Netflix Vs Blockbuster DVD Rental Service
This is your best guide to choosing Netflix vs Blockbuster as a DVD Online Rental Service.
Whether it is old movies on DVD, kids movies on DVD, or family movies on DVD, the way we rent movies has forever changed for the future. While some people still prefer to browse the aisles of the local movie rental store, whether it is Blockbuster or Hollywood Video, lots of people are switching to the convenience of an online DVD rental service. It is just so easy to order the kids movies online on DVD or queue it up for watching later. There are no late fees to deal with and the price war between Netflix vs Blockbuster make signing up to watch old movies on DVD or even war movies on DVD (whatever your preference), very attractive to the budget conscious household, especially in this economy. But how do you decide which DVD rental service is the best for you?
Netflix was the beginner in this arena of renting movies online so a serious look at them is necessary. In fact, Netflix has been so popular, that the rival company, Blockbuster thought this new company was enough of a threat to them that the started the Blockbuster online DVD rental company division in response. Currently (March 2010) Netflix provides over 100k + movie titles, and among some of the ever expanding devices that are able to stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix right to members’ TVs are Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PS3 game devices and, in spring 2010 Nintendo’s Wii console; Blu-ray disc players by Samsung, LG and Insignia; Internet TVs from LG, Sony and VIZIO; the Roku digital video player and TiVo digital video recorders.
Blockbuster on the other hand does provide a comparable list of 95,000+ movie titles and can stream movies to your PC, mobile phone, TIVO device and Samsung device. So our question is whether Blockbuster can stop the mega-online flix provider Netflix from dominating the “buy DVD movie online” business? And so will the war of Netflix vs Blockbuster continue or will one dominate the other?
Well, the answer seems to be yes, in a different way. Although Netflix may have taken the “buy DVD movie online” business by storm, Blockbuster provides a service that Netflix cannot. Blockbuster uses their stores as distribution points, and means that it is so easy to take a movie into the store after you received it in the mail and pick out another movie, making delivery of the next movie very quick. And since the pricing is very similar, Blockbuster gives free in-store rentals. This could be very attractive and decision making in this economy because it allows a person to get a new release you were waiting for for free and put the old war movies on DVD on hold.
So if it were me choosing a DVD rental service it might be Blockbuster if I was in a situation where I felt the free rentals are the deciding factor. I would go with Netflix if it didn’t matter about the free in store rentals. They both are very very close in monthly rental, delivery via the mail at about the same speed, and are consumer rated about the same for both “buy DVD movie online” service. I believe however, that with the free movie rental service Blockbuster is going to see a boost in their rental service during the current economy.
Blockbuster gives their customers convenient access to movies and games anywhere, and almost any way they could ask for it – in- store, by-mail, through vending machines or downloaded onto their pc or mobile device. Netflix does exactly the same except they do not maintain a store presence, so they will need to remain competitive in another area to stay ahead of Blockbuster’s in-store presence. We wonder what Netflix will do next to compete with Blockbusters in-store presence.