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But since getting the first disc of The Wire, I've decided that I'm willing to drop down to the 1-at-a-time plan so that I can see the rest of the seasons. I figure I'm much more likely to find 3 1-hour blocks in my week than 1 2+-hour block. So I'm keeping it for now.
However, in your case, it seems like you might benefit from a Blockbuster online account, possibly their "one-at-a-time" deal. Instead of sending the DVD back in the mail, you can bring it to your local Blockbuster and exchange it for a free rental - the store then also sends in the disc you turned in, and Blockbuster online sends the next disc in your Queue.
Find out what your library offers and if you can put holds on them (we don't allow holds on feature films, but do on TV series). I know I am lucky to work for an awesome public library, but I also know from looking at other library OPACs that the goodness is out there!
You can probably get LL Cool J's new weightlifting book for your new exercise plan ;)
http://finance.webaplex.com/01/blockbuster-bbi-...
http://www.blockbuster.com/totalaccess
Any time you watch a movie, instead of mailing it back, you take it into Blockbuster and exchange it for a free in-store rental. Plus they scan your old movie and take it out of your queue and send the next one asap.
And you still get an in-store free rental coupon once a week.
With a Blockbuster across the street from us, Netflix will never come close to this deal, even if they're offering movie downloads (which they are now).
But I think the trick is only subscribe to something if you really need it. And you need some time to find out if you can live without it.
With regards to tv, I found that if I unsubscribe from cable, then I tend to watch less TV. So maybe the thing to have done is to see how you would have reacted when you dumped your cable. If you really miss watching your shows or movies, then netflix make sense. Same with gym memberships. Go running, do situps and push ups at home first. If you are still working out after 2 months and can do 100 situps and 100 pushups, then perhaps a gym membership is due. But joining a gym to fulfill your 2007 goals in January will most likely mean you no longer go to the gym in February!!
Download some DVD ripping software (I use "DVD Decrypter", but there are other good ones as well).
The very day you receive a DVD from NetFlix, rip it to your hard drive. Put it in the outgoing mail the very next day. Use this strategy to maximize your NetFlix throughput (although they will eventually slow down the throughput on your account).
Now you have effectively decoupled your ability to watch from your ability to rent. You maximize the return on your rental dollars, and "time shift" your viewing to whatever time works for you.
If and when you think you have six-months or year worth of viewing stored on your hard drive, cancel your NetFlix account.
Svenson sounds like a student :). In our school students do it all the time. They use "DVD Shrink" software.
Problem with this is I am not sure it's legal :). Also, I don't think that works on SONY releases...the process always ends up with some kind of read error.
"DVD Shrink" is good too. That is my preferred program when I want to shrink a movie down to 4.7GB in order to make a backup copy.
A problem with both DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter is that they haven't been updated in awhile. Like Golbguru mentions, some vendors (like Sony) have found ways to abuse the DVD standard and make their disks harder to read. The older programs just can't handle this corruption gracefully, but the newer ones don't have any problem.
If you have newer disks like this, I'd try DVDFab or AnyDVD. I just didn't bring this up in my first post since I wanted to keep it simple.
I had contemplated Netflix but decided I probably wouldn't watch enough movies to make it worthwhile.
I am convinced that most users don't realize a discount because it's impossible to fit their viewing schedule to the vagaries of the mail service and Netflix's processing. And who would want to be tied down to a movie just whenever it arrives? Video rental is there to fill up free time.
There was a recent interview with Netflix's founder, where he smugly alludes to the preference of users for a fixed cost regardless of return. Netflix is not your friend.
The power is placed in the consumer's hands.
I never tried Netflix because it seems quite experience for the limited control you have. Only 1 video at a time unless you want to pay the big bucks for a monthly subscription.
It can certainly be a waste of money if you keep the DVDs for a long time, but that's pretty easy to avoid.
TiVO is great, but it's limited to things that are airing on TV somewhere now. For older stuff, it's often impossible to find what one wants anywhere in the schedule. Unless, of course, one isn't picky about what one wants.
dude, I totally support the right to make personal backup copies of any media I've purchased. This however, in no way, shape or form, even with the most liberal lawyer on the planet, extends to renting DVD's from netflix.
That said, I'm not opposed to the practice, I just don't think anyone here should even remotely think it's legal.