Lovefilm

[Emperor]

I thought I'd split this off as it might be handy to have a Lovefilm thread.

[Tiplodocus]

Thanks - I was thinking I'd caused a slight thread drift this afternoon.

THEM seems to be streaming perfectly fine so I'm not sure if the theory up a bit about older films is true.

I've got a SONY BLU_RAY player (basically a pS3 without the gamey bits - same interface and everything) up in our big room plugged into the HD telly and it's right next to the wireless router.  HD films (when we've rented from QRIOCITY sometimes pause and stutter) but SD films are fine. (And in fact, oneof the HD films has been fine as well - unfortunately it was RIO).

It's also got a USB port so I'm going to try stick Walking Dead Season 2 on a memory stick (when it comes on 5) and see if that works.

For my next trick, I'm trying to get VUZE on the PC working properly with it so I can stream stuff from the PC to the big room.

And then I'm looking for a FREEVIEW HD box with recorder but they still seem expensive at the moment.


(Can't/won't get satellite because we are surrounded by trees and can't get cable because we are a wee bit away from the main road and cable companies won't come install for us).

[I, Cosh]

I don't understand why they don't just put their entire catalogue on streaming, but put a cap on how many you can watch in a month (with sliding price plans as with the discs) - surely that's where it's heading?

Presumably that's the ultimate goal but I assume there are issues with licensing for the different distribution platform. With Netflix trying to get into the UK market, I also reckon you'll see different studios striking deals with one or the other so neither one will be a one-stop-shop.

As for the disc option - my old housemate used to get the lovefilm discs through the post and they were often sratched and jumpy. I've still never seen the end of 'In Bruge' because the last 20mins of the disc were buggered. They offer to send you the same films again if this happens but that doesn't stop it ruining your evening!

That would be a pain. I've been using Lovefilm for about four years and have never had a faulty disc. Either I've been lucky or your mate's DVD player was knackered!

[skurvy]

I did the free one month trial with Netlix and found it as mentioned above - good service, decent pic quality, pretty fast streaming over wireless but a bit lacking in content. It was very easy to cancel though, no emails or phone calls needed as it's simply a case of cancelling your account from within your account settings online. I say it's worth a try as you may find the content more to your liking than I did.

[Emperor]

As for the disc option - my old housemate used to get the lovefilm discs through the post and they were often sratched and jumpy. I've still never seen the end of 'In Bruge' because the last 20mins of the disc were buggered. They offer to send you the same films again if this happens but that doesn't stop it ruining your evening!

That would be a pain. I've been using Lovefilm for about four years and have never had a faulty disc. Either I've been lucky or your mate's DVD player was knackered!

I'm averaging about one or so faulty DVDs a month, got two turn up at once which is a pain. Only one has failed to play at all (on my DVD player, laptop or desktop), usually I can get it working using VLC on the laptop to spot where the problem is then skip a minute or two beyond it.

The plus is that if you report a disc as faulty (even if you eventually get it working) then they'll send you an extra one immediately on top of your usually allowance, so at one point I ended up with 4 at home. Which is nice.

[Emperor]

Although LoveFilm seemed to have failed to get me two discs (although I can't report it until 4 days after they should have arrived apparently) they managed to get me two cards which give 2 months free subscription to new people signing up. This is their best offer yet apparently, and you get entered into a £5,000 prize draw too (Netflix must have them worried). So if anyone fancies one of these then speak up, it is well worth it, 2 months means you could put a dent in films you want to watch.

[Adrian Bamforth]

As far as I can tell, few people realise that there is also a pay-as-you-go option for DVDs from Lovefilm (min discs 3 over 3 months). This is handy if like me you don't get round to watching the regular 3 discs per month.

They seem to be keeping this option quiet and you can't find it easily on the web site.

http://www.lovefilm.com/help/dyn_faqs.html?editorial_id=10705

[Mardroid]

I didn't know they still did that Adrian. Thanks for posting.