DVD Rental Clubs: An Overview

So everyone and their grandma have launched a DVD rental club it seems. Did you know that you can even rent DVDs at many McDonalds now? They have DVD rental machines at many of their locations where you can pay $1, the machine dispenses your DVD and you simply return it to the machine the next day.

Most people are pretty familiar with their local DVD rental club options, but many people are more interested in finding out about the current internet DVD rental clubs. So what all is out there besides Netflix? Well, before expounding on the reasons that Netflix is the best online DVD rental club, let's take a brief look at the other two major online DVD rental club programs.

Blockbuster

Blockbuster is scrambling to compete with Netflix for online DVD rental business, but they just really aren't qualified to put up much of a fight. Personally, I quit renting from Blockbuster locally when I discovered that many of their titles are edited. You may not even notice which titles are edited unless you saw the same movie in theaters or from a different rental club.

Secondly, though their prices are comparable for their online DVD rental club, the selection just cannot compare to that of Netflix. Also, I don't think



Blockbuster values their customers as highly as Netflix. More than once I've returned a movie a few days late to Blockbuster. Though I planned to pay the late fee on the next trip, I was greeted with threatening collection notices in my mailbox, less than two weeks after returning the late movie.

Wal-Mart

Where to start with this beast. Wal-Mart has a terrible selection of DVD rentals, though their prices are a little more affordable. Unless you like watching a steady stream of Disney movies, at the same time you're contributing to the exploitation of Wal-Mart employees in this country or the laborers they exploit in foreign countries, you're better off renting DVDs from any other source.

Netflix

Netflix has an unbelievable selection of titles, ranging from movies of all genres to special interest, independent, foreign and documentary titles. There are even hard to find music DVDs so you can see your favorite bands performing or maybe catch some additional tour footage.

The features of their online DVD rental club are phenomenal. There are ways to find similar movies to ones you like, you can rate movies and have other recommended based on your ratings, and you can even link up with friends who participate in Netflix to see what each other is watching or send recommendations.

At a starting price of $9.95 per month or about $30 per month for three out at a time and unlimited rentals overall, Netflix has a DVD rental plan suited for every individual or family. I myself share a six out at a time plan with my two other family members. We can maintain our own queues and be notified if a family member has already chosen the same title so we can avoid renting a movie twice.


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