Man I love Netflix streaming!

[captmorgan72]

At only 8 bucks a month I have watched several series now that I never saw when they were on the air. Shows like 24, Buffy/Angel, Jericho and now I just started watching Serenity. Best service I've ever paid for. 

[MJB]

I am also a fan.

[BWPS]

Absolutely, it's such an insane value, it's like getting a horse for $41!

[XStream]

I know a lot of people who bailed when things go a little crazy, but I love it. I stream Netflix more often than I watch cable television (in fact if my cable wasn't free with my internet package I would drop it). I have watched a few series that I have never seen, and enjoyed re-watching some of my favorites.

[Shogunn2517]

I have a question, which service is better for streaming to devices like an iPad? 

I thought about getting Netflix but I'm afraid of it's streaming abilities.  I know the database is rather large, but I didn't remember their entire selection being available for streaming.  I mostly have an interest in older shows(Lois and Clark, Hecules, Highlander, etc) but also want to access newer ones as well(24, Clone Wars, Young Justice).

Is Netflix really best for this or would Hulu Plus be better for streaming?

[JeyNyce]

For the older shows it's netflix all the way.  New shows like Young Justice, it's a toss up.  You can watch YJ on cartoonnetwork.com.  Other show like Avengers: EMH you can watch on Netflix, but you have to wait until the season's over and some time after that.

[BlueBard]

Ah, Netflix...

If I only watched clean romantic comedies with my wife after the kids are in bed, it would be a bargain.

If it did nothing else but kept the kids relatively quiet watching cartoons for an hour a day, it would be well worth the price and then some.

If I only used it to watch Mythbusters and Smash Labs with my four boys in a celebration of the male bonding powers of large explosions, the value would be amazing.

If I did nothing but work my way through every Star Trek episode since The Next Generation aired, it would be worth a sizeable chunk of my yearly entertainment budget and an enormous savings over buying all of the DVD sets.

Put them all together... and I get more bang for my buck than a lightning strike at a fireworks factory.

[MJB]

I have a question, which service is better for streaming to devices like an iPad?

I can't speak for other streaming services. Netflix is the only one I have tried...

The streaming on an iPad is very good. There is very little loading time (if any most times) & the quality is very good. I've had zero complaints.

[Shogunn2517]

Thanks, but I'm more curious more about accessibility than quality.  Is the entire library available for streaming?

[laughing paradox]

Instant Watcher

Visit this site and it will inform you of everything that is streaming on Netflix at any given time, including movies/tv shows/etc that will be expiring. It's actually a better cataloging system that what Netflix has.

It's a rather large library that always seems to be expanding. It truly is a great service.

I've watched American Dad and I loved it.. something I never really watched as it aired (airs?). Now I'm on to King of the Hill.. another great show I barely noticed.

The only negative I have about Netflix is that I was watching Veronica Mars for the first time and it expired before I was able to watch season 3! Talk about a bummer. It was a surprisingly great show.

[BWPS]

Instant WatcherThe only negative I have about Netflix is that I was watching Veronica Mars for the first time and it expired before I was able to watch season 3! Talk about a bummer. It was a surprisingly great show.

FWIW you spare yourself the depression of it being over after the last episode. But Netflix is crazy for not keeping the "best. show. ever." - Joss Whedon/me

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Thanks, but I'm more curious more about accessibility than quality.  Is the entire library available for streaming?

There are two separate libraries, one for each it Netflix's two separate services.

Their DVD library contains nearly every DVD in existence.  It is extensive.

Their instant watch library is smaller but still quite large.

They are not at all the same things, so your question doesn't actually mean anything.

Instant Watcher linked to above should answer all your questions about what is current available to watch online though.

While you all are talking about Netflix vs Hulu, I should point out that there is in fact a third option, Amazon Prime.  Amazon Prime cost 79 bucks a year, gives you free 2 day shipping on any physical orders, lets you read some books for free from their Kindle library, and lets you watch any video in their instant watch service for free.  Their instant watch service is quite extensive, can be browsed from Amazon's website, and is cheaper than the other two services while also including the books and the free shipping offer.   It's what I plan on getting fairly soon.  Shame more people don't really know about it.

EDIT: and now I find out that only certain videos can be watched for free from prime, even though all amazon's pages about prime say nothing about any limitations.  Never mind then.

[captmorgan72]

I was just going to post about the prime limitations cat but you beat me to it. Yeah, Amazon has tons of videos but only a slice of the pie can be watched with the prime membership. Netflix still holds the crown.

[BWPS]

Thanks, but I'm more curious more about accessibility than quality.  Is the entire library available for streaming?

There are two separate libraries, one for each it Netflix's two separate services.

Their DVD library contains nearly every DVD in existence.  It is extensive.

Their instant watch library is smaller but still quite large.

They are not at all the same things, so your question doesn't actually mean anything.

Instant Watcher linked to above should answer all your questions about what is current available to watch online though.

While you all are talking about Netflix vs Hulu, I should point out that there is in fact a third option, Amazon Prime.  Amazon Prime cost 79 bucks a year, gives you free 2 day shipping on any physical orders, lets you read some books for free from their Kindle library, and lets you watch any video in their instant watch service for free.  Their instant watch service is quite extensive, can be browsed from Amazon's website, and is cheaper than the other two services while also including the books and the free shipping offer.   It's what I plan on getting fairly soon.  Shame more people don't really know about it.

EDIT: and now I find out that only certain videos can be watched for free from prime, even though all amazon's pages about prime say nothing about any limitations.  Never mind then.

I watch netflix over the Amazon Prime streaming, but its worth also mentioning that if you have kids, Prime has a 15% discount on diapers and wipes with free 2 day shipping which is awesome if you have a kid who likes to dren himself.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

My brother in law got prime for just that reason.  He and my sister have 2 kids plus another on the way.