SpyderMike

i hope i posted this in the right forum...but...

which is better? i had netflix when it first came out and it was alright. Which has the better selection of movies? I'm more into Indie and Horror movies here. Thanx for the feedback!

wilky61

I've used both before. Netflix supposedly has a better selection of movies but it wasn't noticeable for me. Netflix also has this feature where you can instantly watch movies through your web browser, but the selection there is terrible (still, I found some gems such as Papillon, Network, Asphalt Jungle, Dial M For Murder, Rebel Without a Cause, Bonnie and Clyde, Dirty Dozen).

The biggest advantage to Blockbuster's online rental service is that you can return movies at the store and walk away with a new rental from the store (and then you'll be mailed the next movie from your queue in addition). So you can get more movies for your money.

Between the two, I'd say I prefer Blockbuster because 1.) I live 4 miles from a store and 2.) I had horrible problems with Netflix discs being scratched and skipping and I've never had a problem with Blockbuster...I imagine this isn't a typical/widespread problem, though...

In any case, they both offer a 2-week free trial so you can try them out and see which selection suits your interests better.

Bogie

Really it depends on a few variables. The biggest is what kind of movies you enjoy. If you like that artsy foreign shit, its more likely you will enjoy Netflix. If you enjoy theatrical releases and live close to a Blockbuster, I would go with Blockbuster because you can turn in your movies you get in the mail for new movies at the store. So if you get three at a time, you get three when you drop em off at the store.

One big difference is what you can get out of the free trial. Blockbuster is very stingy about it and won't budge on giving you more than 3 at a time on the free trial, while Netflix allowed me to try out the 5 at a time plan during my free trial. I'm still trying to get 4 at a time from Blockbuster, but three reps later they still won't budge via email support.

Blockbuster's website is a pain in the ass compared to Netflix. Hands down Netflix has the better website and is much better at predicting what movies you will like based on your ratings.

No matter what, the best thing to do is try them both out and get the most out of the free trials that you can and then decide. I just finished my free month of Netflix and am now trying out Blockbuster.


I stress, always do a search for free trials from both on Google. You can find one month trials. Here's one that works currently for Netflix:

http://www.flexdeals.net/deals/index...x-coupon-codes

Make sure to follow the directions on the webpage. You can find the same deal for Blockbuster by doing a search.

EdTheRipper

I currently have both and I prefer Netflix, hands down. The turnaround time is a lot faster. I return titles to both the same day and for some reason, Blockbuster doesn't get new movies back into my hands for 4 or 5 days whereas Netflix gets me movies within 2 days, 3 tops.

wilky61

^See, I think it depends on where you live in proximity to their distribution centers. I get better turnaround time from Blockbuster. They always tell me when a movie ships to expect it 2 days later, but it always comes the very next day instead.

I think the whole Netflix vs. Blockbuster argument is "YMMV" and should be left up to the personal experience of the user.

rkndkn

I just finished a one-month trial with Blockbuster and am now doing a one-month trial with NetFlix.

The exchange at the store is really good with Blockbuster and I managed quite a few films during that month. However, I noticed that BB is more concerned with getting out a movie title that is closest to you, rather than going by order of priority on your queue. There were 2 titles I had in my Top 10 during the entire month which I never got because they'd always picked lower titles to send. They were a little obscure, so perhaps the only available copies were on the East coast or something.

NetFlix, on the other hand, is very good at sending the top of my queue. And being in Hawaii, I was very surprised to see that they have a distribution center here. So I am getting the DVD the next day after they mail it. Only for one title so far have they had to send from California -- which takes 2 or 3 days. Last night, I had a problem with my DVD -- it froze in one scene and totally froze my player. After countless button pushes, I was finally able to get it to eject the disc. I went online to request a replacement disc and it says it will be mailed out today.

EdTheRipper

I am about a 35 minute drive from Worcester,MA which has distribution centers for both companies.

SpyderMike

i wouldnt consider myself an artsy movie kind of person, but i have always been into the indie films for years. i do enjoy the occasional hollywood blockbuster tho. im gonna go ahead and take everyone's advice and just do the 1 months trial. i appreciate everyone's feedback, thanx!

nemein

I currently have both and while each has their own advantage (BBV seems to get new releases to me sooner than NF & NF has a better selection IMHO) they are really essentially the same overall. The trade-in wrt BBV is nice, but so is the watch now from NF and it's easier to do since you don't have to stop by the store to use it. WRT turn around time overall they have both been about the same (my avg turn around time for both of them is about 4 days).

One thing I recently discovered though that Netflix is definitely better at is HD/Blu-Ray. You have to enable your account to actually list these, but when you do it'll point out which ones you have in your queue that have the option of HD/BR and it'll allow you to select whether you want to keep the standard or "upgrade". Additionally when you enable the account it'll ask you if you want to automatically add either the HD/BR or the standard when you add things to your queue. Finally when listed in the queue you can change things on the fly between the different formats. BBV offers none of these options. You have to know which ones in your Q have an alt format available. When adding new DVDs you have to search under the "all editions" tab to see if one of the other formats is available and then add it to your Q from there.

KurrptSenate

I prefer Netflix, hands down. The distribution center for my area is extremely close, but more importantly, I don't have to deal with Blockbuster.

I've never understood the appeal of doing the in-store trades. Kinda defeats the purpose of doing it through the mail IMO.

I've never had a problem with unreadable discs. Must be a shoddy, cheap DVD player

DVD Josh

My present retention rate for BB is $4.95/mo. And I'm canceling it and staying with NF. BB selection of HD/BD is atrocious. Not only that, their queue skipping is unacceptable. I rank my movies purposely. It pisses me off that BB skips over movies that are available to send me what they feel like. Not only that, I have received an e-mail that a movie has been returned, and 10 seconds later click on my queue to make an adjustment, and, lo and behold, it's "too late" to make changes! NF gives you at least 2-3 hours to make a quick change if necessary.

Maybe they'll get better, but I won't be around to see it.

KurrptSenate

agreed

they've pissed me off on so many occasions in-store that it was the entire reason to go to the mail-order rental thing.

even if BBs was cheaper and was more comparable to NetFlix, I wouldn't use their service out of the principle

Chew

I was just reading Netflix will reduce the price on their 3 out plan tomorrow by $1 as response to Blockbuster.

Right now, I'd rather pay the extra dollar to have "Available Now" for the multiple titles currently in my queue displaying "Very Long Wait".

nemein

BTW one other note about BBV... I don't know if it's nationwide or just "participating stores" but you can now exchange the envelops for a discount on the game rentals ($5 instead of the usual $8).

rkndkn

I had a second DVD have a problem from NetFlix. No, it's not a shoddy, cheap dvd player -- it's the Oppo 981. Both discs had lots of visible scratches, as well as a little bump on the surface of one of them. I also tried one of them on another player and same thing.

mndtrp

Same here. Luckily, I've been very happy with Netflix, and have no desire to change.

DVD Josh

I had no issues with NF either, but I was persuaded to give them a chance when the store manager offered to comp our rentals (FOUR dvds) if we signed up for the trial. She also claimed they were due to get a large shipment of rental BD "any day now". I'm not sure why I fell for it, but I figured that even if I quit after the trial, I still got $20 in free rentals.

BTW - not only does BB online suck, but so did all four of the movies we rented. A net loss

DJ_Longfellow

Yeah, it's pretty bad at Blockbuster. I have about 20 Blu-Ray discs at the top of my queue, and they shipped disc 21....Zodiac, which is not HD/BD. So, it is getting annoying. The only reason I stick is because I can exchange in-store and get a free game rental each month.

DVD Josh

That's what lured me too. Then I realized what I like about these services so much is that I don't have to go to the store in the first place!!

The game rental is nice, but the last time my BB had a PS3 game in stock was well, never.

DJ_Longfellow

I still like going into the store every once in a while, I guess that is what keeps me there. Although, I've dropped to 1 at a time, so my rentals are getting less and less.

Jericho

I'm looking to get into this for the first time. I never rented DVDs personally, but I think I should start now for a variety of reasons. Two questions:

1) Netflix has a $5 dollar month plan that I see allows 2 rentals a month. Does Blockbuster have something similar? I see you had a similarly priced plan, what do you get for that?

2) To anyone in general, any other opinions on HD-DVD/Blu Ray? I'm mostly interested in those movies, and anything that is not yet available on those movies.

I'm leaning towards Netflix since they have a cheap rate (I'll still buy some stuff, so I doubt I'll rent a ton of stuff) and I wonder how often I'd actually go to a Blockbuster store. I own a lot, so the added benefit of Blockbuster may not benefit me personally.

DVD Josh

BB does have a similar plan for $4.99 (1 out, max 2 a month).

That is a retention rate. I signed up in store because the manager offered to comp my four rentals if I gave BBO a shot. A few days later, I went to add BD/HD to my queue and out of THIRTY (30) movies of the formats, NONE were "available" (all on some length of wait). I then called to cancel. The CSR seemed semi-informed and said that they were going to be big into BD over the next few months and that my local store was a "test" store to get BD rentals. She offered to cut my $14.99 plan to $7.99 for two months to give them a shot. I said that I never had these kinds of problems with NF and was probably going to stick with them. Then she offered "to put her money" (actually my money) where her mouth was and said $4.99 for two months to see if it got better. I figured that was well worth it for 2 out / unlimited so I accepted it. However, it's been so bad (in fact worse) that I may just quit now and up my NF to 3 out.

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

If we both average 3 movies a week through the mail from both services, I can get 3 more from the store so now I've double the amount of movies I get for cheaper since BB is cheaper.

Also, if it's Tuesday, I can hit the store in the morning and get new releases instead of hoping Netflix sends me them. Obviously going to the store later in the day means you have less chance of getting the new release.

DJ_Longfellow

Yeah, I went to cancel Blockbuster and they offered me $4.99 to stay for the 1 out/unlimited plan for 2 months. I'll do that for another two months, but I really like the 3 out at a time, just the BD/HD selection is horrible online. They skip over 20 movies in my queue....annoying.

DVD Josh

If anything, NF is cheaper, esp. when compared to TA.

Also, your comment is not correct. It's the same number of movies. Your comment assumes that not only can you get a movie at the store but you can ALSO get a movie from BBO. But that's not how it works. You can only ever have three movies out at a time, either online or in store.

So, you rent a movie from online. It comes. You watch and return to store, who gives you another movie. However, when you return the in-store movies, you have to wait again to get online movies to repeat the process.

I have no doubt that you get more movies with BBO, but it's definitely not double.