12.2. DVDs by MailDownloading movies from the Internet may be cutting-edge and very quick, but it's not a moviephile's dream by any means. You have to figure out a way to connect your PC to your TV (or else watch movies on your computer, like a total nerd). The quality is fairly low. The selection is poor. The 24- hour window for watching is draconian. And you don't get any DVD extras (director narration, omitted scenes, and so on). For millions of people, online DVD rental shops are a much better bet. Granted, it takes longer for the DVD to arrive in the mailbox than for Mr. & Mrs. Smith to download to your hard drive off the Net, but you still don't have to dig up your car keys. 12.2.1. NetflixWith 55,000 DVD movies in stock and high-speed shipping that can deliver a DVD to your door in about one business day, Netflix (www.netflix.com ) gets as close to instant gratification as you can expect from activities that involve the post office. When you rent a movie, it shows up in your mailbox in a bright red envelope; after you've watched it, you mail it back to Netflix in a bright red return envelope with prepaid postage . The next DVD on your wish list gets mailed to you automatically. The beauty of Netflix (and its rival Blockbuster, described next) is that there are no late feesever. You can keep your DVDs as long as you like, and watch as many as you like; your monthly fee's the same either way. Of course, it's in your interest to mail them back when you're finished (because, otherwise , you're paying that monthly fee for nothing). Netflix's monthly fee depends on how many movies you like to have "checked out" at a time. For example, you can check out one DVD at a time ($10 monthly), two ($15), or three ($18). Free two-week trials of each plan are often available. The flat-fee system means that you can help yourself to more movies per month (the average subscriber rents about six). It also makes you a more adventurous renter, leading you to explore movies you wouldn't have felt like spending money on before. Once you sign up, you can browse Netflix's well-structured catalog and build a list of movies you want to rent. That way, as soon as you return each movie, the next one is automatically shipped out. Netflix may not be as zippy as a download service, but you don't have to worry about filling up your hard drive or wrestling the PC close enough to the TV to watch your films without hunching over a computer monitor. And the movies are, literally, DVD-quality.
12.2.2. BlockbusterRetail rental giant Blockbuster (www.blockbuster.com ) has obviously felt the heat from Netflix; it opened its own online rental service that works almost identically. Just like Netflix, Blockbluster stocks more than 50,000 movies to mail back and forth, imposes no late fees, charges $18 a month for unlimited three-at-a-time rentals or $10 for one DVD at a time, and so on. (In fact, Netflix thought that Blockbuster's service looked so familiar, it filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Blockbuster in April 2006.) There are a couple of key differences, though. Blockbuster also has physical video stores all over the States, which it uses to its advantage. For example, Blockbuster's online membership includes coupons for two free in-store rentals each month, which is handy when you can't wait for the mail. Note, however, that even if you live next door to a Blockbuster store, you still have to mail the rented movies back. The physical shops don't handle the virtual store's stock. Tip: Netflix and Blockbuster aren't the only online DVD rental outfits. GreenCine (pronounced GreenScene; www.greencine.com ) is a third one. It specializes in art-house films, film noir, documentaries, Japanese anime, and cult movies. And true movie nuts swear by it. |