Blockbuster DVD Rental Review

Review of Blockbuster DVD Rental

STOP PRESS! New Blockbuster packages with 'Xtra' in their name now offer free in-store rentals every month. Available on both movie only and movie & game combination plans.

BLOCKBUSTER DVD rental offers everything you'd expect from the big boys of the high street movie rental industry - except for the racks of Maltesers and caramel popcorn at the counter!

The Blockbuster DVD rental site - from where you'll be making your DVD rental selections - is sporting a brand new design which while not being perfect is a world away from the clumsy mess of its former incarnation which tried to balance the high-street business alongside the online DVD rental options with a mish-mash of slipshod and heavy graphics that made the site more than a little bit of a pain to use regularly.

Now with the new, easy-to-use design the rental service is simple to navigate around and offers plenty of added extra's for anyone looking for inspiration about what to rent.

Last great rival to Lovefilm

More importantly though, Blockbuster DVD rental pretty much leads the pack when it comes to customer satisfaction and title turnaround putting them at the very pinnacle of the UK's DVD rental market.

While younger companys like OutNow.co.uk (formerly MyMovieStream) and CinemaParadiso may be snapping at their heels and more aggressive online DVD rental outfits like Lovefilm get more exposure, Blockbuster DVD rental remains solidly reliable and affordable, and arguably the last great rival to the Lovefilm DVD rental juggernaut.

In fact, Blockbuster's considerable sway in the movie industry is being leveraged to guarantee them exclusive rental rights to an ever increasing number of big budget titles. While the exclusive rental rights generally only last a short while, they are significant enough for us to seriously consider Blockbuster as the best choice for new titles.

Highest number of new releases

All of Blockbuster's staggering 65,000+ film rental titles (with the highest number of new releases of any rival DVD rental service) are accompanied by a lengthy description and a genuinely useful user review.

Blockbuster's title count may now exceed that of LoveFilm because LoveFilm count DVD bonus discs as a seperate title, whereas Blockbuster has taken the high road and doesn't count them (furthermore, Blockbuster sends out bonus discs along with the main title, whereas Lovefilm does not!)

After a somewhat slow start, Blockbuster is now also forging ahead in its collection of Blu-Ray titles for rent.

While Lovefilm and Blockbuster have in the past few months appeared to duke it out in an effort to offer the most Blu-rays, the two companies have reached terminal velocity, and now offer pretty much the same number of Blu Ray rental titles (again don't let the numbers fool you - Blockbuster does NOT count bonus discs as separate titles, so their actual count in numbers may be lower than Lovefilm who notoriously include bonus titles as well as titles not yet available to rent!)

Back to the Blockbuster DVD Rental site, though: finding the titles on the new site is relatively simple, but despite all the great browsing features we'd love to see Blockbuster DVD Rental introduce a facility to separate films from TV series in the genre search.

Blockbuster DVD Rental wins the cash and prizes for being the only DVD rental company that includes bonus discs as part of a single rental. Other DVD rental services will count bonus discs as a separate rental - or won't include them at all.

Any movie nerd - and we're the first to lay claim to that title - will appreciate the real value of this. After all, bonus discs are part of the whole DVD experience.

It's the little things, however, that make Blockbuster DVD rental stand out from the crowd such as their text alert system for new releases, or the randomizer that churns out pot-luck selections based on your genre preferences. You can also buy ex-rental titles direct from the Blockbuster site at wickedly low prices.

Blockbuster are also catching up with Lovefilm when it comes to keeping in contact with their users: they've recently launched a blog, twitter feed and Youtube channel and we're expecting great things for their current subscribers.

Actual performance

On actual performance, we also love how Blockbuster notifies us by email whenever they post us out a title from our queue, and includes that info on a tab alongside our rental queue on the Blockbuster DVD rental website.

Blockbuster DVD Rental is an excellent DVD rental service with a blindingly fast turnaround of titles, made possible by the fact that they borrow new releases from their high street stores after the first week. No other DVD rental company actually has a high-street presence, which really gives Blockbuster and edge here and shunts it into top spot for availability of popular titles.

In-store Rentals too

Perhaps the biggest ace in Blockbuster's deck compared to other online DVD rental services, though, is that they have actual DVD rental stores.

All the Xtra DVD rental packages now offer subscribers extra in-store rentals every month, while subscribers on other plans can enjoy a free rental when they pay for one in-store.

This is something that no other online DVD rental service can offer and neatly solves the big online DVD problem: the planning involved. Plus, you can help keep sassy teenagers in jobs.

Blockbuster DVD Rental gets two-thumbs up for:

Being chock-full with the latest releases and so decreasing waiting times. Blockbuster are also one of the only DVD rental services that sends bonus discs with movies as one selection.

Free trial details

	Blockbuster offer a free trial of 14 days. The two week trial costs £1 or £2.50 with in-store rentals. You can change your subscription plan after the free trial or get the first month half price with other rental plans. It's free, so...

Actual User Ratings

Independent Comments

WebUser magazine has awarded Blockbuster their 2006 Gold Award after pitting them head-to-head with the other big names in the industry. They said Blockbuster offer "...An outstanding online service. Reliable, fast and a clear winner". Web User Magazine

	Blockbuster offer a free trial of 14 days.

At a Glance

Our Rating
No. of Titles	65,000 +
Free Trial	14 days
DVDs at once Max / month £4.99 £6.49 Unlimited £9.99 Unlimited £12.99 £7.99 £11.99 Unlimited £12.99 Unlimited £14.49 Unlimited £15.99 Unlimited £19.99 Unlimited £15.49 Unlimited £17.99 Unlimited £27.99

	DVD Types Available:
	Recent Releases		Bollywood
	Popular Choices		TV Series
	Children's & Family		Sports
	World Cinema		Adult Themed
	Game Types Available:
	Blockbuster does not offer game rentals

Customer Reviews

Add your own review of Blockbuster's dvd rental service...

Remember, the customer reviews below are subjective (and are not the opinions of ChooseDVDRental.co.uk).

James Winchester from Birmingham writes... 20/03/2009

"I've tried all the online DVD companies - Love film, Tesco, OutNow etc. and Blockbuster is the best. I get new releases in good time, I can tell them what I want first (none of this high, medium and low business), and i get vouchers to use in the store on a Saturday night. All the discs come in good time, and they don't bombard me with junk mail. The only problem I've had is with the odd faulty disc, but their customer services are really good, and they explained how I can report these online. They actually send out a replacement immediately, without me having to send my faulty back. Much better than Love film who try to charge for everything. Blockbuster are the best."

Kevin from Wrexham writes... 07/03/2009

"Service is usually pretty good, my rental list is over 200 titles, sometimes there is a poor turnaround of up to 5 days. my only complaint is that I have been waiting over 3 months for some of my top 10 priorities which must be popular, come on Blockbuster!"

Jess from Nuneaton writes... 19/12/2008

"I've been a member of Blockbuster for the last few years and they have gone from strength to strength. They nearly always send me what I want from the top of my list and turn around is very fast. I've had very few problems and only then with the odd disc being lost in the post or faulty. You can request replacements online and Blockbuster send you something out straight away meaning they don't wait to receive the damaged disc back to you. Add to that the free rental vouchers they give from time to time for stores, and Blockbuster is by far the best choice. I've been with Lovefilm a couple of times to compare (and take up there free trial). But there is no comparison. Blockbuster are the best."

Avril from London writes... 10/12/2008

"The turnaround slowed down after the free trial, because of this I cancelled my subscription. Despite this they still sent me dvd's which then made it impossible for me to return by the cancellation date. I spoke to there customer services, who were very rude and refused to listen to anything I had to say. There get out for not providing a refund was there terms and conditions. I can safely say that I will not be using this service again and I recommend anyone who does choose to business with them to read there dodgy terms and conditions very carefully!!"

Rich from Oldbury writes... 08/12/2008

"This is the best service, and you can cancel online which means you don't have to talk to some moron who asks why you are leaving them. Top draw!"

Richard Taylor from Sheffield writes... 21/11/2008

"I have been with Blockbusters off and on for quite a while now. Theyre turnaround is normally quite fast but I've noticed just lately they sometimes hold onto the discs you send back for a day or two without sending another disc. Apart from this theyre service is very good, Richard"

Boxy Juice from Scarborough writes... 02/08/2007

"I've been using Blockbuster for 2 months. As Bruce Roberts from Brighton said, turnaround is impeccable. I normally at least receive 6 for a week, sometimes if I post back quickly I can have 9 or 12 DVDs in a week. I am on their 3 DVDs at a time package. Before I joined Blockbuster I sometimes spent £70-£80 buying DVDs at HMV and I found that was getting too expensive and I couldnt really afford it even though I'm a Movies Collector/Movieholic, so I tried Blockbuster. You dont have to wait too long to get newest release movies on DVD. I'm starting to love them now. In the 2 months I've been with Blockbuster, I have received 2 snapped discs out of about 45 discs. Overall I rate them 9/10."

Bruce Roberts from Brighton writes... 06/07/2007

"I am currently using the Blockbuster 4 week free trial which I got through the mailbox. I can't beleive how good it is! The turnaround has been impeccable - quite literally just a day to send back, a day for them to dispatch and the next day they pop through my letterbox. So far, all but one of my top choices have come, which is pretty good going. I love how they email you when they dispatch the dvd's, and on your Queue List you can see what is in the mail. There is also a tab there to show you what you have rented already, which will be useful after a few months of viewing I'd imagine. All in all, its an impeccable service. I'll report back if anything bad happens in the last two weeks of my free trial!"