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I received notification that Netflix is increasing the monthly 3 disk package from $16.99 to $19.99 starting in January. The reason given is for expanding all the wonderful free streaming content included in the package. Only problem is that this content is not available to us here in the VI. How about some kind of petition to get a reduced rate for those of us with a VI address who want a DVD-only plan?
I don't understand how hulu.com can stream here legally but Netflix says they can't. Which just seems ridiculous to me and I canceled my netflix a long time ago and use hulu and itunes and its cheaper.
I called Netflix customer service and was told that the more people call and complain, they probably would offer us a DVD only package for less money seeing as we can't get streaming. So....call and let's see if we do have a voice! 1-866-716-0414
I forgot xbox live also streams brand new movies to the VI. I'm sure ps3 does too. Netflix is acting like blockbuster is their competition and they simply aren't. Blockbuster was the dinosaur. I save anywhere from $2 to $12 not using netflix a month. I liked not having the late fees with Netflix but it was a pain to keep up with the queue and the movies would sit around for weeks and not get watched because I was busy or not in the mood when I got them. I want to watch what I want when I want and in this age of technology it is so doable.
Netflix is doing what Blockbuster never did. They are evolving with the market. Their business model much like Blockbusters before it is failing. The internet and streaming/live video will make DVD's obsolete. Just like mail order DVD made Blockbusters stores obsolete. The cost of printing the DVD's and mailing them has become an un necessary evil. They will eventually transition to straight streaming downloads, in the mean time they will continue to charge more for those that want or have to have DVD's. Hopefully we will get access before that time. I will say that I found a work around with my iPhone and can stream on net flix to my laptop.
Jay
We are on STT, I don't use the app. I jail broke my phone and use it as a modem for the laptop and the viewing is good most of the time. I have a state side number which I beleive gets me around the ip address issues. The netflix app on debs iPad works well but it won't work on local wifi I have to use my phone or it gives you the out of country bs.
Jay
The reason you can use your I-phone as a modem and receive Netflix movies in the VI is that the ISP that AT&T uses show up as being in Kansas. Has nothing to do with the phone number. My I-phone has a 340 number and I can watch Netflix on a teathered I-phone.
Jim is correct, You can also use the at&t data connect cards, but they only come in 5gigs of data usage, so... if you use it for regular internet use then you can only watch about 4 movies per month. As for going straight to streaming video only, that is probably what they want to do, but the buffering takes so long that it seems like they should continue to have dvd's as well unless they streaming can be improved.
@Jim Dandy if you are running iOS 4.2 on your jail broken iPhone you can grab an app off of Cydia called AirVideoEnabler, which should allow you to stream the Netflix feed to any Air Play device, like an Apple TV. That way you can watch the Netflix movies on the bigger screen. ? This hack should also work with Hulu.
The recent price increase will likely result in a loss of subscribers from the US Virgin Islands and others outside of the continental US. The reason for this is that your price increase is intended to cover the increase in online content (per your announcement) however those of us residing in the US Virgin Islands are unable to access online content. You are in effect increasing pricing for services that we are ineligible to utilize. This is very unfair and has been a point of discussion here in the islands. We request you offer a DVD Only plan for those of us ineligible for online content.
Or, you could switch to Blockbuster's DVD only plan (which includes options to rent from their store) for more than we're paying Netflix with the price increase! I'm testing Blockbuster's new claim now that they get movies 28 days before Netflix. Blockbuster mailed my DVDs yesterday, so I'm anxious to see how long they take to get here. Netflix is pretty fast considering.
Blockbuster's DVD by mail option is pretty good here, quick delivery etc. oh and Blu-Ray is standard as opposed to a $2 extra on Netflix. But the return in store thing doesn't work here I'm pretty certain.
I have the $5 plan which gets you 2 movies a month, one out at a time. They now offer games too which the $5/month plan is fantastic for if you are a gamer as you can't play through more than one game a month anyway! Only drawback is that the games take a few months to become available so you won't get the latest ones.
I'd reccomend the Blockbuster service though, had it for years and its worked nicely...no hassles including a period of time where I cancelled (just pressed cancel and it suspend, then resumed a few months later with my queue in tact etc.).
I have a Blu-Ray player ... I have been using this for over a year ... I will often completely lose connection ... I thought this might be a wireless issue so last week I hard-wired the blu-ray player to the Actiontec ... This has not helped ... Should I be requesting an updated set top box?
Your Blu-Ray player is not affected by your STB, although when you connect wirelessly the Actiontec is obviously a possible culprit. The same is true when you connect wired to the Actiontec, and that's certainly a possible offender. Both the Blu-Ray and the STB are network clients on your home network and act independently (within certain limits such as IP assignments, etc.).
You need to investigate where the bandwidth issue arises, and one of the first issues to address (after the router) is your Internet connection speed. What is your subscription? It's possible (if somewhat unlikely) that your speed is too low and results in the buffering issue.
Not to be a pest, but your Blu-Ray is NOT connected to the STB. It's connected to the display device and usually by HDMI. OTOH, if you are using the Blu-Ray to stream content, it is connected to the Internet via the Actiontec router, either by Ethernet or via wireless. In any case, keep us posted and we'll keep trying on this end.
If you haven't already, try streaming Amazon onto your notebook. Wireless. If that works, the problem will be the Blu-Ray. I'm ignoring the cable to the TV because that would not cause the connectivity problem you are having.
I am having tha same problem, but the problem occurred when we switched to Fios from Comcast. Ever since then we have been unable to stream Netflix without it crashing, or failing to connect. It is either one of two problems. It could be a compatibility problem with the wireless range extender, or Verizon is chopping the signal when the bandwidth reaches a certain level, whether it is mine, or based on a majority signal. We went with Fios because we wanted a stronger signal, but we ended up getting a weaker signal. One problem, is not just internet it is also when there are a combination of TV and internet signals going on at once. You might have two TV's on and one of them is streaming Netflix on a player, and another person is surfing the web. Fios should be able to handle this because Comcast with a lower mbps can. Maybe Netflix runs less efficient on Fios and uses up more bandwidth? Who knows? But the problem for me started the day we switched over to Fios.
Same problem here, just switched over from Comcast 50/10 package to Verizon 75/35. Speeds are better than whats rated on speedtest.net. But I get cut outs on the connection using Spotify, Netflix and Vudu. Now heres the big problem, its not wifi since my house is wired for ethernet. All PCs and TVs are wired and drop outs happen regardless of wired or wireless. Also this seems to happen more during the hours of 4-10pm. I'm debating just going back to Comcast and getting rid of this headache.
Why oh why isn't someone from Verizon (tech support AND management) monitoring this thread and posting their thoughts/advise so all can read? I have stuck with Verizon thru all my problems because I have a work-around but I csn understand why there are a lot of upset people out there, some of whom are switching back to other suppliers. Verizon seems to have gotten too big to bother dealing with individual subscribers and their phillosophy seems to be to ignore a problem (or re-direct a user to their useless web-support) and it will go away.
I'm very interested in this thread as I'm having the exact same issues. I've got an internet ready LG TV with a direct ethernet connection to the Actiontec router. In the past few weeks I've suddenly been getting awful buffering and dropping out many times during Amazon streaming shows. And it is happening during 'prime time' (6-9pm)
Amazon told me the same thing--that my records show excellent bandwidth streaming with sudden complete drops. The tech said it looked like the provider was using some sort of Speed Burst that was dumping a ton of data and then 'resting' before sending the next packet--obviously not what one wants for Streaming unless a huge amount is pre-buffered.
I assume it is Verizon but they are impossible to get hold of and when you do, it is rare to get a tech who understands and can diagnose the issue, so any input you all have would be great. I don't know of any way to adjust the HD streaming of Amazon to either increase the buffering or lower the transfer rate (which Hulu does let you do), and I hate to have to switch to SD after bothering to pay for all the HD stuff.
At about 7pm I log into Amazon streaming via Sony S790 bluray player. I have 35mps Fios and the system is hardwired. Connection speed at log in is 15mps. I choose the program I want to stream. Initial speed is still 15mps. After about 1 minute you can watch the speed drop from 15mps to 0.5mps in about 30 seconds. I then get a message to contact my ISP because of the low speed. After about 2 minutes the streaming resumes for about 30 seconds and the whole cycle repeats.
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