Netflix ending DVD service in September

[Limewater]

We've had an active membership since 2005. I know a lot of people dropped to streaming only over the years, but I've always appreciated the deeper library access that the DVD subscription offered.

[Ziggy]

I just saw the email. I've been a DVD-by-mail member since before they offered streaming. I'm super sad to see this service go away. A sign of the times, I suppose. But I relied on it heavily over the years. If something wasn't offered on a streaming service, at least I could rent the DVD from NetFlix. Now I don't know what I'll do!

[Limewater]

In a sense, Netflix was the only streaming service we needed because if it wasn't available to stream there, we could probably get it on DVD by mail. I had noticed the list of "unavailable" titles on my queue growing over the years. I guess a lot of potentially hard-to-find discs were lost, stolen, or broken.

I am wondering if Netflix is doing this because they consider themselves a studio now. Studios were never crazy about video rental and want to maintain tight control of their product.

[Ack]

There is also the cost. Acquisitions, warehouses, staff for distribution, likely in multiple places across the US...they probably had been planning for a few years to sunset the service as the return on investment had been dwindling. The pandemic may have actually kept the service going a few more years, but it was inevitable it would end.

[marurun]

Netflix was always in competition with public libraries, which still collect some physical media. Netflix had a lot more, but as things fall out of print broad library consortia may actually be getting better at this compared to Netflix. Certainly more affordable for the general public.

[Jagosaurus]

Man... I was a Netflix DVD customer in 2007 when Blockbuster was still in full force.

I'm trying to remember... think they just threw in streaming back then when it launched or it was couple bucks extra. I blew minds streaming Prison Break & Veronica Mars on Wii back around 2007/08 required a Netflix disc in the Wii.

I did eventually drop the DVD service around 2014 & stuck to streaming.

Fortunately... a ton of DVDs are 5 bucks shipped on ebay.

[Limewater]

Originally streaming was just thrown in for free, but you were limited on the number of hours you could stream per month based upon the price of your plan. If you were on the $8.99 single disc plan (I think it was $8.99 at the time) you could stream 9 hours.

The streaming quality at the time was pretty low.

The first movie we ever streamed was Anaconda.

[Jagosaurus]

Nice yeah, I remember the combo plan being cheap compared to Blockbuster.

The selection was super rough originally streaming. I recall watching a lot of B ... okay C ... horror with my college roommates.

[opa]

I remember enjoying the dvd service quite a bit. We were stuck with slow internet (not fast enough to stream) and the 2 or 3 discs you got at a time were a godsend.

[Ziggy]

I first got NetFlix when I couldn't find a movie to rent locally. I was watching through the Halloween series, and I wasn't able to find 4 and 5 anywhere locally. And that's how I ended up signing up for NetFlix, because they had those movies. Then I decided to keep it, and never canceled it. I think I had a 3-at-a-time plan before, but I've had the 2-at-a-time plan for the longest while now. In fact, I've been grandfathered into an old price for the 2 disc plan. At one point, I signed up for BD by mail, but it was too expensive IMO. But I've rented hundreds of DVDs from NetFlix over the years. I'm really sad to see the service go away.

I love those little red envelopes. They will occasionally do different themes. Like horror in October, which includes horror themed stuff inside like a crossword puzzle or adlibs. Sure, occasionally you get a busted disc. But in my experience, it was more of a rare occasion.

I bet most people don't know this, but there's a NetFlix DVD phone app. It's been on my home screen for years. If someone is talking about a movie that sounds interesting, I pull out my phone and add it to my NetFlix queue right there on the spot.

When I first signed up, they just seemed to have EVERYTHING. Even really obscure movies, they had it. Someone already mentioned this, but I've been seeing more and more titles appear on the "unavailable" list. That and, "short wait" and "long wait" became more common. And on top of that, I swear there use to be a closer NetFlix shipping facility to me. If I mailed a DVD back, they'd get it on the next mail day. Now it can take a few days to get to the closest facility, which is in Jersey. It was even worse during the pandemic when the mail was incredibly slow. My local library does have a decent movie section, but nothing will beat the convenience of mailing them back and forth. Also, coming home from work to find a red envelope in the mail box was always a treat.

I will miss the service, but I'm also saddened by what this ultimately means. DVDs are going the way of the dodo.

Originally streaming was just thrown in for free, but you were limited on the number of hours you could stream per month based upon the price of your plan. If you were on the $8.99 single disc plan (I think it was $8.99 at the time) you could stream 9 hours.

The streaming quality at the time was pretty low.

The first movie we ever streamed was Anaconda.

YES! I remember when they first implemented streaming. The first thing I streamed was Law and Order: Criminal Intent. However many dollars you paid a month was how many hours of streaming you got LOL. Like, remember when cell phone plans didn't include unlimited minutes or texts? Hour long TV shows are more like 42 minutes without commercials. I can remember counting how many hours I was streaming to know how many I had left. At one point, I didn't have enough to finish an episode. But it turns out it didn't cut off service in the middle of streaming something, so that was nice. IIRC, they switched it a couple of times before going to unlimited streaming. And then separate streaming and DVD plans.

When NetFlix started streaming, I didn't have any smart devices to stream with (mostly because they didn't exist). Not long after they launched streaming, you could order disc from them that allowed you to stream on a Wii, PS3 or Xbox 360. I still have the Wii and PS3 disc. But the first way I streamed was from my PC, since it was already hooked up to my TV. But that meant no remote, I'd have to get up and use the mouse at my desk if I wanted to pause or rewind or something.