Online DVD Rental Services

How do online DVD Rental Services work?

The services we recommend all offer plans that allow you to keep a certain number (1,2,3 or more) of DVDs rented at the same time for as long as you want. You choose the DVDs you want to rent from a selection of tens of thousands through the service's website and compile a list, or queue, of the DVDs that you want to watch. They ship you the number of DVDs in your plan through the U.S. Postal Service's First Class Mail and include a prepaid envelope to ship them back. As soon as they receive a DVD back from you, they immediately ship you the next one on your queue. Online DVD Rental Services save money and time by housing all their DVDs in central warehouses strategically located around the country for fast shipping instead of having thousands of retail stores. In exchange for this service, you pay a set fee each month. Since you can keep the DVDs for as long as you want and there are no late fees, you will never pay more than your set monthly fee.

How long does it take to receive a DVD?

The biggest services such as NetFlix and Blockbuster have strategically built up distribution centers around the country so that most customers will usually receive their DVD within one business day.

How many DVDs can I watch per month?

The most popular plans allow you to rent as many DVDs as you want per month. Technically, however, you are limited by the number of DVDs your plan allows you to keep out at one time. The most popular plans allow you to keep three out at one time. Since the time it takes from when you send a DVD back until you receive the next one is usually three business days, you would usually be able to watch a new movie every night on the three out at a time plan, which comes out to 30 per month. Keep in mind that all of these plans are dependent upon the U.S. Postal Service for delivery, so occasionally there will be unexpected delays.

I don't understand - how can they not charge late fees?

Since these services charge a fixed monthly fee in exchange for having a certain number of DVDs out, they have already factored in their plans that you will always have DVDs out. They don't really care if you keep out the same DVDs for a long time. In fact, if anything it saves them money because they don't have to pay to ship you new DVDs.

Do these services offer DVDs in the next-generation Blu-ray and HD DVD high definition formats?

Yes. Both NetFlix and Blockbuster already carry just about all Blu-ray and HD DVD titles produced in those formats.

Are there any plans that offer a combination of online rentals and being able to rent from my local video store?

Yes. Blockbuster Online offers exactly these types of plans called Total Access. Included in their Total Access plans are coupons for free in-store rentals. Their most popular Total Access plan, renting 3 DVDs at a time for $19.99 per month, also includes one free in-store rental coupon per week. This plan allows you to return up to 5 DVD's to a Blockbuster store per month. This plan is priced a dollar more than NetFlix's comparable plan but since Blockbuster is able to offer the coupons and in-store exchange, it is a great value if you are going to rent from the video store at all. Keep in mind that the coupons allow you to rent a free movie or game on your Blockbuster in-store account, which is different than your online account, and that the in-store rental policies apply for those rentals, while of course the online policies (no late fees, etc.) apply to all of your Blockbuster Online rentals.

Can I rent games, too?

NetFlix and Blockbuster do not offer game rentals. However, DVD Avenue offers a plan that allows you to rent both movies and games. If you are interested in game rentals only, you may want to try Gamefly.

I've heard NetFlix offers plans where you can have up to eight DVDs out at a time. I don't see these on NextAdvisor.com or on their site. Do these plans exist?

Yes, they do exist for NetFlix. However, NetFlix does not market these plans to new customers, but once you join their service you have the option to switch to any of their plans. Since NetFlix offer a free 14 day trial, you can just sign up for any plan and then change your plan to whichever one you want. Below is a full list of plans that are offered once you are a member:
NetFlix

8 at a time (Unlimited rentals) for $47.99/mo.
7 at a time (Unlimited rentals) for $41.99/mo.
6 at a time (Unlimited rentals) for $35.99/mo.
5 at a time (Unlimited rentals) for $29.99/mo.
4 at a time (Unlimited rentals) for $23.99/mo.
3 at a time (Unlimited rentals) for $16.99/mo.
2 at a time (Unlimited rentals) for $13.99/mo.
1 at a time (Unlimited rentals) for $8.99/mo.
1 at a time (2 rentals/month) for $4.99/mo.

How does NextAdvisor.com come up with its reviews?

We thoroughly test and research all the services in the category. We order each and every service ourselves and test out every feature available. We contact customer service and cancel and reorder each service to make sure that process works as well. After our initial tests, we continue to use all the services and update our reviews as situations change. We also monitor the providers' sites for any service changes or specials. In addition, we research each provider by reading all news and ordering and reading third-party research reports. We only include providers on our site that we believe offer a good value proposition. If there is a provider you know of that is not on our site, you can be fairly certain we did not rate that provider good enough to include in our comparison. If you think we are missing a quality provider or have any other suggestions or comments, please let us know.