The movies-by-mail dilemma
Oct 13, 2009 | Filed under Movies
I sincerely need help with this problem, and I hope reaching out to the depths of the internets can help me. We’re talking a Sophie’s Choice-caliber problem here, people: I am currently signed up for both major movies-by-mail programs, and I need to cancel one.
I’ve been a Blockbuster Total Access subscriber for a couple of years now, and for the most part, the mail service works great. Movies arrive within a day (or they did, before I moved and mail service got infinitely shittier at my new zip), and I generally get what’s at the top of my queue, except for the occasional rare item. But, once the Xbox 360 dashboard update came out allowing you to browse Netflix’s streaming catalog straight from the living room, I thought I’d give it a try. And now, I’m seriously torn. And keeping both is not an option, no matter how much I beg the lady of the house.
Both deliver movies by mail efficiently, and have a pretty vast selection of Blu-ray and DVDs, so those are non-issues. It’s all about the extras.
The facts are these:
- Blockbuster’s Total Access program lets me trade in mailed-out movies in-store for a movie. This is great since I frequently am in a certain mood for a particular kind of movie, and it’s hard to judge in advance what that mood will be. The trade-in program used to be a lot more robust, until they gutted it due to the need to actually make a profit. Back in the day, movies traded in store gave you a rental at the store AND automatically sent out your next queued movie by mail. This was FANTASTIC, but also kind of stupid from a staying-in-business viewpoint. Now, movies traded out from the store take up a spot in your queue – BUT can’t be traded in for another store movie. Once they’re returned, THEN your next queued movie is sent out. And, all of this still requires making a trip to a local store twice.
- My current pricing for Blockbuster online is ‘grandfathered’ in — again, due to problems with Blockbuster’s accountants not having their shit together. If I were to quit and come back, my price would go up $7 a month for the same level of service, and I would lose a free monthly rental coupon that’s good for in-store game rentals. I love that coupon, I use it to get a game almost every month. I don’t want to lose that coupon.
- Blockbuster’s online streaming situation is a joke, so the less said about it, the better. Their partnership with TiVo is due to launch any day now, according to a local store manager, but even then there’s no ‘all-you-can-eat’ plan like Netflix has.
- Netflix, on the other hand, has a brilliant streaming feature in their Watch Now service. Not only do I already own two devices that are Netflix-enabled without even looking for it, the Xbox 360 Netflix experience is top-notch.
- The Netflix website is easier to browse, and there’s a Windows Mobile app for browsing my queue and searching for movies that works fantastically, to boot. The recommendation voodoo that Netflix does is fairly useful, too…Blockbuster’s, not so much. The site will even prompt you if a movie in your mail queue is available for Watch Now streaming, which is pretty nifty.
- Netflix isn’t perfect, though. The selection on Watch Now seems vast, but that’s because a lot of it isn’t great. HD selections are even more meager, and anyone who’s made the jump to Blu will tell you that standard def movies just won’t cut it anymore. Also, while the HD picture is brilliant (if your internet connection is up to snuff — mine is, thankfully) — the sound on Watch Now is simply stereo. Not even matrixed surround, just flat 2.0 stereo!
So, there it is. Basically, it comes down to the ability to physically get a movie at my whim, or a better website and a good-but-not-great streaming service with tons of room for improvement. So what gives? Any loyalists on either side want to sound off?
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October 13th, 2009 at 10:48 am
As a follow-up, Blockbuster’s on demand service did in fact launch on TiVo today — http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/10/13/blockbuster-on-demand-goes-live-on-tivo-boxes/ — but rentals are still per viewing as opposed to Netflix’s buffet option.
Also, it’s good to be back! After a tireless search for a new site design, I decided I couldn’t find any wordpress themes I liked as much as this one, and I didn’t want to put in the effort to customize another one after all the work I did for this one. So, hope you like the look, cuz it’s not changing.