Netflix Alternatives: Beating The Recent Netflix Price Hike

From G4TV.com: "I’ll be cancelling my Netflix subscription today, essentially sending a Dear John letter to Netflix along with my my final disc-by-mail...But it’s not just the 50% price hike that is compelling me to tell Netflix to take a hike - it’s the fact that there are several new alternatives to Netflix that didn’t exist when I subscribed at the start of the Xbox 360’s streaming program. Some options are cheaper, while others are more convenient, so it’s important to carefully chose the best Netflix substitute based on your viewing habits."

[fluffydelusions]

The streaming service is $8 which is all I care about. I haven't seen a viable alternative tbh.

[Pixel_Pusher]

Netflix Relief Fund with Jason Alexander

http://www.funnyordie.com/v...

[EYEamNUMBER1]

if ANYONE is satisfied with that crappy streaming selection netflix has to offer then they have some sort of malfunction

seriously i cancelled my subscription because i got tired of seeing DVD ONLY an option which they took away
i don't mind price hikes at all when im getting something for em though

[just_looken]

@EYEamNUMBER1

another yank fyi in the world you know those other pieces of land they have just got services like netflx and in Canada netflix is the best stream service around as far as price/content ratio.

[Saladfax]

Selection isn't super amazing, but I've never found myself without something to watch. I like their TV and anime selection. Lots of good stuff.

[EYEamNUMBER1]

@just_looken

what the heck does that have to do with anything i said?

[roguewarrior]

"Screw it, I'll just use BitTorrent" Funny and true.

[Canvas Of Flesh]

That's hilarious. Jason Alexander is great and that video perfectly sums up the debate and casts a light on these people's massive sense of entitlement.

[SwiderMan]

The Streaming selection has been lacking. I feel like I've went through every major release and new ones slowly trickle in. I WANT the disc for that reason, but it's no longer worth $18 (with Blu-ray).

[Cpt_kitten]

yeah it has been, ive gotten in the habit of finding all the low budget films those are hilarious to watch, and occasionally there is a really good one hidden in there

i think they should focus more on the instant streaming even if new releases aren't day one they should at least be on there after a month or so no reason why they can't get the rights

[TBM]

i canceled the disk portion of my service streaming for 8 bucks is more than perfect for me. i find myself viewing a lot of foreign films because more times than not they are more entertaining than the movies over here.

[shinrock]

there is ur problem. you only look for MAJOR releases.as a movie buff i have found some real gems on netflix streaming.i not a TV guy> too much reality shows, or show all having the same template.i like stuff like game of thrones and tudors and true blood and such,but thats why i have cable. with this price hike i assume that more content will come as Netflix themsleves have to pay to get the content to you.last i heard they were paying $100,000 per episode.thats not cheap!

[sinclaircrown]

"new releases aren't day one they should at least be on there after a month or so no reason why they can't get the rights"

No reason they can't get the rights huh? Explain please.

I would really love to hear how easy it is for Netflix to make that happen. People have gotten so ignorant and think everything should be handed to them these days. Pretty sad.

[RioKing]

LOL, at the bottom of the article it says about the author "Matt Swider has been writing about video games for 12 years and received his degree is journalism from Pennsylvania State University."

Degree is journalism, lol...what a noob.

[Chocoboh]

at least he has a job amirite?

[a_squirrel]

LOL @above
+bubs

[RioKing]

Oh yeah I forgot, being in the Army Reserve for 4 years already and having a full-time electrician job where I work almost 50 hours a week doesn't qualified as me being employed right.

Lol, but nice try dumbass.

[AAACE5]

I'll just stick with the streaming. I don't care much for the disc anyway.

I do keep debating on if I want hulu plus or not. But when I did the trial, it didn't interest me much. And I probably used it about 4 hours total for the entire 1 week trial period! And most of that was used to find the shows I wanted to watch.

[a_squirrel]

Same here

[shinrock]

dido

[Canvas Of Flesh]

I agree. I managed to find a couple British shows like "Black Books" that I had been wanting to see, but there wasn't enough to keep me interested after the free trial ended. And the commercials were kind of crappy. I understand that they need the commercials and I'm willing to accept them, but they always use the same 1 or 2 commercials.

[subtenko]

We as consumers need to let Netflix know they must do everything they can do keep us happy or we'll make them go the way of BLOCKBUSTER! (a company that lacked in sales because of another companys popularity)

Comeon yall, we need a plan D:

Agree or Disagree if you Agree

[FamilyGuy]

http://www.megashares.com/s...
+
rlslog.net

free = 550mb per 1-2hour
or
$35 for 6 months = unlimited everything, solid file sizes up to 14Gbs.

By "unlimited everything" I mean, I share my account with my younger bro in Arizona, I'm in California. Our current usage:

links left: Unlimited
Period Ends: Oct 31, 2011
Active Downloads: 10.07 GB
BW Used: 465.98 GB/unlimited

That's 466Gbs in 3 months so far.

[50Terabytespersec]

Good point netflix is great!! for occasional Streaming,Amazing Documentaries!!!!!
Id rather go to Movies theaters for Movies, 4k digital or Imax ! can't go wrong.., Streamed movies at home at low bit rates is not my thing blocky video is not immersion and distracting IMHO.
Also about RedBOx, if your at red box everyday your and idiot. Get off your lazy arse and go get a life. And by the way yes all this does hurt the economy cause it takes away B and M stores !!!
For fat lazy people to watch 1000 plus shows a week..get reality check ...

[Godmars290]

The sad thing from the business side of things I'm hearing that Netflix started out with the typical non-viable model of most .coms. That they really don't have any other choice but to raise their prices especially now that they've made the trend popular, the content owners are not only asking for more money but making their own similar services.

And none of this changes the fact that at one point the PS3's browser could view Blip.TV and Dailymotion just like it could once view Hulu.

[Drekken]

Oh boohoo for netflix. They were doing fine, got 25million customers and they can afford to pay a little more for the rights.

60% hike on something overnight is BS regardless of what it is.

[frostypants]

Oh boohoo for yourself...Netflix is a business and is in it for the money.

Go find a cheaper option with the same service. There isn't one.

[gamingdroid]

If you compare Netflix to Hulu Plus, Netflix are still offering more content with no advertisment for the same price. You also get access simultaneously on multiple devices.

Nobody is still delivering what Netflix does for less, so it sounds to me more like Netflix was under priced!

Heck, I can't even get basic (read cr@ppy) cable TV from Comcast for $10 a month and they charge me an installation fee!

[beast242tru]

if i could of used netflix in bahamas i would pay for it no complaints

[frostypants]

Even with the price hike Netflix gives far more for the money than any viable alternative. People quitting just to prove a point are being foolish.

Music subscription services charge about $15/month. And that's just music. People think that's too much for a service that lets a person rent DVDs as fast as the mail service will allow plus have unlimited streaming access? REALLY?

Talk about spoiled.

Meanwhile, it costs more than that to rent 3 or 4 movies from Live or PSN marketplaces. LOL

@Disagree: Disagreeing without explanation is nothing more than acknowledgement that you hate that I'm right.

[Saryk]

Horse shit! One day I am paying $8 a month, then the next I am paying $15.99. No asking, no discussion, just in your face here you go charged my bank account. If those music sites went from $14.99 a month to $25 or $30, tons of people would quit in a heart beat!

Anyway, dropped them like a bad turd, won't go back.

[moneygun2]

That's funny, I read the price increase starts September 1rst, facts are in style this season. (Charged my bank account without asking?) Maybe you could focus on getting unlimited streaming of over 20,000 movies for $8 a month. Or, you could could continue to pout like some elitist crybaby. It's your money do with it as you please but false claims and attempting to downplay a company who clearly give some great value doesn't solve, or help much.

[maniacmayhem]

They sent me an email waaay before sept.1 and warned me about the price hike.

I went right to Netflix and switched over to streaming only.

I've never heard of anyone getting charged before hand and not getting an email beforehand.

I smell shenanigans in your post Saryk.

[Saryk]

scroll below!

[lochdoun]

It's still $8 a month. The price hike is only if you want the DVDs too. Most people stream anyway so I don't see what the big deal is. Do you really want Hulu with their huge selection of 15 shows??? lol

[vickers500]

Hulu is 10x better for new TV shows/episodes. I can get about 65-70% of the new stuff I want to watch from Hulu. With Netflix, I can only watch stuff that I've already seen. And don't get me started on the absolutely horribly atrocious movie selection on Netflix streaming (where like 85% of the movies you see on there are movies you would find at a truckstop 3 dollar dvd rack).

Netflix is okay if you aren't that much of an avid tv watcher, but for someone like me who is, I get little use out of it in terms of new stuff to watch.

[Canvas Of Flesh]

I've never had any problem finding movies to watch. Of course I enjoy foreign films and films that aren't necessarily big-budget action movies. Their selection isn't all-encompassing but I've been able to see some great Korean films that are all but impossible to find in US.

[Knightofelemia]

I would keep Netflix but up here in Canada it sucks no HD streaming and some videos really show their age like watching VHS on a flat panel tv. I hate the fact I can't find some movies on their I can find Terminator 2 but can't find Terminator 1. Hell I can't even find Robocop on it just shows what looks like a DVD case and says its not avalible.

[silverdragon41]

You can stream in HD. You just have to change your account settings.

[Valk]

Just watched Robocop the other day. They are all on there as far as I can tell.

[onenut]

funny, when i badmouth a company i get bubbles removed
and it's ok for you numbnuts to badmouth anyone on the front page
lmao

[InTheLab]

The Blu Ray selection was terrible from the start and I honestly can't stand watching DVDs anymore.

I've pretty much always had the streaming option and will probably cancel once I'm done with all 300+ episodes of Star Trek TNG/Voyager and all 9,000 episodes of Law and Order CI/SVU..lol

side note for those of you planning to cancel...

They turn it off immediately even though they've already charged you for the month, so it's best to cancel close to your renew date....even if you have no intentions of watching anything. Hell, just to get my moneys worth the last time I canceled, I randomly had a show going while doing something else on my PC....because I'm petty like they are.

[Brownghost]

im getting hulu and blockbuster for the same price as the one dvd netflix plan its like netflix and gamefly combined

[cyclonus007]

Netflix just added the entire Spider-Man and X-Men series from the 90s on streaming.

I'm not going anywhere. Even with 1 Disc out at a time, it's cheaper than cable (which I also have).

[air1]

You ppl are fvcking morons justifying the price hike. This is exactly why everything gets a damn price hike, no one cares and just blindly continue to pay.

I am willing to bet that if netflix was to lose 10 percent of there customers they would lower that price back to what it was. Just look at nintendo with the 3ds.

95 percent of the streaming movies are garbage anyway. Its just so crazy how much power we have to send a message on things we don't like yet ppl just go with price hikes like they just love to give more money for no damn reason.

[Guitardr85]

I stopped reading when the author tried calling a price rise from $12 to $18 the same as going from $10 to $20 while in the same breath calling it a 60% increase. Bad journalism...

[Pikajew]

I cant use Netflix for where I live. I just stream shows on sites I find

[Saryk]

@moneygun2

I hate I can’t reply to your message.

Anyway the charge was for a DVD. Which was the same price that will be for streaming and dvds, who knew. I only looked at my bank account, not the Netflix account, so I ignore my previous message!

[BabyTownFrolics]

stop complaining, streaming is ok and the disc service + handbrake means you never have to buy a movie ever again.

[RyuCloudStrife]

or MOVIES

[air1]

Incase u didn't know, I'm not sure what you have, but the 360 ps3 and wii are fully capable of playing movies so it ties in with gaming.

[tawak]

i wish there is hulu is canada

[RJ2000]

This netflix price hike is just proof how no matter what you do... you CANNOT raise your prices. I mean does anyone realize how cheap it STILL is for what you are getting. $18 for probably up to 6 BluRays and unlimited streaming. I'm just wasting my time on this rant tho...

[danielle007]

I had netflix for the convenience of using it on my 360, and for getting DVDs here and there. Honestly, they really need to beef up their streaming library for me to keep paying for only streaming.

Maybe with all the extra $$ they'll get, they will.

[OMEGAXS1]

Gotta admit I was like wtf when I first saw the hike but meh, Im a movie freak so the hike really doesnt bother me. Ive seen a few good movies that i never would have without the streaming option.

Then theres movies that make you think damm...they prolly took out a loan to make this trash.

[Canvas Of Flesh]

I don't really have a problem with it. Of course, it doesn't affect me because I only have streaming, but even if I were getting DVD's it wouldn't bother me. I tried Hulu Plus but the movie selection wasn't very good and the few shows that I wanted to see I could just buy on DVD. Also, with Netflix streaming I almost never have less than 200 items in my Instant queue, so I'm not sure what everyone's talking about when it comes to not having a great selection. Then again I'm a huge fan of foreign films and it has a great selection. Not to mention that I don't really mind seeing TV shows a season or two too late. I don't have cable or anything so Netflix and local channels are all I watch and my monthy bill (including internet service) is only $60.

[swiftjustice]

I don't have a problem with the rate hike, I thought most people only streamed movies anyway. Haven't had any problems streaming movies in over 2 years. Although there are some great alternatives out there if you do prefer the disk. In my opinion though, the goal is to get rid of the disk like they did VHS tapes. Everything will soon be streaming, including our video games.

[GamerPS360]

I cancelled my Netflix service, totally. I don't like to create another activision. I was living fine before netflix and will do after as well :)

[STRAIGHTASL]

i cancelled my Netflix due to lack of closed captions or subtitles on steaming. Recently happened, NAD is going to sue Netflix for lack of closed caption or subtitles! Yes yes yes! Netflix will lose alot of millions and its all their fault! Hulu already had that technology for cc or subtitles, then why not Netflix? because they are so fat lazy and inexcusable! i cant wait to see Netflix get humiliated by NAD!