For years I used Netflix DVD by mail service and loved it. The sheer scope of options was unbelievable and at the time, it seemed that almost every piece of content I wanted was available. It was amazing and maybe still is. However, times and priorities changed and so I unsubscribed. Spin forward about 5 years and a month ago I was ready to try again. However, I am used to the flexibility of on-demand content provided by Comcast, err XFinity, although the price leaves much to be desired. The idea of unlimited streaming with a vast content library was an appealing and so I decided to give Netflix another go; unfortunately, the result was not what I expected.
I have eclectic movie tastes and this is largely driven by the younger contingent in my house. We frequently watch kid-friendly content like Rio, Despicable Me, Cars or even Megamind. These are entertaining movies that are age appropriate for the younger set, but also have enough adult-centric content to interest parental types. Comcast/XFinity is well stocked with these movies, but unfortunately, they charge somewhere between $4.00 and $5.00 for the privilege of watching this content which is frustrating and can really add up. You can imagine my excitement of getting access to similar content via Netflix on my Roku while paying a relatively low monthly fee. Awesome….well not so much.
The concept of Netflix streaming is great, but I was horribly disappointed in the content. It was awful and was nothing like what I remembered from the DVD days. Entering the Netflix service, I had assumed that the streaming content breadth would be similar to what I remembered from the days of DVD. It was not even close! In fact, I could not find ANY of the movies listed above on Netflix streaming, not one, and a search of kid friendly movies was terribly disappointing. The selections were so limited that my kids were uninterested in any of the options which defeated the purpose of the service!
I really wanted to like Netflix streaming. I love the idea of the all you can watch model and the flexibility of on-demand access, but am sorely disappointed. At this point, I am just thankful that Netflix offers a free trial and so no money was wasted. It is sad how a service that I once valued so highly has fallen so far. Thanks Netflix for showing me what a movie rental service should be and what a streaming service should not be.