Have you been noticing your being "throttled" back and delivery times slower? Although im not with Netflix, I know people who are....Apparently, Netflix practices "throttling", which means "unlimited", isn't really unlimited. They slow down the delivery times for movies for heavy renters, plus they give priority of new releases and popular movies to new users, and light renters. They just settled a class action suit becasue they hadn't been disclosing this practice in their TOS.  We had noticed that it was taking a long time for us to get our movies, now we know why.

Story on the class action suit:  practice.findlaw.com/cyberlaw-030106.html

Netflix uses an algorythm to determine how they will throttle your account use. Here is a calculator based on the Netflix algorythm to determine your turnaround: www.manuelsweb.com/netflixcalculator.htm

Blockbuster's response to the question "do they throttle"...(I was going to just post the link, but it was so long the system would process it correctly)

BLOCKBUSTER ONLINE® DOESN’T THROTTLE CUSTOMERS!

DALLAS – March 2, 2006 -- In response to customer inquiries stemming from media reports about a competing service, BLOCKBUSTER Online® is emphasizing that its online DVD service does not "throttle."

Throttling, a practice that limits the number of movies shipped to heavy online DVD renters, has recently drawn media attention.

"BLOCKBUSTER Online does not throttle. When we say our service offers unlimited rentals, we mean it," said Shane Evangelist, senior vice president and general manager for BLOCKBUSTER Online. "We don’t prioritize our customers’ movie fulfillment based on how often they use our service, and we don’t limit the number of movies a subscriber receives each month. We want our customers to get the full entertainment value that comes from a subscription plan, whether that’s watching 20-plus movies a month or five." Evangelist added.

BLOCKBUSTER Online subscribers can choose from several rental plans, starting as low as $9.99, with the $17.99 three-movie-out plan being the most popular. Movies are sent directly to subscribers’ homes by mail to be viewed at their convenience with no due dates or extended viewing fees.

"Our goal at BLOCKBUSTER Online is to see that our subscribers get their highest ranked movie selections as often as possible," added Evangelist. "Additionally, our subscribers receive one free in-store movie rental each week, so they can watch the DVDs they received through the mail or easily satisfy last-minute movie impulses with a trip to the nearest Blockbuster store."

About Blockbuster

Blockbuster Inc. is a leading global provider of in-home movies and game entertainment with more than 9,000 stores throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company may be accessed worldwide at www.blockbuster.com.

For additional information, please see our Terms and Conditions.

Netflix just started throttling me.  It's time to switch!

Quoted: Netflix just started throttling me.  It's time to switch!

Nope. All good here.

ANAWTS!

FFS PEOPLE! IT ALL DEPENDS WHERE THE DISTRIBUTION STATION IS (BE IT IN YOUR HOME TOWN OR NOT) AND IF IT IS AVAILABLE IN THAT NAMED STATION!!!

the closest distribution station is 60 miles from me.  There was always a 2 day turn around time.  I sent my last dvds in saturday the 4th.  Got a email confirming that they received them on monday.  I got an email tuesday saying to expect the next ones on friday.  None of them were new releases.

Thats it.  

I'm new to Netflix.  When I started a few weeks ago, I always received the movies the day after they mailed them, and they always received them the day after I mailed them.  And I had a pretty fast turnaround time.  For the last couple weeks, I still receive the movies the day after they mail them, but my returns mysteriously take at least at least two days to get back in their system.

The only problem with the class action lawsuit is the customer will get his movies a day earlier and the lawyers will split up 18.3 million or so in fees.  Sounds fair.  

Oh, I was too generous to the lawyers




"The Lawsuit Wasn't the Best Alternative to Address Throttling

Now that the Netflix suit is over, attorneys are $2.5 million richer, and affected Netflix subscribers will enjoy a one-month upgrade. In addition, it seems subscribers may get a bit more: After the settlement sparked protests, a hearing on a revised settlement took place this week, and on Wednesday, Netflix told the judge it will ensure that, in addition, 6 million consumers eligible for free DVDs won't be charged automatically after the one-month offer expires.

Since the cost of the suit, and the settlement, may only lead to higher prices for subscribers, one is forced to ask if the game was worth the candle."

Yes I have a good friend who had this happen to them last year. First they got GREAT turn around (center is only about 20 miles away) of 2-3 days but then it started stretching out to 7-10 days.

They cancelled the service.

Then a few months ago they read about the throttling, really pissed him off.

I definatly noticed it too, At first it was a two day turn around. Then suddenly could could only manage to get 3 disks a week to me. At first i put it down to slow mail or something, but i always returned all the movie at the same time in the same envelope. Some would get to me sooner than others after the return. This is bullshisse. And i never try to rent new releases only obscure stuff that was never in demand. The fact that they setteled the suit tells you they are cocksuckers. I wonder if i am eligible for an upgrade or something. Or better yet, NOW I DONT FEEL SO GUILTY ABOUT COPYING THIER DVD's!!!!!1          
PS- ha ha ha only kidding MPAA, i swear i dont copy no nuthin, i dunt know nuthin, i dunt do nuthin. I swear. OH GOd please dont sue me!  Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

tag for sober.

Throttled me, canceled them.  Fraud pisses me off.