There's a certain elegance to the Netflix concept: you pay a fee each month — it's always the same — for unlimited access to the same video content everyone else gets. You can have DVDs mailed to you, but your preference might lean more towards the Watch Instantly service, which lets you watch streaming video of a decent selection of movies and TV shows.

The simplicity of the model is the reason we like Netflix, but it looks like the company is considering shaking it up. In a recent customer survey, Netflix asked its subscribers if they would would be interested in paying an additional $10 per month (typically Netflix costs between $10 and $20 per month to begin with, so this is at least a 50% increase) to have access to HBO original series and movies on Watch Instantly.

HBO series include critically acclaimed hits like Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Rome, and Big Love, and the movie library could possibly flesh out Watch Instantly's main deficiency — big Hollywood blockbusters. $10 per month is about what you'd pay for HBO on cable TV, and some folks are only holding on to cable for this kind of premium content. Would you take this deal, or should Netflix stick with the simplicity of one tier of content (except for the extra fee for Blu-ray)?

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