The Best DVD Rental Free Trials

March 2010 Edition

The Best DVD Rental Free Trials The best free trial? LoveFilm has to be this month's best buy for offering the longest free trial - a full 30 days. The best free trial... lengthwise LoveFilm provides a full month of free rentals! The best free trial... for leniency Make sure you know when your DVDs are due back, as it can be before or after the end of your trial. Blockbuster will alert you by e-mail and let you return the discs AFTER the trial period has ended. The best free trial... for gamers Check out Boomerang Rentals for a 21-day trial, or our highest rated dedicated games service SwapGame for the widest selection and the first month half price. The best free trial... for a smooth ending Ensure free doesn't become fee by being punctual and organised.

WITH almost every known DVD rental website offering a DVD free trial to potential customers, the time has come to sort the best from the rest.

We've compared the UK's top DVD rental free trials and come up with a winner.

Find out why LoveFilm's 30 day free-trial beat off the competition and which other providers are ones to watch below...

The best free trial... lengthwise

Let's be honest, everyone enjoys something that's free and it's worth keeping that smile a little longer by choosing the longest DVD rental free trial period.

A full 30 days of unlimited escapism is offered by the leading company LoveFilm DVD Rental.

Lovefilm affiliates such as CD WOW!, the Guardian newspaper's Sofa Cinema and WHSmiths' Movies Direct also offer 30 days - but since you can only use one Lovefilm powered free trial you might as well go direct.

Tesco DVD Rental, also powered by LoveFilm - but with some of the UK's cheapest prices, comes in with a 21 day free trial - so worth a look.

Unfortunately, while Blockbuster DVD Rental where recently seen offering a full 30-days free, they've now reduced their offer to a maximum of 14-days and added a £1 or £2.50 (depending upon package) charge to boot.

We were awaiting the New Year with anticipation that the offer might re-emerge post Xmas trial tarts. However, we've reached February and it's not looking very promising.

Cinema Paradiso has a different system entirely, based not on days but on discs. Depending on the package, this can range from between 2 and 4 free rentals. Some Tesco DVD rental and LoveFilm packages also offer this alternative.

This has its advantages for anyone with a more hectic lifestyle where languid film-watching hours can be hard to find!

The best free trial... for leniency

Although some companies claim their DVD rental free trial to be an entire month, it is worth considering when your discs are due back and how much time meeting this deadline could bite into those 14-30 days.

Companies such as CD WOW!, LoveFilm, Sofa Cinema, Tesco and WHSmiths all stipulate that you return your discs BEFORE the end of your free trial.

It's also worth noting that DVD rental services such as OutNow (who also power the LidlMovies site) have received negative feedback from customers who found it difficult to cancel their free trial.

If you forget to do this, or the DVDs get delayed in the post, you could find that your card has been charged!

The most lenient (and therefore the best bet for your trial) are Blockbuster followed by Cinema Paradiso which both allow you to return your discs up to 7 days after the trial has ended.

Blockbuster, in particular, get a thumbs up from us for being the only service to send an email to let you know that your free trial is ending - what decent chaps!

This means that you can enjoy your free rentals for almost an extra week, without the worry of late fees.

Cinema Paradiso ask that discs are returned before the first payment date.

The best free trial... for gamers

If it's not just DVDs you're looking for and you're a keen gamer, you'll find that the range of games available widely differs across companies.

Of the dedicated game rental companies, Boomerang offer the longest trial: you can borrow three discs from them for twenty-one days.

Our highest-rated game provider SwapGame offers the widest selection of games but they're currently only offering the first month half price. Occasionally they do offer a 10-day free trial so it's worth keeping an eye on them if you do solely want a games based free trial.

Blockbuster, LoveFilm and Tesco also offer a wide selection of games. It's worth bearing in mind though - the sites offering both DVD and game rental only offer 'movie' or 'movie & game' plans - so you can't rent games alone.

Cinema Paradiso and CD WOW! offer no game options at all, so if you have the urge to shoot an alien or any other fictitious adversary for free, steer clear of these.

The best free trial... for a smooth ending

The best way to avoid 'free' becoming 'fee' is for you to be organised about your DVD rental free trial.

By ensuring you return all DVDs on time and remembering to cancel your subscription before being charged (unless you do want to stick with the service) you should be able to avoid any kind of payment.

In order to sign up for a free trial in the first place, you need to provide the company with your credit or debit card details. This is for two reasons:

• if you fail to cancel your free trial after it has finished you will automatically become a full paying member
• 
  
• for insurance in case you do not return any of the DVDs after your trial has expired.
  So watch out for this and make sure that you're on top of things!

The best DVD rental free trial?

When it comes to picking a free trial, there are some fantastic offers available. The question of which trial is the 'best', though, is extremely subjective, and depends on the criteria you're using to judge.

LoveFilm, is a clear favourite, offering a full 30-day free trial and simply staggering market dominance.

Blockbuster is also - sometimes - a good choice, but it depends what they're currently offering at the time. They score high marks for alerting you by email to get your DVDs back on time to avoid being charged if you decide not to continue and allow up to 7 days after the trial to get them posted back. They're also the best provider for new releases and have a history of fast turnaround times.

If you live half way up a mountain, or have an unreliable postal service, a company that is more relaxed when it comes to returning your discs (such as Blockbuster) may be more suited to you.

If you want to sign up for several DVD rental trials, it should be noted that sites such as CD WOW!, Sofa Cinema, WHSmiths and Tesco are all affiliates of LoveFilm and you can only subscribe to a free trial from one of these (although they are ample reports of getting away with a free trial from LoveFilm and Tesco), so choose carefully!

It is always worth keeping an eye on our online DVD rental free trials and this best buy guide too, as we'll report any offer changes so you can snap up extra days!.

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