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Click and Deliver: Online movie rental stores |
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Written by Marshall Loeb, McClatchy-Tribune
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Thursday, 15 March 2007 |
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Gone are the days of “be kind, please rewind” movie rentals. Now you can have slim DVDs delivered to your door, and you don’t even have to worry about returning them by a certain time to avoid late fees.
With new online DVD rental services, it can be hard to know which is right. Here’s a breakdown of the most popular services:
Netflix.com
This has been around since 1999. There are more than 75,000 titles to choose from, and the Web site gives you custom recommendations.
Cost: The cheapest plan is $4.99/month; you’re limited to two rentals of one DVD each month. For $23.99 a month and you can have four DVDs out at a time with unlimited rentals. There are three plans in between ($9.99, $14.99, $17.99) and no late fees.
Delivery speed: One to two business days. Shipping is free.
Why choose: Huge selection.
Blockbuster.com
It’s not just your local video store anymore. Blockbuster has recently started offering a mix-and-match service — rent DVDs through its Web site, but return them to a local branch for instant exchange if you don’t want to wait.
Cost: Plans are $5.99 to $23.99/month, similar to those offered by Netflix, but there is no extra charge for exchanging a DVD at the store.
Delivery speed: One to two business days. Shipping is free.
Why choose: Exchange at store or by mail.
Intelliflix.com
This offers cheaper plans and not as many bells and whistles on its Web site. There are more than 60,000 videos and games to choose from.
Cost: Plans start at $3.99/month and go up to $24.95/month. The pricier plans allow you to rent “mature” titles. No late fees, unless you choose pay-per-rental option.
Delivery speed: One to three business days. Shipping is free.
Why choose: Saves a bit of cash with a less-fancy site. You can pay yearly on some plans and score more savings.
CinemaNow.com
You download or stream movies to your computer. Currently, the service only supports PCs, and you must be able to play high-quality video on your computer.
Cost: Join for $29.95/month or $99.95/year for unlimited streaming. Or rent movies for streaming download for $2.99 to $3.99 each. You can permanently download some for $9.99 to $19.99.
Delivery speed: Streaming is instant.
Why choose: If you’re tech savvy and have a souped-up PC. Check out the seven-day free trial first. | Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
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