Negative on Netflix? 5 alternatives

Not a happy camper

/ CBS/AP

The above description fits most manner of events these days, but this particular tale of two cities played out in connection to Netflix's Tuesday surprise announcement of price changes. On Wednesday, shares of Netflix surged even as the news left many subscribers fuming - so much so that they flooded the company's Facebook page where more than 34,000 commenters slammed Netflix for what they said was an unfair price hike.

Netflix's move separated the service's unlimited streaming plan from its DVD plan, killing off a popular hybrid offering which allowed subscribers to sign up for access to DVDs and Internet streaming. Netflix says its hand was forced because subscribers continue to order DVDs at a high rate, a phenomenon that the company said that it didn't anticipate.

But if the move has left you negative on Netflix, you're not without options. Alternatives exist, though each has its own pluses and minuses. Let us know in the talkback section which ones you prefer - or if there are any that we've left out.

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Five alternatives to Netflix

[KilltheCableBill]

Wake Up Blockbuster and drop your prices: If @Netflix streaming + Blockbuster 1 DVD costs < $18 then @Blockbuster will steal a huge portion of @Netflix business

[Evita_Luisa]

It's already happening, the 'stealing' of the Netflix business. We went in to our local Blockbuster -- again :)) today, and they're reporting a huge jump in traffic and sign-ups, and we live in a small-to-moderate sized city of 100,00+ .... the cars parked outside the BB is also a sign. Time will tell!!!

[woodificould]

Not sure why iTunes wasn't mentioned here. It's not a subscription service, but neither is Redbox. Renting movies from iTunes is definitely more expensive than any of the other streaming services, unless you're just renting a couple of movies a month. But the quality of the service is way better than Netflix in every way.

iTunes was getting pretty expensive for me, so I did the one month free trial on Netflix (streaming only). I went through their entire movie catalog and watched all that I was interested in. Nothing new was showing up, so I cancelled it. I'm back to paying more at iTunes, but I'm not paying a monthly fee.

Netflix streaming is definitely a bargain if you want to watch completed TV show seasons. There's a ton of stuff. But for movies, it isn't worth it.

[pizzaNwings]

I keep reading that a lot of people are going to drop the DVD plan for the streaming plan, but that's what they WANT you to do. It seems to me that if you really want to **** Netflix off you should drop the streaming plan and go with the DVD only plan, and send those DVDs back as soon as you get them. The one thing that Netflix is really looking forward to is the day they can tell investors that they can finally close down all those costly distribution centers and layoff all those nasty employees who take away from their bottom line. Also another alternative that's a lot cheaper... Your local public library.

[pbaird2]

This is actually a savings for me of $2/month since I currently do not stream my movies. Besides, even $16/mo for unlimited movies is considerably cheaper than going to a nasty theater even if you do not buy their gross overpriced snacks.

[azure13]

Yea, Ill be dropping either the DVD or the streaming. Not sure which one yet. Maybe both. Personally I prefer the DVD/BlueRay disks. The streaming library is all old and pathetic. I do enjoy going through the TV show seasons though.
I'm going to check out Blockbuster. Thanks for the tip.

[Evita_Luisa]

We've been going to BB and using the online ordering, which has been phenomenal. Not only are the selections MUCH more varied, the films BB has available are also the NEWEST titles, totally unlike Hulu, Netflix, RedBox, etc. etc. Trust me, we did our homework on this one, having had both Hulu (for shows) and Netflix for movies, but Netflix just wasn't delivering good product and neither has Hulu. Also, if you have Blu-ray, BB has it in volume and variety.

[Evita_Luisa]

In typical CBS "News" fashion, one of the best options is NOT mentioned. Google "Blockbuster" and check out the online reviews provided by tech sections of major publications. We decided before this fiasco w/ Netflix to go with Blockbuster and haven't looked back since. In --- for us --- the key areas of pricing, choice, DVDs (Blu-ray) and especially in-store returns, this works best for us. CBS, yet again, missing the boat on the very basics.

[gruven13777]

...and the 6th alternative is called: BitTorrent

[enwr77]

Add Fancast to the list of options. It is free. Someone told me about Netflix this weekend and talked me into subscribing. I do not have cable due its cost, not being able to choose stations and lack of interesting programs. I guess I will continue with Hulu t.and Fancas

[kc629]

I have been a very happy and loyal costumer of the 3 dvd and unlimited instant plan for over 3yrs. All I had to do was give up 1 dvd a month and the price is still the same -idk what all the fuss is about!!!! -This is not affecting me one bit. Netflix is under alot of pressure to obtain tons of titles from studios who dont want to give them up! -still cheaper than cable could ever be, and I have not bought a single dvd since I've had netflix, its awesome, stop complaining people!

[roblearns]

I am on the streaming only plan, so my price hasn't changed. If someone was on the DVD only plan, they actually get a price cut.

Of course, those of us not affected - or in your case, not affected much - it's hard to see the outrage but for some the price really got jacked high.

[hamiltongrad]

I am all for the move. Who wants to have all those red enveolopes, mis matched white folders, and who knows what all those stains are on some of the more "popular" discs? So fine, nothing beats on line movies. Good bye to postman video. If I can get by ice tea by mail, that makes me happy enough.