DVD Rental Service Reviews
 
 
NETFLIX
$8.99/mo
100,000+ Titles
FREE -100 Centers Nationwide
Largest Inventory, Most Centers, Stream to TV or PC
Blockbuster Total Access
$8.99/mo
95,000+ Titles
FREE - 23 Centers Nationwide
Only Service to Offer Choice of Mail-Back or In-Store Returns FREE 2 WEEK TRIAL
$15.95/mo
7,000+ Game Titles
FREE - 4 Centers Nationwide
Largest Selection of Video Games - Various Formats
10 DAY FREE TRIAL
$9.99/mo
25,000+ Titles
FREE - 1 Shipping Center
Expert Recommendations, Comprehensive Movie Reviews
 

Blockbuster Total Access

BLOCKBUSTER Total Access, a handy, flexible resource where you can rent 95,000 DVDs online, is assertively on a mission to win over Netflix customers by reducing their prices and leveraging their 4500 retail stores.  BLOCKBUSTER Total Access™ is the sole online movie rental site where you have two options when returning videos.  You can send them back by mail or you can visit a participating Blockbuster store to exchange them (up to plan limits on exchanges) for a new movie or a discounted game.  Hold on to the movies for as long as you want and you will incur no late fees as there are no due dates for online rentals.

Pay only $9.99 (plus taxes where applicable) for the first month and save $10.00 off the regular price of $19.99.  With this plan, you are entitled to three DVDs at a time and up to Five in-store exchanges monthly for free movie rentals and discounted game rentals.  When you return your DVD, the next available DVD in your list will be sent right away.  In addition, there is no additional fee for Blu-ray format (Netflix charges an additional $2 per movie). 

BLOCKBUSTER Total Access™ earns a high grade of A for its competitive pricing and return options.

Monthly Pricing Plans:

 
1 DVD at a time by mail $8.99
plus 5 in-store exchanges $11.99
 
2 DVDs at a time by mail $13.99
plus 5 in-store exchanges $16.99
 
3 DVDs at a time by mail $16.99
plus 5 in-store exchanges $19.99

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  Blockbuster Total Access - 2 Weeks Free Trial



 

Netflix DVD Rental

 

Netflix, Inc. pioneered the DVD rental business in 1997 and today boasts a collection of over 100,000 titles on DVD and over 14 million subscribers making it the world’s largest online movie rental service.  Not only the largest but also considered the “gold standard” in the industry, Netflix has evolved since 1997 by listening to customer wants and needs.  

They were the first to bring many innovations to the industry such as eliminating the original pay-per-rental model in favor of flat-fee monthly rentals, introducing and then eliminating used DVD sales and, more recently, offering Blu-ray Discs and internet streaming directly to subscribers TVs or PCs.    The company thrives on this trail-blazer role and has now grown to include over 100 shipping points providing in the United States which provide more than 97% of their membership with one business day delivery. 

The company also prides itself on very high quality customer service.  For example, broken or damaged  DVDs are promptly replaced overnight, subscribers are not held responsible for lost DVDs, no due dates, no overdue fees,  a 30-day free trial is offered and members can cancel their subscription anytime without cancellation fees. 

Netflix website also gets high marks for user-friendliness with an easily updated queue and personalized recommendations based upon ratings and reviews by its customers (ala Amazon.com). 

With today’s busy lifestyles and emphasis on immediate gratification, the future of DVD rental is in internet streaming.  Netflix is once again leading the innovation by offering instantly watchable movies and TV episodes with its streaming internet service.  A subscriber can immediately watch a growing selection of movies and TV shows streamed to their PC or TV via a Netflix ready device.  This year the company added the Wii to the available Netflix ready devices joining PS3, Xbox 360 and the Roku set-top-box.  Did I say innovative?

Even with all of these features, Netflix remains competitively priced.  The company has recently focused on promoting its $8.99 per month – unlimited 1-DVD-at-a-time subscription which also includes unlimited streaming of select movies and TV episodes. The Blu-ray access charge is an additional $2.00 a month

Strong customer service, huge selection, fast shipping, competitive pricing and a commitment to lead the industry with innovative enhancements make NetFlix our top pick for most DVD rental customers. 

Monthly Pricing Plans:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Netflix Unlimited Plans (Unlimited DVDs each month with unlimited streaming)
 
8 DVDs out at-a-time for $47.99
 
7 DVDs out at-a-time for $41.99
 
6 DVDs out at-a-time for $35.99
 
5 DVDs out at-a-time for $29.99
 
4 DVDs out at-a-time for $23.99
 
3 DVDs out at-a-time for $16.99
 
2 DVDs out at-a-time for $13.99
 
1 DVD out at-a-time for $8.99 *** Recommended Plan
 
Netflix Limited Plans
 
1 DVD out at-a-time for $4.99 - Limit 2 DVDs each month with 2 hours of streaming to their PC. This plan does not allow members to stream movies to their TV via a Netflix ready device.

Signup For Netflix 30 Day Free Trial       Back To Chart   

Netflix Standard Display Offer 728x90



GameFly

Founded in 2002, Los Angeles-based GameFly is the world's leading online video game rental service, delivering the best selection and availability. GameFly delivers the widest selection and availability of games for the PlayStation® 3, PlayStation® 2, PSP, Xbox 360, Xbox, Wii, GameCube, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advanced.

As a GameFly member, you can rent as many games as you want and play them as long as you want for only $22.95 per month. Manage your own personal wish list of games, what they call "My GameQ." Check out 2 games at a time. When you're done, send your games back and the next picks in your GameQ will automatically be sent to you.

They have the best selection of video games for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox 360, Xbox, Wii, GameCube, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance. Open 24 hours every day, their rental library of over 7,000 titles makes renting hard-to-find classics and hot new releases as simple as a few clicks of your mouse. You can also find upcoming titles to add to your GameQ.

They ship games from Los Angeles, CA, Pittsburgh, PA, Tampa, FL, and Austin, TX.

The longer you're a GameFly member, the more Rewards you'll receive for great discounts on game purchases.

In addition, GameFly has all the information you'll ever need about a game. They've partnered with GameSpot, GameSpy, and IGN to bring you cheats and codes, reviews, videos, screenshots, walkthroughs, and recommendations. They also have ratings and User Reviews from their members, and gameplay controls for every title.


Monthly Pricing Plans:

 
For one flat monthly fee of $22.95 (plus any applicable tax), GameFly lets you rent 2 games at a time, with free shipping, no due dates and no late fees. Or, for $15.95 a month you can rent one game at a time. There are no additional charges

Signup For GameFly 2 Week Free Trial      Back To Chart   




DVD Avenue

DVD Avenue is an up and coming DVD rental service bold enough to compete with the ever-popular Netflix and Blockbuster.  Although still in its infancy, DVD Avenue is user-friendly and holds its own against its competitors.   This website has a unique feature whereby the user chooses their DVD list based upon personal recommendations and expert suggestions.  It is easy to determine which DVDs to look into and which to pass up.  Although some of the pages appear sparse, the review and search engine pages are well developed.  The page used to describe the four rental package options is well-written so that choosing a package is uncomplicated.  All packages offer unlimited monthly rentals, the difference being in the number of discs allowed at one time.  Although the money value is not as good and DVD Avenue does not run free trial or offers, DVD Avenue can take pride in its reputation for being flexible as well as having good customer service and professionalism.  The user may even stop their membership for up to two months if circumstances make movie watching impossible.

Please note that DVD Avenue.com is in no way related to DVDAvenue.tv, a site for DVD sales rather than rentals which has faced allegations of illegal activities. To the best of our knowledge, DVDAvenue.com is completely legitimate.

 

This site is similar to other DVD rental sites of this type.  Simply list the DVDs you desire and the number of DVDs your package entitles you to will be immediately mailed by post.  When you are finished, simply return the DVDs in the pre-paid envelope.  Once received, your next set of DVDs will be sent.  Turnaround time is a bit slower than Netflix and Blockbuster unless you live in the Maryland area where DVD Avenue ships from.

 

Although not as highly ranked as Netflix or Blockbuster, DVD Avenue is a very respectable online rental service.

 


Monthly Pricing Plans:

Select Plan
1 DVD at a time
$9.99 a month
Select Plan
2 DVDs at a time
$14.95 a month
Select Plan
3 DVDs at a time
$19.95 a month
Select Plan
4 DVDs at a time
$24.95 a month

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