
Netflix releases House of Cards - stevewilhelm
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/House_of_Cards/70178217
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pooMonger
Just listened to the NPR Fresh Air Interview with Kevin Spacey and David
Fincher in regards to this show. The soundbites seem to indicate another
brilliant performance by Spacey. I've been a huge fan of his for a long time
and needless to say, I'll be tuning in.

Definitely worth listening to the interview, link below:

[http://www.npr.org/2013/01/31/170465471/spacey-and-
fincher-m...](http://www.npr.org/2013/01/31/170465471/spacey-and-fincher-make-
a-house-of-cards)

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crowhack
I really enjoyed the first 2 episodes. I wasn't sold after the first episode
but after the 2nd I became a fan. The character development and pacing is
great. It has this sense of foreboding and everything is always moving
quickly. Since they expect you to binge watch there are no catch ups. If
you're a fan of breaking bad you'll love house of cards.

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danso
I'm all for original content but I wonder what the return on investment on
this is compared to securing licenses for non original but popular content?

If this show ends up being the next big thing, will that really convince
people who haven't subscribed to Netflix to finally join in? I would think
that many of these people will be satisfied with just torrenting that one
show.

OTOH, I would most definitely choose Netflix over Hulu, or vice versa, based
on overall size of catalog...Finding torrents of the most popular show of the
day is easy...finding torrents to a broad array of slightly older movies and
tv shows is harder, and more work overall

~~~
logn
HBO saw a jump in subscriptions after Sopranos. Plus it gave them momentum for
Curb, True Blood, Game of Thrones.

Netflix compared to HBO can introduce any number of original series and not
hog up their programming schedule which I'd think makes it much cheaper for
them. They could probably just sign deals on a royalty basis and have studios
take on the investment risk.

~~~
edouard1234567
"They could probably just sign deals on a royalty basis and have studios take
on the investment risk."

I'm not sure what you suggesting makes business sense for either netflix or
the studios.

A big part of the strategy seems to be exclusivity and having the whole season
available on day 1. It's unlikely the studio will produce a full season
without any upfront payment and with exclusivity...

Netflix is a subscription business they wouldn't sign deals based on number of
views. When they get the right to show a movie, they can show it as much as
they want and they need to keep it this way.

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byamit
Ok - only had time to watch the first 5 minutes this morning, but I'm hooked.
I wonder if this will end up having an anti-sorkinization effect -
[http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/04/aaron-sorkin-
west...](http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/04/aaron-sorkin-west-wing)

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surrealize
It's weird, I can't add it to my instant queue through the web interface or
the android app. My desktops are all linux, so I usually add things to my
queue through the web interface, and then watch them using the netflix client
on my TV.

Finding shows through the TV interface is a pain; I wonder why they're not
letting me add the show to my queue.

~~~
dangrossman
They built a special landing page for the show. If you do a search for House
of Cards on Netflix.com, the button to add to your queue is there.

~~~
surrealize
Thanks. It's weird, I restarted my phone and then I was able to add it to my
queue through the android app. But before, I was clicking on the "instant
queue" button and nothing was happening.

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redwood
I can't get netflix to work on a Macbook Air due to a problem with
Silverlight.

I get an error telling me to uninstall and re-install Silverlight, which
doesn't fix the problem.

This issue makes me very angry at Microsoft and at Netflix for using them.
Pity there's no linux support at all :(

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pstuart
I ran into the same problem. It requires deleting a file. Google for that
error code and you'll find the fix.

~~~
dualboot
HD > Library > Application Support > Microsoft > PlayReady > mspr.hds

Just delete the file. Fixes the problem.

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redwood
Thank you I think I'd tried this before but given up once seeing no "Library"
folder. Now I see it's just hidden in Lion! (I'm doing this on my gf's
computer so I'm not too familiar with macs... about to get one for work so a
good time to get used to it!)

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kqr2
_Lilyhammer_ was actually Netflix's first original series.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilyhammer>

<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1958961/>

~~~
foolrush
The reports are that it was co-produced, and hence House of Cards is deemed
the first original series, so the statement isn't entirely false.

From the Wikipedia link you posted: "The series has been commissioned by NRK
from Norwegian Rubicon TV AS in association with Netflix and German-owned
distributor SevenOne International."

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jsemar
What...so this is not a server infrastructure tool? Good name for one.

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lukifer
I love that Netflix is doing original content, but releasing them all at once
seems weird. Part of what made Lost, BSG, etc, so addicting is having to wait
to find out what happens next. And though it can be fun to come to a series
late and blow through the whole thing, it kills a lot of the initial public
excitement about the series, and the water-cooler talk that makes others want
to come onboard.

Still: looking forward to watching this.

~~~
gagege
As someone who watched many episodes of LOST in a single sitting every night
for weeks, I can guarantee you that waiting for the next episode is not what
made LOST addictive.

edit: I agree though that it might kill some of the "watercooler-talk" or the
"figure out the mysterious symbolism in last weeks episode" stuff. But those
things are just gimmicks meant to keep you watching the show anyway. If
they're releasing the whole thing at once, maybe there's no need for them to
help market the show.

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Benferhat
Over/under on how long Netflix's DRM [0] will keep it from showing up on
usenet or torrents?

I'm watching the British version, it's a pretty entertaining political drama.
Something like Dallas set in the British government. Sadly, it's not
widescreen.

[0] <http://www.defectivebydesign.org/topic/netflix>

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barredo
DRM won't block screen recording.

~~~
dasil003
Oh it tries...

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lsiebert
I'll have to see if this is as good as the original british miniseries. Those
btw, are excellent.

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geuis
I'm curious about why this particular show is being talked about so much in
tech circles. Is it just because its a Netflix original production? The
premise isn't personally interesting to me, but I'll watch the first episode
to give it a try.

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shardling
Two separate reasons:

1\. It's one of the first times a content streamer has produced a high-profile
series and premiered it online. Remember that "real" networks like AMC also
wanted this show. So as a first, it's worth seeing how it pans out.

2\. The BBC show it is originally based on is, for real, one of the finest
pieces of television ever made. Anyone who got hoked by it is bound to be
curious about this one.

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meguro
>> The BBC show it is originally based on is, for real, one of the finest
pieces of television ever made.

You might say so, but I couldn't possible comment.

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mayneack
Figured it would be worth a shot, signed up for the free trial. Doesn't work
on linux. Guess I'll wait for the pirates.

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heartbreak
Figured it would be worth a shot, went to the store. Doesn't accept AmEx.
Guess I'll just shoplift.

~~~
mayneack
So let's say I pay for netflix, then pirate the show anyway because it's
easier for me to use than netflix. Any problem there? They released the whole
thing at once, so as long as I watch it within this month, it's the same on
their end as if I got it, went through an annoying wine process and then
canceled my month trial. After-all, I'm following the whole point of a free
trial. I tried it for 10 minutes, decided I didn't like it, and canceled.

~~~
heartbreak
Now you're making a completely different argument. Now you're doing the whole
stealing versus theft thing, which was not your original comment. Originally
you were going to try Netflix, but it didn't work on Linux so you decided to
try to steal the shows instead. This is _exactly_ like going to buy something
in a store that doesn't accept AmEx, getting all pissy when they don't accept
AmEx, and trying to shoplift instead of pulling out one of your other payment
methods (because chances are, you don't only carry AmEx). Similarly, chances
are your _only_ computing device is not a Linux computer. Android, iOS, XBox
360, Wii [U], PS3, and all sorts of other TVs and set top boxes also stream
Netflix.

~~~
mayneack
Same argument, more context.

If I go to the store, pay with my AmEx to buy a DVD, then bring it home and
pirate the show because I don't want to go through the process of ripping it
to watch on my computer sans TV, it's the same thing since I've already "paid"
for the free trial.

My justification is absurd and arbitrary because it's highly unlikely that
this is all I will pirate, but no more absurd or arbitrary so suggest that
it's equally immoral to shoplift if they don't take a credit card. It's at
least marginally more moral because of the whole infinite copy thing. In both
cases (shoplifting and downloading), the content creator suffers the same
"loss" associated with creating something and losing a potential sale, but in
the shoplifting case, they had to put materials into the DVD, shipping and
stocking. I'm saving them money on bandwidth (torrent) and still "paying" with
their free trial.

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sodiumphosphate
The show is excellent, IMHO. Delightfully wicked and intriguing.

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cheez
This is an AMAZING show

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Tycho
Doesn't seem to be available through my Apple TV app.

~~~
crowhack
I had the same problem with my blu-ray player. I had to go online and add it
to my instant queue. Then I was able to access it on blu-ray player through my
queue. I don't know why it doesn't show up on other interfaces besides web.
Anyone else having this problem with other interfaces besides blu-ray and
apple tv?

~~~
Tycho
It does show up on my Apple TV now, though. Maybe they always roll new
releases out in tiers of devices.

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chc
I can't help but find Netflix's choice of original series puzzling. They look
so bland†. I would expect a service like Netflix that wanted to make a name
for itself as a content producer to go for something higher-concept. Over the
past couple of decades, the shows that have established networks as contenders
in original programming have been things _The X-Files_ (for Fox), _Buffy_ (for
The WB), _Dexter_ (for Showtime), _The Sopranos_ and _True Blood_ (for HBO).
These are all splashy, quirky shows. So why would Netflix go for something as
seemingly subdued and "safe" as _House of Cards_?

† _A lot of people seem to misunderstand my point, so just to clarify: I
haven't watched_ House of Cards _and can't say whether the show itself is
bland, but it lacks a strong hook to grab people. That's what I mean by
"bland"._

~~~
redwood
The shows most people consider the _best_ shows made: The Wire (HBO) and Mad
Men (*edit AMC) both seem bland at first glance...

A great show can be set in any setting.

~~~
chc
_The Wire_ I will agree is "bland" in the sense I'm using here. And indeed, I
don't think the _The Wire_ would have been a good show to establish a network,
even though it was good. That's a good example of the sort of thing I'm
talking about here. I really don't mean the show is _bad_. I mean that shows
that "make" networks tend to be obviously quirky, and this show doesn't seem
to have that trait.

But IMO _Mad Men_ was actually a pretty high-concept show. It was readily
identifiable even to people who weren't very familiar with it. (I say this as
someone who actually didn't watch _Mad Men_ for several years and thus was
actually in that position.)

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redwood
Interesting, I, like you, didn't get to Mad Men until very late since it
seemed like a mundane concept. Of course I was converted by word of mouth
cajoling and one episode did the trick. I guess Netflix hopes for the same
kind of thing here

