Netflix

I'm sure most of you have heard that Netflix is splitting off its DVD by mail service into some lame-ass Qwikster (what is it 1999 again?).  I've been a member of Netflix since 1999 and it's gone from awesome to pretty cool to hmmm... I have a pretty decent home theater setup with my big ass screen so I prefer to watch stuff on DVD or BluRay since I get the nice picture with lossless audio.  Streaming is convenient, but the video is compressed, the sound is two channel stereo only and the selection is pretty poor and, apparently, random.

I'm not quite sure what to do going forward.  I think I'll keep the DVD by mail plan going forward since I like having something to watch 1-2 times a week and I think I'll cancel the streaming part.  It's only $8, but it's something I can do without.  I'm not happy that two services --> two companies with two different queues.  I read it has something to do with studio prices, but that's Netflix's problem; I'm looking for maximal convenience.

I canceled cable a couple of months ago and I don't really miss it.  I can still watch football via over the air channels and I can get League Pass when/if the NBA starts up.  I have Amazon Prime, but their free selection is pretty lame and the rentals are kind of expensive.  Yeah, $2 doesn't sound like much, but it's over the internet so it's not going to be HD and it's not going to have the rockin' sound.  I didn't get a 10' screen for the basement to stream compressed video with tin can sound.

What I don't understand is that, while technology advances, media offerings shrink.  You've got restrictive cell phone plans with data caps.  Sure, let me buy a 4G phone that lets me download video at 14Mbs (what my colleague got at work with his Bionic), but... uh oh.  Hit the 2GB data cap (I'm actually grandfathered in to unlimited).  Not cool.  I know these companies have to make money, but why did they lay thousands of miles of optical fiber?  Are we really bandwidth limited at this point?  Why is 3Mbs considered high speed internet in the US when other countries are over 100Mbs?

Maybe I'll go up to two movies out at once with Qwikster and have my housemate get the streaming plan.  Hmmm... In any case, Netflix has really crapped the bed this year and are likely to run themselves out of business with a year or two.  They had a great idea, but in a market with next to no barriers to entry.  Can they really compete with Amazon or iTunes for streaming when Amazon and Apple have billions in cash?