Netflix vs Blockbuster Online
Going to the video store was always such a pain in the ass. Not only did one have to walk around the store for an hour wondering what movie to rent since the one that's wanted is always rented out, but you had to wait in line to pay for it too. On top of that, you had to bring the movie back to the store when you were done with it. Too many steps to enjoy one lousy night of watching Ishtar.
In came Netflix, the online movie rental store that gets rid of all that waste of time. They mail your movies to you and when you're done, you mail them back. Simple. So simple in fact you never have to really leave the house.
Blockbuster followed Netflix's mail order movie rental idea a few years later. Even Wal-Mart joined in on the fun for a little while. Amazon was always rumored to begin renting movies online too, but it never took off thanks to fierce pricing competition between Netflix and Blockbuster.
However, if you haven't subscribed to Netflix or Blockbuster yet, you are probably wondering which one is better. They are both pretty similar and cost about the same. The real difference comes from speed of delivery and this depends on how far away you live from one of the distribution centers.
Although, I've noticed that Netflix seems to be quicker in receiving the movies I have sent back, which means turnaround for me to receive my next movie is quicker. Blockbuster currently does not allow customers to return movies they rented online in the store, but this is an option they are planning to offer in the future.
However, Blockbuster does offers two free in-store rentals a month, and for you gamers out there this includes the video games available for rental in store too.
Netflix has a wider selection and has unrated versions of films where as Blockbuster does not.
Blockbuster Online
Price: $17.99/month for unlimited rentals
Pros: Free shipping, large selection, easy to use Web site, 2 free in-store rentals a month.
Cons: Sometimes too slow at updating returned movies in your queue
Netflix
Price: $17.99/month for unlimited rentals
Pros: Free Shipping, larger selection, unrated films, easy to use Web site, quick turnaround.
Cons: No additional benefits like Blockbuster's in-store rentals.
Bottomline: Netflix is the winner here, but not by much. I give them an 8 out of 10. I give Blockbuster a 7.5 out of 10. If Blockbuster can speed up their processing, offer unrated films for rental and allow customers to return their rented online movies in-store they would become the clear winner. Netflix has been toying with the idea of allowing rented movies to be downloaded straight to a TiVo. A move that every online movie company will and should follow since on demand entertainment is growing.
In came Netflix, the online movie rental store that gets rid of all that waste of time. They mail your movies to you and when you're done, you mail them back. Simple. So simple in fact you never have to really leave the house.
Blockbuster followed Netflix's mail order movie rental idea a few years later. Even Wal-Mart joined in on the fun for a little while. Amazon was always rumored to begin renting movies online too, but it never took off thanks to fierce pricing competition between Netflix and Blockbuster.
However, if you haven't subscribed to Netflix or Blockbuster yet, you are probably wondering which one is better. They are both pretty similar and cost about the same. The real difference comes from speed of delivery and this depends on how far away you live from one of the distribution centers.
Although, I've noticed that Netflix seems to be quicker in receiving the movies I have sent back, which means turnaround for me to receive my next movie is quicker. Blockbuster currently does not allow customers to return movies they rented online in the store, but this is an option they are planning to offer in the future.
However, Blockbuster does offers two free in-store rentals a month, and for you gamers out there this includes the video games available for rental in store too.
Netflix has a wider selection and has unrated versions of films where as Blockbuster does not.
Blockbuster Online
Price: $17.99/month for unlimited rentals
Pros: Free shipping, large selection, easy to use Web site, 2 free in-store rentals a month.
Cons: Sometimes too slow at updating returned movies in your queue
Netflix
Price: $17.99/month for unlimited rentals
Pros: Free Shipping, larger selection, unrated films, easy to use Web site, quick turnaround.
Cons: No additional benefits like Blockbuster's in-store rentals.
Bottomline: Netflix is the winner here, but not by much. I give them an 8 out of 10. I give Blockbuster a 7.5 out of 10. If Blockbuster can speed up their processing, offer unrated films for rental and allow customers to return their rented online movies in-store they would become the clear winner. Netflix has been toying with the idea of allowing rented movies to be downloaded straight to a TiVo. A move that every online movie company will and should follow since on demand entertainment is growing.
posted by Daniel M Silverman at 8:47 AM
8 Comments:
I've used Netflix and love it.
What about intelliflix? Adult movies/games/regular movies.
Wow this article is outdated.
Now Blockbuster offers 1 movie rental in-store A WEEK! That's 52 rentals a year. If you rent movies online, you can bring your coupon to the store and rent a game if you want.
Netflix also practices something called "Throttling", where if a customer is a heavy renter they will be placed at the end of the queue behind new customers.
So when NetFlix catches wind that someone is renting 15-17 a month, they have been throttled to rent only 10-12 a month.
I've used both Netflix and Blockbuster and definately like Netflix the best. They have the quickest turnaround by far. Blockbuster's coupons for the store is nice, but I have no desire to go to a video store. If you still want to go to the video store and don't mind the slower turn around, then Blockbuster may be the way to go. After trying the online service, many no longer have a desire to do the video store thing.
Blockbuster censors movies, both in store and online. Netflix Rules!
Umm....no, blockbuster does not censor its movies. I'm a blockbuster manager and i can tell you for certain that movies are not censored. Its an urban legend.
I like blockbuster better because you can return through the mail or at the store. I just used up a free trial from http://www.doiop.com/blockb
Anonymous- You are wrong- it is not an "urbvan legend."
Many critics of the chain, including Naomi Klein in her anti-globalization book No Logo (1999), allege that Blockbuster is involved in "censorship," because it not only bans certain titles, but has allegedly edited videos for release beyond the standard retail cut, or allegedly used its significant market share to influence studios to do so. Blockbuster's critics claim this alleged editing to secure more "family-friendly" ratings is a necessity for studios if they want their products to reach a wider video market. Blockbuster itself has never edited any film title, instead choosing to carry official, studio released R-rated versions in place of the original NC-17 rated versions.
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