Disappointed with the Play Instant choices on Netflix...

[NRaleighLiberal]

So as long, long time Netflix DVD rental dudes, the price increase sent me toward a Roku Box (works great!), but also to disappointment on the instant play options....very very few of the movies and series we love seem available....quite the large chunk of mediocrity or worse.

Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc - anyone find those better than Netflix? And is there going to be any attempt to improve the offerings?

[SoCalDem]

1. I just signed up with Hulu last night

I started watching Doc Martin on our PBS channel, and for some odd reason they started showing them out of order, so I went to Hulu & caught up on the episodes leading up to tomorrow's PBS offering..

VideoZer actually worked easier for me though

My new tv has an internet streaming feature, but I don;t know how to use it

[Old and In the Way]

2. Amazon Prime and HBO Go are good choices, but it does add cost.

Amazon Prime seems to offer less choices than Netflix, but they compliment each other a bit. HBO Go is free if you have HBO on cable/dish. It gets you access to their entire portfolio of movies/series....also, check the other free channels on Roku...new stuff is being added all the time. Some of the channels have a lot of old movies if you like that stuff....a lot like Turner Classic Movies.

[PatSeg]

5. Most of the movies or shows I've found on Amazon Prime

were also available on Netflix streaming.

[cyberswede]

3. Amazon Prime

has a lot of British TV series, if you like those.

Hulu Plus has new/recent TV shows that Netflix doesn't have yet. There are Criterion movies on Hulu, too, if I recall...

[Merlot]

4. I know what you mean, but digging around have found a few gems I otherwise would

never have found. Have been at times pleasantly surprised.

[PoiBoy]

6. Netflix moved a lot of instant programming over to DVD only status...

i.e. Dexter - I watched the first 3 seasons instantly, but now it's all DVD only... also the movie "Les Paul - Chasing Sound" a great biography of the legendary guitarist was in my queue for a while and then suddenly disappeared... DVD only... oh well...

Hulu free has a lot of network shows, lots of great old shows and lots of foreign programming available for free to watch on your computer.. Hulu Plus is available on your TV, but I just hook the laptop to my TV and the whole family enjoys Hulu free on the big screen... Hulu free shows current shows on an 8 day delay...

Also.. I just found this site...

www.tv-links.eu

...where I can watch shows not available on Hulu free, such as AMC's "Hell on Wheels"... seems to be on a one day delay...

[NRaleighLiberal]

8. I've noticed that - was looking for some David Lynch that was streaming-able,

now DVD only. We are pretty picky on movies - we like lots of foreign, independent, etc - but the bulk of the Netflix movie choices now seem to be mainstream appeal mediocre at best...oh well.

At least we got through all of Twin Peaks again, and soon to finish the Wonder Years. We watched all of Mad Men when we still had the DVD plan.

[Bjorn Against]

7. Netflix may still be building a library, but it is still the best streaming service

While there are streaming sites that offer far more titles than Netflix does, those sites charge for every movie you watch. For the price you pay Netflix is the best there is, there is a lot of crap on there but there are hundreds of really good titles as well. Sometimes the search features in their software sucks so to find many of the good streaming titles you actually have to go to their web site where the search features are much better, but if you look you will find some great movies and TV shows (they actually have a better selection of TV shows than they do movies, there are some great shows on there. I don't know what you like but Breaking Bad, The Wonder Years, Battlestar Galactica, Arrested Development, and The Walking Dead are all very different shows but they rank as some of the best in their genres). Soon they are planning to produce their own original programming as well, Kevin Spacey will be starring in an upcoming series produced for Netflix and they will also be making brand new episodes of Arrested Development exclusive to Netflix so there are some big things to look forward to.

[NRaleighLiberal]

9. Thanks - yes, arrested development! and man men....

what we may do is once we are done with the Wonder Years, switch back to one DVD at a time to get caught up on recent releases - then return to streaming if it improves (or maybe just use Red Box for recent DVDs and keep streaming)....

For 8 and change per month, not bad.

[KoKo]

10. Agree...I'm stil happy with my Netflix...and it gives me enough to fill the little "down time" that

I have...but much of which I devote to "movie watch/series watch." I'm not feeling "deprived" by what Netflix offers. They have new stuff up all the time.

I just posted about "IP Man." It's martial arts but with an incredible story line if one likes "humanitarian kind of stuff." When I want greed....I'm into watching episodes of "The Richies" that are streaming on Netflix and I can pick up an episode whenever I want from my Roku watch or the Netflix site itself.

Also a fan of "Eli Stone" if I want current series. Love that one. We try watch one or two episodes in our Neflix instatant cue in a week...but if we don't have time...it's always there for us...

I love my Netflix...for NOW ...at least.

[MarianJack]

16. We love "Eli Stone" too!

PEACE!

[RKP5637]

18. I've been using the "Instant Watch Browser" from Netflix on Roku and it works really well,

much better IMO than the traditional search on Netflix.

http://roku.permanence.com/

[dmosh42]

11. Recently, I watched "The Help" on Amazon for $1.99, but

can't say that's the regular price or what. I did look at the other new movies to rent and notice it might depend on how long they've been on the market. None of the new ones seem to be available on my Netflix dvd list yet. And NO, I'm not a member of Amazon's Prime. If you pick one to rent, they usually have the option of renting the movie in HD for a dollar more or so, but I have found that the cheaper price still brings the movie in widescreen format.

[htuttle]

12. I've been watching Netflix on a Google TV, and I noticed something

The listings they have in each genre are only fraction of the videos they have available for streaming. Don't know why they don't list them all, but if I use the Search function in the Netflix app, I can turn up many dozens of shows available for instant streaming that aren't listed otherwise.

One thing that's been helpful is looking through the Netflix catalog on the website to find something, then searching for that particular title in the Netflix app.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. I have 196 titles in my streaming queue

The first 15 are

Sling Blade
Destry Rides Again (classic Western)
Letters from Iwo Jima
The Long Good Friday (British crime drama)
Buddy (Norwegian film)
Kabei: Our Mother (Japanese film)
South of the Border (documentary about Venezuela)
Frontline: Law and Disorder (about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina)
The Bothersome Man (Norwegian film)
Troubled Water (Norwegian film)
Green for Danger (classic British film)
Rembrandt's J'Accuse (art documentary)
King Lear (Ian McKellen version)
In Search of Beethoven (documentary)
Beat the Devil (classic film)

There's a wealth of documentaries, foreign films, classics, and TV programs.

[NRaleighLiberal]

14. Thanks for the list. I've got many on our Queue as well...but...

We averaged 10 movies per month using the DVD service since joining Netflix just after it started. Hardly any of the movies we loved at all are available for instant viewing - so for whatever reason, our tastes and the Netflix instant selections don't align well (just for info, I would put Amelie, Lost in Translation, Remains of the Day, Howard's End, Antonia's Line, Mostly Martha, Annie Hall, Babette's Feast, Koyaanisquatsi, Baraka, The Singing Detective, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Donnie Darko, Enchanted April, Out of Africa, Mighty Wind - as a mix of genres - as amongst our favorites over the past years of viewing).

I don't think any of these are instantly viewable.....

[jannyk]

15. Enchanted April is - don't know about the others

...Wow, we have almost the same list!

[MarianJack]

17. The Long Good Friday!

That movie is on my list of greatest Gafster movies of all time, right behind "The Godfather", "Goodfellas" and "Miller's Crossing"

PEACE!