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Re-activateFor renting DVDs, Netflix tops Blockbuster overall when it comes to mail-order movie subscriptions, according to a new survey of 6,700 online subscribers by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.
Both services have $4- or $5-a-month plans that let you have one disc at a time and plans that cost $15 to $20 or more monthly that allow you to keep at least three discs on hand, with some offering all-you-can-watch privileges. You go online to reserve movies, which are mailed to you within a business day or two. When you return the disc in a prepaid mailer, the next movie is shipped out. Netflix supplements mail delivery with the ability to stream movies to a computer or TV with an Ethernet port. Blockbuster also offers streamed videos, but they're not part of its Total Access rental subscriptions; you pay extra.
Consumers surveyed gave Netflix the edge for price and selection. Blockbuster's Total Access plan did well, though, and it lets you supplement mail delivery with pickup and exchanges at its 4,600 retail stores. However, one report says Blockbuster is changing its policy so that those in-store movies will be counted toward the total allowed; they haven't been so far. That makes the plan less generous overall than before, but it still allows you to switch movies immediately, rather than waiting for the mail.
Watch our Netflix vs. Blockbuster video (Click on the embedded video player) for more on your movie rental choices. Subscribers can see our full Ratings of movie rental services, which also includes in-store kiosks, walk-in chains, and independent rental stores. And don't forget libraries as a source of free DVD loans..
—Eileen McCooey
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