January 2006
Cut your entertainment costs now
Netflix and other services send movies to your mailbox and can save you money. We tell you which ones deliver.
DVD-delivery services are a couch potato's dream: No more schlepping to the movie theater or the DVD-rental store. And no more channel flipping--you can choose from thousands of movies, not just the handful of flicks HBO and other cable channels are showing.
Movie-rental services can also be a good deal. Under a typical plan, you get two or three DVDs at a time, and as soon as you ship one back, you get a replacement. Already, Netflix and Blockbuster Online, the two dominant players in this arena, have more than 4 million customers combined. Should you join them?
That depends on your movie-watching habits. If you're a theatergoer, you'll save big bucks by waiting for the DVD to come out and staying home for the show. The average movie ticket was $6.21 in 2004, the latest year for which data are available. But you can easily pay $10 or more. You can also save if you rent more than a few movies a month from a DVD-rental store. A spot check of stores around the U.S. showed that a DVD rental costs around $4.25 to $4.75. If you rent, say, six movies a month through one of the major DVD-delivery services, you'll pay as little as $3 a flick. On the other hand, if you rent just a couple a month, you'll pay as much as about $7.50.
In addition to cost, consider convenience and selection. DVD-delivery services can save you time and give you a lot more options. Here's how the services typically work: When you sign up, you usually decide how many movies you want to rent at a time. The higher the number, the higher your monthly fee. Then you go online and pick your flicks. If you've signed up for three at a time, you'll get the first three on your list. Keep them as long as you like--none of the services charge any late fees. When you're done, pop them into a postage-paid mailer. The company will then send the next titles on your list.
The hardest part of the process is picking a movie: Major DVD services stock anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 titles. That means you can often nab popular films when local rental stores are fresh out, and you'll have access to older and less mainstream films and TV shows. Selection alone may make any extra costs worth it.
HOW TO CHOOSE
So which service should you pick? We tested five by checking out the selections, poking around each Web site, and clocking how fast our movies arrived. In most cases, DVDs were delivered fast, sometimes the next day, but usually within two to three days. The few out-of-stock movies we ordered generally took one to three weeks. Beyond that, we found huge differences. Below is our rundown of each. Niche services, such as Cafedvd.com, might also be worth a look. Cafedvd.com specializes in independent, foreign, and art-house films.
DVD-delivery services are a couch potato's dream: No more schlepping to the movie theater or the DVD-rental store. And no more channel flipping--you can choose from thousands of movies, not just the handful of flicks HBO and other cable channels are showing.
Movie-rental services can also be a good deal. Under a typical plan, you get two or three DVDs at a time, and as soon as you ship one back, you get a replacement. Already, Netflix and Blockbuster Online, the two dominant players in this arena, have more than 4 million customers combined. Should you join them?
That depends on your movie-watching habits. If you're a theatergoer, you'll save big bucks by waiting for the DVD to come out and staying home for the show. The average movie ticket was $6.21 in 2004, the latest year for which data are available. But you can easily pay $10 or more. You can also save if you rent more than a few movies a month from a DVD-rental store. A spot check of stores around the U.S. showed that a DVD rental costs around $4.25 to $4.75. If you rent, say, six movies a month through one of the major DVD-delivery services, you'll pay as little as $3 a flick. On the other hand, if you rent just a couple a month, you'll pay as much as about $7.50.
In addition to cost, consider convenience and selection. DVD-delivery services can save you time and give you a lot more options. Here's how the services typically work: When you sign up, you usually decide how many movies you want to rent at a time. The higher the number, the higher your monthly fee. Then you go online and pick your flicks. If you've signed up for three at a time, you'll get the first three on your list. Keep them as long as you like--none of the services charge any late fees. When you're done, pop them into a postage-paid mailer. The company will then send the next titles on your list.
The hardest part of the process is picking a movie: Major DVD services stock anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 titles. That means you can often nab popular films when local rental stores are fresh out, and you'll have access to older and less mainstream films and TV shows. Selection alone may make any extra costs worth it.
HOW TO CHOOSE
So which service should you pick? We tested five by checking out the selections, poking around each Web site, and clocking how fast our movies arrived. In most cases, DVDs were delivered fast, sometimes the next day, but usually within two to three days. The few out-of-stock movies we ordered generally took one to three weeks. Beyond that, we found huge differences. Below is our rundown of each. Niche services, such as Cafedvd.com, might also be worth a look. Cafedvd.com specializes in independent, foreign, and art-house films.
- Netflix
The dominant player in the DVD-rental arena had every movie we wanted, including obscure films. Customer service was excellent; we got e-mail messages notifying us when discs shipped and when returns had been received. Its Web site is full of fun extras like lists of award winners (Academy Award, Sundance, and Independent Spirit), plus a function that allows you to swap rental lists with friends. The only downside: occasional three-day waits for the most popular titles.
Bottom line: A solid performer that has earned its popularity. - Blockbuster
Blockbuster also had a huge selection, timely e-mail shipment notification, and Web-site extras such as "The 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die." But it offers an added perk: coupons for two free in-store rentals per month. As with Netflix, we experienced occasional three-day waits.
Bottom line: The two free monthly in-store rentals give it an edge over Netflix. - Intelliflix
The site doesn't have much beyond a search function by movie name, actor, director, genre, and so on. Nevertheless, what Intelliflix lacks in bells and whistles it makes up for in rental options. Also, you can get a free month's membership if you refer a friend.
Bottom line: Least expensive for three rentals at a time, yet has a big selection. - DVD Avenue
It's hard to tell where this site comes from or who's running it. Click on the "About DVD Avenue" link and you get a page with the words, "Coming Soon!" (Is this an outfit you'd want to give your credit-card number to?) Also, it charges $2 more a month than Netflix and Blockbuster for three selections at a time, presumably because it also offers video games. Still, our experience was subpar. The site is confusing to use, and although you're asked to label each pick "normal," "ASAP," or "whenever," discs marked "ASAP" didn't arrive any faster.
Bottom line: A service with dubious origins and kinks to work out. Skip it. - GameznFlix
Movie selection is paltry. "Monster-in- Law," a recent comedy starring Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda, wasn't in stock, nor were any episodes of "Desperate Housewives." Game selection was equally sparse. And when we signed up for a trial membership, we never got our movies and games. To resolve the matter, we hunted on the Internet for a phone number to call, since it was not easy to find on the Web site. When we reached Chris McLaurin, vice president of Web operations, he said the problem was because of a software glitch. We finally got our discs nearly three weeks later.
Bottom line: Avoid, period.
