I have had a bit of an addiction. I have always liked watching movies, and while I don’t consider myself the level of a film buff, I went through a period where I would watch films to find meaning in life and relationships. I would look for high quality movies that touched me on a fundamental level to improve my perception and experience in the world. Music rarely does that for me, and books even less frequently. It is something about the medium of film that gets to me.

Anyways, because of this desire, I found myself collecting DVDs. I would ask for them for Christmas, and I would scour farmers markets for good deals. I would go every week to a local blockbuster and Rogers video store to look through the used movies and pick up anything that I felt was worth watching. Though poor, I still have a couple hundred DVDs in my collection, and sadly, some I have never even watched.

Stop Buying Movies

One day I realized I spent too much money on movies, and stopped buying them, and now thanks to alternatives, I don’t worry about purchasing movies anymore. I have Netflix.

I can’t say enough good things about Netflix. While their selection still leaves room for desire, they have enough worth watching. And, as they add more content, you will never run out of things to watch. From TV shows like Avatar and Justified, to movies like Taken, and The Princess Bride, there is something for everyone. Unless you watch a movie or two everyday, Netflix should be enough for those days when you sit down and say, “what to watch?”

Use Netflix On Almost Anything

The cost associated with netflix are minimal. 7.99 a month for the service, and you will need something to stream the content. If you already watch things on your computer, you are set. If you would rather watch it in a portable format, most smartphones have a free app you can connect. The only tricky part will come if you want to watch it on your living room TV.

Depending on your computer and television, you might be able to set up your TV as a monitor, allowing you to simply browse to netflix.com. If you already own an Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii, then you can download the app onto your system to set it up for free. What if you have none of these? Some TVs have built in functionality, and some PVRs do as well. What is the cheapest way to get Netflix on your TV? Either the Apple TV or Nintendo Wii will get you up and running with Netflix for about $120, approximately the retail cost of 6 new DVDs.

Do you use Netflix, or any other online streaming service? How is your system setup?