netflix on Xbox 360
I love to watch movies, but I rarely get excited about going to a video store to pick them out. I browse shelves and shelves of Action, Foreign, and Kung Fu flicks, often judging bad movies by my own standards such as covers with an actors name bigger than the title, or Uwe Boll movies, and I avoid the Romance section like a vampire avoids sunlight. Quite frankly, when I go to Blockbuster, I honestly don’t have a clue what I want, and it takes me half an hour to pick just one movie just to find out the movie sucks. Even if I can take it back for an exchange, it’s still inconvenient. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could watch a trailer of the video on the back of the case instead of reading the description, or even watch the first five minutes before putting it back on the shelf?
For about $10 a month, an internet connection, and an Xbox 360 or PC, Netflix allows you to stream movies and TV episodes straight to your device! I can watch trailers, read descriptions, browse by categories, and Netflix even gives star ratings. So what more could I possibly ask for in movie renting for only $10 a month?
How about good movies?
Here’s a screen shot of the “New Arrivals” selection from my account sorted by best rating first:
Instant Watch list on Netflix
From Eddie Izzard to Sling Blade, I don’t know what to watch first!
In Netflix’s defense, I can almost understand their dilemma. Production companies can throw copyright infringement claims for internet movie downloads. Alas, it’s not all that bad. There are at least TV episodes such as Heroes and Dexter, and if you don’t like what you see, you can always turn it off and move on the the next movie at no extra charge right from your home or office. Besides, I can never get tired of “A Weekend at Bernie’s”, so at least I’ll be somewhat entertained until Netflix strikes a good deal with big movie productions.
