Right now Netflix is offering a 1 Month Free Trial!
(Normally only a 2 week trial) You can stream videos through your PC or your TV using Wii, XBOX or PS3. For only $2 get unlimited videos by mail too.
I went off of Netflix when Redbox started popping up everywhere, but now that Redbox can not get new releases and never seems to have what we want I am thinking I will switch back to Netflix and avoid paying extra when we forget to take a movie back. Plus with a free trial you really can’t go wrong!
Netflix is a great way to watch TV series and they now have many popular series available to stream right through your PC or TV. Cathy has a membership and does this all the time. She will watch Castle with her hubby or stream kids shows for her kids.
We are thinking of downgrading our cable. I am a little spoiled with a DVR machine and On Demand. Would this be a good way to still see shows that I normally record?
It depends on the shows. I watch lots of shows online for free using hulu or just the networks site abc, nbc. but if you want to watch all of Lost or Scrubs or old episodes of The Office, netflix is the way to go!
Thanks Monica! Do you know how soon after a show is on does it go to Netflix. For example if The Office plays Thursday how soon after will that episode air on Netflx.
Emily-
I am not currently with netflix so I will ask Cathy to confirm, but I think that you would only have access to tv series that have been released on video, but I could be totally wrong. I will ask Cathy.
Emily- What show are you looking for?
Emily – right now the most recent Office season is last season. So Monica is right, they aren’t up on Netflix until they’ve been released on DVD. We just watch current shows on their website like Monica mentioned. We don’t have cable either, but there are many of the cute little shows for my littles to watch (Backyardigans, Blues Clues, Dora, Thomas), and my older kids enjoy Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, and Sonny With a Chance.
Many thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!! This info helps. Maybe we will try for the month and see how it works!
So does this count for if you’ve already been a member before? We had it up until a few months ago (a bit after the hubby got laid off) and had to drop it. Can we do this again do you reckon?
Ali-
I wish I knew. I think you will just have to try and see. Maybe try using a different credit card this time and it may help? Seems like a few months may be enough time to count you in?
Looks like you have to have not had a membership within the last 12 months. Boo.
Since I think tv is often the opiate of the masses, I am embarrassed to admit that I know a ton about this subject. 1. Netflix doesn’t get new releases any sooner than Redbox, in most cases. This is because of deals studios cut to get people to buy for a period of time before they go out for mass rental. 2. nbc.com, abc.com, or itunes (maybe amazon VOD too)( is the place to see the episodes you just missed – not streaming Netflix. 3. If you have already had an account, you just need to register under a different name (husband) / credit card and you can try again. It is the best way to find out about how you feel about the waiting period between release and when they get a movie. For us, it’s so awesome because I like weird independent films and BBC tv programs that Redbox and even theaters around here often don’t even get.
Thanks Amy!
Can you go through swagbucks and still get tthe 1 mo free? I’m on a trial membership now, and I’m curious if the trial is only a limited amt of movies, or is what they offer on the trial all they offer as a membership? Example: the kids movies are okay, but I’m expecting more current movies… and I don’t have the mail dvd’s to me option for the extra $2… do they offer more movies through the mail option too? For some reason it doesn’t seem like a lot of movies to choose from (or at least not a lot of current movies that have come out within the last 5 years LOL!)
You can use the trial membership just as you would use a regular membership. You will have the option to pick which ‘level’ you want (only streaming, 1 DVD plus unlimited streaming, 2 DVDs plus unlimited streaming, and I think there may be a 3 DVD option too), they will quote you the after trial monthly price for that level, and then after the trial you will be charged for the service unless you cancel.
There are hundreds of thousands of titles available on DVD, including all the new releases you could think of (once they’re available, as someone else said a few of the studios cut a deal with the rental stores to delay redbox and netflix release dates).
When we had our free month membership we watched probably 3-6 hours a day of instant streaming (this replaced our satellite and so that was the total family TV/movie viewing for the day) and watched probably 5 or 6 DVDs from the mail service.
I heart Netflix! I’ve had a membership for four or five years now. I don’t pay for cable or Redbox. (I almost always had late fees.) 100% of my TV/Movie watching is through Netflix for $10 a month. Though you can’t watch the most recent episodes instantly, there are TONS of my favorite shows on Netflix, plus about one bazillion kiddie shows. I get both the instant view and the in the mail movies.
Here’s another cool way you watch instant view–if you have a newer model Blu-ray player you can stream them through that. We got our Sony Blu-ray player last summer, and that’s how we watch our instant view. You can even view instant view through more than one media source at the same time. For instance, I turn a movie on for the kids through the Blu-Ray player downstairs, and then I watch a different movie on my laptop upstairs while I’m exercising. There’s lost of exercise videos on there, too, which I love as I get sick of doing the same ones over and over.
We dropped our satellite a few months ago and got netflix instead. I LOVE it! We have the 1 DVD out at a time option plus unlimited streaming, for $10.59 a month (including tax). I HIGHLY recommend it. I would make sure to get an option with 1 DVD, not just the streaming. The movies that instantly stream change up frequently…stuff goes off and then back on. Which isn’t a big deal, unless you’re partway through a series and it disappears (but you can still get it on DVD at that point). We’ve thought about upping it to 2 DVDs at a time, so that we could be watching a series on DVD and also getting new release movies for weekends. We tend to get about 1-3 DVDs in the mail per month, some weeks we’ll get 3 different movies, sometimes we’ll have one sitting on top of the tv for a month. Their DVD selection is HUGE! I have only very rarely thought of something I want to watch and not had it on DVD, and those were always odd non-fiction things.
My kids now watch blues clues, dora, diego, super why etc via the wii…even my 2 year old can pick her own shows. My favorite thing is the tv series…and yes, they only have things that are already on DVD. We recently started watching Battlestar Galactica (sci-fi series from 2004 remake of a 70s show) and it’s awesome to be able to just watch a whole series in a few months…no more fingernail biting!
We have 3 current shows on USA that we are totally hooked on (White Collar, Burn Notice, and Psych) and we just watch them by hooking the laptop up to the big screen and going to usanetwork.com. Almost any network or cable show will have the 5 most recent episodes available to watch on their website, so that’s the way to watch the current stuff.
For us it’s been such a great trade. It took a few months to convince hubby, and he misses basketball on TNT, but for $40 savings a month he’ll live with it. I also convinced my parents to drop their cable (and home phone) and get Netflix and an extra line on their cell plan with their old home #…my mom grumbles that she can’t just ‘watch tv’ but they are saving $100 a month!
We have not had cable for over 2 years and have relied on Netflix and regular old antennae tv. If I miss a show that is on a certain night, you do have to track it down on Hulu or the network website, but Netflix offers everything else. We use our PS3 to stream Netflix through to the tv and are getting a blu-ray player so we can stream to a second tv as well. Since we saved so much money not having dish or cable for the last two years, we figured it was about time to expand from one tv to 2!! I love having the ability to go back and watch all the way from season 1 for series that I newly discover. My son also watches his “cartoons” on Netflix. He just goes to a certain area (that is age appropriate) and picks whatever he wants. I also love the variety of movies. Just because something is not a new release doesnt mean it is not worth watching!!
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