Netflix Comes to Canada

[Vampyr]

How does this Shaw on Demand work, anyway? Is it a la carte, as in you pay for each thing you want to stream? I mean, almost every cable and satellite company here has on demand as well, but it's at least 3 dollars for each thing you want to stream, and you only have it for 24 hours after you start watching it.

So that's only cheaper for the first two things you get on demand, and even then not really since you only get it for 24 hours.

I'm not really the fanboy type, but I am definitely a fanboy of Netflix. It's one of the best companies I've ever seen. Everything is reasonably priced, and they have the best customer service in the world. I remember once a while back their streaming service went down for a couple of hours one night, and they refunded all of their customers like 70 cents, or however much it equated to out of your subscription fee, whether you had actually tried to stream something then or not.

In addition there are other smaller perks - their recommendation algorithm is crazy good, they had some sort of contest with a million dollar prize to whoever could create the best algorithm for recommending movies that a person may like.

[BreakABone]

Originally Posted by Vampyr

How does this Shaw on Demand work, anyway? Is it a la carte, as in you pay for each thing you want to stream? I mean, almost every cable and satellite company here has on demand as well, but it's at least 3 dollars for each thing you want to stream, and you only have it for 24 hours after you start watching it.

So that's only cheaper for the first two things you get on demand, and even then not really since you only get it for 24 hours.

I'm not really the fanboy type, but I am definitely a fanboy of Netflix. It's one of the best companies I've ever seen. Everything is reasonably priced, and they have the best customer service in the world. I remember once a while back their streaming service went down for a couple of hours one night, and they refunded all of their customers like 70 cents, or however much it equated to out of your subscription fee, whether you had actually tried to stream something then or not.

In addition there are other smaller perks - their recommendation algorithm is crazy good, they had some sort of contest with a million dollar prize to whoever could create the best algorithm for recommending movies that a person may like.

They are also extremely reasonable when it comes to the physical side as well. I've had times when discs never arrived. Just tell em, and its out the door the same day.

And doesn't hurt that you can access streaming on pretty much any device you own now, since I have it on my Wii, 360 and Ps3 and if ever wanted could put on laptop/desktop for one tiny price a month

[Vampyr]

Yeah, I received a disc a while back that was broken in half. I reported it online, shipped it out the next day, and they went ahead and shipped a new copy before they had received the broken one.

[Typhoid]

How does this Shaw on Demand work, anyway? Is it a la carte, as in you pay for each thing you want to stream?

In a sense.
Prices vary depending on what it is you're renting. The cost goes straight to your next bill, and I think you have it for longer than 24 hours, but I'm not 100% on that.

It's about 5 or 6 bucks for each new movie, and occasionally [I have no idea what it depends on] there's a list of a handful of free movies to watch.

[Vampyr]

Well, Netflix in Canada is apparently 7.99 a month...so that's a pretty good deal compared to 5-6 dollars a movie.

[Typhoid]

The thing is though, is that SoD rentals are in high-def quality, and Netflix formats and streams in a lower quality to begin with, further hampered by the users internet connection. [Thanks, Wikipedia.]

It's not like that matters a huge deal, unless you watch movies on a huge TV and would kill and die for the best quality.

[BreakABone]

Originally Posted by Typhoid

The thing is though, is that SoD rentals are in high-def quality, and Netflix formats and streams in a lower quality to begin with, further hampered by the users internet connection. [Thanks, Wikipedia.]

It's not like that matters a huge deal, unless you watch movies on a huge TV and would kill and die for the best quality.

Yeah the quality is uneven.

There's like
TV quality, which is extremely crappy on HDTV, but what can you do? Happens to older movies and TV shows.

Then there's normal quality, which looks like a DVD or whatever on the screen.

Then there's HD, which isn't as good as blu ray but looks better than an upscale DVD.

[Vampyr]

I have an HDTV and I've never noticed things looking bad. I even stream stuff wirelessly.

And some things are presented in HD.

If I was paying $6 for everything I streamed, I would be spending about ~$150 a month. I don't think that's a "Netflix killer" by any means, very few people are going to opt for a $150 option over an $8 option because of a minor difference in quality.

edit: Yeah, you can't complain about poor quality on old stuff, that's just how it is.