@Daylate (Daylate) posted a new topic, subject "Cancelling Netflix". It read:

   I've given up on Netflix (the availability of DVD movies seems to be shrinking rapidly), and am trying to cancel my subscription. Naturally, Netflix pretty well hides information on how to do this. Do any of you Dopers know how I can cut the cord? Would much appreciate any information regarding this.
      *[IMNSHO]: In My Not So Humble Opinion
      *[JFK]: Just For Kicks
      *[BOLO]: Best Of Law & Order
      *[sweat the petty things]: or pet the sweaty things

After which, @Dewey_Finn (Dewey Finn) added

    Try going here.
      *[IMNSHO]: In My Not So Humble Opinion
      *[JFK]: Just For Kicks
      *[BOLO]: Best Of Law & Order
      *[sweat the petty things]: or pet the sweaty things

@hajario (hajario) replied

    https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-cancel-or-modify-your-netflix-subscription#:~:text=If%20you%20want%20to%20cancel,plan%20a%20rest%20for%20awhile.
      *[IMNSHO]: In My Not So Humble Opinion
      *[JFK]: Just For Kicks
      *[BOLO]: Best Of Law & Order
      *[sweat the petty things]: or pet the sweaty things

So @Daylate (Daylate) replied

    Thanks, folks. Worked like a charm. Netflix's lower lip trembled a bit, but they didn't fight too much.
      *[IMNSHO]: In My Not So Humble Opinion
      *[JFK]: Just For Kicks
      *[BOLO]: Best Of Law & Order
      *[sweat the petty things]: or pet the sweaty things

Then @dolphinboy (dolphinboy) said

    Daylate:
    
    > I've given up on Netflix (the availability of DVD movies seems to be shrinking rapidly), and am trying to cancel my subscription. Naturally, Netflix pretty well hides information on how to do this. Do any of you Dopers know how I can cut the cord? Would much appreciate any information regarding this.
    
    So streaming doesn't work for you? Are you in an area without high-speed internet? I live in Montana and there are areas that may never have broadband connections. Was it some other reason that you don't like streaming?
      *[IMNSHO]: In My Not So Humble Opinion
      *[JFK]: Just For Kicks
      *[BOLO]: Best Of Law & Order
      *[sweat the petty things]: or pet the sweaty things

So @mhendo (mhendo) replied

    dolphinboy:
    
    > So streaming doesn't work for you? Are you in an area without high-speed internet? I live in Montana and there are areas that may never have broadband connections. Was it some other reason that you don't like streaming?
    
    Well, from the OP, it seems like a key concern is the declining number of DVD movies available.
    
    The problem with streaming is that Netflix is increasingly turning its streaming service into a provider of its own content, plus a bunch of other popular stuff. Streaming has always been shit for movies; there are gajillions of fantastic movies that you could never stream, and that were only available on DVD. I've had dozens of occasions where I've checked Netflix for a movie, to find that it was only available on hard copy media like DVD or Blu-Ray. This is especially true for a lot of older movies, and for a lot of non-mainstream films.
    
    For example, one of my favorite American directors is John Sayles. Not a single one of his 18 movies is available streaming on Netflix, not even the more mainstream and well-known ones like _The Secret of Roan Inish_ or _Eight Men Out_. As for the more obscure ones like _Limbo_ or _Lone Star_ or _Matewan_ or _Return of the Secaucus Seven_? Forget about it. But 13 of his his films are currently available on DVD.
    
    My independent video store in Baltimore in 2005 had (or at least, seemed to have) a better selection of truly good independent films than Netflix.
      *[IMNSHO]: In My Not So Humble Opinion
      *[JFK]: Just For Kicks
      *[BOLO]: Best Of Law & Order
      *[sweat the petty things]: or pet the sweaty things

To which @Dewey_Finn (Dewey Finn) replied

    dolphinboy:
    
    > So streaming doesn't work for you? Are you in an area without high-speed internet? I live in Montana and there are areas that may never have broadband connections. Was it some other reason that you don't like streaming?
    
    Sounds like the OP was a subscriber to the DVD-by-mail service, perhaps instead of or in addition to the streaming service. I've been a DVD subscriber for well over a decade but noticed the past couple of months that the selection of new movies is getting poorer, perhaps because of the shutdown of the theaters. (No new movies in theaters means no new movies available on disc.) So a few weeks ago I added a streaming subscription.
      *[IMNSHO]: In My Not So Humble Opinion
      *[JFK]: Just For Kicks
      *[BOLO]: Best Of Law & Order
      *[sweat the petty things]: or pet the sweaty things

So @Schnitte (Schnitte) replied

    mhendo:
    
    > Streaming has always been shit for movies; there are gajillions of fantastic movies that you could never stream, and that were only available on DVD. I've had dozens of occasions where I've checked Netflix for a movie, to find that it was only available on hard copy media like DVD or Blu-Ray. This is especially true for a lot of older movies, and for a lot of non-mainstream films.
    
    I completely agree, and my taste in films is not particularly indy - but it's not particularly current either, it's simply a preference classics throughout film history. Streaming sucks for that; you can often buy or rent them on a video-on-demand basis on the major streaming platforms (Prime, in my case), but at prices which are, in my view, disproportionate compared to what you pay to rent or even buy a physical disc. So I rent a lot from a DVD-by-mail service. My fear is, however, that these services won't be around for much longer, and will shut down the way brick-and-mortar video stores have disappeared.
      *[IMNSHO]: In My Not So Humble Opinion
      *[JFK]: Just For Kicks
      *[BOLO]: Best Of Law & Order
      *[sweat the petty things]: or pet the sweaty things

After which, @Musicat (Musicat) added

    I had high hopes for Netflix to revive some obscure DVDs and other flicks. After all, what cost is there to post an obsolete movie online even if the audience is small? But I have come to realize that this isn't going to happen anytime soon, so I cancelled my Netflix account (both disks and streaming) years ago.
      *[IMNSHO]: In My Not So Humble Opinion
      *[JFK]: Just For Kicks
      *[BOLO]: Best Of Law & Order
      *[sweat the petty things]: or pet the sweaty things

@Dewey_Finn (Dewey Finn) replied

    The cost of posting an obscure movie online is entirely dependent on what the license holder wants for the streaming rights. On the other hand, if a movie is released on physical media (DVD or Bluray) the cost is whatever the disc costs.
      *[IMNSHO]: In My Not So Humble Opinion
      *[JFK]: Just For Kicks
      *[BOLO]: Best Of Law & Order
      *[sweat the petty things]: or pet the sweaty things

After which, @robardin (robardin) added

    Yeah, Netflix long ago ceased to view physical delivery of movies on disc (DVD or Blu-Ray) as anything more than a legacy aspect of their business, and has never been particularly good about rare/obscure movie coverage anyway, in my estimation.
    
    As for using their streaming platform to provide “obscure flicks”, a better question would be who or where is providing those flicks as a streaming movie at all? Do you have any examples? Sometimes you can buy or rent them via Amazon Prime Video or Vudu, on a movie-by-movie basis, but Netflix's premise is entirely built on “one fee gets you access to all of this”, so paying for distribution rights for movies few people will ever pull up is not what they're about.
    
    Personally, my tipping point for Netflix came about 5 or 6 years ago, when I realized I never rented physical discs from them, nor used them to watch movies, and didn't care very much for their “Netflix Original” programming like “Marco Polo” or other titles. Meh.
    
    …But then, all of a sudden, a LOT of really, really great Netflix Originals or exclusives came on board, to the point where Netflix is my primary portal for a lot of newly released serial material.
    
    Never mind movies - Netflix is the kind of long format television serials right now, especially that _Game of Thrones_ concluded.
    
    In no particular order, these are some of my favorite “shows” ever, not just “what I could find on Netflix”, and if I ever quit Netflix I'd have to figure out a way to get these (and they're not sold on disc at all, as far as I know).
    
    1% (Brazilian dystopian SF)  
    Stranger Things (1, 2, 3, and soon S4 and S5…?)  
    Dark (German - similar)  
    Altered Carbon  
    Money Heist (the porting of the Spanish TV show _La Casa de Papel_ for S1)  
    Locke and Key (The graphic novels are all-time classics, this adaptation is pretty good)  
    A Series of Unfortunate Events (not the Jim Carrey movie, the serialization with Neil Patrick Harris)  
    The Dragon Prince  
    Hilda  
    Birdbox  
    Russian Doll  
    Nailed It! (unexpectedly HILARIOUS)  
    Santa Clarita Diet (oh, but it was not renewed beyond season 3! CLIFFHANGER!)
    
    And that's just what I personally like (which skews to dark SF, evidently). My wife has a different set of shows that she likes, plus my kids… And they're all on Netflix in one package.
      *[IMNSHO]: In My Not So Humble Opinion
      *[JFK]: Just For Kicks
      *[BOLO]: Best Of Law & Order
      *[sweat the petty things]: or pet the sweaty things


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