While searching for news on BlockBuster and NetFlix DVD rental today I came across a recent Boston Globe [ link: Customers win in war of online DVD rental firms - opens in new window] article in which the reporter was basically profiling BlockBuster Online’s recent entry into online movie rental, but as part of his research, conducted an experiment with NetFlix and BlockBuster simultaneously. he sums things up pretty well in the following comments:

On paper, Blockbuster’s mail-order DVD delivery service is a far better deal than what industry pioneer Netflix offers. Blockbuster charges $3.15 less a month for the comparable three-movies-at-a-time Netflix service and throws in two free in-store rentals. Over the course of a year, that means a consumer gains access to more movies and pays nearly $38 less.

The service gap between the two companies appears to be narrowing, but in a monthlong, head-to-head comparison I found Netflix’s website quicker to navigate and more of its titles immediately available. Netflix also delivered movies slightly faster than Blockbuster.

BlockBuster Online knows about your DVD movie return before physically receiving the DVD:

Blockbuster’s Evangelist said the company is moving to improve its delivery times and increase its stock of movies. It has asked the US Postal Service to scan Blockbuster return envelopes and send the firm an electronic notification so customers don’t have to wait until the envelopes are actually delivered before having the next movie on their to-see list sent out.

As I’ve written in other related posts here, I’m now into my sixth week with BlockBuster Online and am so far much happier with the turn-around time over NetFlix’s service (no throttling so far), and the selection though slightly smaller than NetFlix’s library, is sufficient for me and they’re cheaper.

If you have any horror stories or conversely, positive experiences with either BlockBuster of NetFlix (as well as other online dvd rental services) please share them by leaving a comment to the post.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 2nd, 2005 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Online DVD Rental. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. | Permalink