Many of you might not know, but the streaming service that you enjoy today from your place of comfort first started by shipping DVDs to homes around the United States by mail. It has been nearly 25 years and Netflix has come a long way from shipping DVDs to becoming the top streaming service. It has been a long road of hit and miss, incredible luck, and good timing. Today, we’ll take a trip down memory lane, commemorating Netflix’s 25th anniversary.

The History of Netflix

Netflix was founded on 29 August 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, a small city in California. The streamer in its early days started by renting DVDs to its customers via mail. The thing with DVDs and Blu-ray rentals is that one can keep them for as long as they want with no late fees or shipping charges.

One of the users took to Twitter, uploading a picture of a Netflix DVD he found after 15 years. The user jokingly asked Netflix, if the streamer still wants the DVD back.

The streamer replied to the above tweet by saying, “We’ve all done it”.

Reminiscing about the old days, a series of tweets followed as users shared their lost and found DVDs.

Does Netflix still offer the DVD service?

Like they say “never forget your roots”. Netflix initially began its life as a DVD and Blu-ray rental company and no surprise they ought to keep the tradition alive. Today, Netflix is primarily a streaming service. But, the streamer still has a separate website for the audience who wants to watch movies on DVDs and Blu-rays. As of now, Netflix has shipped nearly 5 billion DVDs to its audience. Those still interested in the Blu-ray version of shows can still have access to it.

However, one thing to keep in mind is the extra cost a user will have to pay on top of the subscription cost of the streaming service. Moreover, not all shows and movies are available in DVD format and even fewer Blu-ray versions exist to this day. However, some shows are available exclusively on the DVD plan.

DIVE DEEPER

Movies and shows available on DVDs and Blu-rays

A decent number of shows and movies are available in the form of DVDs and Blu-rays to date. From Martin Scorsese’s 2019 hit The Irishman to Noah Baumbach’s Marriage story, many films can be found in physical format. Seasons one and two of American teen drama 13 Reasons Why and the first season of American Vandal is still distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Do you have a Netflix DVD of any show or movie? Do let us know.