The Movie Rental Race: Can Blockbuster and Netflix Keep Up with Apple?

Whatever happened to the days of running out to the video rental store, trying to find a flick in stock, and then remembering to take it back on time? It seems as if those days are gone forever with the advent of digital media.

In recent years, Blockbuster, the former video rental store king, has had to resort to new tactics to maintain their customer base. Once Netflix arrived on the scene, utilizing online services, no late fees, and cost-effective pricing, Blockbuster had to overhaul. Blockbuster recently surfaced on the web providing most the same basic benefits of Netflix plus in-store movie exchanges. Enter media giant, Apple. On Tuesday, January 15^th, Apple announced that they would begin offering movie rentals through their media outlet, iTunes.

With all these options now available, what is the best bet? Here are some considerations:

Blockbuster

The familiar name in the movie rental industry bodes well for them. People trust the name and the stores are still in business all across the United States. Having a tangible place of business still plays a big role in customer satisfaction.

Library- Blockbuster claims to have over 75,000 online titles from which to choose. The stores obviously carry a far smaller inventory. But even the online store has issues with availability. According to their website, movies put into your queue can have wait times depending on how popular the title is. You are not guaranteed a particular movie just because it appears at the top of your queue.

Convenience- For those without reliable computer access may prefer to visit the stores. Blockbuster does have that advantage over the online media stores. For the web savvy, online rentals is the way to go. Blockbuster has revamped their website in an effort to make it more user-friendly and includes such options as tabbed browsing, drag and drop movies, and sharing with friends. The brightly colored site is fairly easy to navigate but in researching for this article, I had a difficult time finding out pricing. Once I located the cost plans in FAQ, the image was blocked even after I took off pop-up blocker. There is also a store option where you can purchase the movies.

Pricing- Due to the technology, I was not able to find pricing on the website. Nowhere on the home page nor in subsequent pages could I find the plans. All that I could find was that plans are priced as a "flat monthly fee." In order to find out prices, you first have to sign up.

Technology- Blockbuster carries DVD movies in the following formats: widescreen, anamorphic widescreen, Blu-Ray™, pan & scan, letterbox, and superbit.

Boiled down basics - Blockbuster offers online convenience for choosing movies, 1-2 day free shipping (both ways), in-store exchanges, flat rate monthly fees, and no return dates.

Netflix

Netflix is an online only version of the DVD rental store. Here is how they stack up:

Library- Netflix boasts a library of over 90,000 titles. They also carry a 6,000 title library for instant viewing online. Simply add movie titles to your list and they will mail out the first one within 1 day.

Convenience- Netflix is proud of their convenience factor. The simple site suggests as much. The site is extremely easy to navigate and is very straightforward. Simple menu options keep it organized and there are no superfluous side menus or distracting ads. If there are any issues, Netflix prominently displays their 24 hour a day hotline number.

Pricing- Plans start at $4.99 (2 movies per month) and go up to $23.99 for 4 DVDs at a time with unlimited renting. All plans include downloads to the computer and free shipping both ways. An added benefit is that you can try Netflix free for two weeks before committing.

Technology- System requirements for watching movies online: a computer running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or higher, or Windows Vista; Internet Explorer version 6 or higher; Windows Media Player version 11 or higher; an active broadband connection to the Internet; 1.0 GHz processor; 512 MB RAM; 3 GB free hard disk drive space.

Boiled down basics- Netflix offers low priced, flat rate monthly plans that include online viewing, free 1 day shipping (both ways), no late fees/due dates, a free trial and no cancellation fees.

Apple iTunes

When the iPod launched, iTunes became a powerful media downloading house. Movies, music, games, books and other forms of entertainment were available to those with the MP3 devices or those who kept it on the computer. With the introduction of Apple TV, a digital interface device for movie watching on your television, Apple broke into the DVD rental market. No more DVDs or computer downloads; the Apple TV allows you to access the library of choices directly from your TV.

Library- Apple's library of movies is far smaller than Netflix or Blockbuster however, it is continually growing. It can be a drawback to be on the ground floor of a new product, but there are other benefits. Currently, Apple carries most of the major motion picture studios including Disney, New Line, Touchstone, Miramax, Lions Gate, Paramount, Universal, and Sony.

Convenience- The benefit to Apple's offerings is that you purchase a la carte instead of subscribing to a monthly plan. You can view rented movies online via iTunes, use the Apple TV interface, or use your iPod/iPhone.

Pricing- Movie rentals on the Apple TV and iTunes are $2.99 ($3.99 for HD and new titles) and you have 30 days from purchase to watch the movie. Once you hit play, you have 24 hours to complete the movie. Once the rental period has expired, the movie will automatically disappear from your system.

Technology- To access Apple rentals you need to either have the Apple TV or go to iTunes (http://www.apple.com/itunes/download) and download the software. It is compatible with both Macs and PCs and uses Quicktime for viewing movies. It may not seem as easy as popping a DVD in but once you have the set up, it becomes very simple. Once you go to iTunes, click on movies and browse the selection. If you purchase more than one movie, song, etc. at a time, you do have the option to change the priority queue if you want to download a certain movie faster.

Boiled down basics- Apple offers all computerized, no physical DVD, no shipping, a la carte shopping for the web savvy movie watchers.

Sources:

http://www.blockbuster.com/home

http://www.netflix.com/

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&node=home/shop_ipod/family/apple_tv

http://www.apple.com/itunes/download