Netflix - Not bad! Qwikster - uh, never mind...

HD torrents aren't bad at all, but visibly (and audibly) not as good as a real Blu-ray.

I hope in a few years, subscription-based streaming services will rule the day. The concept of having to deal with having hard copies of movies or music seems old-fashioned.

Anyway, there are some 230 DVDs in my Netflix queue and only three of them are listed as having a short or long wait, and I've had fewer problems lately with damaged discs than in the past. I don't use blu-ray yet, though.

xxp But there must be some way of determining who gets an in-demand dvd. A previous Netflix type service I used a while back would give you priority if you had a sought-after film at the top of your list compared to someone who had it lower down. So I would have thought that it would be some combination of amount of time you've waited for it x priority?

Also, some people are saying that the "long wait" times are due to the holidays (new subscribers etc), but I've never had this problem in all my years as a customer.

xp
Sorry that sounded a bit stupid. What I was wondering is if I could put it at the top of my queue and have the 'wait' time appear shorter just because I wanted it more.

"But there must be some way of determining who gets an in-demand dvd. "

Probably but the logic is probably so arcane that I wouldn't bother stressing about it. How many Very Long Wait movies do you guys have anyway that this is such an enormous issue?

xpost

With Netflix it's supposedly whatever is available when they receive your last envelope. They will mail to you your #1 choice if available. If not then #2, if not then #3. Simple as that.

"What I was wondering is if I could put it at the top of my queue and have the 'wait' time appear shorter just because I wanted it more."

It won't change the "wait" time as posted, but you'll get it sooner cuz it's at the top of your queue!

When I paused my service, 8 of my top 10 were "Very Long Wait". It had been that way since the end of November.

Switching to DVD usually made them slightly less of a wait. However, Blu-ray is pretty much the only reason I'm using a mailing service anyway.

I guess the movies I want to watch no one else cares about then. I see this happen with some brand new releases, but I usually get them within a couple of weeks.

Only one is a V long wait! (Maybe more when I've gone thru the ILX film poll). Just intersted in the logic behind it, is all.
Just had a look at their FAQs and they don't really say except that you may get a 'differentiated' service depending on how you use your account, and they tend to give priority to those who receive fewest DVDs (all other things being equal).

I've never had a problem with Netflix, great service actually. Think once I've had an unwatchable disk and one time I had to wait an extra day while processing.

And to be clear, the DVD's definitely had waits too (something I had almost never experienced previously).

Ah Blu-ray. Okay that's a whole different animal.

who gives a fuck, if you have to wait they send you an extra dvd!

i have 500 discs in my queue and three are short waits. no problems on this end.

For years, I've been able to get new releases within a week of release. Now I can't. They're not managing service level expectations very well.

And Fig, I'm talking about DVD wait times too.

xxp obviously some people give a fuck.

well obviously, but WHY?

they send you an extra one and then the one you wanted comes A WHOLE DAY LATER...

this is a degree of whiny tight-assery that should be filed under some word that "first world problems" won't adequately cover

They send you the next one in your queue, but they won't send the one you want until it is 1. in stock, and 2. they receive the next envelope from you.

When it takes 5 weeks for those stars to align it can be annoying.

IN MY DAY WE HAD TO GO TO THE PENNY ARCADE AND FEED THE MACHINE

stop being such a white tight ass spencer

oh wait that said whiny

WAIT A MINUTE, I'M CHANGING THE REEL ON THIS NEW BLOCKBUSTER 'THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY'. THE CANNISTERS WERE JUST DROPPED OFF VIA PONY EXPRESS LAST MONTH.

That's half-whiny to you!

Inglorius Basterds has been at the top of my queue since it was released on DVD and it is still listed as Very Long Wait.

I agree that after a while, this gets pretty annoying.

"this is a degree of whiny tight-assery that should be filed under some word that "first world problems" won't adequately cover"

This is amazingly rich.

xp Weird - I just put IB in my queue to see, and it was listed as available "Now". Oh, Netflix, you and your shady algorithms.

Sure, but will it say "Now" when it's time for Netflix to actually send it to you?

Good point!

It's interesting that you would see different availability. You're both looking at DVD, not Blu-ray?

do you guys live near each other?

I added Paranormal Activity to our queue about a week before it was released, but there were two movies ahead of it. When I sent the disc before it back I checked the availability and it said "Long Wait", but it still showed up in our mailbox two days later.

yeah I hit em up for Serious Man like 4 days ago and it said "long wait" but then it arrived on Saturday

Yeah I get Long Wait movies all the time (like BLACK DYNAMITE.)

I'm glad I posted here, because it is clear that you people are the reasons for my long waits! first few movies on my queue that have been getting skipped: A Serious Man, Zombieland, Black Dynamite... and then Hurt Locker and Inglourious, which I got so sick of waiting for I just bought them on Blu-Ray (cheap on amazon).

Well I got Black Dynamite on Friday and returned it the next day. Same with Hurt Locker.

Yeah its awesome because I call them and say, "hey, could you please not send this movie over to richie aprile (rockapads) and send it over to me instead?", and they are always like, "sure! no problem".

i knew it!

Don't worry, I'm going to go after Alex in SF's movies next. You should start getting yours again!

I have Black Dynamite out right now, btw.

plz to hurry so i can watch, lol, and post my opinions to the black dynamite thread. thx.

-r.a.

Out of 455:

Very Long Wait
Paranormal Activity
Zombieland
Beau Travail
Inglorious Basterds

Long Wait
Igby Goes Down
Band of Brothers Disc 1
Gladiator

Short Wait
Duck! The Carbine High Massacre
Family Nest
The Deer Hunter
Ball of Wax
Country Boys Disc 1
The September Issue
Dead Snow

That's really weird because I just now checked my queue and Zombieland is 3rd on the list and says 'Now'.

When I sent the disc before it back I checked the availability and it said "Long Wait", but it still showed up in our mailbox two days later.

I've never had to wait very long for a "long wait" movie, tbh. Usually two or three days.

watch less new movies, they generally suck

Maybe you should watch more new movies, which suck less

FWIW, 3 of the very long waits are blu Ray.