edjr 6,579 Posted September 22, 2011 http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/691/5-netflix-and-qwikster-alternatives/ Thinking of jumping ship on Netflix now that it has jacked up rates and spun off its DVD-by-mail service into Qwikster? Check out these alternatives to both Netflix's Instant Streaming and DVD-by-mail services. Hulu Plus If you haven’t heard of Hulu, then you probably haven’t watched TV online before. Hulu is the best place to find just-ran television programs from Fox, NBC, ABC, Comedy Central, MTV, and other cable networks. Some programs are free to watch on the Web, but if you want to watch from a smartphone, tablet, Xbox, or TV box, you’re going to need Hulu Plus, which costs $8 a month and includes expanded access to older episodes and seasons of some popular shows, like 30 Rock and Modern Family. Unfortunately, Hulu is very weak in the one area where Netflix is very strong: movies. The film selection on Hulu is improving, but not at the rate we’d expect. Most of Hulu’s time and energy continues to go into obtaining rights to stream new episodes of TV shows that are on the air. It has a somewhat decent library of older shows, but it doesn’t have as many older TV shows as Netflix Instant Streaming. If you want to watch Cheers or Roseanne, Hulu is not your service. (Warning: Hulu does have ads.) YouTube Movies In an effort to beef up its Google TV and Android offerings, Google has begun renting new movie releases on YouTube. The service is usable on the Web and is now built into the Android Market, making it a highly convenient way to instantly stream new titles over the Internet. New movies typically rent for $4 and some old releases go for $2 or $3. You have 30 days to begin viewing a movie and 24 hours to finish watching it once you start. YouTube is still somewhat overlooked, but we really liked how easy and straightforward the service is compared with some others. YouTube is one of the most highly adopted services around and we expect that a YouTube app will soon hit the Xbox 360 as well, making it an attractive option for a lot of people. Best of all, we like that Google isn’t pressuring people to “buy” movies, instead only offering rentals. Purchasing a digital movie is not smart unless you’re certain that you plan to use said digital service for many many years to come. There’s no monthly fee for YouTube. Apple TV (iTunes) If you own an iPad, iPod, iPhone, or Mac, this may be an attractive option for you. Apple rents movies over iTunes. It also sells them, if you want to spend $15 to $20 for something you’ll only be able to use within iTunes. To make the most of your instant streaming purchases, you may want to buy an Apple TV. The Apple TV box costs $100, but it’s worth it if you have a big TV and like to watch your movies on it. Recently, however, Apple dropped $1 TV movie rentals, casting some doubt on exactly what direction its service and TV box will take. We should find out soon. Amazon’s Instant Video service costs the most up front, but is actually the cheapest of all streaming services and has the most perks. To get free Amazon Instant Video streaming, you must sign up for Amazon Prime, which costs $79 per year. Split up, that’s actually only $6.58 per month, but it does require 12 months up front and if you don’t like it, well, you’re stuck paying for an entire year. However, Amazon Prime comes with the added perk of free two-day shipping on almost anything ordered on Amazon with no minimum purchase required. Getting something in two days is pretty good, and the one-day shipping charge is only $4 per item. Amazon’s Instant streaming library is growing pretty fast. It has some high-profile shows that Netflix has, like The Tudors, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Cheers, but also some series that Netflix doesn’t yet have, like Frasier, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and The L Word. Its movie selection is widening as well. However, Amazon offers something Netflix doesn’t: streaming movie rentals and purchases. Like YouTube Movies and iTunes, Amazon offers movie rentals for $4. It also lets you “purchase” movies for $15 to $20. If Amazon can beef up the number of devices that support Instant Video, it could be the best Netflix competitor yet. Blockbuster Blockbuster has a horrible reputation from its days ruling the retail rental market in the 1990s, but times change. Dish Network recently purchased the ailing company, which has been hit hard by the rise of Netflix and Red Box in the last decade. From what we hear, in October, a new Blockbuster instant streaming service will be unveiled that may include Starz, which will be leaving Netflix as of February 28, 2012. Starz provides most of Netflix’s access to new movie releases and composes as much as 8 percent of the Netflix Instant Streaming library. Currently, Blockbuster also offers movie and TV show rentals and purchases as well. Its pricing is largely consistent with YouTube, Amazon, and others: About $4 to rent and about $15 to $20 to purchase. Blockbuster is available on Android and iOS devices as well. We hope it will come to more devices and game consoles in the future. But wait, there’s more. For those of you pondering leaving the newly formed Qwikster in the dust, Blockbuster offers one of the only comparable DVD-by-mail services: Blockbuster Total Access. The service costs $10 per month and includes Blu-ray movies and video games. Netflix has a base price of $8 per month for one DVD rental at a time (same as Blockbuster), but adding Blu-ray and video games means two more upgrades to your service, making it more than Blockbuster. The fact that there are still some actual Blockbuster rental stores and kiosks (like Redbox) here and there makes it all the more convenient, assuming you’re near a retail location. There’s more… While we just covered some of the big names, there are plenty more services to check out. • CinemaNow – Streaming movie rental ($4) and purchase ($16 to $20) service by Best Buy. • Vudu – Streaming movie rental ($4) and purchase ($15 to $20) service by Walmart. • Redbox – Movie & Game kiosks. • GreenCine – DVD-by-mail, but for indie, anime, artsy, and foreign films. • OnLive – Video game instant streaming service with unlimited $10-per-month plan or purchases. • GameFly – Monthly video-game-by-mail service starting at $8 per month. • Xbox 360 – Has Zune movie rentals and purchases as well as ESPN3 sports access. • PS3 – Streaming movie rentals and purchases through PlayStation Network. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Honcho 5,250 Posted September 22, 2011 I'm very into movies, have set up a pretty expensive theater system and expect pretty high quality, doesn't the lower quality when streaming bother you? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edjr 6,579 Posted September 22, 2011 I'm very into movies, have set up a pretty expensive theater system and expect pretty high quality, doesn't the lower quality when streaming bother you? At home, I have a very nice set up, 65 inch TV. I will only watch movies on Blu Ray or HD via cable. At work I will watch movies on a laptop. Very much looking forward to getting Star Wars on Blu Ray for xmas. Sure I could buy it now, but I need to leave some stuff for xmas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reality 3,121 Posted September 22, 2011 Readings thru those options is depressing. Looks like I won't be jumping ship anytime soon. Those options all have far too many cons to those of us that use the streaming & DVD mail order services of Netflix. My entire family uses the streaming from iPad, Droid phone, BluRay player, XBox, & Wii. On top of receiving new releases in the mail. Those other options really aren't options at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Honcho 5,250 Posted September 22, 2011 At home, I have a very nice set up, 65 inch TV. I will only watch movies on Blu Ray or HD via cable. At work I will watch movies on a laptop. Very much looking forward to getting Star Wars on Blu Ray for xmas. Sure I could buy it now, but I need to leave some stuff for xmas. I'm not sure, I have DVD's of all of the Star Wars films and every time I buy something from Lucas it just encourages that Jackass to make a few more tweaks...but I've seen some previews of the restoration of the originals and the films look incredible. I'll probably get them just cause the quality of the product is amazing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edjr 6,579 Posted September 22, 2011 I'm not sure, I have DVD's of all of the Star Wars films and every time I buy something from Lucas it just encourages that Jackass to make a few more tweaks...but I've seen some previews of the restoration of the originals and the films look incredible. I'll probably get them just cause the quality of the product is amazing. I can't imagine there being anything better than blu ray? I have no interest in 3d or 4d, what else will there be? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Honcho 5,250 Posted September 22, 2011 I can't imagine there being anything better than blu ray? I have no interest in 3d or 4d, what else will there be? One of my favorite sites for blu-ray release news. List of changes in Star Wars movies with screen captures. Really shows some of the restoration work. The articles are a bit long and some of the changes are edit/added scenes...but a lot are cleaning up previously bad color correction work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edjr 6,579 Posted September 22, 2011 One of my favorite sites for blu-ray release news. List of changes in Star Wars movies with screen captures. Really shows some of the restoration work. The articles are a bit long and some of the changes are edit/added scenes...but a lot are cleaning up previously bad color correction work. Nifty Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IGotWorms 4,057 Posted September 22, 2011 From my experience, Amazon Prime is the only decent alternative right now. Actually I would go to Amazon in a heartbeat if they also offered DVDs. The rest of these supposed alternatives have extremely limited content. Even Blockbuster. They talk about Starz here but guess what? Pretty much everything on Starz sucks. Netflix/"Qwikster" is still the service to go with for now, even though they are trying their best to change that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ens189 1 Posted September 22, 2011 One of my favorite sites for blu-ray release news. List of changes in Star Wars movies with screen captures. Really shows some of the restoration work. The articles are a bit long and some of the changes are edit/added scenes...but a lot are cleaning up previously bad color correction work. Nerd. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hoytdwow 202 Posted September 22, 2011 1. read a book 2. play a game 3. listen to music 4. jerk off 5. cut the grass Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JackARoot 2 Posted September 22, 2011 I just cut back to streaming only on Netflix. I'll do Redbox if I need a dvd. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cstriker 2 Posted September 22, 2011 love the over reaction of the whole market right now. Give it a year, and you will see why netflix service was superior to the alternatives you mentioned, although i do have high hopes for amazon streaming. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sgumm23 2 Posted September 22, 2011 I just cut back to streaming only on Netflix. I'll do Redbox if I need a dvd. Did the same thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shotsup 832 Posted September 23, 2011 1. read a book 2. play a game 3. listen to music 4. jerk off 5. cut the grass OK but then what do I do on Sunday ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shotsup 832 Posted September 23, 2011 I just cut back to streaming only on Netflix. I'll do Redbox if I need a dvd. This Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JackARoot 2 Posted September 23, 2011 http://forums.freshwap.com/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blitzen 0 Posted September 23, 2011 It's all Canada's fault. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JackARoot 2 Posted September 23, 2011 Netflix really messed up in my case. I had the 3 dvd subscription, but mostly used the streaming. It had probably been a couple of months since I sent back a dvd. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edjr 6,579 Posted September 23, 2011 http://forums.freshwap.com/ What's that? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JackARoot 2 Posted September 23, 2011 What's that? It's a forum where posters post just about any show/movie etc. for download Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
