September 28, 2010
Oh snap. Netflix in the house.
If you haven’t heard the buzz, Netflix is a service that lets you watch as many movies and TV shows as you want for $7.99/month – that’s $7.99 CAD now that we have access to this American service.
In theory, the video on demand service sounds like a great deal – one that will likely change the way we rent and watch titles. But, already, Netflix has been criticized for its poor selection.
Here’s how it works once you’ve signed up:
- Browse 1000s of titles and add them to your rental queue. Netflix will send you one disc at a time, depending on the order you rank them and their availability. When you’re done with the disc, mail it back in the pre-paid envelope and wait for your next choice to arrive.
And…
- Watch movies/episodes instantly on your computer or by streaming them to your TV with your Wii, PS3, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch (Xbox 360 coming soon).
Sounds great, right? Well, I dare you to browse those 1000s of titles. Let me know what you find. Anything exciting? Probably not.
Netflix isn’t known for having many new releases to begin with; in fact, they signed agreements in the States to refrain from renting new releases for 28 days to give studios a chance to sell their stock.
In Canada, though, the selection of movies new and old is thinner than Nicole Richie. Nothing I searched for was available, including older shows like Gilmore Girls. They have three movies by Tarantino and only three movies with my favourite actor, Gary Oldman. What the heck, Netflix?
The U.S. site, on the other hand, has access to over 100,000 titles, including all seven Gilmore Girls series, more than 15 titles for Tarantino and more than 45 titles for Gary Oldman. Big difference.
That being said, you’re only going to be charged $7.99/month. Compare that to Blockbuster’s $4.99 rental price per new release, and Netflix actually sounds pretty good.
I say take a free 1 month trial, do a lot of content browsing and see if it’s worth it for you.
What do you think about Netflix coming to Canada? Does the low price warrant the slim selection?