Digital Home Thoughts: Netflix Throttling Customers?

"Netflix typically sends about 13 movies a month to Villanueva's home in Warren, Michigan -- down from the 18 to 22 DVDs he once received before the company's automated system identified him as a heavy renter and began delaying his shipments to protect its profits. The same Netflix formula also shoves Villanueva to the back of the line for the most-wanted DVDs, so the service can send those popular flicks to new subscribers and infrequent renters. The little-known practice, called "throttling" by critics, means Netflix customers who pay the same price for the same service are often treated differently, depending on their rental patterns."



Dude, that sucks. I have totally been loving Netflix and over the last several months, I keep comparing the service that I get (I use it extremely heavily, up to a dozen per month) to what my girlfriend gets (about 5-6 per month). She almost always gets the new releases before me even though I put them in my list well before she does. I always figured there was some algorithm in their system that I just hadn't figured out yet but it looks like it is just throttling. I totally loved their service but this puts a slightly bad taste in my mouth. :-( Lately I have been seeing a number of Blockbuster advertisements telling us about their Netflix like service, I wonder if they do the same. If any of you use it, please tell me of your experience.