A Dozen Years of DVD Home Delivery Ends

I am one step closer to cutting the cord.  Last month, after nearly a dozen years of DVD home delivery, I switched to a streaming-only Netflix account.  I joined Netflix in November 2005, before streaming was available, originally opting to have three DVDs available at once at home.  Back then, I joined because I really hated due dates, especially from the then very popular home video rental giant BlockBuster.  Where is BlockBuster now?  (Hint:  Netflix bought them)

I searched through my email archive to see the milestones in my Netflix account changes.  I added Blu-Ray discs as a preferred format in 2008 and I believe the “instant watch” or streaming plan became available in 2009.  In 2011, I changed from three to two DVDs at home at once, not wanting to give-up my ‘life-line’ to non-streaming movies and television shows.

Last month, my attitude changed because a couple of series I wanted to watch were not available via streaming nor physical media from Netflix or my local library.  Specifically, The Man in the High Castle, only available through Amazon Prime, and The Handmaid’s Tale, only available through HuluContinue reading “A Dozen Years of DVD Home Delivery Ends”

Stranger Things than the Americans

About a month ago, I realized my Netflix queue was thinning out.  And at about the same time, I finished watching the second season of Manhattan, which I knew had been cancelled but still felt compelled to completely watch what was available.  I went looking for interesting television shows to watch.  During the summer and early fall, we enjoy TNT’s The Last Ship and Syfy’s Dark Matter, but those series have very short seasons (at most ten or twelve episodes).  I tried and loved Stranger Things and hope that Netflix backs the second season.  I also finished watching the second season of Marco Polo, but again, both of those Netflix series are good, but very short (eight or ten episodes each).

I added Arrow, Jessica Jones and Limitless to my streaming queue.  I’ve watched several episodes of Arrow and found it okay.  I’ve watched one episode of Jessica Jones and found it disturbing but since it won the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation Short Form I will stick to it and see if it gets more palatable (I doubt it but as I learned in a lecture this past week, conflict feels like imminent danger, but we don’t need to act upon it or react so negatively towards it … so stepping out of my comfort zone is a good thing sometimes).  I have not yet watched any episodes of Limitless.

Continue reading “Stranger Things than the Americans”

Article: Chromecast turns one: why this small streaming stick became such a big deal

Chromecast turns one: why this small streaming stick became such a big deal

http://gigaom.com/2014/07/24/chromecast-turns-one-why-this-small-streaming-stick-became-such-a-big-deal/

Happy Birthday Chromecast!

Best $35 I ever spent.  I’m looking forward to the updates promised in the article above.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Return of the Clone Wars

Those waiting for Clone Wars: The Lost Missions to get some kind of closure for the hit Star Wars cartoon won’t need to wait much longer. The never-before-seen final episodes will debut on Netflix on March 7th, and here’s the first clip featuring a very special cameo!

Netflix debuting 6th & Final Season on March 7th – io9

I first saw mention of this yesterday via my smartphone app feeds, but this was my first chance to really get the full picture.  Looking forward to March now, and not just for the snowmelt.

Article: Netflix neutrality: Court ruling won’t boost your Netflix bill. Yet

Netflix neutrality: Court ruling won’t boost your Netflix bill. Yet

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617339-93/netflix-neutrality-court-ruling-wont-boost-your-netflix-bill-yet/

I so want to cut the cord with Time Warner.  Google Fibre needs to come to my home town.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Article: Netflix Overhauls Its TV Interface To Create A Seamless Experience Across Connected Devices

Netflix Overhauls Its TV Interface To Create A Seamless Experience Across Connected Devices

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/11/13/netflix-overhauls-tv-interface-seeks-seamless-experience-users-across-connected-devices/

This will be interesting to try out with the Chromecast.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon