Netflix DVDs-by-mail was peak home entertainment

In hindsight, consumers never had it so good with home entertainment than with Netflix’s DVDs-by-mail service.
As soon as theatrical movies were available for home video release, Netflix subscribers could get them via the U.S. Postal Service in short order.
In 2000, Netflix began offering unlimited rentals and no late fees for a monthly fee of $19.95 and users could have four discs out at a time. Whenever subscribers returned a disc, they received the next title in their queue. Netflix added high-definition Blu-ray discs to the DVD library in 2006.
The popularity of Netflix’s service eventually drove out of business home video rental stores such as Blockbuster.
Netflix had every major release and practically every film you could think of in its catalog of DVD and Blu-ray disc movies and TV series.
When the company added streaming video titles to its service as a free added perk in 2007, it spelled the beginning of the end for physical disc rentals.
In November 2010, Netflix introduced a “streaming-only” subscription service plan. The popularity of that service and its expanding content selection, including exclusive originals, led the way for Netflix to end its discs-by-mail service on Sept. 29, 2023.
Netflix in its disc-rental days was the Library of Alexandria for movies and TV series because its catalog was so extensive. But that nirvana is gone.
Now, if you want to watch a particular movie, you must search for it across multiple streaming services – Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock and more.
The company that is best positioned to serve this new world is probably Amazon. Because if you can’t find a certain theatrical release on its streaming service, it likely is available on Amazon for pay-per-view. That’ll cost you more, but at least it’s all in one place.