Since there seem to be a lot of questions/comments frequently on this board about the online rental sites, I decided to share my thoughts and experiences since I seem to be on a "quest" of sorts for the perfect online DVD rental store. Moderator - anyway this thread could be placed in the "Home Theater Software" forum as well?
Here are the online rental services that I have now tried with my comments and score:
Netflix - The one that started it all. I was there when they first opened their doors (before they even had the "unlimited, monthly fee" system). It was great for about the first year and half, but as of the beginning of 2001, titles were never in stock, and most of them were "Long Wait". They probably do have the largest selection of all of the online rental stores. CANCELLED. Score - 4/10
RentMyDVD - Just about as good of a selection as NetFlix, but had a poorly designed website (as of three months ago anyway). In the beginning, allowed you to put movies in your queue that had just come out in the theater (which I liked a lot), but eventually they took that ability away. They also limited you to 50 movies in your queue which was a drag. Being on the east coast, having a warehouse in NJ was nice, but it still seemed to take a while for them to process the movies going out. It seems pretty obvious to me now that we'll never see those "additional" warehouses that they had been talking about from the beginning. In any event, what ultimately did it for me (once again) was too many movies being out of stock. CANCELLED.
Score - 5.5/10
DVDBarn - Smaller selection than the others, I like the website design though. Newer movies seem to be in stock more frequently, but still not great. I was able to get Phantom Menace from them the week it came out. They seem to be the only one left that allows you to mark a title as "already sent back", and will then ship out your next selection in your queue. You can do this for up to two titles (in the 4 movie plan). I think this is a HUGE benefit for them. Still a member. Deciding between this one and the next one...read on...
Score - 7/10
NumberSlate - Selection comparable to NetFlix and RentMyDVD. Website design very similar to NetFlix. Customer service even better than RentMyDVD. Availibility of titles is still not great, but better than NetFlix or RentMyDVD. My one major complaint is that turnaround of titles seems longer than the others. They are supposedly adding a "mark delayed" feature in the future, but who knows. I like how they have a "5 movie out" option for a couple bucks more which is perfect for me. That somewhat makes up for the longer turnaround. Still a member, just deciding between them and DVDBarn. Just the fact that I received "The War Zone" from them the other day might be the dealbreaker. I had that movie in my queue(s) since September of last year back when I was with NetFlix.
Score - 7/10
DVDOvernight - Don't have enough experience with them to fairly rate them, but last time I checked they didn't have an unlimited rental program. The few DVDs that I have rented from them arrived well-packaged in a timely fashion.
Score - Inconclusive
So there you have it. I should also mention that all four of these services are comparable in price. In other words, none of them separate themselves from the others based on price alone, although NumberSlate offers a wider range of options.
If anyone has anything to add, please do so. Remember these are just merely my opinions and are based solely on my experiences. If your experiences have been different, please share them. Also, if anyone has tried any others, please share your experiences with that as well.
Here are the online rental services that I have now tried with my comments and score:
Netflix - The one that started it all. I was there when they first opened their doors (before they even had the "unlimited, monthly fee" system). It was great for about the first year and half, but as of the beginning of 2001, titles were never in stock, and most of them were "Long Wait". They probably do have the largest selection of all of the online rental stores. CANCELLED. Score - 4/10
RentMyDVD - Just about as good of a selection as NetFlix, but had a poorly designed website (as of three months ago anyway). In the beginning, allowed you to put movies in your queue that had just come out in the theater (which I liked a lot), but eventually they took that ability away. They also limited you to 50 movies in your queue which was a drag. Being on the east coast, having a warehouse in NJ was nice, but it still seemed to take a while for them to process the movies going out. It seems pretty obvious to me now that we'll never see those "additional" warehouses that they had been talking about from the beginning. In any event, what ultimately did it for me (once again) was too many movies being out of stock. CANCELLED.
Score - 5.5/10
DVDBarn - Smaller selection than the others, I like the website design though. Newer movies seem to be in stock more frequently, but still not great. I was able to get Phantom Menace from them the week it came out. They seem to be the only one left that allows you to mark a title as "already sent back", and will then ship out your next selection in your queue. You can do this for up to two titles (in the 4 movie plan). I think this is a HUGE benefit for them. Still a member. Deciding between this one and the next one...read on...
Score - 7/10
NumberSlate - Selection comparable to NetFlix and RentMyDVD. Website design very similar to NetFlix. Customer service even better than RentMyDVD. Availibility of titles is still not great, but better than NetFlix or RentMyDVD. My one major complaint is that turnaround of titles seems longer than the others. They are supposedly adding a "mark delayed" feature in the future, but who knows. I like how they have a "5 movie out" option for a couple bucks more which is perfect for me. That somewhat makes up for the longer turnaround. Still a member, just deciding between them and DVDBarn. Just the fact that I received "The War Zone" from them the other day might be the dealbreaker. I had that movie in my queue(s) since September of last year back when I was with NetFlix.
Score - 7/10
DVDOvernight - Don't have enough experience with them to fairly rate them, but last time I checked they didn't have an unlimited rental program. The few DVDs that I have rented from them arrived well-packaged in a timely fashion.
Score - Inconclusive
So there you have it. I should also mention that all four of these services are comparable in price. In other words, none of them separate themselves from the others based on price alone, although NumberSlate offers a wider range of options.
If anyone has anything to add, please do so. Remember these are just merely my opinions and are based solely on my experiences. If your experiences have been different, please share them. Also, if anyone has tried any others, please share your experiences with that as well.