Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Netflix slow turnaround?

A

abtarh2o

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 4, 2008
6
0
I have the 3 at a time plan and i send them back the day after i get them but it takes about 4 days turnaround. Is this normal? Ive seen some posts where people have hundreds of movies Where does everybody get them from? Anyway I think netflix is throttling me does anyone else have this problem?

Thanks
 
a lot of people will probably frown upon your first statement... so lets just say you watch them quickly

Generally I get movies two business days later... I put in the mail on Monday and I have new movies on Wednesday which I think is acceptable. It all depends on where the closest shipping center is from you. Since you have the 3 at a time plan you should stagger them so you always have a constant stream of new movies

also this probably should be in a different forum :confused:
 
abtarh2o said:
Does anyone else use netflix to ripp movies and put on itunes. I have the 3 at a time plan and i send them back the day after i get them but it takes about 4 days turnaround. Is this normal? Ive seen some posts where people have hundreds of movies Where does everybody get them from? Anyway I think netflix is throttling me does anyone else have this problem?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Netflix does throttle. Noticeably so. They got sued for it in fact. its used to be called the unlimited plan, but they got caught throttling, meaning it wasn't unlimited at all. That's why its called the three at a time plan now. No lying there. but they are still trying to prevent you from getting as many movies as possible. It takes a little while for them to start throttling you, but if you are consistently a heavy user, they definitely do it. Complain and/or use another service. Though they probably wouldn't miss you too much since they don't make money of the people who rent 18 movies a month (which i used to do when i had netflix)
 
abtarh2o said:
Does anyone else use netflix to ripp movies and put on itunes. I have the 3 at a time plan and i send them back the day after i get them but it takes about 4 days turnaround. Is this normal? Ive seen some posts where people have hundreds of movies Where does everybody get them from? Anyway I think netflix is throttling me does anyone else have this problem?

Thanks
Click to expand...

You might want to try and phrase your questions so as to not highlight the fact you are engaging in blatantly illegal behavior.
 
I am on the 5-at-a-time plan. When I return movies at work on a Monday, the replacements arrive at my home on Wednesday.
 
kingjr3 said:
Check your local library if you want to "watch" movies quickly. They often have a decent selection - well, for a library...
Click to expand...

And if your library doesn't have the movies you want.. you can always do the "intra-library thing"... I think it usually costs like $1 to get the movie you want delivered to your local library. Don't know though.
 
I live in Loveland, Colorado and there is a Netflix distribution location in Denver. Typically, if I put them in the mail on Monday, the reach Netflix on Tuesday and I have the next set of movies on Wednesday. We are on the two at a time plan and typically get two movies per week. So, the speed of your USPS mail connection to the nearest Netflix distribution site is one factor in how long it takes.

Netflix definitely keeps track of how much money they are making on your account. If you "turn" your movies too quickly, they will eventually start throttling. They have a basic profit margin that is based on a specific turn-around time on folks watching movies.

Also, the USPS is pissed at the amount of expense it is incurring with handling Netflix movies. Basically, the Netflix packaging fails in their automated sorting systems ~70% of the time, so the USPS is having to hand sort a large volume of Netflix traffic. As such, the USPS Inspector General has proposed a $0.17 surcharge on Netflix to pay for the extra expense. If this goes through, it could seriously change the business model for these types of through the mail rentals. (It could shift more traffic to the streaming services ... and kill my wireless ISP connection!!!)
 
strider42 said:
Netflix does throttle. Noticeably so. They got sued for it in fact. its used to be called the unlimited plan, but they got caught throttling, meaning it wasn't unlimited at all. That's why its called the three at a time plan now. No lying there. but they are still trying to prevent you from getting as many movies as possible. It takes a little while for them to start throttling you, but if you are consistently a heavy user, they definitely do it. Complain and/or use another service. Though they probably wouldn't miss you too much since they don't make money of the people who rent 18 movies a month (which i used to do when i had netflix)
Click to expand...

With the exception of renting 18 movies a month, this is exactly my story.
I was part of their class-action suit and ended up just ignoring the fact that they did this. It is standard behavior that they will never stop, never.

I will say this though, if you are doing what you're doing, rent, rip, return...then don't you think suffering through netflix's throttling is a fair price to pay? I mean you're not exactly paying for what you get and even through throttling you're coming out ahead.
 
jessica. said:
With the exception of renting 18 movies a month, this is exactly my story.
I was part of their class-action suit and ended up just ignoring the fact that they did this. It is standard behavior that they will never stop, never.

I will say this though, if you are doing what you're doing, rent, rip, return...then don't you think suffering through netflix's throttling is a fair price to pay? I mean you're not exactly paying for what you get and even through throttling you're coming out ahead.
Click to expand...

Good point. You're (and I am) obviously doing something illegal, so don't complain. If the service is worth it to you, keep doing it (as I am), but if its not, end your service and be done with it. No big deal. Go to the library... its only a few miles out of the way most likely.
 
I frequently receive this kind of emails from Netflix. Do this emails help them prepare their slow down?

I have a 3 DVD at a time plan, and recently I am experiencing the slow down from their side. I love to watch one per day, and return them as fast as I can.
From time to time I have been dropping them in a mailbox near my home, and when I do that they arrive faster to their distribution center, but they delay the shipment.
I always report when they are late through their website, sometimes they ship the next in the queue in compensation.
________
BMW M3 history
 

Attachments

  • Picture 4.png
    Picture 4.png
    40.4 KB · Views: 161
Last edited:
So, I am engaged in a similar activity with Blockbuster Online. I have 2 movies at a time, with three in-store freebies per month. I have been, basically, time-shifting the rentals, ganging up a reasonable amount per month, then deleting them as they are watched.

Summer re-runs are not something we look forward to.

While I am not thrilled with the slippery ground Blockbuster claims (my plan has now been revised three times without my agreement), I am renting movies (and not owning them -- seriously, I do delete them once viewed) for around $1 ea.

I think the idea of throttling is silly. It's simpler for them (Netflix OR Blockbuster) to just dump you or change your plan on you (as they have done to me 3 X). While you don't have to be paranoid to have someone following you, it does help...
 
Netflix makes $1.05 per subscriber per month

From the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/06/b...tml?_r=2&ref=business&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

"If Netflix “has to bear the full brunt of this increase (without other cost offsets), monthly operating income per paying subscriber would fall 67 percent from $1.05 to 35 cents,” Mr. Wible’s report states."

This was from an article talking about the 17 cent surcharge that the USPS wants to charge Netflix for their mailers. It's not hard to imaging that this $1.05 is based on a specific disk turn rate for each customer. (I don't know what that is, but it would be interesting to know.) Anyway, one can assume that it calls for the subscriber to "hold on" to the disk for more than one day.

I love the netflix service ... I live in the boonies and it is the only real way to make the DVD rental thing work. Additionally, I think Netflix has shaken up the movie rental business and the prices dropped for everyone. (It certainly put the squeeze on Blockbuster.)

Wink Wink ... it has also been a boon for large capacity hard disk manufacturers ... I have about 250GB free on my 750GB "media" drive!
 
Now they ship across the country?

I understand that some movies have a high demand, but recently this has been happening too often.

I live in the Detroit Metro area, and used to receive the DVDs from the Flint Distribution Center, and now their new scheme seems to be to "ship from another city", is there a way to check if this is true?
________
1955 Dodge picture
 

Attachments

  • Picture 8.png
    Picture 8.png
    52.6 KB · Views: 154
Last edited:
Flynnstone said:
... cough ... cough ...

What do you all use to get these movies onto your AppleTV?
How about surround sound? Dolby Digital ? DTS?
Click to expand...

Do a Google search for 'Handbrake'.
Once you get it up and running, you'll want to choose the 'AppleTV' preset. Your surround sound will be perfectly in-tact.
 
How's this for throttling?

I'm in California and they're sending me a disc from Louisiana! So there's no other available copy of Moulin Rouge anywhere in the entire state of CA? They throttled me, man! THROTTLED I say!
 

Attachments

  • Netflix.jpg
    Netflix.jpg
    30.9 KB · Views: 98
At least your ships

Gee... all of my "long wait" movies are still sitting in my queue. I think of a movie I'd like to see, add it to my queue, and unless it's a relatively new flick, it just sits in the queue. I wouldn't mind if the shipped it from Alaska -- as long as I get the movie.

Seems like Blockbuster's older, classic movies are either non-existent or have huge wait times.

I suspect the same is true with Netflix?
 
MikieMikie said:
Gee... all of my "long wait" movies are still sitting in my queue. I think of a movie I'd like to see, add it to my queue, and unless it's a relatively new flick, it just sits in the queue. I wouldn't mind if the shipped it from Alaska -- as long as I get the movie.

Seems like Blockbuster's older, classic movies are either non-existent or have huge wait times.

I suspect the same is true with Netflix?
Click to expand...

It seems to me that, when a (not recent release) disc is listed as "long wait", it will remain in that status pretty much forever unless you move it to the top of the queue. I suspect the reason is that they have very few copies and probably won't bother to buy new ones because they're not in much demand. So, when one gets returned, it will get shipped to someone who has it at the top of their queue. Meanwhile, if it's not at the top of your queue, the status remains "long wait".

For instance, I had disc one of an old BBC series in my queue for many weeks (more than a month) that was "long wait"; the status never changed. On Monday I moved it to the top of the queue and it shipped to me on Tuesday.
 
DVD not arriving as promised

McGiord said:
I understand that some movies have a high demand, but recently this has been happening too often.

I live in the Detroit Metro area, and used to receive the DVDs from the Flint Distribution Center, and now their new scheme seems to be to "ship from another city", is there a way to check if this is true?
Click to expand...

It was supposed to arrive Yesterday and NADA :mad:
Now I have to wait until Monday to be able to officially report it as lost.

Just in case anyone knows or have done this before: I'm going to travel and be out of home for 3 weeks, if I suspend the service or downgrade my plan can I save some money while I'm out?
________
ipad guide
 

Attachments

  • Picture 7.png
    Picture 7.png
    10.8 KB · Views: 91
Last edited:
would riping dvd's to watch then deleting still be the same as ripping them to own?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back