So, is Netflix's only strong point w/r/t DVD rentals the fact that they have a large catalog? Because -- and I know I'm not the first person to say this -- I can rent Thor from RedBox for a buck.

But the flip side, I assume, is that RedBox is just new(ish) stuff? So if I wanted, say, S1 of a TV show, Netflix Qwickster would be the way to go?

I'm working my way through Friends via Neflix DVD. RedBox can't do that. But honestly, I'm probably not going to keep two separate accounts to do that, and the streaming is more valuable to me. This split is a mistake.

I also made a mistake and bought some Netflix stock a month ago; I thought they were going to recover from the fallout of the price drop and Starz going away. I think this means I'm wrong. Oops.

I believe Redbox focuses on current releases, and I guess it isn't available everywhere (I have no idea where I would go for Redbox around where I live).

Netflix's catalog is pretty deep on the DVD side, their streaming is great for tv releases, but if I want to say, watch "The Sound of Music", I pretty much can't do that streaming.

I can't watch "The Wire" streaming.

Oh, and streaming does not have the full coverage of subtitle options either.

Or special content, depending.

I'm keeping both accounts. It was nice having them in the same place, and being able to decide right there between hard copy and streaming, but I use both sides, and don't see why I'd stop.

Netflix just made it out to Jamaica, and my sister was very excited. And then she saw the reduced catalog, and now she's all bitter.

When I saw that thing from Netflix, it was on my iphone, and I seriously thought it was a hoax. So, your apology is to announce a change in service that in no way is better for your consumers (two websites that DON'T TALK TO ONE ANOTHER), and makes things harder in order to make things easier for Netflix? Smooth move, ex-lax.

Yeah, the spit and changing the name is so weird and random I was like "wait, it's not April Fool's...WTF?"

My only other immediate thought was "does this make it somehow easier to close the DVD rental part without freaking out investors and subscribers, in the future?"

The speculation is that Hollywood wants to charge Netflix for streaming on a per-customer basis, regardless of whether or not the customer was actually using streaming. Netflix needed to split the DVD-only business to get those customers off of the books.

Smooth move, ex-lax.

Lol.

Netflix needed to split the DVD-only business to get those customers off of the books.

Interesting. Well, I think I'll dump the streaming, then (although I think the name Qwikster is ridiculous). The catalog isn't anywhere near large enough to compete with the dvd rentals.