phones, and maybe it's time that Microsoft consider a new CEO that can take the company beyond Windows. It probably wouldn't hurt for Microsoft to have another profitable multi-billion dollar business division like Netflix that is loved by customers, and would put them in direct competition with HBO and Showtime (and probably Comcast, too).

What do you think?

Are You Willing to Wait 30 Days for New Releases from Netflix?

The news that Netflix is negotiating with the studios to create a new DVD rental window 30 days after the DVD release is causing quite a stir online. MG Siegler from TechCrunch thinks that this will drive new-release hungry customers to piracy, Chris Albrecht at NewTeeVee thinks this is a shrewd move by Netflix, and Phil Villarreal from Consumerist writes that "Netflix will screw you for the right price."

So what do you, Netflix subscribers, think of waiting 30 days after the DVD release for rental?

Should Netflix Buy Redbox?

Davis Freeberg makes an interesting suggestion:

On the last earnings webcast Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said that "...we have no intent to go into kiosks," but while Netflix is growing nicely, DVD rental kiosks are expected to grow from 19% to 30% in the next year (via NewTeeVee). 

What do you think? Should Netflix focus on streaming or get into the kiosk game?

Are You Changing Plans or Leaving Netflix Because of the Economy?

Debbie from Wesabe is breaking up with Netflix because of the economy:

It’s a crappy time to be a discretionary spend and I don’t mean to kick you while you’re down, but I need to start looking out for myself. And so 163 rentals and nearly a thousand dollars later, I’m calling it quits. This really is good-bye, so I hope you don’t cheapen what we had by sending me perky “one month free” emails or flyers.

Are you increasing your plan, decreasing your plan, or leaving Netflix because of the economy? Are you cutting cable TV or other entertainment spending?

DRM Still Sucks

Engadget HD reports that Apple customers are now experiencing problems playing movies on some monitors and TVs that aren't HDCP-compliant.

Some Netflix customers have experienced a similar HDCP problem with Netflix streaming, all because the studios are worried that pirates will be able to make a copy of the movie, and yet it's easy to rip DVD & Blu-ray movies. No matter what the studios use to protect content, it's typically only a few days before the pirates are able to break it.

I'm having a DRM problem with my Windows XP Media Center PC. It's been my DVR for almost 3 years, and after recent updates I'm now unable to play some unprotected TV shows (and I'm not the only one with this problem). I've spent a few hours trying to figure out what went wrong, and it's incredibly frustrating -- it stops playing the TV show about 10 minutes before the show is over and gives the following error:

Between Netflix and Hulu, most of the shows I want to see are available online or on DVD, but DRM has crippled my Media Center PC.

The only people inconvenienced by DRM are the paying customers, as it doesn't seem to slow the pirates at all.

Did Netflix Make the Right Decision to Keep Profiles?

Netflix reversed the decision to eliminate the Profiles feature last week, and the reason, according to Todd on the Netflix Community Blog: "We were persuaded by the well-reasoned, sincere responses of loyal members who very much value this feature."

Joel Mier, the former Director of Consumer Insights for Netflix, believes Netflix should have stuck to their guns and removed the Profiles feature. He posted the following on his blog, Think for a Moment:

I think Netflix made the wrong decision to reverse itself. It has essentially told its customer base that (no matter how "small a minority") if it is vocal enough about something, Netflix will capitulate. This is the precedent it made on June 30, not a position in which a company wants to be.

I liken it to parenting. Imagine I am with my small child in a grocery store and she wants to have a candy bar. Being that it is 9:00 am, I know, as the adult, that it is not the right thing to do and tell her "no." In response to this disappointing news she begins to scream and throws a tantrum on the floor.

I now have two choices. I can cave in and calm the situation by giving her what she wanted in the first place. This has the impact of defusing the situation but does nothing for doing what is right as a parent. Her tantrum gave me no new information about the correctness of a small child having candy at 9:00 in the morning, did it? Clearly not.

The other choice, the right choice, is to pick up my child and under the glare and judgment of every patron in the store, immediately cease my shopping trip and carry her out to the car where she can scream with wild abandon within our minivan. And, may I add, without the candy. That is the right thing to do.

And Netflix? They opened a candy store on June 30, 2008.

What do you think? Did Netflix do the right thing, or will this decision cause trouble when they make other unpopular decisions in the future?

Longest Time You've Kept a Netflix Movie?

Julie has had Finding Neverland since May 12th.

What's the longest amount of time you've kept a Netflix movie?

HackingNetflix Dropped From Google Searches

Several readers have noticed that HackingNetflix has been dropped from Google searches on the term "Netflix." While this might be a temporary result of the ongoing search update known as "bourbon," it's extremely frustrating to feel like you're being punished when you haven't done anything wrong.

I'm not doing any search engine optimization or utilizing any tricks at all. This site spent the past year as one of the top results for many Netflix-related terms, mainly due to 700+ posts about Netflix and thousands of inbound links. You, my readers, have left an astonishing 7,000 comments.

It was suggested that HackingNetflix might be on some "SPAM block" list. I don't ask for your e-mail address, and if you e-mail me I don't sell, trade or rent your information. I wonder if someone can file a complaint and your site will be dropped without warning?

If I'm being punished for including the word "hacking" in the domain name, you would think that Google of all companies would understand the spirit behind the use of this word.

HackingNetflix still has a PageRank and if you search using "allintitle: netflix," HackingNetflix is still ranked in the search. Yahoo and MSN still show HackingNetflix, so why it's almost completely gone from most Google searches is a mystery to me.

If I did something wrong or there is a reason for being dropped, I would just like to know what happened. I'm not alone -- there are many reports of similar sites being dropped from Google.

If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

Netflix & Walmart: The Morning After

So, now that we've had some time to think about it, how do you feel about the Netflix & Walmart partnership?

I know some people really dislike Walmart for a variety of reasons, but do you dislike them enough to quit? Do you think this will help Netflix? Will it hurt their ability to work with Amazon? Will Walmart buy Netflix?

What do you think?

How Many Movies Do You Watch?

Charles writes:

I have been wondering: Who needs more DVDs than they can get with the 3-out plan? According to my Netflix Fee Calculator:

http://frogcircus.org/netflix/

As long as the transit time between you and Netflix is 1 day (as is presumably the case for most people), and as long as they send your next movie on the same day they receive your returned DVD (as they consistently do as of late for us), the 3-out plan will give you a DVD to watch 5 days a week, for an average of 22 DVDs per month.

Does anyone really watch more than 5 DVDs each week, or are the more-out plans appealing because you have more DVDs laying around to choose from when it comes time to watch?

I admit that the new Profiles feature is one way to viably increase your family's film throughput, but even then, how many movies a week does one person really watch?

So, how many movies do you watch a week?