Netflix

Netflix is one of an increasing number of online DVD rental services. Located in Los Gatos, California, the company provides a monthly flat-fee service where you can rent unlimited numbers of DVD discs with certain numbers of currently checked out titles. Unlike traditional DVD rental shops such as Blockbuster, there are no due dates, late fees, shipping or handling, or per-title rental fees, so you can keep DVD discs as long as you want. To rent a new DVD, one would return currently-held discs back to Netflix. At present (2003), Netflix offers monthly programs ranging from $14 to $40 with different checkout limits.

Netflix is one of few successful dot-com vetures actually making a profit. Started by Reed Hastings[?], initially Netflix had been offering a similar service to traditional DVD rental shops on-line until late 1999, fearing that flat-monthy programs might be too radical. However, after launching its subscription service, Netflix became very successful.

The key point of the company's success is its ease of use and comprehensiveness. Check-out at Netflix is not done in the traditional manner; discs are not due back within a few days after selection. Instead, you only need to select a list of DVD discs that you would like to rent. Unlike most online on-demand entertainment services, such as EMusic[?], the company offerings covers the vast range of DVD dics with over 13,500 titles (as of 2003), including titles by major studios.

Netflix is an example about the odd situation about copyright issues on the Internet. While it is possible and probably more convinient to download directly movies via the network, license issues and the fear of piracy prevents such a service.

Even though the site states they can transact only credit card in the U.S., actually they accept credit cards issued from banks outside U.S.

Homepage: http://www.netflix.com/

See also: DVD rental

External Links

• Salon.com Technology: "The Netflix Way" (http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/06/06/netflix/)
• Google Directory: DVD Rental (http://directory.google.com/Top/Shopping/Entertainment/Recordings/Video/DVD/Rental/)
• The Netflix Effect (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.12/netflix.html)