<p>My daughter moved into her dorm room yesterday. Today I got a call that she needs “Netflix”. I am totally unfamiliar with it. Can anyone provide the basics? Why would she need it? What does it cost? How does it work? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Netflix allows you to stream movies and shows from their database. It’s $9/month. </p>
<p>IMO, this is one of those if she wants it, she should pay for it things. </p>
<p>Hardly a need. </p>
<p>Does she have Amazon Prime? If so, she can stream many of the same things via that service. So many students get 6 months of Amazon Prime free and then continue on with it since it’s half price for them. It might be a good alternative for her.</p>
<p>Well, my daughter needed to stream movies for a film class…but I doubt that’s the case here. Also, Netflix still has the physical DVD rental option, but again I highly doubt that’s what she meant. It’s like the others have said above; that it’s likely your daughter wants to stream movies or TV episodes online, for entertainment. Might be convenient fun, assuming she has downtime from academics/activities, so I don’t have an opinion on the “need”. I guess she’d also need to verify that she’d have the consistent internet download speeds that would allow her to stream video.</p>
<p>Hardly a need, but pretty darn cheap entertainment, and better than some other things she could be doing. Multiple people can use it, so it’s 8 or 9 a month for the family. </p>
<p>There is a huge difference between “needs” and “wants”. 
That said, it is cheap entertainment that can potentially keep her from getting into troubles out of boredom. It is roughly a monetary equivalent of 2 Starbucks lattes a month. :)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Sharing it at home on the same family internet connection is one thing. </p>
<p>Sharing it with someone at a separate location like a college dorm may be another matter. </p>
<p>Netflix just changed their TOS some time ago so you may want to check the fine print as to what’s permitted. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Even so, couldn’t students watch the movies at the college library or borrow the DVDs? </p>
<p>I agree, plus they have a more extensive selection than Amazon.
Lots of documentaries, D watched for school.
( plus you can share the account, I think you get three separate accounts.)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not true at all. We share the membership with our daughter in another city. Friends of ours share an account with adult sons on opposite coasts. It’s an incredible bargain and it lets you watch things like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black (as well as many, many other tv shows and movies). We are thrilled that we have it.</p>
<p>We share it with our college son. We’re still paying $8.00 a month - a great deal. My other son watches movies on his tablet with it. </p>
<p>Right now, you can still use the family password from another location. Been there, done that. It’s uncertain they would block dependents in the future. Also, one of mine did need Netflix for film history (and some history) classes. </p>
<p>If she only needs it for entertainment, personally, I might say fuggedit, for now. She has other adjustments to make.</p>
<p>Forget my HoC question.</p>
<p>In terms of sharing netflix, I believe they’re monitoring that by limiting the amount of devices that can watch simultaneously. Currently, at least for my account, it’s at two. I doubt they would do more to prevent people from sharing netflix accounts. They even have a system to set up profile accounts for different members using the same netflix account.</p>
<p>Agree with the others that I doubt she needs it. I know several students who said they “needed” things (usually expensive electronics and other luxuries), when really they just wanted the convenience and convinced parents who weren’t informed about it to get it for them. Investigate whether she really needs it or not. Odds are, she has friends who have netflix, and now, she wants it. It’s a monthly subscription, so even if it’s for class, you can purchase it only for the semester that she’s taking the class. At my school, film classes either showed the films during special course sections or had them streaming online for students to watch. If she wants it just for fun, I’d recommend she pay for it herself, unless you or the family want to use it as well.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That was true before news reports and my netflix running friends were telling/grumbling about new terms that baktrax has outlined. However, at the time those reports/grumblings occurred, the then new TOS had not been implemented yet. </p>
<p>I share my netflix account with several other people, all in different locations. </p>
<p>Sharing is ok, it’s just that the plan level determines the number of simultaneous streams. </p>
<p>I don’t think that Netflix is going to ever try to restrict locations for streaming because people move around and they stream onto portable devices. Here’s a fairly recent notice on pricing:</p>
<p>
[quote]
A Quick Update On Our Streaming Plans And Prices</p>
<p>To continue adding more movies and TV shows, we are increasing the price of our $7.99 a month streaming plan by one dollar to $8.99 for new members. Current Netflix members get to keep their current price for two years, enjoying HD-quality movies and TV shows on any two screens at the same time. </p>
<p>We are also introducing a new $7.99 plan with SD-quality viewing on any one screen at a time. As always, members can change plans at any time. New members get a free trial of whichever plan they prefer. </p>
<p>We look forward to bringing our members more great movies and TV shows, including acclaimed Netflix original series like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. We will continue to make Netflix the best possible place to enjoy entertainment across all the devices our members own – from Smart TVs to mobile phones. [/quot]</p>
<p><a href=“About Netflix - Newsroom”>About Netflix - Newsroom;
<p>So basically the OP can tell d. to buy her own darn plan, and d. could opt for the $7.99/month plan to watch Standard Definition on her laptop in her college dorm room. </p>
<p>Or OP can sign up for the $8.99 plan and share with daughter - and they can both watch – or if there is another sibling in the picture, the plan can be shared among 2 siblings. </p>
<p>Netflix also has plans that cost a little more and allow for more simultaneous streaming. Of course you can have more people on the plan if they are not likely to all be streaming at once. They don’t seem to have any restriction on the number of users. </p>
<p>Any way you go, it costs a lot less than cable. </p>
<p>I’ve lost count of how many different people have my Netflix password. It hasn’t been an issue yet. </p>
<p>It is cheap, but any money is still an expense. We stopped using it after discovering that we do not like anything there, nothing at all and watching from Internet is a much better option.</p>
<p>Another option is to allow her to use your cable provider’s On Demand service on-line. That’s what my D does (in addition to Netflix!).</p>
<p>My kids use their friends’ accounts. :)</p>