Downgraded our Netflix plan
If you’re a Netflix subscriber, you probably got the notice that they’re increasing the cost of their 2-at-a-time plan from $13.99 to $14.99 per month.
Well, even though it’s only $12 more per year, this was a perfect time to re-evaluate our subscription. You see, with cable, (free) OnDemand and Redbox, we have tons of entertainment options to keep us busy. Therefore, we regularly have 2 movies sitting on our DVD player for weeks, although we do watch some streaming movies/TV series sometimes as well. But in short, we probably pay well over what we would pay if renting from the local Blockbuster for each movie/show.
Since we do still want to get a physical DVD in the mail, the next lowest subscription that still offered streaming movies was $9.99/mth. That’s saving $60 per year by reducing to a more cost-effective plan that enables us to still participate in an entertainment package that we enjoy. There are a couple cheaper plans, but they either don’t have streaming or they’re only streaming. We’re not ready for either of those yet.
I will also say that we have 2 Netflix-streaming devices: 1) Nintendo Wii, which you can download an app for free from the Wii Store and stream wirelessly and 2) a Panasonic Blu-ray DVD player with built-in Netflix streaming (via ethernet). And of course, we can hook up our laptop to our TV via HDMI or VGA cable to watch Netflix, Hulu, etc. But for the first 2 “Netflix appliances”, I prefer the Wii for the ability to browse categories (you can only view your queue in the DVD player) and it’s wireless, but you can only get as high as 480p on the Wii, while I can get full HD on the Blu-ray player.
Ok, enough nerdy talk. Now time for you all to go out and reassess your own Netflix subscriptions (if you have one).
We reassessed our own Netflix plan, coincidentally, 2 days before we got the notice. We considered the streaming only option, but opted for the 1 disc, unlimited streaming. The only thing that increases our membership is that we ask for BluRay discs, since we use our PS3 to watch the movies. I’m still pushing to become cable-free but I guess it’s going to take some more convincing to my fiance that he won’t die if he can’t watch every basketball game or Colin Cowherd in the morning.
I’m bummed my 1 DVD at a time is going up a dollar too!
My boyfriend and I have been cable free since we moved in together. We stream netflix with the PS3, don’t pay for the blue-ray discs since we still have an old tube TV. Just bummed out that my subscription is going up a dollar.
We use redbox (that is directly off of the road on the way home from work for me), and a close library at where I work at!
We don’t like to watch too many movies a month, since it cuts into other activities… but then again we have 2 kids…
I absolutely love streaming Netflix through the Wii, especially the old TV shows. We also reduced our plan to 1 a month. It has still given us plenty to watch. In fact, a few weeks ago I cut the cable on a trial basis. So far it’s not as hard as I thought…
We just got Netflix in Canada and I was on a free trial for my first month. I like it quite a lot but the selection we have is pretty small right now. I’m going to keep it for a few months and then decide if it’s worth it to continue the subscription. So far so good.
One thing my family and I noticed about a month before we received the price increase and new streaming only plan email was that they removed a lot of choices. We had a lot of comedians and other movies in our instant cue that are no longer available streaming. Funny how that works!
I too decided to downgrade when they hiked the prices. I had blu ray 1 DVD at a time + unlimited streaming plan. I removed the Blu Ray option. The only reason the 1 DVD at a time option seemed reasonable as compared to Redbox was that I always had the option to watch as many streaming movies as I wanted and when I wanted. Then last month, I decided to try removing the DVD option as well. To my surprise, it suddenly became so apparent that Netflix’s streaming option sucks. And it kind of sucks big time. You hardly find any of the popular movies in their streaming collection. That’s when I decided that Redbox was totally worth the money and the other than the documentaries that I miss, I don’t really care for the movies that were available for streaming on Netflix. A google search seems to be show me most of the movies I want to watch.