DVD Rental News Roundup (8 February 2008)

By Anna König Staff Writer Friday, 8 February 2008

IT'S been a momentous week in the world of UK DVD rental as two of the three UK DVD rental giants - Amazon and Lovefilm - hopped into bed together. In other news, cinema prices have gone up AGAIN, making the case for signing up to an online DVD rental service a no-brainer; games rental sites are offering a great way to get cheaper games and in Hollywood, it looks like the Oscars may just go ahead...

Featured DVD Rental Sites This Week Read our reviews of: LoveFilm DVD Rental Amazon DVD Rental GamesFrenzy Games Rental GamezGecko Games Rental Other DVD Rental News See our other recent related news stories: Amazon DVD Rental merges with Lovefilm IN a surprising move that probably explains the reasons why Amazon's DVD rental service saw its customer satisfaction levels fall, Amazon has announced they are to merge their DVD rental service with Lovefilm. Is Lovefilm Any Good? UNLESS you live under a rock, you've probably wondered whether Lovefilm is worth considering? Anna König compares Lovefilm to its nearest DVD rental rivals and answers the obvious question: Is Lovefilm any good? DVD Rental Weekly News (01 Feb 2008) A look back at the week in DVD rental news (and game rental news), including Lovefilm's surprising Top 50 movie list, what films Blockbuster DVD rental customers are viewing most, and why armchair football fans are loving GamezGecko games rental. DVD Rental Weekly News (25 Jan 2008) A weekly glance at all the DVD rental news you can handle, including: Lovefilm and Blockbuster pay tribute to Heath Ledger, and PostaDVD gets site design overhaul. DVD Rental Weekly News (18 Jan 2008) A round up DVD rental news and games rental news, featuring: Lovefilm staffers take a stab at video reviewing, ChooseDVDRental officially recoginised for its moneysaving capabilities, and Amazon DVD rental shows worrying customer service

LoveFilm Ties the Knot With Amazon DVD rental

ONLINE DVD rental giants, LoveFilm have taken over Amazon’s UK and German DVD rental business in a merger that has seen Amazon’s DVD rental customers fuming.

Many Amazon DVD rental customers were ex-Lovefilm subscribers, having shifted to Amazon’s service after becoming disillusioned with Lovefilm’s service.

Following this deal, Amazon is now LoveFilm’s biggest shareholder, and LoveFilm will now control 20% of the UK DVD rental market!

Other investors in LoveFilm include private equity supporters and the company’s management.

LoveFilm’s customer base will increase to 900,000 when Amazon’s DVD customers are switched to LoveFilm.

Amazon’s British and German websites will now promote LoveFilm’s DVD rental services.

You can read more about this in Neil Hawkin’s news story about Amazon DVD rental's merger with Lovefilm.

A Month’s Worth of Films for the Price of One!

WITH the cost of a typical trip to the cinema setting the average couple back £14 (without taking into consideration the added cost of popcorn and drinks), it’s no wonder more and more people are signing up to the wonderful DVD rental packages offered by CinemaParadiso.co.uk.

For just £12.49 a month, less than what it would cost for a couple to see Russell Brand’s great performance in St. Trinians, Cinema Paradiso offer unlimited DVD rentals, with up to 2 DVDs at a time.

We reckon that’ll comfortably give you about 16 to 20 DVD’s in a month.

You can keep DVDs for as long as you want, without the worry of late fees. Postage is free, and all customers are welcome to submit comments and reviews of the films they’ve rented.

Of course, nothing can beat the cinema experience, but with microwave popcorn, a good surround sound system and a DVD rental package costing less than £13 a month, you can come pretty close!

Games rental sites prove they’re about more than just renting!

GAMES rental websites are fantastic for nimble-thumbed gamers who get through games at the speed of light, but cannot afford to fork out £30 for every game they wish to play.

However it’s worth checking out the ex-rental section of your favourite games rental website, as you are extremely likely to find yourself a bargain!

For example, we found a copy of Lego Star Wars 2 on Xbox 360 for under £13 on GamesFrenzy.co.uk. This would normally set you back roughly £25, rrp.

Our bargain hunters also found every football fans must have, Fifa 2007, for just £19.99 (rrp, £25).

The online store at games rental champion SwapGame is another source of highly discounted titles – as much as 50% off the RRP. There aren’t many to choose from, but they’re constantly adding ex-rental games as their rental shelf life ends.

Does this mean you’re going to get scratched discs and dog-eared boxes? Not at all, SwapGame in fact sends you the games in ‘as new’ condition, completely polished with brand new packaging and, amazingly, they’ll post it to you for free!

A few games rental websites have Ebay ‘shops’ in which they sell off ex rental stock. GamesFrenzy is a big one for this and you can quickly see what’s going directly on their site.

Bidding often starts at just 99p, so the potential for bargain snatching is very good!

Oscars 2008: The Show Will Go On!

PRESIDENT of the Academy Awards, Sid Ganis, confirmed this week that he is in ‘no doubt’ that the Oscars award ceremony will go head as planned, despite the boycott threat posed by the writer’s strike.

The gala is to take place on 24th February, amid reports of a breakthrough in the negotiations to end the writer’s dispute.

Showbiz newspaper Variety have reported that the strike could all be over as early as next week – good news for Grey’s Anatomy and Heroes fans!

The writer’s strike, currently in it’s forth month, has already killed off January’s Golden Globe’s award, reducing it to a press conference!

ChooseDVDRental’s writing staff have, thus far, not considered striking in solidarity with our American comrades. Yet!

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