In thinking about the services my wife and I use on a daily or bi-daily basis, Netflix really stands out as being a company that takes care of their customers in practically every way. Starting out as a DVD mailing service, they’ve blossomed into a full-fledged media distribution powerhouse.
Obviously, with technology changing constantly the bar is raised almost daily in regard to taking advantage of it, however Netflix really seems to be right on T-O-P of everything.
First came the ability to watch movies instantly on the PC. Now my wife and I only have the $14 per month, “rent 2-at-a-time” plan, and I had to question if I was even eligible for this secondary convenience. Netflix made sure their majority benefitted, not just those who pay a premium. BIG. However, I never really took advantage of watching movies on television. This option became a comfort more than the utility I thought I’d take advantage of.
Next came the Playstation 3 disc. We’ve had a PS3 for awhile now and we played it a LOT in the beginning. Well, with this thing call life and all, playing games really isn’t a priority. Luckily the PS3 doubles as a Blueray DVD player for the DVD’s we’re getting from Netflix. However the ante was upped when we learned we could now access watching “Instant Queue” movies on our television using the special DVD we got from Netflix. Pretty damn cool.
As if it couldn’t get any better, while stumbling through our Sony Bravia television’s menu system (yes, I don’t even bother with manuals), we see this familiar icon… could this be? Yes. Netflix is built in to the television. Sweet. Now we have two televisions chock full of movies on-demand!
Ok. To recap, we have Netflix movies on DVDs, on the PC, on PS3 (and now Ninendo Wii) and built-in to our Sony flatscreen. But then we bought an iPad (another post to come on that)… guess what? Netflix again! Now I can watch these movies on this convenient little tablet anywhere I get a WiFi connection. Un-fricken-believable. This is perfect for traveling when the stations in my hotel room, while traveling, have nothing to offer.
These guys at Netflix are trying to grab our entertainment attention at every corner like Starbucks and Taco Bell go after their ‘share of stomach’. I’m still incredibly excited to get Netflix on my iPhone as was announced at the recent Apply Developer’s Conference. Then, I think my movie-watching life would be complete.
The only thing… and I mean the ONLY thing that would make this better would be to make all movies available on-demand. But hey, I can’t complain.
By the way, if you’re not already a Netflix subscriber, and you love movies, just get a subscription. It’s a bill you don’t mind paying.
Netflix website: http://www.netflix.com