Bye bye satellite television, hello family entertainment!
Written: May 20 '11
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With the economic struggle affecting everyone, we chose to pare down our extraneous expenses. One of the first places we looked was the $90 a month we were paying for satellite TV. We began to notice that more and more channels on the dish were day-long infomercials, and boring crap we didn't care about. So we decided to give Netflix a shot...and we don't regret a moment of it!
Netflix has several packages to choose from depending on your viewing needs. There is the base rate for streaming video only, or for DVDs only. Then you can add to that for the perfect combination of streaming video plus DVD's. Netflix has literally thousands of programs and movies to choose from and we've not had any problem finding ways to entertain ourselves.
In addition to movies (both recent and older ones), Netflix offers a plethora of children's programs, documentaries, television series, and various other programming choices. We really love being able to watch an entire season of programs without having to wait a week between shows, without commercial interruptions, and always in the right order.
When my granddaughter comes over to visit, there is always something good and age appropriate (2 years old) for her to watch and we were never short of movies to choose from. Netflix has also been instrumental in helping us discover some otherwise unnoticed gems that we have truly enjoyed (recommendations based on viewing habits and personal ratings).
The best part for us was the fact that Netflix streams right through our Wii system, making it very simple for the more technologically challenged members of the household. Even the 2 year old can play the next episode of SpongeBob.
All in all, we have been satisfied with Netflix. We opted for the 1-DVD at a time plan in addition to the streaming. Turn around on the DVD's is very quick. I typically have a new DVD every other day as long as I'm diligent to get them back into the mailbox. Netflix makes movie return extremely simple -- Just put the movie back in it's sleeve, stick it back in the envelope it came in and drop it in any mailbox. You'll get an email telling you when they receive it and also what the next one you are scheduled to receive will be. Some people complain about the wait times, but I haven't experienced a lot of issue with that. I keep a full queue so there is always something on the way. Maybe I'm not getting the latest movies right away, but if I haven't seen it, it's still a new movie to me!
We have been MOST pleased with the extra money we aren't spending on bad television. The bottom line for us is over $900 a year in savings. For that, I can afford go to the theatre every now and then if I just need to see the latest movie right now.
I was a Netflix customer many years ago, when the streaming feature was very new and I was not impressed. The DVD delivery was as prompt as it is now, for me, but I was not terribly interested. However, with the added ability to stream shows directly from my Wii to my large screen TV, I believe that Netflix has improved exponentially over the earlier company. I honestly can't comment on the quality their customer service because I have never had the need to avail myself of them. That alone speaks volumes to me.
Although they have improved, there are still a few features I'd like to see:
• Enhanced search by actor, director, etc.
• Ability to add to the DVD queue from the Search screen (on the Wii)
• Parental controls
• Better rewind feature (a 30-second back up button would rock!)
Bottom line? I don't see me ever paying high prices for television again. Netflix just has too much to offer at a great low price for me to be able to find the value in satellite or cable television packages.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Netflix Streaming Video 1 DVD
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About the Author
Location: Maine
Reviews written: 245
Trusted by: 44 members
About Me: I am hopelessly impulsive. I admit it.
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