Is Netflix worth it?

[KeyMaster45]

I'm considering getting a subscription to the digital half of Netflix's service. Though I'm wondering if it would really be worth it.

You see I'm on the network provided by my university as part of the on campus housing, and it is abysmally slow when it comes to streaming or downloading anything. Two minute videos will take ten to load, (god help you if you want to watch in a resolution higher than 360p) simple downloads for files only 6mb in size can take upwards of thirty minutes.(I literally cannot get download speeds faster than 80kb/s most days and it's supposedly a high speed commercial line)

Thus my chief concern is if I would be getting my money's worth out of this on-demand service, or if I'd even be able to make use of it at all. Since I seem to be one of the few people left on the planet not subscribed to it I figure it best to get information from people who've actually used the service rather than the company website.

 

[PHOENIXRIDER57]

I was planning on getting faster internet connectivity and netflix around the same time. I got the Netflix first. It really sucks without high speed internet. The movies buffered SOOO slow. It is much better with high speed internet. Its way awesome now but I would not get it unless you are going to be able to stream the whole movie at once.

 

[Dr Druza]

I like it. Its got a ton of old series that I like, ie Arrested Development, News Radio, and Mystery Science Theater 3000. I don't really watch movies with it, though. However, that's because I work at a theater, so free movies for me =D

Definitely worth the eight bucks or so to test and see if your connection is up to par.

 

[Amberella]

I have Netflix and Hulu. :3 I don't watch TV much so it saves me money.

 

[Swifteye]

If you have a ps3 I would suggest netflix streaming. On ps3 it's free but you have to pay for it on xbox 360 for some reason. I like it but it hasn't exactly been doing well. It's lost a lot of business in the past few months and a real drop in subscribers so that may make the future of netflix uncertain. it hasn't stopped me from using it though but I thought you should know if you already had not.

 

[MisterGobbles]

It's a great service, with lots to watch and lots of ways to watch it, but I would definitely test it with your connection, maybe using someone else you know's account. Other than that, go for it, it's great.

 

[WarDialler]

Ok, here's the thing.
Your Uni's network isn't an ISP. The service they provide will be highly moderated and subject to firewalling. While you'll probably be able to request some firewall holes for things like WoW and online games, it's just not going to be fast enough for streaming vids, save your money or move out of halls and into a house share with a domestic internet connection.

Your Uni is connected to an academic WAN, probably the JANET or something, through which it gets it's internet connection. It chops that up piecemeal and distributes the bandwith to users all over campus including lecture theatres AND halls. Your IT people don't want you streaming high bandwith video over thier network at peak hours becuase it slows the whole network down, making it slow for other users who may want the bandwidth for academic reasons.

Sorry, I know it sucks to come from home where your broadband is plentiful and delicious to an Academic network where the internet is supplied as a freebie addon. The only way around it is a real ISP, and that means moving out of halls.

 

[Something Amyss]

Most people didn't read the OP, it seems.

I'm guessing not. The quality drops on my Netflix if my broadband speed farts.

 

[KeyMaster45]

Ok, here's the thing.
Your Uni's network isn't an ISP. The service they provide will be highly moderated and subject to firewalling. While you'll probably be able to request some firewall holes for things like WoW and online games, it's just not going to be fast enough for streaming vids, save your money or move out of halls and into a house share with a domestic internet connection.

Your Uni is connected to an academic WAN, probably the JANET or something, through which it gets it's internet connection. It chops that up piecemeal and distributes the bandwith to users all over campus including lecture theatres AND halls. Your IT people don't want you streaming high bandwith video over thier network at peak hours becuase it slows the whole network down, making it slow for other users who may want the bandwidth for academic reasons.

Sorry, I know it sucks to come from home where your broadband is plentiful and delicious to an Academic network where the internet is supplied as a freebie addon. The only way around it is a real ISP, and that means moving out of halls.

Ehh, I've been putting up with it for a year and a half now and really video streaming and direct downloading of files (I pre-load all my games on Steam at the start of each semester) is the only problem I've had. I knew from the get go though that the university gets its net access through Comcast so some slow down was expected based on that alone. What was unexpected was getting speeds slower than dial-up when elsewhere on campus things ran at speeds on par with what I had back home. /shrug My previous uni allowed us to choose between their free internet or pay for high speed service from the local cable company. It was dirt cheap for students so most went with that and I had no problems. I don't know enough to understand why they can't do that here but I'd gladly pay extra to stop using the university's RESNET.

Still, crappy internet is a small price to pay for the convenience of living on campus.(saves on gas too)

 

[Fusioncode9]

I'm considering getting a subscription to the digital half of Netflix's service. Though I'm wondering if it would really be worth it.

You see I'm on the network provided by my university as part of the on campus housing, and it is abysmally slow when it comes to streaming or downloading anything. Two minute videos will take ten to load, (god help you if you want to watch in a resolution higher than 360p) simple downloads for files only 6mb in size can take upwards of thirty minutes.(I literally cannot get download speeds faster than 80kb/s most days and it's supposedly a high speed commercial line)

Thus my chief concern is if I would be getting my money's worth out of this on-demand service, or if I'd even be able to make use of it at all. Since I seem to be one of the few people left on the planet not subscribed to it I figure it best to get information from people who've actually used the service rather than the company website.

Just get the month long free trial and see if your internet connection is good enough for Netflix.