Hacking NetFlix

New Releases for June 28th, 2005

Here are the new releases for this week.

Movies worthy of mention this week include The Pacifier, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, 7 Seconds, Gunner Palace, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Indecision 2004, Cruising America's Waterways: Seattle and the San Juan Islands (I was in Seattle most of last week), and Throttle (no, it's not about Netflix). ;-)

Tigger Has Left Us

I have two small children, and they love to watch Winnie the Pooh, so it really saddened me to learn on Cinematical that Paul Winchell, the voice of Tigger, has died.

LA Times on the DVD Format Wars

Joe tipped me off to a great story in The LA Times about high-resolution DVD, Format Wars, Episode II: The DVD.

Blockbuster Testing Stores as Mini-Distribution Centers

The Boston Globe is covering the online DVD rental war, Customers Win in War of Online DVD Rental Firms. The story confirms two rumors about Blockbuster Online:

Blockbuster's Evangelist said the company is moving to improve its delivery times and increase its stock of movies. It has asked the US Postal Service to scan Blockbuster return envelopes and send the firm an electronic notification so customers don't have to wait until the envelopes are actually delivered before having the next movie on their to-see list sent out.

Evangelist said Blockbuster is also running a test in the Dallas area using its local video stores as mini-distribution centers. Evangelist said using local stores should speed up delivery times in some areas of the country and increase the online service's inventory of movies.

Is anyone in the Dallas area participating in the test?

How Many Movies Are You Getting?

David sent me an e-mail asking how many movies he could expect to get from Netflix or Blockbuster each month:

I was wondering, on average and max, how many shipments a customer would receive per month from say Netflix or Blockbuster? I’m trying to figure out if I rented a 3 DVD plan and if all my movies were always in stock and received at the same time, how many movies I could watch per month.

I’m assuming no more than 27 total movies? What do you think…

Please state how many movies you get each month, the service you belong to (Netflix, Blockbuster, Greencine, etc), the plan you're on, and how far you are from your shipping center.

WSJ: Who Wrecked the Movies?

Joe tipped me off to a great article in the Wall Street Journal Online, Who Wrecked the Movies?. The story talks about the problems with theater attendance and slowing DVD sales, but this caught my eye:

Ultimately, though, the worst thing that ever happened to movies happened when audiences began treating theaters like their living rooms. Their chatter destroyed the essential thrill of sitting in the dark sampling the Zeitgeist with hundreds of other people.

So here's a message to Hollywood: You want us back? Bring back the usher. Not clueless, giggling teenagers but real ones, scary ones, like the chap in the picture above. The meaner the better, too, with full powers to evict talkers and other noisemakers. With an army of ushers, who will need roadblocks?

I hate it when people talk in the theater, and I miss the days of flashlight-toting ushers (and reasonably priced snacks). What do you think theaters will have to do to bring us back?

Photo of Netflix HQ

There is a photo of the Netflix headquarters on Flickr. I love the comment under the photo:

It's such an unassuming little place, for such a life-altering company. :)

via Netflix Fan Blog

Throttling Revisited

Michael writes:

I have, for the first time as a Netflix customer (though off and on) begun to be throttled by Netflix. Sure, I was a naysayer at first, speculating that it had to do with shipping center, location, quantity available, etc. But now, I agree with others that it is a problem; all my DVDs now ship the next day, which effectively reduces my monthly renting ability by almost 25%, and I suspect they’re “receiving” my DVDs later than they really are, which would reduce it by even more. As a person who has always defended Netflix, I have to say that while Blockbuster didn’t impress me, this makes it a lot less easier if I should choose to switch. I’ve got 7 months of a gift subscription left; if Blockbuster’s improved and Netflix hasn’t, I’ll seriously consider changing. It’s a shame, too, but my interests don’t lie in ensuring Netflix’s profitability, but in getting the most bang for my buck.

Are you being throttled by Netflix or Blockbuster? Be sure to include what plan you're on, how fast you turn movies around, and where you live.

Fool.com Worried about Movie Gallery

The Motley Fool is running a story that expresses concern about about the #2 storefront movie rental company, Movie Gallery Dims the Lights.

Over the long term, the continued battle being waged between Netflix and Blockbuster seems far more disturbing for a company like Movie Gallery than the idea that people aren't compelled to flock to movie theaters at the moment. Further, the Internet-based DVD-by-mail business model championed by Netflix and adopted by Blockbuster is even more insulated against any new-release backlash because the use of recommendations from friends helps keep people up to their ears in entertainment far beyond the latest releases.

With casualties of the DVD rental war already including heavy-hitters like Walmart, I wouldn't want to get in the middle of the Netflix/Blockbuster battle to the death.

I'm in Seattle for Gnomedex

I'm visiting one of my favorite cities for the next few days to attend Gnomedex, a Web publishing conference. While it may have a silly name, Gnomedex is sponsored by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, PubSub, Wiley, Make Magazine, Audible, and other great companies.

I'll be hanging out with more than 200 bloggers, including Dave Winer, Steve Rubel, Robert Scoble, Chris Pirillo (he's the Gnome in Gnomedex), Phil Torrone, Marc Cantor, Brent Simmons, Buzz Bruggeman, Adam Curry, Jason Calacanis and many, many more. You can see the entire list of attendees here.

Let me know if you're attending the conference so I can say hello.