Unless you’ve tried really hard to avoid tech news, you probably know that Netflix made two big announcements within the past few weeks: 1) it’s splitting up it’s DVD-by-mail and streaming media businesses and 2) it’s splitting up it’s DVD-by-mail and streaming media businesses.

The first time it made the announcement, it was just a price increase. If you wanted to have both services, you had to pay much more whereas previously you paid one price for both. The second time it made the announcement — get this — audaciously as an “apology” for lack of foresight for the consequences of the first announcement, it announced that not only where both services separate, more expensive prices but also that both services would be run now as independent companies with no integration.

What that means for the consumer is two separate accounts, two separate websites, two separate passwords, two separate places to rate your movies and get recommendations based on those ratings, etc. etc. In some ways, one might argue that this is a blessing in disguise. I mean, imagine if Comcast split it’s infamous bundle into three separate companies (phone, TV, and Internet) with a price increase for each. What would your first reaction be as a consumer?

I can tell you what mine was with Netflix: “It’s time to shop around.” I’ll still be keeping the Netflix DVD-by-mail service. (I’m not even going to try and type it’s new name, it’s faster for me to type this long sentence explaining that I have to look up the spelling of the stupidly named new company every time I want to mention it in writing.)

Netflix’s DVD service has the biggest catalog of “almost-on-demand” shows and movies I’ve ever found. And I’m generally willing to wait for something in the mail when it comes to older, eclectic content that I might want to watch.

But now that the streaming service is a separate company that offers no integration with the Netflix DVD service (a major competitive advantage that Netflix chose to give up), Netflix streaming no longer has my complacency to thank for me not looking elsewhere by default. You see, I was a loyal Netflix fan (for years) and just assumed that the company had it together and was better than alternatives out there.

Loyalty goes a long way. I was never that impressed with the Netflix streaming selection, and I had quality issues as well. (I pay for extra fast Internet and still had trouble getting HD to stream, after switching ISPs and making several 3-way calls between Netflix and my ISP with each side blaming the other, I never did get it resolved fully.) Now that Netflix is getting rid of most any reason for me to preserve my loyalty, it was time to look around. Enter Hulu Plus.

Hulu Plus costs $8 per month and is a Netflix streaming competitor that focuses on current TV shows. Another key difference is that it still includes some very limited advertisements that interrupt your TV watching experience. But after a weekend of playing with it, I haven’t had any issues streaming HD, and I’ve found the selection much better as compared to Netflix.

I’ve largely ignored Hulu (blogged about it back in 2008) in terms of usefulness for me personally because it always felt like an “online only” media experience. And I rarely, if ever, use computers or mobile devices to watch anything more than short clips. When it comes to real TV or movies, I prefer sitting back on my couch and looking at the big screen. Lucky for me, Hulu Plus makes that possible (as did Netflix) via nicely done integration with my Xbox 360.

In short, thank you Netflix, for trying so hard to destroy my loyalty toward you. As it turns out, it was keeping me from something that is a much better service for me.

This weekend I wanted to catch up on the D8 conference, which is basically a series of who’s who in the tech industry being interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. The D8 website has dozens of 5-minute clips but offers no convenient way to watch them in one sitting. Some of us, you know, can handle watching (dare I say, want to watch) certain things more than 5 minutes at a time.

Regardless, I’ll give a go at consuming your content the way you want me to. But how’s the experience? The audio is so low that I can barely hear it even with my laptop speakers maxed out while the viewing window is small, and the same 15-second commercial plays once between clips.

Is there an easy way for me to get this on my TV? No. And, by easy, I mean direct integration with my Blu-ray player (which has Netflix/Vudu/YouTube), my Xbox (Netflix/Zune/Media Center), or my cable box. (Plugging in cables to A/V equipment every time does not fall under “easy.”)

Meanwhile, while watching Real Time with Bill Maher, he continually reminds me to check out something called “Overtime” after the show (exclusively online). Basically, when the shows ends, the cameras keep rolling and Bill Maher continues the discussion with his guests a little while longer. I’m already in front of my TV, what if I want to watch this? Can I get it via my cable box or some other integration with my TV? No and no.

One more example: The always excellent Fareed Zakaria asks his viewers “the question of the week” each week on which he used to respond/comment the following week. Nowadays he’s quick to remind us that if we want to know more about the responses to the question of the week, we have to check out the show’s website.

Great. So I have all these screens in my house (computers, phones, TVs, etc.), and I’m the captive audience many of these media outlets want to engage with. So why not make it easy for me to consume any of your content on any screen?

*Update* How could I forget The Daily Show with Jon Stewart? At least a couple times a month he has interviews run long, which means you have to watch them online all over again to see what was edited out. Why are extended Jon Stewart episodes not available on demand somehow directly on my TV?

Warner Brothers had come up with a slick promotion to get some much needed buzz around Blu-ray. My consensus: great idea but flawed execution. Here’s how it works (and why it won’t work):

You send in the cover art sleeve (keep the disc) and the UPC from your HD DVD movies. And for $4.95 per movie, plus $6.95 S&H per order, you’ll be sent back brand new Blu-ray copies of any movies you have in HD DVD. There are a few restrictions (only 1 copy per movie and only up to 25 movies per household) but nothing really that prohibitive.

At first glace, it seems like a decent offer, especially for someone like me who bought an HD DVD player with 10 movies included for under $200. But why is Warner Brothers trying to make anything off of this? At best, they should be giving away these movies under these circumstances (to owners of the HD DVD versions) and, at worst, they should sell them at cost (which is likely quite a bit less than $5 per disc). Here’s why:

I’ve been interested in Blu-ray for sometime now. And I have blogged about my HD DVD decision mistake quite a bit along with my interest in eventually switching to Blu-ray. That is, if the format wars of online movie distribution don’t get resolved first. So any incentive to do this (like this one from Warner Bros.) gets me interested.

But I would go out and buy (or order via Amazon) a Blu-ray player right now — on the spot — if this offer were closer to pocket change. As it is, it’s still a significant cost to switch to Blu-ray (albeit at a lower cost than yesterday) with this extra $60 needed.

And me, combined with the much larger volume of switchers if this were free, being a Blu-ray customer for the next who knows how many years, with a Blu-ray Netflix account, is worth more to Warner Bros. than the short term $60. Actually, they’d get much less than $60, since only some of my movies are Warner Bros. which ties into the other reason this won’t work well.

Part 2 of the failed execution is not making this a much bigger deal by joining forces with Paramount and Universal and having them offer the same thing. If these companies really want Blu-ray to take off, these are the kinds of promotions they’re gonna have to start doing together.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still thinking about making the switch. But it’s not the impulsive, easy decision it should be (for me, and anyone else who made the bad HD DVD discretionary purchase and is not thinking of discretionary spending in a bad economy) for this to really help Warner Bros. in the long run.

My barometer for Blu-ray player pricing (the Amazon Blu-ray store) tells me that most players can’t get under the $200 price mark with the cheapest at $159. All this despite Engadget predicting earlier this year that the market would be flooded with $150-or-less players.

And even if I pay less than $150, that doesn’t mean I’m willing to give up the two most important features which are absent in my current crappy HD DVD player (but were present in my older regular DVD player — hate it when moving forward in one way is moving backward in two other ways): it needs to boot up fast and remembers where I left off in a movie (if I turn it off and then turn it back on).

So, nice try, Warner Bros. You got me thinking. But you need me to be decisive.

This past weekend I spent quite a bit of time doing some social networking spring cleaning. I use too many services, have too many “friends,” and don’t have good filters to get to the signal I want through all the noise. But that’s ok. Before I get complaining, I realize I should reflect on the fact that all of this social networking stuff didn’t even exist 10 years ago.

And until some entrepreneur (or company) solves the “problem” I’m facing, there are some incomplete solutions out there. For example, I use an app on my G1 phone called “Statusinator” to update Twitter and Facebook at the same time.

I also use FriendFeed to take my Delicious feed (which I have integrated into my browser) and automatically post to Twitter any articles I bookmark / find interesting. (And I use a combination of Google Reader and Techmeme to find/aggregate/organize all the articles coming in from my top 1oo-ish online sources.)

But that’s mostly viewing the situation from the perspective of broadcasting my “noise” in hopes that it’ll be part of someone else’s “signal.” What about a way for me to integrate/automate/filter the social noise/signal from my hundreds of friends across multiple platforms?

As a good friend of mine put it (via a tweet I have to copy and paste below since there’s no easy way to aggregate/automate this conversation I’ve been having everywhere):

“Ah. I’m seeing that ff [FriendFeed] only aggs [aggregates] what you broadcast on other sites, not what those sites agg [aggregate] from your friends there. .. this is hard.”

And from another conversation I’m having on TechCrunch (which again, I have to cut and paste here manually, see below). Plus, don’t forget the first comment thread I posted about earlier today. So anyone want to take on the challenge of making the real time conversation easier/aggregated/integrated/automated?

Bob Caswell – April 1st, 2009 at 11:54 am PDT

I’m not sure which site represents me or whoever else better or worse than other sites… BUT, I am getting tired of updating my status/profile/activity on 15 different sites. Any time I find new tools (FriendFeed and certain phone apps come to mind) that let me do something once and have it happen on all my profiles, I get very interested.

But we still have a ways to go before the conversation can be seamless across blogs/comments/Facebook/Twitter/FF/Amazon/Netflix, etc., etc.

David Pitta – April 1st, 2009 at 12:07 pm PDT

Bob – ping.fm is good for this. Send one status and have it update all your sites (or only certain ones).

jack sparrow – April 1st, 2009 at 2:14 pm PDT

God, what all of you became to?

Are you all a global-syndication-news agency that should register with any freaking web application out there?

Seriously, I’d love to learn about reasonable common-sense explanation for why people need profile on each and every social network.

Anyone?

Bob Caswell – April 1st, 2009 at 2:55 pm PDT

Don’t turn this into a false dichotomy with two extremes (one profile vs. one million). The truth is, lots of sites are used for different reasons and have different friends/colleagues on them.

People don’t “need” a profile on any site, but plenty want and use profiles on many sites. For those of us who do, some of us (me, anyway) would love to integrate/aggregate usage to save time.

Bob Caswell – April 1st, 2009 at 3:08 pm PDT

Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll look into it [ping.fm]… Now if there were only a service that could use your credentials from all your different profiles to aggregate/automate all your friends’ activities into one location, that’d be nice.

Throw on top of that a way to sort/sift/filter/search across everything by date/site/profile/friend/keyword, etc., and the one stop location could become a reality. As it is with current automation/aggregation, I still have to go to lots of different sites to get all parts of the conversation.

The first half of my title is taken straight from the title of an email I received from Netflix a couple days ago (see end of post for text of the email). In short, as of December 15, 2008, Netflix will no longer carry HD DVDs. Around the same time I got this email, coincidentally, a friend of mine sent me an email about an online sale offering $2 HD DVD movies.

You see, back before we knew the outcome of the HD wars (one year ago), I chose HD DVD over Blu-ray. I got a player and 10 HD DVDs for $174 (well, actually for $124 since Amazon gave me a “we feel sorry for you” $50 gift card once it was clear HD DVD lost). Interestingly enough, now Blu-ray prices are being slashed in the same way HD DVD prices were slashed a year ago.

The last time I checked out Blu-ray pricing on Amazon (my quick and dirty benchmark), the Playstation 3 was still the best deal (with any Blu-ray player cheaper still well into the $300′s but without the bonus of being a gaming system). But now, looking at Amazon’s list of Blu-ray players, the Samsung BD-P1500 player comes in lowest at $204.47.

It doesn’t stop there. Analysts are predicting more price cuts for this holiday season, and a leaked “Black Friday” ad for Wal-Mart shows a Magnavox Blu-ray player for $128. As I mentioned in a post nearly a year ago, the “format wars” matter more post HD DVD death than they did when the term referred to Blu-ray vs. HD DVD. It’s just that now “format wars” refers to Blu-ray vs. traditional DVD vs. streaming/downloadable content.

At under $200 I would consider a Blu-ray player, though my reasoning might seem unconventional. The HD DVD player I bought a year ago is my primary movie player for any disc (i.e., regular DVDs I own or get through Netflix, which is a lot of my media consumption). And its boot time / load time is excruciatingly slow, plus it doesn’t remember where I stopped a movie if I turn it off and back on again.

In other words, it’s a crappy DVD player even if it “upconverts” DVDs and plays HD DVDs. The question is, then, whether or not these under $200 Blu-ray players are dog slow with no memory feature. Hopefully Blu-ray isn’t making the same mistake as HD DVD on this front: releasing a player that feels crappy in every way other than picture quality. I could be wrong, but I think consumers still care about other conveniences too.

Unfortunately, the two conveniences/features I’m most interested in don’t seem to be easily comparable across products. This is where an Amazon deal or a Wal-Mart 4:00 a.m. deal lose out. I may only buy a Blu-ray player after I get to use it in a Best Buy (or wherever), which means I’ll likely be paying a premium.

Bottom line: In my opinion, Blu-ray is only a good buy if the premium over an upconvert DVD player isn’t much ($50ish more, meaning the Blu-ray player is well under $200) at the same time as the Blu-ray player having the same features we’ve come to expect from our movie players (in my case, boots up fast and remembers where I left off).

Does anyone know of a Blu-ray player that fits these criteria? I’ll update this post if I find anything.

*Update* Lots of below $200 deals coming out today, including one player that boasts a quick load time!

See below for the Netflix email:

HD DVDs are going away

Dear Bob,

Effective December 15, 2008, we will no longer carry HD DVDs. At that time, we will automatically replace any HD DVD titles in your Queue with standard DVDs when available. You don’t have to do anything.

Last February, we announced that since most of the major movie studios had decided to release their high-def movies exclusively in Blu-ray, we were going exclusively Blu-ray as well and would be phasing out our HD DVDs.

We’re sorry for any inconvenience. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call us at 1-888-638-3549.

- The Netflix Team

It seems that everyone and their dog is reporting on the shipping issues Netflix has been having for the past few days. So I figured I’d add my two cents: I don’t think it’s a big deal. Netflix, if you’re listening, don’t worry about crediting my account for the couple days I missed getting DVDs.

Sure, sure, we have the usual analysts telling us this will cost Netflix millions of dollars in lost revenue per day. And, of course, bloggers love pointing out the negative responses from customers. But, for me,  Netflix has under-promised and over-delivered dozens of time. I’m not sure how they get me my DVDs so lightening fast, but if it means their system breaking down for a couple days every once in a while… so be it.

Leave a comment below if you’re a Netflix customer that’s been satisfied enough in the past for this current situation not to ruin your day. Or am I only one?

Also, see below if you haven’t seen how Netflix has responded to its customers. Seems like a great response to me:

IMPORTANT: Your DVD Shipments Have Likely Been Delayed

We’re sorry to report that since Tuesday we’ve been experiencing issues with our shipping system, so many of you have not received DVDs in a timely manner and many of you have not received emails letting you know we got a DVD back from you.

We pride ourselves in delighting you, and we’ve let you down. We apologize and are working around the clock to restore normal operations. To all of you whose shipments have been delayed, we’ll be automatically applying a credit to your next billing statement. Or, if you are new to Netflix and your first shipments have been delayed, we recognize that this is not a good way to begin your Netflix membership and we’ll automatically extend your free trial.

Our goal is to ship DVDs as soon as possible and to keep you updated. Again, we are sorry for the inconvenience we’ve caused you and thank you for your patience.

The Netflix Team

*Update* Looks like everything is back to normal after three days of disruption. And Netflix is giving anyone affected a 15% credit for next month.

About a month ago, I ordered an Xbox 360. My reasoning for not having one has revolved around the fact that I have plenty to keep me busy (in a good way) with PC games. But then came the announcement that pushed me to purchase: Netflix would soon be available via the Xbox 360. The irony here, though, is that I haven’t even experienced that combination (coming in the fall) but now wouldn’t give up my Xbox 360 even if the Netflix deal didn’t work out. Here’s why:

Comfortable Couch

Though my office chair is comfy enough, it’s not the same as our ultra-comfy couches. While I’ve traditionally favored the precision of a mouse and keyboard, they kind of force you more into a lean-forward position. You can play console games practically laying down (if you feel like it), something not very doable with PC games.

Game Demos

I had no idea this existed, but you can download/install/play a demo of practically any game available for the Xbox 360. It’s such an effortless process that it makes doing the same thing on a computer look like rocket science. I’ve always been a fan of game demos but hate the clunky process on the PC.

First, you have to find the right file to download, then you have to find a site that lets you download it without waiting in line first. Next comes the install which often asks you to install/update drivers. Then, if you’re lucky, it might just work without you having to tweak some settings or repeat some of the process above. With the Xbox 360, there is no install process, and the system works flawlessly every time (browse titles using an excellent user interface, download quickly with one button push, and play within a matter of minutes).

Streamlined Online Experience

Here is yet another area where the Xbox 360 shines and the PC has issues. If I want to play a game online with a friend, it’s often a nightmare on the PC. You have to adjust/tweak/disable hardware and software firewalls on both ends. Unless you want your computer to be openly available on the Internet, this process it different for every game. What else is different for every game on the PC? Voice chat.

But on the Xbox 360, there’s a platform built-in and easy to use (and the same) for every game. Playing games and chatting with friends is a couple button pushes away, every time! Pardon the excitement, it’s just that it’s such a new concept for a PC gamer. Also, I’m a fan of the gamertag and “achievement” points. Basically, every Xbox 360 gamer has a profile that shows which games he/she has played and what points he/she has achieved throughout all these games. In short, I love the features that come from the whole gaming experience being housed in a controlled environment.

Big Screen, Big Sound

We have a 46″ HD TV with speakers much nicer sounding than the set on our PC… enough said.

Media Extender

Previously, looking at our pictures (or other media) on the big screen consisted of plugging in a laptop. It’s easy enough but annoying enough that I don’t do it that often. But who knew it was so easy to link up your Xbox 360 with your PC? And then there’s the nifty ability to listen to any of our music (streamed from our PC) in the background while playing whatever game.

Fighting Games

I’m a huge fan of Dead or Alive 4 and the recently released Soul Calibur IV even if, in the past, I resorted to playing these types of games only when hanging out at someone’s place where they were available. But it’s fun to indulge in a genre that is practically non-existent on the PC (yeah, yeah, it’s there, and so is RTS on the console… but we know which platform was meant for each of these genres).

Conclusion

And there you have it: a gaming experience unlike any other. I’m not saying that overall it’s better necessarily, just different (well, it is better in some ways but the reverse is true too). And different in this case is also great.

As for PC gaming… I still stand by my previous posts “PC Gaming Is For Fools, But I Still Love It” and “PC Gaming Is Expensive and a Hassle, But I’m Lovin’ It.”

Back in February, I titled a post “Dear Microsoft: Get Netflix on the Xbox 360 and I’ll Buy One.” True to my word, today I ordered an Xbox 360 following the latest announcement. I’m a huge fan of Netflix and have always had an interest in getting an Xbox 360 (even though I’m more of a PC gamer).

Considering that we already had a Wii in our home, though, an Xbox 360 just seemed unnecessary (again, even though the Xbox 360 is quite different than the Wii, my gaming experience quota was plenty full with Wii and PC gaming). But the Netflix bonus is just enough for me to go for it.

It looks like the deal is exclusive (sorry Sony, another item to add to your list of missed opportunities) and that there might be plans for group watching of movies over Xbox Live? Remember when HD DVD made this happen with Harry Potter?

It seems like a cool idea even if it seems a little weird to be having a movie party over the Internet. But that could just be my resistance to a new concept, which really isn’t solving much of a problem out there. Whatever the case, I’m all over giving new features a try.

By the way, it also helps that today a friend of mine emailed me about a sale Amazon is having on the Xbox 360 Elite. I guess it’s a sign.

Last night Netflix sent out an email (full text below) explaining that it will be getting rid of profiles. For those unfamiliar, the profile feature allows one account to have multiple profiles. For example, you could pay $13.99 to get 2 DVDs at a time sent to your addresss but have one DVD come from your queue of chosen movies while the other DVD comes from another queue of movies.

It also allowed each queue owner to have their own movie ratings, recommendations, friends, etc. This feature is/was especially useful for families. As long as you’re all at the same address, you could pay for the 2-at-a-time plan and have your movie ratings, friends, recommendations, notes (basically all features) separate from your spouse’s.

Not only is Netflix taking this feature away, the company is also reminding us that we don’t own our own data. In the FAQ about this decision, Netflix states the following (emphasis added):

• Your additional Profile Queues will be eliminated. If you would like to keep a copy of each Profile Queue we recommend that you print them out
• Prior to Profiles going away, we will also email you a copy of your Profile Queues
• Profiles movie ratings and Profiles Friends connections will no longer be available
• You will not be able to transfer your Profiles data to a separate new account

So if someone in your household has written movie reviews, made friends, rated movies, sent notes, received recommendations, etc. — basically done any of the cool so called “web 2.0″ features made available on the site — they lose it all. You don’t even have the option to pay to keep it. How infuriating.

Netflix is quickly losing its otherwise positive image from this stupid mistake. The uprising has already begun. See Hacking Netflix for around 200 mostly negative responses or Get Satisfaction for another 50 or so. Some are hoping that there’s time for Netflix to change its mind, but Netflix spokesperson Steve Swasey said that the decision is a “final decision.”

See below for the ambiguous email sent from Netflix last night:

Important News Regarding Netflix Profiles

Dear Bob,

We wanted to let you know we will be eliminating Profiles, the feature that allowed you to set up separate DVD Queues under one account, effective September 1, 2008.

Each additional Profile Queue will be unavailable after September 1, 2008. Before then, we recommend you consolidate any of your Profile Queues to your main account Queue or print them out.

While it may be disappointing to see Profiles go away, this change will help us continue to improve the Netflix website for all our customers.

If you have any questions, please go to http://www.netflix.com/Help?p_faqid=3962 or call us anytime at 1 (888) 638-3549. We apologize for any inconvenience.

- The Netflix Team

*Update* So much for the “final decision,” Netflix has been “persuaded by the well-reasoned, sincere responses of loyal members” to reverse its decision!

Last week plenty of rumors were floating around about a potential Microsoft / Netflix partnership. The announcement was supposedly going to happen during the keynote address (by Xbox Live exec John Schappert) at the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco last Wednesday. The concept: make it so Netflix’s 7,000 available “Watch Instantly” movies would be viewed easily on your TV via the Xbox 360.

But sadly, this rumor didn’t prove to be accurate (yet); no such announcement was made even if the excitement surrounding the news was anything but restrained. Just check out the comments on any of the sites I linked to above. I couldn’t find anyone thinking this possibility was a bad idea for the consumer. Instead, there was plenty of this:

• “I don’t even use Netflix right now, but I would sign up in a second if I could stream their catalog to my 360! Do it now!!!” (via Gizmodo)
• “I would reactivate my NetFlix account if this was going to happen soon.” (via Gizmodo)
• “I’d probably sign up for Netflix again if this happens. What about you guys?” (via CrunchGear)
• “I would definitely get netflix again if I could get it over my 360.” (via CrunchGear)
• “I totally agree. I have often considered Netflix but never did it for one reason or another. THIS, sells me.” (via Engadget)
• “This would force me to buy a subscription. Do it netflix. You’ll be rolling in $$$.” (via Engadget)

Now, it’s interesting to note that most comments focused on this being a benefit for Netflix (in terms of gaining new customers). Microsoft has already been renting movies through its Xbox Live service for over a year even if the catalog is pretty weak: 300 movies. But I’m doubting that feature has been behind many Xbox 360 purchases.

Netflix, on the other hand, currently has 7,000 movies and TV shows available via its Watch Instantly service. That may seem small compared to the more than 90,000 DVDs in its library, but that 7,000 is on the rise and has more than doubled since the online service went live a little over a year ago. Plus, it’s still a much larger library than most other video-on-demand services available through cable companies.

Of course, most all the sources I quoted above include a relatively tech savvy audience already likely to have an Xbox 360. And I personally think the potential (again, in terms of gaining new customers) is just as strong for Microsoft and wanted to take the chance to agree with this MSNBC article:

“But Netflix is a household name. My parents have a Netflix membership. The company has fended off (at least so far) competitive attempts by everyone from Wal-Mart to Blockbuster. And it has 7.5 million subscribers, many of whom might be convinced to buy an Xbox 360 for the sheer convenience of true on-demand movies – and to not have to mail back those DVDs anymore.” (emphasis added).

An interesting statistic would be just how much overlap there is between the two currently (i.e., how many people are already both an owner of an Xbox 360 and a member of Netflix). For now, all I can say is that I am a Netflix member and would buy an Xbox 360 if this rumor came true. Anyone else?