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Netflix Movie Downloads Review
List costs to join here...
- Acess to online content only: $7.99 per month
- 1 DVD at a time mail order(2 per month) + 2 hours streaming: $4.99 per month
- 1 DVD at a time mail order(unlimited) + unlimited streaming: $8.99 per month
- 2 DVDs at a time mail order(unlimited) + unlimited streaming: $13.99 per month
- 3 DVDs at a time mail order(unlimited) + unlimited streaming: $16.99 per month
- Free one month trial!
- Mac or PC
- "Back of box" feature to get detail on any movie instantly
- Netflix is one of the most popular mail order rental companies
- Watch on TV via a compatible device
- Give gift subscriptions
- Streaming content is included in a mail order subscription
- Queue up content for continuous playback
- Current season TV episodes to stream
- Watch instantly online
- No charge per viewing
- Free movie player software
- Great looking and streamlined web site
- Stream through an Xbox 360
- Stream through a Tivo player
- Friends list ot share movie gossip
- Special offers for customers on other streaming devices
- No commercials
- Unlimited streaming on any unlimited mail order plan
- Mac or PC
Mail order rental favourite Netflix has jumped on the movie download bandwagon, but unlike its rivals this comes as a free extra with any mail order subscription. Read on to find out why, once again, Netflix is leading the way forward in movie rentals.
The Netflix website is a great example of how to design a simple and fun to use interface to pick your movies. There are great flash-based widgets that make it seem a bit like browsing the shelves in your local video store. What's more they don't slow the site down like many of these types of extra features tend to. Combine this with an excellent help section, a 24 hour helpline and everything is in place for an excellent level of service.
There are also some great community features integrated into the website. As you would expect there are member reviews of most movies which can help you choose what to watch. But Netflix have taken this a step further and provided a "friends" feature which allows you to share what's in your queue with other members of the site. This is really handy if you have a friend who is a real film buff as they can introduce you to lots of new movies you might otherwise have missed. The "faves" feature also allows you to subscribe to feeds from certain members who regularly review movies or create top ten lists and again is another great way to find new movies.
Now before we go any further, we should point out that Netflix is not a fully fledged movie download service like some other sites we have reviewed. Instead it comes as an added extra when you take out any mail order subscription. That means you aren't going to get all the latest releases available to watch online, and you can't download movies to keep with this service. However, for a free extra there is a lot of excellent content on offer: for example we watched the recent Cohen brothers' film No Country for Old Men, and there are also current episodes of popular TV shows. Just don't expect the choice you might get with some other services - but don't expect the price either!
Netflix makes it extremely easy to stream movies directly to your TV, bypassing your computer altogether with some devices. This works with Xbox 360, Tivo and various other devices, as well as a dedicated device Netflix manufacturer in partnership with Roku. This costs about $100 and plugs directly into your TV, then, once an internet connection is established, it allows you to browser all the available streaming content through your TV. This is a great way of doing things if you don't want the hassle of setting up a stream through your computer.
As we have mentioned. Netflix only provides streaming downloads so once you are logged in there is no need to worry about DRM or copyright issues. If you aren't on an unlimited plan you will be limited to a certain number of hours online streaming and once this is up the system won't let you watch any more. Furthermore the type of plan you are on determines how many different devices you can stream to at the same time - for example a one DVD at a time plan equates to one streaming device at a time. This probably won't affect most people but it is something to bear in mind.
The quality of the content provided is excellent. The player will try to detect your connection speed and stream the best quality video it can handle. The best quality is encoded at 1500K, which is pretty much DVD quality and you will certainly need a good broadband connection to view it.
So in all we think Netflix provides an excellent service for getting your movie fix online. The interface is excellent and some others in our top 10 list could learn a thing or two here, while the help and support section really does what it says on the tin. Unfortunately you won't be able to stream or download all the latest releases here, but there is still a wide selection of recent movies and TV on offer. What's more this is all an added extra to the mail order movies you will receive every month, and there is a free trial so what are you waiting for!
>> Visit Netflix.com Movie Downloads
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