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When Netflix started up more than 10 years ago, its sales pitch was pretty simple: Hey, subscribe to us, and we'll mail you DVDs that you can then mail back to us without worrying about any late fees. But as the rental market moves toward online and on-demand models, Netflix's iconic red envelopes may eventually become as antiquated as VHS tapes. Beefing up their streaming business, Netflix has predicted that in about two years their economics will be geared more toward their "Watch Instantly" service than through physical discs. For that to happen, Netflix will have to nudge their DVD-loyal customers to the new platform. And on Monday, the company learned just how hard that may be.

In a seemingly innocent 109-word blog post, Netflix director of product management Jamie Odell announced, "We're removing the 'Add to DVD Queue' option from streaming devices," suggesting that it was being done so that the company "can concentrate on offering you the titles that are available to watch instantly." Granted, the Netflix website still allows DVD queue updating, but this post, dropped on the morning of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, created an immediate firestorm of comments -- most of them very, very angry.

"Clearly Netflix wants to send less discs through the mail, and therefore wants to make it more difficult for the user to add to their queue in furtherance of that," wrote "Eldendor." "Horrible idea!" wrote "usrbingeek." "Especially when there are still few titles available for streaming and the titles that you do have, seem to have very narrow license windows." On and on came the complaints, with most responders saying essentially (1) I like having access to DVDs even if I use a PS3 or mobile phone to stream movies on Netflix; and (2) there aren't enough good titles available on "Watch Instantly." "I think this is a totally foolish move on your part. I like to be able to add movies to my DVD queue from my iPhone," commented "b.dsign."  "f this means that netflix is going to add more movies to watch instantly i support the change," "Beto" wrote, "but if they are not, then it's just a bad idea."

As of yet Netflix hasn't released any response, which, really, is their response. Whether customers like or not, Netflix knows that the future is moving away from physical discs and toward instant access. And, really, none of us who use Netflix should be surprised: Back in November the company announced that they were offering a new lower subscription rate for streaming-only customers while increasing the rate for people who still wanted DVDs. Right now, if you want DVDs from Netflix, the company is less than thrilled with you: They need you to get used to the idea of streaming films and TV shows so that you'll drop the physical disc habit: a craving, ironically, that they themselves created thanks to the ease of their iconic red envelopes.

But while Netflix is slowly discouraging the continued interest in DVDs, they face a different challenge even if their business model transformation succeeds. As Slate reported, if Netflix's streaming business takes off the way they think it will, it could prove a serious drain on America's broadband capacity, which is far less nimble than other countries'. Netflix is angering customers right now because the company wants to do away with DVDs: We don't even want to think of a future where Netflix angers the entire Internet community because too many people are streaming old episodes of "Friends" at the same time.

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But while Netflix is slowly discouraging the continued interest in DVDs, they face a different challenge even if their business model transformation succeeds. As Slate reported, if Netflix's streaming business takes off the way they think it will, it could prove a serious drain on America's broadband capacity, which is far less nimble than other countries'.

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Learyfan said:
Anyone else in here pissed that Netflix is moving quickly toward completely abandoning the DVD format?  I love DVDs.  I don't have the ability to play movies on my TV, so why would I want to watch every movie on my computer.  I don't understand why they think everyone wants to watch movies like that, or on a PSP or whatever.  I'm hoping this backlash will change their minds

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wow I didn't even know they were planning on doing that. I do enjoy steaming movies on my TV, but I love the DVDs that they have.
98% of my DVD collection was from them

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DieCommie said:
I find the DVD format to be archaic.  I dont use netflix, but if I did I wouldnt care for getting DVDs.

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urbanwolf said:
Bingo, or shit internet won't be able to handle the capacity. Now maybe if we all lived in South Korea or something...but here that just doesn't make sense at all.

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I never considered that Netflix could actually slow down the whole internet.  That makes me even more angry. 

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kush420 said:
I love the DVDs that they have.
98% of my DVD collection was from them

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I'm not at 98% yet, but I'm working on it. 

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urbanwolf said:

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But while Netflix is slowly discouraging the continued interest in DVDs, they face a different challenge even if their business model transformation succeeds. As Slate reported, if Netflix's streaming business takes off the way they think it will, it could prove a serious drain on America's broadband capacity, which is far less nimble than other countries'.

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Bingo, or shit internet won't be able to handle the capacity. Now maybe if we all lived in South Korea or something...but here that just doesn't make sense at all.

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Learyfan said:

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urbanwolf said:
Bingo, or shit internet won't be able to handle the capacity. Now maybe if we all lived in South Korea or something...but here that just doesn't make sense at all.

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I never considered that Netflix could actually slow down the whole internet.  That makes me even more angry. 

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BothHands said:

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Learyfan said:

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urbanwolf said:
Bingo, or shit internet won't be able to handle the capacity. Now maybe if we all lived in South Korea or something...but here that just doesn't make sense at all.

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I never considered that Netflix could actually slow down the whole internet.  That makes me even more angry. 

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Seriously, wtf?!  Is the US really that far behind?  Far enough behind that one company streaming videos to people can slow down the entire internet?!  That's insane.

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Where are you getting the info that leads you to believe this would be the case?  I find it kinda hard to believe...

Do you use torrents?  If so I don't wanna hear your bitching

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CarnivalBarker said:
Maybe you should invest in a blu ray player Learyfan?

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BothHands said:
Seriously, wtf?!  Is the US really that far behind?  Far enough behind that one company streaming videos to people can slow down the entire internet?!  That's insane.

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I know, right?  Who knew we were that vulnerable. 

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BothHands said:
Seriously, wtf?!  Is the US really that far behind?  Far enough behind that one company streaming videos to people can slow down the entire internet?!  That's insane.

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RipVanWinkle said:
My TV has a hookup thats just like a hookup for a monitor, and I actually use my TV as a computer monitor anyways (I'm looking at my TV right now).  Granted its a semi-new (5 year old) flatscreen TV, but I'm pretty sure you can buy cords that let you plug a monitor cord into an AV input...

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RipVanWinkle said:
Do you use torrents?  If so I don't wanna hear your bitching

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Torrents download much quicker than the length of the movie.  So it's definitely not an equal strain on the internet. 

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RipVanWinkle said:

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BothHands said:

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Learyfan said:

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urbanwolf said:
Bingo, or shit internet won't be able to handle the capacity. Now maybe if we all lived in South Korea or something...but here that just doesn't make sense at all.

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I never considered that Netflix could actually slow down the whole internet.  That makes me even more angry. 

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Seriously, wtf?!  Is the US really that far behind?  Far enough behind that one company streaming videos to people can slow down the entire internet?!  That's insane.

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Where are you getting the info that leads you to believe this would be the case?  I find it kinda hard to believe...

Do you use torrents?  If so I don't wanna hear your bitching

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Well since you asked....

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RipVanWinkle said:
Where are you getting the info that leads you to believe this would be the case?  I find it kinda hard to believe...

Do you use torrents?  If so I don't wanna hear your bitching

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The quotes that I was replying to?  I don't know about the accuracy, but other people before me made the claims, I was just commenting on them.


And I did torrent a few discographies, but I haven't used torrents for months.  I already have enough stuff to do on the computer.  If I started watching movies on here, I'd never sleep.

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Learyfan said:

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RipVanWinkle said:
Do you use torrents?  If so I don't wanna hear your bitching

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Torrents download much quicker than the length of the movie.  So it's definitely not an equal strain on the internet.

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RipVanWinkle said:
Hmmm interesting, thank you.  Doesn't the density of population connected have to do with speed too though?  example, Japan and Korea being so much above everyone else?

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meams said:
LUCKILY i use netflix through my ps3.  otherwise, i'd agree

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Yeah, I don't have a PS3.  But like I said, I like to have the option to play the movie anywhere, so even if I did, I'd want a DVD. 

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Rocker232 said:
Watching DVDs is not only lame, time consuming and costly buts its archaic. I'm 100% for the netflix domination.

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Instant Streaming for the win.

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frith said:
the ISPs are scrambling to lay fiber from coast to coast.

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blewmeanie said:
I hear they won't even let you rent VHS either, what a buncha bastards.

We use netflix here, and I seriously still have a dvd from at least 2 months ago. Streaming is where it's at man, welcome to the future.

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They don't have Betamax either.

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plasma said:
DVD's are old school, like vhs tapes

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Learyfan said:

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CarnivalBarker said:
Maybe you should invest in a blu ray player Learyfan?

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I don't know anything about Blueray, honestly.  I always the last to jump on any new formats, etc.  I still don't have an mp3 player. 

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BothHands said:
Seriously, wtf?!  Is the US really that far behind?  Far enough behind that one company streaming videos to people can slow down the entire internet?!  That's insane.

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I know, right?  Who knew we were that vulnerable. 

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badchad said:

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plasma said:
DVD's are old school, like vhs tapes

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Blu-ray is not, and provides superior quality to streaming.

Until the quality is equivalent, people will still want blu-ray.  Whether or not they make up a large enough market share to keep it going is a different story...

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badchad said:
Admittedly, I'm not aware of the specific technical details, but I am fairly certain netflix does not stream in 1080p, and probably has differences in frame rates etc.

In addition, you also need to look at the audio formats, such as 5.1 and 7.1  Even if/when these are added, they are likely to use compression algorithms the will have subtle effects on quality.

Simply put, Blu-ray provides better image and audio quality than netflix streaming.  Period.

It's true that probably 99.9% of the population won't notice the difference.  Once my new theatre is in place, I will. I'll stick to the discs.

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badchad said:
Admittedly, I'm not aware of the specific technical details, but I am fairly certain netflix does not stream in 1080p, and probably has differences in frame rates etc.

In addition, you also need to look at the audio formats, such as 5.1 and 7.1  Even if/when these are added, they are likely to use compression algorithms the will have subtle effects on quality.

Simply put, Blu-ray provides better image and audio quality than netflix streaming.  Period.

It's true that probably 99.9% of the population won't notice the difference.  Once my new theatre is in place, I will. I'll stick to the discs.

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http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/14/netflix-on-ps3-goes-disc-free-gets-1080i-streaming-and-5-1-surr/

Not quite up to blu-ray standards, but pretty damn good.

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"We're removing the 'Add to DVD Queue' option from streaming devices," s

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SquaReSaltine said:


I don't have cable or the internetz, mofo's better not do this. We watch series and everything on Netflix. I've got the 3 at a time plan. $20 is better than $100 for crappy cable.

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meams said:
LUCKILY i use netflix through my ps3.  otherwise, i'd agree

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SquaReSaltine said:


I don't have cable or the internetz, mofo's better not do this. We watch series and everything on Netflix. I've got the 3 at a time plan. $20 is better than $100 for crappy cable.

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badchad said:Plus, some movie buffs like all the corny "extras" on discs.

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I forgot all about the extras!  That's another reason why this sucks.  I love extras!

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robbyberto said:

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"We're removing the 'Add to DVD Queue' option from streaming devices," s

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I had to re-read that because it seemed completely insane.

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BothHands said:
It is insane.  They've got like 20 fuckin' movies available for streaming.

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Way to exaggerate; they have many more movies than that available for streaming.  Besides, from what I know they plan to eventually offer every DVD in their collection for online streaming. 

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BothHands said:

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RobMarley420 said:
All streaming with no DVD's sounds a lot more convenient to me.

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More convenient to only have access to 1% of the movies they offer on DVD?

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I was assuming all DVDs would be available to stream.

Like the day a new release comes out it would instantly be available for you to stream. You wouldn't have to worry about it being sold out or having to wait for it to come in the mail.

Sounds awesome to me.

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BothHands said:
They'll eventually offer every DVD for online streaming, but they're removing the option for people who stream to order dvd's NOW.

And I really don't think it's an exaggeration.  A friend of mine brought her X-box over a few weeks ago, and we couldn't find any of the movies we wanted to watch.  The Gods Must Be Crazy, Funny People (the one filmed in South Africa in 1977), Notting Hill; we didn't find a SINGLE movie we looked up.  We ended up just scrolling through the movies until we saw something mediocre that we've both seen too many times already.  There was nothing else.  So that's what we watched.

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I just got Netflix Streaming for Christmas and out of the fifteen or so different shows/movies that I've tried to watch since then, only two or three weren't available.  Maybe your taste just ain't up to snuff? 

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RobMarley420 said:

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SquaReSaltine said:


I don't have cable or the internetz, mofo's better not do this. We watch series and everything on Netflix. I've got the 3 at a time plan. $20 is better than $100 for crappy cable.

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I just cancelled my cable and swithced over to Netflix last week. $10 a month compared to $50 for cable, and I never watched TV anyways.

But how the hell can you live without internet??? I'm guessing you must have a smart phone with internet access???

And if that is the case, cancell your phone's internet and sign up for regular internet.

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badchad said:
Admittedly, I'm not aware of the specific technical details, but I am fairly certain netflix does not stream in 1080p, and probably has differences in frame rates etc.

In addition, you also need to look at the audio formats, such as 5.1 and 7.1  Even if/when these are added, they are likely to use compression algorithms the will have subtle effects on quality.

Simply put, Blu-ray provides better image and audio quality than netflix streaming.  Period.

It's true that probably 99.9% of the population won't notice the difference.  Once my new theatre is in place, I will. I'll stick to the discs.

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Learyfan said:
But what of the extras, people?  Won't someone think of the extras? 

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I download extras. 

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Learyfan said:
But what of the extras, people?  Won't someone think of the extras? 

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Shroomism said:
The main reason that this is the case is because the major companies don't want to release their HD content for streaming because it is so unsecure.

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badchad said:

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Shroomism said:
The main reason that this is the case is because the major companies don't want to release their HD content for streaming because it is so unsecure.

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Doesn't bandwidth play some type of role?  I mean 10gb in a two hour period, to millions of users doesn't sound feasable.

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DieCommie said:
I find the DVD format to be archaic.  I dont use netflix, but if I did I wouldnt care for getting DVDs.

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reeferaddict69 said:
hey is netflix eventually gonna let you stream every movie available instead of limiting the ones you can view?

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That's what I've heard. 

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bbl337 said:

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DieCommie said:
I find the DVD format to be archaic.  I dont use netflix, but if I did I wouldnt care for getting DVDs.

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how?  It supports very good sound quality, something streaming cannot.  While yes, many players cannot take advantage of this, it's nice when they can to have some truly astonishingly nice sound.

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bbl337 said:

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DieCommie said:
I find the DVD format to be archaic.  I dont use netflix, but if I did I wouldnt care for getting DVDs.

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how?  It supports very good sound quality, something streaming cannot.  While yes, many players cannot take advantage of this, it's nice when they can to have some truly astonishingly nice sound.

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