Best Rental Service? Netflix Vs. Blockbuster Vs. Apple iTunes

Home entertainment is one of the most anticipated forms of relaxing and mind stimulation there is. Many people look forward to coming home from a long days work to get comfortable, pop in a DVD or video game, and unwind. Electronic rental businesses have become popular just for that very concept. A lot of the media giants today want to come out on top of this profitable market. With Apple being the newest company to come on board, let's review who has the best service.

Apple's new service capitalizes on inexpensive internet rental. The consumer can rent new releases at $3.99 and $2.99 for older titles. Popular for their internet downloading store software, iTunes, they look to expand their reach to even more consumers. Compared to the other giants like Blockbuster's Total Access and Netflix, they have a pretty decent price advantage. This is lucrative expanding feature of the Apple empire.

The Blockbuster Total Access program is an affordable and provides excellent service. Starting at $9.99 a month, their service was started to numb down the popularity of rival renter Netflix. Supposedly struggling in that department, they also have the Blockbuster Game Pass service and a "No More Late Fee" philosophy where once you return an internet rental, you only pay a $1.25 restocking fee. Also convenient is the ability to get a total access DVD in the mail and then exchange as a coupon for any movie in the store.

Netflix has been one of the fastest growing internet based businesses to date. With claims of delivering to 1 billion people in just a short few years, they have definitely been giving Blockbuster a run for its money. They have eight different plans ranging from $9.99 for one movie to $47.99 for eight movies. More flexibility means that it reaches even those biggest movie buffs. With $1.5 million movies shipped daily this could possibly be the best option for online renting.

The bottom line is that Blockbuster offers probably the best internet renting option. With the ability to go to your nearest Blockbuster, return your online rental, and leave with any movie in the store, in my mind is the best deal. Netflix has extremely flexible options but it is strictly for the online user. Apple doesn't have enough flexibility yet to compete with the two rental giants despite the inexpensive prices. Only time will tell if Apple can join the fight for best rental service.