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article last updated on
11.24.2010
Overview: What is it?
Netflix offers:
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DVD & Blu-ray Disc movie rentals through the mail
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Instant streaming movies and TV programs to your
computer or Netflix-enabled devices
such as a Blu-ray Disc player, video gaming console, or a set
top device
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Pros:
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Movies arrive fast, typically in one day.
No need to drive to and from your local video rental store
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Keep the movies for as long as you like -
never any late fees
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Excellent streaming quality: some movies
available in high definition
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"Unlimited" plans allows unlimited streaming
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Excellent user interface to load up and
prioritize your Netflix rental queue
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Cons:
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Cannot browse movies by strolling
the aisles of your local video rental store
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Limited TV programming and movie content
available for video streaming. Not all titles are
available for streaming.
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Nit: First discs did not get
mailed out until day #2 of our free trial period
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How It Works Step 1: Sign
up for the
free one-month trial period. Step 2: Then load up your Netflix
rental
queue. This enables Netflix to send your next DVD rental when they
receive your returned DVD. The user interface is simple to
navigate. You can search for specific titles or browse by
genre. You can also rate movies that you have seen, and
Netflix will automatically suggest movies that you may enjoy, based
on your viewing preferences.
Rate movies that you have seen (click
to enlarge)
Step 3: After you load up your queue, you can re-order your selections by simply dragging and dropping the
the movie in the order that you want:
Netflix rental queue (click
to enlarge) Step 4: Netflix sends
your selections, based on your queue and what is currently available
at their regional mailing center. It arrives promptly in about
a day in a red envelope.
Netflix rentals arrive in a
red envelope
(click
to enlarge) Tear off the left edge to
access the DVD or Blu-ray disc. Tear off the address flap and
discard. This leaves the pre-paid postage return envelope.
An opened envelope revealing
the movie title and a postage-paid return envelope
(click
to enlarge)
Blu-ray movie and protective
sleeve (click
to enlarge) Step 5: When you done
viewing the movie, simply put the disc back into its labeled
protective sleeve, and insert into the pre-paid postage return
envelope and drop it in any outgoing mail slot. What could be
more convenient? No trips to the local video rental store!
The process begins again with Step 2.
Return the Netflix rental disc
into its protective sleeve,
then insert into the pre-paid postage return envelope
(click
to enlarge)
Our First-Hand Account of the Free
Trial Period We wanted to see how fast the Netflix rental service and theoretically how many movies you can
cycle through during this period. Here is our first hand account of
the Netflix free trial period:
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Monday, August 2: We signed up for Netflix free
trial. Though we signed up right around noon local time,
we were slightly disappointed to see that the first titles were
not send out until a day later.
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Tuesday, August 3: Netflix sent the first
three Blu-ray movies (titles #1, #2, and #3)
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Wednesday, August 4: we received the first
three Blu-ray movies (titles #1, #2, and #3)
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Thursday, August 5: we sent back titles #1 and
#2.
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Friday, August 6: we sent back title #3
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Saturday, August 7: we received titles #4 and
#5
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Monday, August 9: we send back titles #4 and
#5, and received title #6
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Tuesday, August 10: we sent back title #6
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Wednesday, August 11: we receive titles #7 and
#8
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Thursday, August 12: we received title #9;
we sent back titles #7 & #8
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Friday, August 13: we sent back title #9
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Saturday, August 14: we
received title #10 and #11. We cancelled the free
trial period, terminating our free trial period. No charge, no
fuss. We have a week to send back the titles.
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Thursday, August 19: we
sent back titles #10 & #11.
During the two-week trial period, we were able to
get 11 rentals. Netflix was able to send and receive Blu-ray
discs from us with only a single day turn-around. As advertised,
they sent out the next available movie in our queue, on the same day
that they received a returned movie. Netflix sent an e-mail confirm
each title as it is sent out, with a projected receive date.
When you send it back, they confirm with an e-mail when the title
received. Surely, 11 titles were a lot of movies to watch during a
two-week period. You must have a lot of "time to DVD" to turn around
these rentals this quickly. But we were able to confirm the
speed and efficiency of the Netflix service. We believe
most movie buffs would be very pleased with the speed and efficiency
in which Netflix ships DVDs.
If you wish to continue using Netflix after the
free trial period, you just need to select a
price plan before the end of
the free trial, as Netflix will continue your service into the
subscription period based on the selected package. You can
only change plans for the subsequent subscription month.
If you find that Netflix was not for you or if you
do not want to start the paid subscription service right away,
simply cancel your account prior to the last day of the trial
period. It was easy.
There was no fuss. You have about a week to return any
outstanding movies back to Neflix.
When are Movies are Available to Rent from
Netflix? Only a few studios allow Netflix to
offer DVD and Blu-ray Disc rentals on the same day/date for
purchase:
To maximize their sale potential to consumers
buying DVDs and Blu-ray Discs, most studios restrict Netflix from
renting DVDs and Blu-ray Discs of newly released movies until 28
days after the release date. These include:
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Twentieth Century Fox: DVD and Blu-ray
Disc titles are available for Netflix
rentals after 28-day period after release for purchase. This includes
movies such as Avatar.
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Universal Studios: DVD and Blu-ray Disc
titles are available for Netflix
rentals after 28-day period after release for purchase. This includes
movies such as It's Complicated.
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Warner Brothers: DVD and Blu-ray Disc
titles are available for Netflix rentals
after 28-day period after release for purchase. This includes movies
such as Sherlock Holmes.
What's in it for Netflix? They get the
rental DVDs and Blu-ray Discs at discounted prices. What's in
it for consumers? For Netflix members, while it delays the
enjoyment of newly released titles, it does keep our Netflix
membership subscription lower than otherwise. For buyers of
the newly released titles, it gives them a little exclusivity for
about a month. So everyone should be happy, right?
Tips to Maximize Your Netflix Trial
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Netflix offers three basic packages at the start
of your trial: 1, 2, or 3 DVDs out at-a-time. Start your
free trial with the 3 DVDs out-at-a time package, to get the
most DVD and Blu-ray Disc rentals out of the the free trial period. You can always
change the Netflix Pricing
Plan before your trial period ends. Suggest you change this during day #12 or #13
of the trial period. A word of caution: Netflix access
each month's subscription charge at the beginning of the month.
Once the month of subscription begins, you cannot change the
current month's plan. You can only change the
Netflix Pricing Plan prior
to the start of the next month's subscription service.
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Blu-ray rentals are also free during this trial
period. Do activate this option, if you have a Blu-ray
player. It will cost a
few extra dollars after the free trial period to keep the
Blu-ray option as part of each
Netflix Pricing Plan. See the different
Pricing Plan.
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Always keep your queue loaded with at least a
dozen titles, to ensure that new movies arrive.
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Sign up by Wednesday morning if you want to
enjoy your first rentals by the weekend: The first discs did not get mailed out until day
#2 of our free trial period. So start the free trial by
Wednesday if you want to receive the first set of movies by
Friday to enjoy over the weekend.
Netflix streaming Finally,
as great as the mail service rental service that Netflix provides,
Netflix tops it off with its
instant streaming of 20,000
movies and TV show through the
internet. You can view the streaming content on your computer
or any Netflix-enabled device.
Read more about the streaming
service. On November 22, 2010, Netflix rolled out a
streaming only "unlimited plan" for only $7.99/mo.
Ready to Give Netflix a Try?
Sign up here for a
free one-month trial.
Tell a friend about this site:
send a link to this
page or this
site to a friend.
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