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As college students, we find ourselves in short supply of many things: time, money and patience. This should help with the first two – you’re on your own with patience.
Through their tireless efforts, the Chuck’s Cheap Thrills team has compiled for you a list of online movie rental resources that are cheap and easy to use. Many of the services offer downloadable movies, so you can rent a video while you do your homework… or right after you finish your homework, whatever.
Blockbuster Online. www.blockbuster.com: The movie rental giant moved into the online domain, and while it may not be the cheapest, it seems to offer the most perks. First, as is the case with many of these services, you must make a profile with personal information (such as favorite movies and other intrusive questions), then you can browse Blockbuster’s extensive list of movies and buy or rent movies just by downloading them to your computer – or Xbox.
The download and rent option allows you to watch the movies right off of your computer, you can even begin watching the movie while it is still downloading. Once you click “play,” you have 24 hours to view the movie, as many times as you want. After the 24 hour period, however, the file becomes unavailable. When you purchase a movie in the downloadable format, which is usually much cheaper than purchasing the DVD, the movie is yours to keep.
You can also trade the movie in at any Blockbuster for a free rental or a discounted game. With their premium plan, you can get up to five free rentals a month.
Plans start at $8.99 and go to $19.99 a month.
Netflix. www.netflix.com: Netflix has been around for a while now and is synonymous with the business of online movie rentals. I like Netflix better because of their selection (try getting a director’s cut of Pink Flamingos from Blockbuster) and if you’re a movie buff or someone who likes movies of a morally askew caliber, this is where you can find most anything.
They have many of the same features as Blockbuster (downloadable movies, mail rental system) and their plans are similar ($8.99 – $14.99 a month), but Netflix has no resource for video games and no option to buy. Still, they offer a “limited plan,” which is the cheapest of all the plans around. It is $4.99 a month, Beware, if you are part of the Blu-Ray crowd, it’s an extra fee with Netflix.
CinemaNow. www.cinemanow.com: This site exclusively handles downloadable movies. Nothing to mail back, no discs to keep up with, just pure entertainment plugged into your computer. Downloading is also available through the Xbox. CinemaNow also has no monthly fees, making it the cheapest of all the options – depending on how you use it. Movie rentals are good for 24 hour. You can buy and rent movies starting at .49 cents and going up to $3.99.
The product features are formatted like an Amzon.com page. A picture sits to the left, purchasing information to the right and a synopsis and list of recommendations printed at the bottom. The format is familiar and easy to use. You can buy music videos, but no video games.
Café DVD. www.cafedvd.com: Café DVD has a great selection as well. Hard to find titles are easily found here. They also have a specific genera list and cool category lists of movies such as “1001 movies you must see before you die,” “popular independent” and “top Shakespeare adaptations.”
Several plans are available, such as $14.95 for six rentals a month (probably the most generous plan, as most others are $8.99 for one DVD a month) to $24.95 for 10 rentals a month. Café DVD has no downloading option it only uses snail mail, but shipping is free. Sorry, gamers, Café DVD carries only DVDs – as the name implies.
DVD Avenue. www.dvdavenue.com: This is another snail mail service, but you browse their selection, order movies and make your queue online. They have a very friendly search engine, also, in which you can browse by “Title, Synopsis, Actor or Director.” They have no games available, either, but they have an extensive genera list including “Cult,” “Gay and Lesbian,” “Anime” and “Adult.”
Plans range from $9.99 for one DVD a month to $24.95 for four. They have a similar plan to Blockbuster and Netflix where you can keep a movie as long as you like, and cancel at any time.
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