In December I posted about Blockbuster rolling out their Total Access in-store & online video rental service. At the end of the post I said I’d subscribe to and compare both Netflix and Blockbuster and see which one is better…
I signed up for both Netflix and Blockbuster Total Access on a Friday in January at the same time. I got 3 DVD’s from each service on the following Wednesday. The turnaround on both services was 2 days – if I dropped the movie in my mailbox on Monday, I’d have a new one by Wednesday. Essentially Both Netflix and Blockbuster Total Access had the same turnaround times for my area. (Your mileage will vary).
After having both services for a few months I can say that both of them are very similar. So what are the differences?
Netflix v. Blockbuster: Website Usability
Both websites have similar functionality. They both have ratings (ajaxy), recommendation based on your previous movies, popular lists, etc. Both are fairly easy to navigate.
Netflix, however, gives you critic reviews as well as user reviews and has a more Amazon-like system for user feedback (which I like better). They also seem to have a larger database of feedback.
Blockbuster recently added an AJAX-ified drag and drop function, which does make it easier to add movies to your queue as you surf the site.
Overall though, both websites are pretty good.
Blockbuster Total Access
The online movie rental space was shaken up late last year when Blockbuster announced their Total Access program. Blockbuster followed up with a lot of marketing online, on television (with Alex Baldwin’s voice over nonetheless), and via mail. Netflix responded with their own tv ads some time after. Blockbuster was smart to leverage all their physical locations into a competitive advantage Netflix doesn’t have.
Similar to their old “no late fees” promotion, Blockbuster’s Total Access actually sounds better than what it REALLY is. You still need to have a seperate membership to your local store, and the movie you bring into the store is treated just like a free movie rental coupon. The big disadvantage is that you can’t return the movie that you rented in store by mail. I hate returning movies and would love to be able to mix and match the online and offline services. Also, movies rented in-store are not removed from your online queue. However, Blockbuster does give you 1 coupon per month for an online movie OR game rental in addition to what you already get – so that’s a bonus.
Netflix
Netflix – which does not have movie stores like Blockbuster – has a new “watch now” option (IE only, requires installing a plugin), which lets you stream certain movies to your computer to watch and rewind/fast-forward in real time. The selection is limited by Netflix licenses with movie studios – there are many more indie films on that list than popular titles. You get allotted a number of movie-watching hours equal to what you pay for your plan ($18/mo = 18 hours hours of streaming movies). It should be noted that the Watch Now service is not yet rolled out to everyone (but my account had it).
Apple’s iTV, Amazon’s Unbox, Joost (formerly Venice Project), and a few other players are circling the online movie download business, so it seems like Netflix is trying to establish themselves there as well. The earlier they get into that market, the better off they will be when it matures, and the more infrastructure they will have in place. I should also mention that Walmart launched a movie download service in early February. They have impressive deals with major movie studios, but Walmart doesn’t have a track record of success in these types of online ventures, so I don’t hold out much hope (plus I don’t like Wal-mart).
The dream of tv and movies anytime via broadband has been around for a while but it seems we’re still a ways away from that being the reality (mostly due to hardware limitations, movie studio concerns, and consumer demand/perception.) There are a number of options to buy movies online right now but usually they’re more expensive than the DVD’s and are laced with DRM, which makes them a bad option. Netflix is different in that you can stream the films instead of buying them.
Another concern is that few people currently have their computer monitors in their living rooms or have en entertainment system that’s connected via broadband, which limits the appeal of the streaming movie advantage.
Netflix v. Blockbuster: My Conclusion
Personally I haven’t yet decided whether I should keep Netflix or Blockbuster Total Access (but I will soon). It mostly comes down to what’s more useful to you? Being able to rent at local video store (with the caveats mentioned above) or being able to watch streaming movies on your computer instantly.
I imagine students in dorm rooms are more likely to favor Netflix and families living near a store are more likely to favor Blockbuster. Here’s a quick comparison:
Netflix
- Offers the most basic subscription package (5.99/mo for 2 movies/mo. You know you need more.)
- Offers streaming movies for some titles
- More independant films
- More comprehensive reviews/feedback
Blockbuster
- Can use movies rented online as free coupons in-store
- One free rental per month (which can be a game)
- Nice drag and drop interface
Both services have trial offers. At the end of the day, I’d probably recommend Netflix over Blockbuster, (or you could even try them both and see which one gives you faster service).
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Good comparison. I didn’t want to have to try Blockbuster to figure out what I already suspected, so I’m glad you did the work for me.
I remain an unabashed Netflix fan, for these three reasons (which you mention above, but are deal maker/breakers for me):
Deeper Long Tail film selection, indies, documentaries, concerts, TV series, etc. I live on the Netflix long tail. Haven’t watched a Top 100 film in 2 years, and never looked back.
Deeper user interaction community, what you call “more reviews.” I also suspect, given the wonkier film titles, the deeper review material to read and react to in dialogue, the Friends feature of starting movie discussions between buddies, sort of makes the difference in the online communities in the two spaces a bit like the difference between online communities of Xena fans and Buffy fans. Xena fans were older, more well-read, and posted and wrote a lot of interesting pointy-headed mythology stuff in the forums, while the Buffyverse always had a high quota of the “yeah, like whatever” younger crowd filling up the bandwidth.
My third deal-breaker is the ease of returns, with NO LATE FEES. As in, I have no problem keeping one movie for months, and I have. I’m not a big churner, but no late fees means I don’t have to give it a second thought. What you write above, about how the store-to-online interface basically treats an online movie like a free movie coupon reveals the deeper flaws in Blockbuster’s understanding of what’s going on. I’ve also moved 3 times, and never had to rejoin or find a new local store. Just changed my address.
Chris
Well written, Chris. It seems Blockbuster always overhypes their new offering and hopes you don’t mind the fine print. The new total access feature is a nice addition, but not necessarily as great as most people think.
Blockbuster has next to zero concert films for rent, both online and in-store so if you are into music, forget BB
I tried Blockbuster Total Access for a couple months, but finally gave it up…
I tried blobkbuster total access. It totally blew, i ordered the first 3 movies and got 2 weeks free trail. i traded the 3 movies in store and supposedly when you turn your movie in they start shipping you your next movie(lies). They don’t ship your movie until “the next business day” but in my 2 week free trial i only received the first 3 movies by mail and the 3 i got in store, i was never shipped any other movies that were in my queue, blockbuster customer service told me you had to have 30 movies in your queue, i had 29, could they not ship because all 29 of the dvd’s in my que were nto availible? well netflix did me good if a movie was not available then they shipped it from another center that had the movie, my choice netflix. and if you do sign up for blockbuster online the only benefit i see is telling them you never received the movie in the mail and keeping the movie forever and canceling the subscription and get some free movies. lol
i have tried both and right now i have blockbuster total access and it is treating me well. i get from 6 – 9 movies a week and with the free coupon i get one video game rental a month (which is worth $8). i feel that it is worth my money because i’m near a store and can exchange the movies more often than i could with netflix. i can understand if people don’t like going to the store and returning movies, that is certainly alright and probably the reason netflix was founded. and to say something about joost, which was mentioned above, i’ve had a lot of fun with it and its very promising!
WHAT ARE THE PRICES…THATS WHAT MOST PEOPLE REALLY CARE ABOUT TO COMPARE….THERES NOT ONE MENTION OF PRICES …EXCEPT FOR THE BASIC NETFLIX 5.99 YOU MENTION,,,WOULD BE APPRECIATED IF YOU RUN DOWN THE PRICES……
THANX…
RICHARD .H
I have a lot of money on this; I have a friend who thinks that the voice-over on the Total Access commercials was not Baldwin. Do you have proof that it IS Baldwin?
Questiion, say I received a movie from BB Total Access and I returned it to a store. Does the store rental need to be turned in in the prescribed time limit in order to not get a late fee? Also, upon returning to the store, can I further rent another from the store or do I need to wait for one to be mailed to me? And when the store rental is turned in, will Total Access automatically send another from my list? Hopes this makes sense.
Nick
Blockbuster does BLOW! Too many times to ignore, the movies at the top of my queue listed as available were not the ones shipped.
WARNING: If you cancel your membership, wait until a few days before your next billing date. My account was paid until July 14th. I cancelled mid-cycle on June 26th. Even though my accound was paid, I received NO movies for the remaining 3 weeks, and Blockbuster refused to refund the 3 weeks I was without service.
I will NEVER return to Blockbuster. Go with Netflixs.
well because i work for blockbuster i will go ahead and have to say blockbuster is much better..Yea at first may be some problems..all new stuff may have tweaks that needs to be worked out. It reading a comment above where guy says you need at least 30 movies in your list. we say a high amount because lets say you get three movies out at a time. As soon as you return your three movies in store for free rentals it triggers your list and lets it know to release the next three movies. yea it may not ship until the next morning ..depends on the time of day..if you return your movies at 10 at night mail has already stopped.. so if you return them 11am then they will release them.. as well..just like netflix blockbuster may have movies that are a short wait..another comment guy says he only got three movies for two week trial.. where the other movies on your list available? did you have enough movies? Blockbuster is better..i have the service as well..i get three movies by mail..i watch them in about two days..i return all three movies in store for any 3 free rentals..as im watching those free rentals next movies on its way.. i watch one movie per day so on the third day when im done with the third movie..the next three movies from my list are at my house..as well 90% of time movies are then on the 2nd day..
3 dvd’s out at a time unlimited for both Netflix and Blocbuster costs $17.99
There’s an up to date cost breakdown here:
http://www.moviesmailed.com/compare-online-dvd-rental-services/
I actually have both. Blockbuster now has an In-Store Total Pass. One fee per month, unlimited movies. The Blockbuster I subscribed is 2 per time, unlimited per day. I can go home, watch the movies, then return them for two more the same day…and so on. I love this, since there is a time period (especially on weekends) that I don’t have Netflix. I tried the 8 per month, but it seems to rack up on the weekend, when Netflix does not mail. HOWEVER, I like Netflix’s independent/privacy. If you are renting a hard to find or risque movie, Netflix is for you. I am getting about 32 movies a month from Netflix and I already have 4 movies rented from Blockbuster. The average price is less than renting 8 at Netflix. I am a Netflix fan, but I have also become a Blockbuster fan. Why not have both!
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