 |  | By Anna König Staff Writer Monday, 8 September 2008 |
PRETTY much everyone’s heard of LoveFilm.com, the biggest online DVD rental provider in the UK and it’d be safe to say LoveFilm – along with Blockbuster - certainly have a monopoly on film and games rental, and that smaller companies like MovieConnect and GamesMonster are finding it ever harder to compete.
But what things make for a good service, and what exactly does it take to be the best?
An Easy To Use Website
There is nothing more irritating than a poorly designed website.
As any UK DVD rental customer will know, a website that is simple to navigate, with easy to find films and genres is of utmost importance.
LoveFilm’s website is nothing short of fantastic in this regard. It’s beautifully designed with a classy colour scheme of red, white and black, and divided into different sections for films, games, shop and extras.
Films are sorted initially by genres; however there is a search bar so you can type in your desired film name, and search for it that way.
LoveFilm’s website also has a cool ‘magazine’ feature, which contains all the latest film news, reviews and competitions.
 Try Lovefilm free for 14 days
Blockbuster’s website covers both their online and high street rental market, so it’s great if you’re an online customer, as well as a store member.
Recently revamped, Blockbuster’s yellow and blue site is both easy to navigate and aesthetically pleasing.
Films are sorted by every imaginable way possible; by actor, chart, director and theme, to name but a few, and there is also a type-able search bar.
Like LoveFilm, the Blockbuster website is jam packed with extra features, including interviews, impressively regular competitions and a monthly newsletter.
Try Blockbuster DVD Rental free for 30 days!
Cinema Paradiso – a UK DVD rental minnow by comparison – does not boast as impressive a website as either LoveFilm or Blockbuster. The former art-house-turned-mainstream outfit’s website appears rather dark and boring by comparison.
Films are sorted by genre, and while the website is easy to navigate, it is not rich in extras.
Try Cinema Paradiso DVD Rental free (4 DVD's free)
Over at Stelios’s EasyCinema DVD Rental (a rebranded version of Lovefilm) the website seems more concerned with film charts and EasyCinema’s cinema listings than their online DVD rental, which only occupies a third of the homepage!
Films are sorted by genre, and there is a number of handy ‘top 100’ film lists voted for by customers.
Sign up to EasyCinema (from £1.99 per rental)
A Huge Catalogue
Let’s face it. The reason someone subscribes to a DVD rental website is because they are a film fan. Therefore a bigger catalogue must equal a better DVD rental service. Right?
LoveFilm’s catalogue is humongous; offering its customers a choice of over 65,000 film titles, while Blockbuster trails behind marginally with around 55,000.
To be fair to Blockbuster, Lovefilm is rather sneaky in that it counts ‘bonus discs’ as separate titles (and rents them out as such), while Blockbuster DVD Rental is far more honourable, counting actual film titles instead (what’s more, Blockbuster sends out bonus discs along with their associated titles – something Lovefilm does not do.)
Cinema Paradiso stocks around 50,000 titles which is most impressive for a smaller, independent outfit.
However is the number of DVD titles really that important? Even if you watched a film a night, you’ll not get through LoveFilm’s catalogue until the year 2185!
A Decent Free Trial
It’s always good to get a little bit of something for nothing. That’s why here at ChooseDVDRental we love a good DVD rental free trial.
14 days tends to be the average length of a DVD rental free trial, but Blockbuster blows the competition out of the water with a full 4 weeks to fall in love with their service.
Cinema Paradiso structure their free trial in terms of the number of discs you can rent. Depending on the package, this can range from between 2 and 4 free rentals.
WHSmith Movies Direct – despite being a Lovefilm clone – has followed Blockbuster’s lead with a free trial of 30 days.
While it’s all very well getting a good old free trial, cancellation (should you wish to) must be just as easy as signing up.
OutNow.co.uk (formerly MyMovieStream) is notorious for making this difficult, and consumer message boards are littered with messages from angry trialistis who’ve been stung by them.
A Wide Selection Of Different Priced Packages
Not every DVD rental customer will want the same thing from their service, which is why it is important for renters to offer a wide selection of different priced packages.
LoveFilm offers customers a choice of six packages (3 ‘unlimited’ plans, and 3 ‘light use’ plans).
The unlimited plans cost £9.99 a month to rent 1 DVD at a time, £12.99 a month for 2 DVDs at a time, and £15.99 a month for 3 DVDs at a time.
The light use plans allow you to rent a set number of DVDs each month, for a fixed price. Packages cost £3.99 for 2 rentals per month (one DVD at a time), £5.99 for 3 rentals per month (one DVD at a time) and £7.99 for 4 rentals per month (2 DVDs at a time).
Sign up to Lovefilm
Blockbuster offers its customers a choice of five rental packages.
Prices start at £4.99 a month to rent 2 DVDs (one disc at a time). Other options include £7.99 for 4 monthly rentals (one disc at a time), £9.99 for unlimited monthly rentals (one disc at a time), £12.99 a month for unlimited rentals (2 DVDs at a time), and £14.99 a month for unlimited rentals (3 DVDs at a time).
The packages Blockbuster has on offer are very similar to LoveFilm’s options. The only difference being Blockbuster’s unlimited monthly rentals (3 DVDs at a time) is one pound less than LoveFilm’s same package.
Sign up to Blockbuster DVD Rental
Cinema Paradiso also charge £14.99 for this package, and like LoveFilm, also offer customers a choice of six rental packages. While Cinema Paradiso undercuts LoveFilm on its unlimited monthly rental packages, it is more expensive when it comes to the light use packages.
Sign up to Cinema Paradiso DVD Rental
The Final Conclusion!
When it comes to picking an online DVD renter, there are some fantastic offers available, it just all boils down to what qualities you value most in a renter.
Both LoveFilm and Blockbuster have websites which are easy to use, and packed full of extras. Cinema Paradiso and EasyCinema’s websites, however, take a little getting used to.
None of the DVD renters we looked at had a short supply of titles. However it is worth noting that Cinema Paradiso do specialise in world cinema titles, and Blockbuster frequently gets its hands on a number of exclusive titles, a few weeks before the other big players.
Blockbuster DVD Rental and WHSmith Movies Direct come out on top regarding the length of free trial – a generous 30 days!
Try Blockbuster DVD Rental free for 30 days!
Try WHSmith Movies Direct DVD Rental free for 30 days!
Finally all the UK DVD rental services we looked at offer a decent selection of packages. Cinema Paradiso and Blockbuster come up cheaper on unlimited monthly rental packages, however LoveFilm is unbeatable on the light use packages.
 Compare DVD rental services
Back to DVD rental guide
|
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)
