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Netflix subscribers face dilemma as prices climb

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The toughest choice most Netflix customers

usually face is figuring out which movie to put at the top of their

queues.

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But millions of Netflix subscribers will be wrestling with a new

dilemma as they decide how to respond to price changes that will

hit the video service’s existing customers beginning

Thursday.

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The new system will impose substantially higher rates on customers

who want to keep renting DVDs through the mail and enjoying the

more immediate gratification of streaming video over high-speed

Internet connections.

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A small number of Netflix Inc.’s nearly 25 million U.S. subscribers

will be unaffected because they had already limited their usage to

Internet video streaming. Others will have to pay as much as 60

percent more unless they are prepared to wean themselves from one

of Netflix’s entertainment options or just close their service

entirely.

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Here’s a few factors for Netflix subscribers to

consider:

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– Find out which day of the month Netflix bills you.

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Click “Your Account & Help” on the top right, then look for the

next billing date in the center. That is when the new rates take

effect. For example, if Netflix doesn’t charge you until the 22nd

of each month, you still have another three weeks before being

charged more to have both DVD rentals and Internet video. If you

usually get billed on the second day of each month, you will need

to make a change promptly to avoid being charged more.

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– Know the new prices.

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For the first time since it introduced Internet streaming in 2007,

Netflix is offering DVD-only plans. For $8 per month, customers can

rent an unlimited number of DVDs per month, with a maximum of one

disc out per time. DVD-only plans allowing two discs out at time

will cost $12 per month and three DVDs at a time will go for $16

per month.

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The cheapest package that combines Internet video and DVD rentals

(one disc at a time) will cost $16 per month – up from $10 per

month under the old system.

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The price for an Internet-streaming only plan remains $8 per

month.

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– If you’re among the customers who want to keep just one of

Netflix’s entertainment options, assess what you like to watch on

the service and how you watch it.

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Internet streaming is more convenient because there’s no waiting

for video to be delivered by the U.S. postal system. It also

enables viewing on personal computers, tablet computers and phones,

besides television sets. The negatives: It requires high-speed

Internet access, which isn’t cheap, and Netflix’s streaming library

is about one-fifth the size of the 100,000 selections in the DVD

section.

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DVDs remain the best way to see the latest movies after they have

ended their run in theaters. In some cases, Netflix must wait four

weeks after DVDs go on sale in stores before they can mail them to

customers, but that’s far better than Internet streaming where the

wait can last several years.

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Internet streaming is better for watching good documentaries (which

sometimes are available at the same time as the DVDs), catching up

on past seasons of TV shows and enjoying older movies.

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If you like to watch series such as “The Wire” and “Curb Your

Enthusiasm” that have previously been shown on HBO, stick with DVDs

because those titles have never shown up in Netflix’s streaming

library.

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– Before abandoning Internet streaming, remember it is probably

going to keep getting better because it is Netflix’s top priority.

Netflix has left no doubt that it intends to spend big bucks to

make its streaming library more compelling. The company already has

secured the exclusive rights to a series starring Academy

Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey. That series, “House of Cards,”

initially will be available late next year only to Netflix’s

streaming customers.

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– Keep some perspective. Sure, a 60 percent increase sounds

outrageous, but it’s only $6 more per month to have your DVDs and

Internet video, too. Most people could cover that cost by cutting

out one or two visits to Starbucks or some other store each

month.

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