DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '11 II => Topic started by: Mysterious Benefactor on July 14, 2011, 08:32:39 PM
-
Lynne7042003
@Netflixhelps Ok now that you will be raising my price by $6 in September in return please restore all the Dark Shadows Collection DVDs
3 hours ago
Netflixhelps
@Lynne7042003 The good news is that the increase will allow us to focus more on these types of issues!
1 hour ago
Lynne7042003
@Netflixhelps Thanks that makes the 6 dollar increase better to handle knowing it is going towards restoring all the Dark Shadows Col. DVDs
39 minutes ago
I wonder if that's a load of bull or if Netflix really will use part of the money they'll derive from the price increase to offer all of DS for streaming? It would be nice to think they will...
-
Is Lvnne7042003@Netflixhelps the address we should all use to ask for the complete DS?
-
MB, unless I'm misunderstanding something, it sounds like Lynne was asking for all of the DS DVDs to be restored to Netflix. I didn't see anything about streaming DS episodes. (But then that makes me wonder: how many DS DVDs are no longer available thru Netflix--and why?)
-
They are streaming 160 DS eposides right now, they just added 80. I know they are missing some on DVD. I want them to stream them all.
-
Is Lvnne7042003@Netflixhelps the address we should all use to ask for the complete DS?
No. Lynne7042003 is the Twitter name of the lady who was tweeting to the Netflix Help account, and Netflixhelps is the name of that account on Twitter. And unfortunately, I didn't see any sort of e-mail address on Netflix' Web site. Perhaps it only shows up if you're a member, which I'm not.
MB, unless I'm misunderstanding something, it sounds like Lynne was asking for all of the DS DVDs to be restored to Netflix. I didn't see anything about streaming DS episodes. (But then that makes me wonder: how many DS DVDs are no longer available thru Netflix--and why?)
There were a few earlier tweets where streaming DS was being discussed by others who were part of the discussion, so from that I gathered streaming DS was what she was talking about. And before I posted I did check which DS DVDs are supposedly available, and Netflix' Web site listed them all as available for rental, with Volumes 1-4 as available for streaming. But now that borgosi says that they are missing some, I don't know. But if all the volumes aren't available for rental, someone should definitely update the list because someone who's potentially joining mostly to rent DS isn't going to be very happy if the whole series isn't available as indicated. And as you say, who knows why that would be? [ghost_huh]
-
A glitch on Netflix is that in some cases, something shows up as available, but when you add it to your queue you get "short wait." However the short wait appears to be never ending, rather like Miss Amanda Harris in Mr Best's hotel lobby between the worlds.
Overall Netflix is pretty decent, but their DS discs get heavy use--you can find threads here from years ago about broken discs that were never replaced, etc.
G.
-
I am a Netflix subscriber, and use it to rent DS DVD's as well as a few other favorites...
Netflix once had all DS DVD sets EXCEPT for most of 1897...now they have removed most of the volumes in entirety. I'm so upset.
-
Thanks for the info, Gothick and Heather.
I wonder if because there has been such demand for the discs, they've eventually become damaged, and Netflix just hasn't replaced them? If so, then hopefully Netflixhelps was being truthful if they meant that the price increase will help them to replace the missing/damaged DS discs.
-
I saw a story on one of the entertainment news shows that said Netflix was doing away with all of their DVDs and would be streaming everything. In the last month or so they went for having 80 DS eposides to 160. That still isn't very many but the number is increasing. I have all of the DVDs but I still hope they get them all streaming soon.
-
I have had to return discs that were scratched or damaged to the point they would not play at all. I'm not surprised by the price increase.
I can see one problem in their having all of the DS episodes for rent: the staggering inventory of housing the DVD sets. How many volumes altogether are there?
-
I don't begrudge a price increase, but I do think that it's silly that they don't offer any discount for a bundled plan (ie., getting discs plus streaming is the cost of the two plans added). I also think it's silly to initiate this at a time when not enough titles are available for streaming to be able to replace getting DVDs. I guess it depends on what you want to watch, but I intend to drop streaming, at least for now, and stick with a 2 DVD plan. I know they eventually want to eliminate the discs, and I would like to, too, but not yet. Luckily, I've only had occasional trouble with DVDs being cracked, scratched, or otherwise not playing, and when that happens, they always send a replacement the same day or the next day after I report it, so I've had no complaints on that front.
-
To me, streaming isn't as good as watching a DVD on the player that is attached to my television set. I have a friend now who just watches everything on his computer and he doesn't care. When I stream, I often notice hesitation, or it stops and starts due to traffic or bandwidth or whatever the hell it is.
I notice in our culture a tendency to think that our tech and our resources are at a place that we imagine they could be, but they really aren't. Like the idea that we're getting rid of all our books and newspapers and mags and going whole hog digital. Well, some of us don't want to be staring at glowing screens 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
I feel more fortunate than ever that I am privileged to own all the DS episodes on DVD. Netflix track record around DS is not one of their finest hours as a company. I think the consumer demand, and the volume of episodes, is simply beyond their capacity.
It's amazing and wonderful to me to see how popular DS continues to be after all these years. I watch a lot of "vintage" television (am just catching up with a wonderful Bill Bixby series from 1973, The Magician, thanks to a generous and kind friend) and it's very rare for a series this old to be this widely followed.
G.
-
How many volumes altogether are there?
There are 32 sets. So that's 128 discs.
-
There are 32 sets. So that's 128 discs.
Which would be an infinitessimal percentage of the entire Netflix inventory, even if they had several copies of each (which they should...)
-
Very true. And as in demand as DS discs might be, I seriously doubt they're as in demand as the latest big movies are - so you know those discs have to get damaged as well.
-
There have been a number of reports over the years, both anecdotally and in various media, about Netflix overreaching themselves.
Once the Depp/Burton confection is out, the demand for the DS episodes is definitely going to increase. It would seem that some diehard Depp/Burton fans are already starting to watch the old shows to try and get a flavor for the new project.
G.
-
If Twitter and IMDb are any indication, I'd say they definitely are renting/streaming DS from Netflix because I've many tweets/posts where Depp/Burton fans say as much. As a matter of fact, I'd say that right after the film, watching DS (and that includes the '91 version) is the next most tweeted about DS-related thing on Twitter.
(And speaking of watching DS, I love this particular tweet from earlier today:
kapnkaty
Has anyone else ever noticed the severe sexual overtones between Willie Loomis and Jason McGuire? Because, yowza. #DarkShadows
16 hours ago)
-
I've only been a Netflix member for a few months but I've had any trouble with a DVD or a streaming movie. I have all of the Dark Shadows DVDs but I find streaming the show to be a good way to watch what it and save my disc from wear.
-
It must be noted that we don't have all have the same netflix; if you live in Florida or Maine and I live in California or Hawaii, then we are accessing a different warehouse when we order dvds and won't have the same index. On my netflix, it shows about half of the Dark Shadows Collection DVDs are in "save" mode--i.e. not currently available for renting (and yes, in the past I did receive some of the famous cracked or unplayable DS discs). Personally, I agree with Gothic; my rural broadband just doesn't do streaming well, so I'd muchly prefer to have something on a disc or directly on my desktop. Netflix focussing purely on streaming doesn't do anything for me; but there is a whole lot of DVD's, (not only Dark Shadows) on my 'saved' list that I wish they would make available.
-
I'm also not surprised by the price increase since Netflix has really become the go-to way to rent and watch movies instead of visiting a movie store. Not to mention the fact that I'm sure they're trying to increase their library offerings and/or try to get more copies of things they already do offer. Since there isn't a time limit on how long you can keep a DVD, some people keep them forever and never send them back! I've had the last Netflix DVD I rented for at least 6 months or more because I keep forgetting to stick it in the mail. (Which, after I finish this I will immediately go and do that).
Fortunately for me, I own all of the DS DVD sets except for two of DS: The Beginning. So I can watch it anytime I please by just pulling out one of these sets. But, for those who don't, streaming is a great option that can definitely be frustrating. I have found it very annoying before when I've tried to watch a series and one or two episodes is missing here or there, or they only have the first portion of the series but not the last half or even the overall majority of the entire thing. They have enough to get you hooked and then you're SOL.
When I use Netflix anymore, I just stream whatever I want to watch. Eventually everything is going to be on there anyway, and Netflix is constantly getting awesome new licenses, like the one that allowed them to just add the entire Star Trek television library. That was pretty surprising to me given how guarded that series is and how much it costs (ridiculous amounts!) on DVD and Blu Ray.
-
Thanks, Brandon Collins. I am sure you are right and less and less will be available with the discs, and those of us who have issues with streaming will just be stuck. It is the way of the world...
Just curious, did they mention whether with Star Trek, in the case of the original series, will it be the unedited episodes, or the ones where they replaced the lovely old paintings, models and maquettes with tacky new CGI effects? (My apologies to those who think of the shift to CGI on vintage classic TV shows is an "upgrade." The thought of it makes me want to vomit.)
In the best of all worlds, they would offer both--the original episodes and the "improved" ones--so fans could have a choice.
I hear that some of the 1970s Dr Who stories are getting "improved" with CGI as well. If the Depp Shadows franchise really takes off, I wonder whether there will be a move to attempt this with at least some relays of the original Shadows shows.
G.
-
There already was an attempt to "improve" DS - though not to the point of CGI being substituted. But back when DS was running on the Sci-Fi Channel things were edited out, things were edited in, and completely different music cues were sometimes substituted. Let's just hope it never even comes to that on DVD and/or whatever other medium comes down the road...
-
Just curious, did they mention whether with Star Trek, in the case of the original series, will it be the unedited episodes, or the ones where they replaced the lovely old paintings, models and maquettes with tacky new CGI effects? (My apologies to those who think of the shift to CGI on vintage classic TV shows is an "upgrade." The thought of it makes me want to vomit.)
I'm not sure if the original Trek episodes are edited or unedited. I have only watched select episodes from TNG thus far.
And I agree with your point that "it's the way of the world" for everything to go streaming eventually. After all, these companies need to find new and inventive ways to make money off of us where entertainment media is concerned. With more and more people watching things online, you've seen companies like Hulu and other beings created. Initially they're free, but then after people become used to using their services they begin to charge. Hulu really irritated me because they originally offered certain shows currently airing on television for free, meaning you could view them anytime at your leisure for no cost. But now they've changed it so that some episodes are free but others you must sign up for their "Hulu Plus" program in order to view, which means paying a monthly access fee. And, of course, the episodes they reserve for this service are often the best, where all the plot points finally come together and something important happens.
Hopefully as the popularity and interest of Dark Shadows undoubtedly grows as the movie nears release, Netflix will make the decision to offer the original series in its entirety through streaming or DVD service.
-
I have all of the Dark Shadows DVDs but I find streaming the show to be a good way to watch what it and save my disc from wear.
You must have a peculiar DVD player, Borgosi, if you're worried about wearing out your DVDs. The only thing that DVD players touch during playback is the hub (the center circle, right around the hole). The laser beam that reads the data off the disc has no wear effect at all.
-
There is also an article, I think posted here that people are watching DS, streaming and using alot of bandwith.
Streaming does give you instant gratification.
-
I have a question on the Streaming Dark Shadows Videos on Netflix.
Are the dvd extras (bonus interviews) streamed also? I have watched Dark Shadows streaming videos but have not found episodes that contain bonus interviews. [ghost_smiley] [ghost_wink] If the bonus interviews are streaming how do I locate them?
Thanks
-
KMR - I was talking more about wear in terms of the liner notes and post cards than the disc themselves.
-
I probably won't indulge in 'streaming' to my PC with a 20" screen as opposed to watching the dvd/vhs episodes on my 32" HDTV screen. The choice is pretty clear. Right away I noticed that the dvd's were lacking. They didn't include all of the gaffs, miscues, etc that the vhs tapes have. So...I am fortunate enough to have the complete set of vhs. I gave up the expense of collecting the complete dvd set and only have 12 or so volumes. I'll probably kick myself down the road when I can no longer get a vcr player. Now, we all probably have to think about completing Blue-ray sets at some future time. [ghost_mad]
-
Not being a memberof Netflix, I'm not sure how this plays into the whole situation, but here's another development in the saga: Qwikster, Netflix spawn, continues DVD delivery; Company CEO apologizes, keeps price same (http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/2011/09/qwikster-netflix-spawn-to-continue-dvd-delivery-company-ceo-sort-of-apologizes-keeps-price-same.html)
-
Dear lori,
I messed up. I owe you an explanation.
It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. Let me explain what we are doing.
For the past five years, my greatest fear at Netflix has been that we wouldn't make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us). So we moved quickly into streaming, but I should have personally given you a full explanation of why we are splitting the services and thereby increasing prices. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would have been the right thing to do.
So here is what we are doing and why.
Many members love our DVD service, as I do, because nearly every movie ever made is published on DVD. DVD is a great option for those who want the huge and comprehensive selection of movies.
I also love our streaming service because it is integrated into my TV, and I can watch anytime I want. The benefits of our streaming service are really quite different from the benefits of DVD by mail. We need to focus on rapid improvement as streaming technology and the market evolves, without maintaining compatibility with our DVD by mail service.
So we realized that streaming and DVD by mail are really becoming two different businesses, with very different cost structures, that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently.
It’s hard to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary: In a few weeks, we will rename our DVD by mail service to “Qwikster”. We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery. We will keep the name “Netflix” for streaming.
Qwikster will be the same website and DVD service that everyone is used to. It is just a new name, and DVD members will go to qwikster.com to access their DVD queues and choose movies. One improvement we will make at launch is to add a video games upgrade option, similar to our upgrade option for Blu-ray, for those who want to rent Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Members have been asking for video games for many years, but now that DVD by mail has its own team, we are finally getting it done. Other improvements will follow. A negative of the renaming and separation is that the Qwikster.com and Netflix.com websites will not be integrated.
There are no pricing changes (we’re done with that!). If you subscribe to both services you will have two entries on your credit card statement, one for Qwikster and one for Netflix. The total will be the same as your current charges. We will let you know in a few weeks when the Qwikster.com website is up and ready.
For me the Netflix red envelope has always been a source of joy. The new envelope is still that lovely red, but now it will have a Qwikster logo. I know that logo will grow on me over time, but still, it is hard. I imagine it will be similar for many of you.
I want to acknowledge and thank you for sticking with us, and to apologize again to those members, both current and former, who felt we treated them thoughtlessly.
Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words. But words help people to understand actions.
Respectfully yours,
-Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and CEO, Netflix
p.s. I have a slightly longer explanation along with a video posted on our blog, where you can also post comments.
http://blog.netflix.com/2011/09/explanation-and-some-reflections.html?lnktrk=EMP&g=66963AA5827B70FEA9BF7C615FC83FEA0AC0315E&lkid=netflixBlog
-
How often can one business shoot themselves in the foot and still remain on top? [hall2_rolleyes]
Netflix does away with Qwikster in wake of unhappy customers (http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/2011/10/netflix-does-away-with-qwikster-in-wake-of-unhappy-customers.html)
-
They still offer great services which is why I think most will forgive the transgressions. I can forgive it and still plan on using their services.
How often can one business shoot themselves in the foot and still remain on top? [hall2_rolleyes]
-
There have been several articles, including one in last week's Entertainment Weekly, that said Netflix lost a ton of customers, far more than they were expecting, after they announced they'd be introducing the Qwikster Web site, which is no doubt one of the reasons why that idea is now dead. That and the fact that their stock took a nearly 50% tumble. So it will certainly be interesting to see if a lot of those people come back now or if they've already switched to the other competing rental/streaming services.
-
How often can one business shoot themselves in the foot and still remain on top? [hall2_rolleyes]
Looks like they need a lot of help with market research, and find out what customers want before they do something. What they've been doing is to make a (not very well thought out) change, then find out if it's what the customers want. Dumb, dumb, dumb!
-
I too have had to send DS discs back more than any other DVDs I have every had. I counted that I had to send back ten from the ones I rented!!!
-
Hmmm - what is this about?
DrApokalypse Justin
NOOOOOOO, why are you taking away #DarkShadows, #netflix?? I still have over 100 episodes to watch! :(
9 hours ago
Or is he mistaken?
-
I read yesterday that Netflix admitted to losing 800,000 subscribers. Months ago read an article that Netflix knew they would lose some subscribers but in the name of good business that was the risk they were willing to take. [hall_shocked]
-
Yes, I heard that, and on the radio this morning they were saying the share prices have just plummeted. I am still a customer, for now, but I don't feel the allegiance that I used to for them. I used to really love their service and their support the few times I had a lost or damaged disc. But they've really made some boneheaded mistakes, and have done terrible PR, in my opinion. I wouldn't have minded a modest price increase, but not to offer a discount for bundling both DVD and streaming services was a mistake. Trying to separate them into 2 different services with different names was even worse. Then, the curt e-mail I got from them saying they would keep everything as Netflix seemed almost rude- they really should be giving assurances and telling us customers that we are valued, instead of sounding like children that are pouting after being punished. Yesterday, I noticed that the option to "play" several of the selections on my queue had returned, and it got me very nervous, because I had dropped instant viewing, and I was afraid they had changed my subscription (and started charging me the higher price, of course). They had not- I am still getting DVDs only, but I feel that the "play" option is dishonest because I'm sure that if I click that, they will start charging me extra. The whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
If they are now getting rid of DS, too, that would be awful- just at a time when new fans who are just discovering the show would be interested in watching. I hope it's not true.
-
I'm not promoting Blockbuster but apparently they still exist even after a bankruptcy of sorts. Has anyone checked to see if the Dark Shadows vids are there? When I went into their store many years ago, they carried about 20 volumes of DS on VHS. Fortunately, I have every single video produced about DS. Between myself and other family members, were covered. I used to belong to Blockbuster but when I would order a series, they were constantly sending them to me out of order and finally out of frustration, I dropped them. I've had good luck ordering from my local library. The only thing is, there is usally a wait to get what I want. [hall_smiley]
-
Just this week, I've seen ads for Dish (which I have) and Blockbuster. I think you can get videos on demand (via your TV or you computer). They mention the increase from Nexflix and I believe, for $10/month, this Dish/Blockbuster combo is 'supposed' to be comparable.
Has anyone else heard of it, or does anyone currently have it?
Thanks
Patti
[bonny_hand]
-
Well, I just went to Dish to check it out.
I couldn't understand if the $10/month is
a) only for new customers
b) locks you into a 24-month contract
c) you would need a modem/high speed (but, we have 2 convertible boxes; does that mean I'd need 2 modems? And my modem is in my bedroom, where I DON'T have one of the convertible boxes).
aaahhhh....
Patti
-
I have Dish and it's only going to cost us ten dollars extra a month for streaming and movies in the mail. So I am pretty sure I am dropping netflix. Streaming is just a dream to me.....aww.....
Plus Blockbuster does get new releases sooner!