Netflix is sending its DVD subscribers up to 10 extra discs for the service’s last hurrah

HurlingDurling , 10 months ago

Time to get rippin them DVDs

fne8w2ah OP , 10 months ago

And set sail the high seas!

KoboldCoterie , 10 months ago

My initial thought was that it’s wild anyone is still using the DVD service at all, but then, I suppose there’s plenty of areas where bandwidth for streaming just isn’t readily available, and there’s probably a lot of older folks who know how to use a DVD player but aren’t comfortable with the internet.

It doesn’t look like subscribers will be able to keep the extra DVDs, though, as Netflix still expects them — along with any other discs — to be returned by October 27th, 2023.

That’s kind of too bad. I can’t imagine there’s much of a secondary market for a shitload of very used DVDs, they could have just unloaded their inventory onto the people who’re still subscribed as a ‘Hey, thanks for being a tiny revenue stream for us for 25 years.’ I imagine they’d have to just sell them all in massive bulk; otherwise, would they even get more than it would cost to pay someone to process the sales?

Late2TheParty , 10 months ago

I was definitely rooting for those subscribers to be able to keep the last of the DVDs!

OldWoodFrame , 10 months ago

It’s probably actually a contractual thing and they’re not allowed to sell or give away the DVDs. I wonder if they’re going to a landfill or they’re gonna get dumped into stores in Africa for like 5 cents each.

partial_accumen , 10 months ago

My initial thought was that it’s wild anyone is still using the DVD service at all,

There are MOUNTAINS of movies and shows that are not licensed for streaming release. This means that physical media rental may be the only way to legally watch these. For many out-of-print discs even purchasing your own copy may not be an option.

KoboldCoterie , 10 months ago

That’s a great point, too - hadn’t considered that.