First Impressions: Netflix

About a week ago, I signed up for the Netflix, unlimited monthly DVD movie service. For $17.95, I can watch as many DVD movies as I want, with the limitation that only 3 movies can be in my possession at any time. I was prompted to try Netflix when I discovered that the "no late fee" policy of Blockbuster was quite complex and not a friendly as the signs on the stores or on the Web made it out to be. I think that I read any article in the NY Times or Wall Street Journal about the Blockbuster policy of converting a rental to a sale after you have the rental for 8 days and an undefined "stocking fee" if you brought it back after the 8th day. You can read about the details of the blockbuster policy at

http://www.blockbuster.com/corporate/displayFAQDetails.action?faqId=1090566

Netflix states in their terms of use that they will not charge the user for an occasional lost DVD, though they will charge the account if too many DVDs get lost (or eaten by a 100 pound Airedale Terrier). I've lost a video every now and then over the years and I recall Blockbuster charging me around $75 once for a tape that was probably 2-3 years old. I like the Netflix policy which assumes that people occasionally lose small, thin silver things.

Sign up for a 30 day trial period was simple. The first screen was simple with 4 tabs: Welcome, How It Works, Browse Selection, and Start Your FREE TRIAL. The fields for email address (which serves as a username) and for creating a password occupied center stage and there was a phone number with the support hours available if you had questions. There were also a prominent "secure server" icon. The password field had a hint that passwords were case sensitive and could be from 4-10 characters long. After entering your email and password you fill out an address form. Required fields were bold with an asterisk. The system validates addresses according to US Postal Service standards. If you forget to enter a required field the label and border of the field is highlighted in red.

The main page for choosing movies after you sign-in is on the Browse tab. You can browse movies by clicking on links to 18 genres of movies and then choosing from subgenres or you can use a search feature in the upper right. I tried searching for movies with robots and was surprised when I got only 3 hits (that didn't include the Invisible Boy, Forbidden Planet, or Colossus: The Forbin Project) but then I noticed that the search also displayed "genre matches", in this case, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Cyborgs, & Robots (I will call this subgenre, Cyborgs & Robots). I started browsing through the Cyborgs & Robots results, but had no idea how many movies were there. It would help to provide feedback on how many items there were. I clicked about 7 times to look at all the robot movies and still no Invisible Boy or Forbidden Planet where the robot is a key figure, but not the whole thrust of the movie. So if you want movies with robots in them, you might struggle a bit to find the movie you wanted. I typed "Fobin Project" into the search field to find the movie "Colossus: The Forbin Project". The movie appeared in the results list even though I misspelled it, a good thing.

After experimenting a bit, I decided to order three movies so I added them to my queue. The way Netflix works is that you create a list of movies that you want to see and Netflix sends you three at a time. When you return moves, they send you the next available items in your queue. Netflix reminds members to keep their queue filled. You can even set up separate queues for family members (I haven't done that yet). Netflix shows you the items that are "At Home" and those that are "In Your Queue". You can delete items by just clicking on a check box and then clicking and Update Your Queue button. You can also change the priority of movies for shipping if you decide that the 10 movie in your queue is the one that you really want now.

I ordered my first three movies and got an email that my order had been received and then an email when they had shipped with the expected arrival date. The movies appeared in red envelopes about 3 days later, right on schedule. I live near Boston and noticed that the movies were shipped from Worcester, about 30 miles away. Netflix has distribution points (29 I believe) around the country and they try to ship from the site nearest your address.

The envelopes with the movies are also used to return the movies (there are postpaid with return labels already pasted on). The first time assembling the return envelope was just a little tricky and you should know that you have to remove an adhesive strip to seal the envelope -- I licked the edge and realized that was not the correct procedure. There is a picture and instructions on the envelope that describe how to insert the disk and send it back. You get an email for each movie when it is returned so you know if there is a problem. The email feedback engenders trust in the system.

So far, I would give Netflix 4 stars.