Netflix live in the UK

http://www.netflix.co.uk

by EwanToo • 15 years ago

71 63 15 years ago

netflix.co.uk

JCB_K• 15 years ago

Don't think they'll gain much market if they keep it this way. Lovefilm is £10, which is a bit more than Netflix (£6), but their collection is infinitely better.

CJefferson• 15 years ago

While lovefilm offer more when it comes to posting you DVDs in the post, Netflix looks like it has a better set of streaming (and netflix is only streaming it seems).

chrisfarms• 15 years ago

worth noting: LOVEFiLM do have a "streaming only" package hidden away in the "upgrade package" menu[1] .... currently £4.99 but no doubt will be brought inline with netflix' £5.99

[1] http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22519236/Screenshots/2t.png

ed209• 15 years ago

We got a LoveFile subscription trial with our new (internet) tv. At first I thought I had a limited set of films because it was a trial, but after some research is seems the streamable set of films are actually really limited.

The functionality is really bad too. I'm not sure if that's Sony or LoveFilm, but the way films are categorised has nothing to do with the actual film.

mattmanser• 15 years ago

The lovefilm streaming selection is pathetic.

I signed up for the month free trial and they were advertising The Matrix to give you an example of how little there is to choose from.

There are more modern films but you have to pay extra for them.

xd2• 15 years ago

They've lost one potential customer already, by forcing the 1 month free trial onto facebook users only.

Edit: thanks for the down votes! But in my defence, the site is broken in Chrome which is why I was unable to see an email only link.

tomstuart• 15 years ago

There's an alternative "sign up using email address" link too.

revorad• 15 years ago

It only shows you that link if you are not logged into Facebook. Cheeky frictionless sharing messiahs.

xd2• 15 years ago

Ah, thanks for pointing that out. However the site is broken in Chrome so I was unable to even get to that stage.

rmc4• 15 years ago

I'm using Chromium and Firefox and I can't see any email reference. Where is it?

buro93• 15 years ago

I've just been on a 30 minute phone call with them just to find that link.

I've got an adblock for all Facebook rubbish, and the signup without Facebook link is part of the Facebook item being blocked.

Also, if you have noscript enabled, then you won't see the non-Facebook form either.

I have signed up, by using Chrome Dev Tools to go into the HTML and find the <div id="email_registration"> form, changing the visibility from none to block, and then starting the process from there.

Now, I realise... the fact that I've purged Facebook from my view of the internet is partly to blame, but I bet I'm not the only one on HN to have done this.

On the phone call I did say, they really need to give non-Facebook signup equal prominence to the Facebook signup. I've mentioned the GP too, in that I'm not the only one who was deterred by the Facebook only signup.

justincormack2• 15 years ago

Check the Ts&Cs... and avoid the Facebook login.

"Signing up using Facebook will give Netflix access to your basic Facebook information, including your name, profile picture, gender, user ID, networks, friends list, likes and interests. Unless you choose not to share a particular film or TV programme (using the "unshare" feature available on most devices), Netflix will automatically share everything you have watched, and other Netflix activity, with your Facebook friends, both on Facebook and on Netflix. Netflix may personalise or otherwise enhance your experience based on your Facebook information. Your friends and others who have access to view information about you on Facebook will be able to see that you’re a Netflix member as well as what you’ve watched, rated, added to your Queue, and other information about your use of the Netflix service. You’ll also be able to see similar information from your Facebook friends who are connected with Netflix. You can hide a film or TV programme during playback on most devices using the playback controls while instantly watching the film or TV programme. You can also "unshare" by visiting a film or TV programme's details page on the Netflix website. You can always disconnect Facebook at any time in the Preferences section located under the "Your Account" link. "

kr1shna• 15 years ago

log out of facebook and visit the same page, you can sign up with just an email address.

mibbitor2• 15 years ago

Not convinced they'll be able to gain much market in the UK. Very different from the US market.

mbesto2• 15 years ago

How so? Care to explain?

mibbitor2• 15 years ago

tv is not only watchable here, it's fantastically good quality programming.

rmc4• 15 years ago

How so?

lucaspiller• 15 years ago

If LoveFilm don't change their package prices it won't be hard... For the same price they give 2 hours of streaming a month; note that most films are over this length.

Edit: Didn't see chrisfarms comment below. Also the new movie selection on Netflix is rather poor.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3441920

pdaddyo2• 15 years ago

I'm in the UK and I'll continue to pay for access to the US Netflix, since it has a much larger instant library. Even though this works out more expensive, at around £10/month (I use a paid proxy called unblockus).

podo• 15 years ago

Thanks so much for this comment! :)

stuartmemo• 15 years ago

Do you need a US credit card to do this?

dll• 15 years ago

I also do this and couldn't use any of my credit cards. My UK Debit card (Lloyds TSB) worked fine though.

pdaddyo2• 15 years ago

My Natwest card used to work, but in December it failed (Netflix saying I'm not a US customer).

I resolved it by using a proxy card from entropay.com, using this guide:

http://www.unblock-us.com/how-to-set-up/netflix

They take a percentage, but it's still cheaper than LoveFilm and I have it working on android, pc, ipad and PS3.

Jakegissing• 15 years ago

Pretyy excited about this, Lovefilm is a terrible website with a crappy library.

topbanana• 15 years ago

"Sorry, Netflix is not available in your country... yet"

jmedwards• 15 years ago

I am really surprised that Netflix hasn't been able to launch with a better collection than this. I think even iTunes trumps it, which is a poor show.

cadab• 15 years ago

I hope they get better TV/Movies soon, the ones they are advertising at the moment are terrible. I clicked on 'Thrillers' and there was only a few films i'd even heard of, let alone want to watch them.

£5.99 isnt a bad price if i can get everything (or nearly) i want to watch. But currently theres no chance i'd pay, i dont even want the free trial.

ricardobeat• 15 years ago

More titles will show up soon (I guess). When it launched here in Brazil it looked worse than the local alternatives, but the library quickly filled up. Now I'm worried I'll never be able to watch everything I want :(

kule• 15 years ago

To be fair I signed up for the free month and there are quite a few more movies/tv shows you'd want to watch once you've logged in (quite a few you wouldn't find on lovefilm too). I'm surprised they didn't show a lot more of the popular ones on the sign up page to be honest...

ashleyw• 15 years ago

The library's a bit lacklustre. Is it the same as the US library?

burgerbrain• 15 years ago

I don't know, but the word "lacklustre" certainly describes the US library as well.

Netflix instant in the US is really only worth it if you like "B movies", or just shit movies.

dangrossman• 15 years ago

Or TV. For a couple bucks a month you get full back catalogs of a very large number of TV series, including currently airing popular ones. There's more recent TV content than you could get through in months.

king_jester• 15 years ago

> Netflix instant in the US is really only worth it if you like "B movies", or just shit movies.

This really depends on your taste. If you are looking for recent films and blockbusters, Netflix isn't really a great choice. If you are into documentaries, foreign film, silent film, and certain types of television (sci-fi and comedies come to mind), then Netflix has a large amount of content.

sudonim• 15 years ago

Netflix in the US is great for full seasons of TV shows. Sons of Anarchy, Mad Men and a bunch of others. It's also decent for classic movies and documentaries. I wouldn't expect to get the latest hollywood releases or you'll be disappointed. I'd guess that licensing in the UK is totally different and their library my reflect that. Sorry that media companies are dicks about viewing content in different regions.

rmc4• 15 years ago

No Mad Men on netflix for me (at least in Ireland)

JonAtkinson• 15 years ago

Their homepage says they support AppleTV; has anyone had any success in updating their device to work with Netflix? My AppleTV 2 is currently updating, but I'm told it'll take 346 hours to complete the update.

panacea• 15 years ago

Turn it off and on and try again ;]

micheljansen• 15 years ago

Can anyone actually browse the selection? Broken in all the browsers I tested (Safari, Firefox and Chrome): http://twitpic.com/856m1c

alexmuller• 15 years ago

I was wondering if this was happening to just me, but it would appear not.

justincormack2• 15 years ago

Fine on Chrome on Linux (no flash installed though, maybe that fixes it!).

dabeeeenster• 15 years ago

Having to install Silverlight on my Mac? Ugh.

Library selection is poor. Just about every film I searched for was missing.

irishloop• 15 years ago

I tend to use Netflix more as a cable substitute with TV shows than a full movie library. The number of full backlogs of great shows in the U.S. at least (30 Rock, Parks and Rec, Party Down, Breaking Bad, etc.) for 8/month vs. 100/month for cable is an astounding savings for me personally. The movie selection is meh, but I can live with that for what I'm paying.

beaker52• 15 years ago

Out of all 4 of the films on there, there are none that I want to watch.

dmoney• 15 years ago

This just redirected me to my US netflix account. What am I supposed to see?

metatronscube• 15 years ago

I'm sticking with itunes. This is utter rubbish, its not got any redeeming features at all. This will never pickup in the UK.

shutton• 15 years ago

Yeah, I'm sticking with iTunes, at least until they get more content on there.

digitalclubb• 15 years ago

You think they would have made more of an effort with the catalogue on offer before launching..

I can appreciate that UK will have different licensing laws in place than the US, but what's on offer now is a real turn off and a disappointment.

moreati• 15 years ago

Is it normal for domains other than facebook.com to ask for a facebook password? If so that seems very risky.

I would have assumed Facbook Inc to require third-party sites use a federated auth API, such as OAuth.

MattBearman• 15 years ago

The price is amazing, but if the selection on the site really is all they have, very few people will go for it.

Think I'll do the free trial and see what the selection is like.

msmithstubbs• 15 years ago

I had the same reaction when I saw the titles on the site.

Once I signed up and logged in, I could see a lot more titles that looked interesting. Still not a huge selection, but they seem to have done a poor job of promoting the service with the selection visible just on the public site.

The success of the BBC iPlayer indicates a strong demand in the UK for a video streaming service. If they can get enough content deals in place I think they'll do well.

seanalltogether• 15 years ago

Watching Instantly Is Not Currently Available For Your Account

Unfortunately your account is restricted to streaming only within the 50 United States and its territories.

You may still access your account, but you will not be able to play any title.

I'm disappointed that as a US based customer with a US billing address and a US credit card, even after this changeover I'm still unable to watch movies I'm paying for while staying in the UK.

Netflix live in the UK

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