Computer Support Blog

People’s definition of television is changing rapidly.  New realities of the web and streaming video have revolutionized how people consume video as entertainment.  Users seek more and more content from online sources such as Netflix and Hulu Plus rather than from their cable providers.  Many people have even cut the cord from cable companies completely, getting all their video content through the Internet.  This shift towards online streaming as a new standard for video entertainment opens to door to a slew of new possibilities and innovative business models for video content production.  Cool product Mobcaster is pushing one such new model.  This startup combines the concept of watching television online with the populist ideals behind crowdsourcing.  In crowdsourcing, the audience funds the projects they want to see completed.  Likewise, Mobcaster only airs the exclusive content that their viewers fund.  Audience members who experience buffering issues and hiccups on Mobcaster videos can fix their problems with help from a network support service. Read more »

Video streaming services on the Internet have become wildly successful since their inception, and because of that, you will often find just as many people sitting down in front of their computer to watch something as people sitting in front of their televisions.  Internet streaming services have become just as varied as TV channels.  There are subscription services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, HBO Go and Amazon Prime as well as pay-per-video services like iTunes and CinemaNow.  It’s becoming just as difficult to remember what videos you can find on what services as it is to remember what TV channel plays a certain show.  Luma is a cool product that is here to fix that issue.  Luma aims to be a comprehensive guide for what’s available and playing on Internet streaming services.  Users can simply search for any show they want to watch and Luma will tell you everywhere it’s available online and whether it’s free, part of a larger subscription or available for a one-time purchase.  You will know exactly where you can find what TV show or movie you want to watch and you can keep a list of what you want to see from every service all in one place.  Luma could potentially make streaming movies and TV shows a much easier process for those who use multiple online video services. Read more »

In the tech sector, major fields can change with alarming speed.  A few years ago, for example, the idea of streaming movies and music from the Cloud was a far-fetched notion and even the leaders of big businesses in the tech sector were unsure how to capitalize on such an idea.  Now, there are several companies and services that offer streaming video and it is a huge business.  Given the rapidly-changing nature of technology, human resources personnel for media technology companies, like Netflix and Hulu, have their work cut out for them.  When they make a hire, they have to evaluate how the candidate will work for the company as it is now and how it might radically change in the future.  In the case of Netflix, managing the personnel is made much easier thanks to Tawni Cranz. Read more »

Summer seems to be doing good things for some troubled, but popular, Internet businesses.  Facebook, whose stock had been dropping pretty steadily since its IPO, not only leveled off, but has begun a rebound.  In the streaming media market, Netflix, whose stock has had an almost year-long decline, bottomed out on June 1 at $60.70/share.  Since then, however, Netflix investors have had a lot to cheer about and their investment has been bouncing back in the right direction. Read more »

When an executive in a prominent company retires, dies or is otherwise no longer able to perform their duties, there are often strict rules which govern how they will be replaced.  In most big businesses and stockholder-held companies, senior management officers must be approved at an annual meeting of the Board of Directors.  However, the workload that an executive officer had does not simply disappear with the individual leaving the position.  As a result, many corporations employ an interim executive until the approval process for the position may be completed.  Frequently, the interim executive is approved and comes to fill the position that they accepted on a temporary basis.  That means that Jessie Becker could be the next Chief Marketing Officer of Netflix! Read more »

Traditional television service, like any other service, has both positive and negative attributes.   Lately, though, it can be difficult to find the benefits of traditional broadcast television service when the detractions to it are so easy to spot (like weather-related outages).  Even cable television no longer seems as impressive a service, especially when compared to emerging Internet-based television options. Users of Internet television services have discovered that they can pay a fraction of the price to subscribe to Hulu Plus or HBO Go and get a more customized service. Read more »

With technologies changing very fast, popular companies absolutely need the best possible advertising to survive.  In fact, the corporate strategy that a company devises to survive changes or remain dominant in a given field may be useless if they are not able to properly express that strategy to their customer base.  With the move toward digital media (downloads) over physical media (DVD, Blu-Ray discs), companies like Netflix have been struggling to adapt.  Or, rather, Netflix would be struggling were it not for the effective efforts of Leslie Kilgore!

Leslie Kilgore is the Chief Marketing Officer of Netflix and she has served the company since 2000.  Kilgore is credited with much of the success of Netflix in terms of winning over the American people on the concept of a mail-delivery DVD service.  As Chief Marketing Officer, Kilgore was responsible for the advertising campaigns that launched Netflix into the collective consciousness and made Netflix into a serious competitor to traditional video rental chains, like Blockbuster Video.  Through her tireless efforts, Netflix surpassed Blockbuster as the primary video rental service in the United States!

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Every good idea has its time.  Sometimes, the window for that idea can be very small and a business that fails to enact the good idea in a timely fashion, it can find itself in a world of trouble.  Similarly, when a business uses a good idea well, it often has to remain ahead of its competitors.  Blockbuster Video knows what it is like to wait too long to get on board a good idea; Netflix, with its innovative business strategy and product delivery method virtually buried the video rental chain.  Much of the success Netflix has had is the result of Neil Hunt.

Neil Hunt is an accomplished software engineer who rose to become one of the most vibrant executives in the technology and entertainment industries.  As the Chief Product Officer of Netflix since 2002, Hunt helped Netflix rise to become the industry leader in DVD rental services.  As a shrewd businessman, Hunt helped to build the platform for Netflix that has made it one of the most flexible and successful media delivery services ever.

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In the absence of true cable competition, and with little regulation to prevent cable companies from ridiculously overpricing customers, people are starting to get fed up with how much they have to dish out for television. While some staunch free-market believers might still be waiting for a little laissez-faire to kick in, others are ready to stop supporting giant cable greed and are looking for other ways to get their weekly dosage of “Glee,” “Law and Order,” or “Frasier.”

Though many cable companies offer a cheap introductory rate, users quickly start seeing price hikes, which is why many people are looking into online streaming options like Netflix and Hulu in order phase out cable completely. In fact, switching to alternative services isn’t a bad idea given the right settings.

For starters, the bill for a monthly subscription with either Netflix or Hulu remains, thankfully so, in the single digits, with both plans starting at 7.99. Better yet, Hulu offers a limited free service! For an added cost, Netflix subscribers can get DVDs by mail. Netflix’s long-term plan, though, is to phase out the mail service completely, but that’s not necessarily bad, since it will create more streaming options.

In terms of offerings, Netflix has thousands of documentaries, dramas, critically acclaimed works, foreign films, and popular movies as part of its offerings, with hundreds added daily. So if you’re a film buff, you’re definitely going to get more out of Netflix than you ever would with a regular cable connection. For television fans, Hulu’s the way to go. Hulu also offers thousands of movies, but these are nothing too fancy. The real gem is the more than 16,000 episodes from more than 400 current and classic TV shows.

If you plan on watching a lot of Hulu or Netflix, make sure you understand the extent to which these services drain your network service. According to Netflix, one hour of streaming will use up close to 1 GB of bandwidth and works best on a connection speed of  500kbps (0.5MB). Both services can be used via gaming devices like the Wii, Xbox, or PS3.

Lastly, both services allow you to place your subscription on hold for a while in case you’re travelling or busy for a while.

The biggest limitation of abandoning cable is decentralization. Instead of getting most, or all, of your entertainment from one spot, you’re going to have to switch between Hulu, Netflix, and online news services to compensate. You’ll also find that Netflix has limited and problematic parental control; Hulu’s is even worse.

If you’re willing to deal with multiple entertainment outlets, then you might survive ditching cable. Unfortunately, you need both Hulu and Netflix for a more complete entertainment experience. At the end of the day, if you do watch a lot of television and like the surprise of variety that comes with it, you might have to stick with cable. You won’t be able to find a resource that brings together as many cooking shows, for example, online. As for Google TV, that’s a different story with a different blog.

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

David Milman, CEO

315-882-1100

david@rescuecom.com

Netflix is undergoing some major changes. Along with losing over one million customers, the company is hiking prices and setting a plan in motion that will soon kill off its DVD mailing services. The millions of customers who joined Netflix for the DVD service and the millions who still primarily rely on mailed DVDs for their entertainment intake may have to start adjusting their home network services soon. The push towards online streaming will bring with it new tech support issues. It will also force many customers to upgrade their home networks to meet the demands of online streaming.

The harbinger of phasing out the DVD mailing service came early this year when Netflix announced that customers would no longer have the “Add to DVD Queue” option from streaming devices. Netflix cited a vague tech support related issue to justify the change. Still, customers didn’t buy the tech support reasoning. It was clear that Netflix was trying to start limiting customer interaction with DVD selection.

Then, last summer, the company announced a price hike that outraged subscribers and everyone else alike! Again, Netflix cited tech support issues and a desire to focus on its online streaming services as justification. Many customers were then forced to choose only one of the two services to avoid paying more.

For many, the choice continues to be difficult because online streaming can take a toll on home networks. Many home network services set limits on the amount of data usage, becoming slower when such limits are reached. Alternatively, some home networks simply do not offer enough connection speed to stream movies at high quality. Sometimes users have the option of upgrading their home networks by paying more or changing their home network service provider, but who wants to have to pay more just to accommodate Netflix? Yet according to SplatF.com, Netflix realizes that these are short-term tech support issues that will disappear with time. Home networks are on their way to becoming incredibly powerful, and when that happens, speed related tech support will become obsolete—for a few years at least.

Netflix’s DVD service requires less tech support than the streaming one. Perhaps the most common tech support problem that comes up with the DVD service is a scratched disc, and the solution to that is imply getting a different disc. However, given the long-term advantages of only providing a streaming service, it looks like Netflix is willing to deal with some temporary transitional tech support issues.

Netflix keeps citing tech support issues and practicality behind its (now defunct) plan to split its streaming and DVD mailing services, limiting customer access to DVD queues to the computer interface, and its price hikes, but customers aren’t buying it. It seems that the days when the public bent over backwards to accommodate capitalist growth are dying out. People realize that Netflix changes have nothing or little to do with tech support, and plenty to do with profit, and many of them are taking their business elsewhere.

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

David Milman, CEO

315-882-1100

david@rescuecom.com