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Digital distribution of movies is becoming more than just a convenience. Video on demand (VOD) technology is becoming the status quo. As video formats have evolved, so has the method of delivery. Reel-to-reel. BetaMax and VCRs. DVD players. High-definition Blu-Ray. And now delivery of videos goes beyond format. There are an increasing number of utensils to feed your video appetite. In fact, there is a large list of video on demand services. If you have a broadband Internet connection, then you’re ready to explore the world of VOD.
So, how do you choose?
I’m a DIRECTV customer as well as a Blockbuster.com user. I’m contemplating a VOD service as an alternative to my Blockbuster service. So, I decided to take a look at Blockbuster’s VOD service and compare it to Netflix. Pretty smart, eh? Yeah…I thought so too.
BLOCKBUSTER. I’m already partial to Blockbuster over Netflix, so naturally Blockbuster.com was the first place I went to get some details. According to Blockbuster’s current offer, when you rent 25 movies in advance — which costs $99 — Blockbuster will send you one of its 2wire MediaPoint digital media players. The box includes composite, HDMI and component outputs.
Unfortunately the information available on Blockbuster.com is routine at best — an electronic brochure of the service actually. So, I contacted BlockBuster with a slew of questions.
This blogger shares his pros and cons of the Blockbuster service and related hardware.
With the lack of information available on the Blockbuster site, I decided to email them for some answers:
Dear Derrich,
Roughly 2,000 titles are currently available. The library changes frequently.
The device upscales up to 1080i resolution if used with an HDMI connection, cable not included. Some of the titles, such as the IMAX titles, are compressed with high definition, but not all titles will be in such high quality. The device also only offers stereo only for the audio.
The prices range from $1.99 to a max of $3.99.
There is no long-term storage available. Rentals are only made available for a maximum of 30 days after download. Once you actually start to watch the movie, however, there is only a 24 hour license issued to play the movie as many times as you wish. The files are auto-deleted either when the 30 day period or 24 hour watch period expires.
There are no other fees or membership requirements to use the OnDemand service. Once you have the device and use the 25 prepaid rentals, if you never rent again..you’ll never be billed.
Please let us know if there’s any other questions we can help with.
NETFLIX. The Netflix website on the other hand was refreshingly informative about its offering. Heck, it even points you in the direction of the manufacturer, Roku, for a more in-depth resume of abilities.
Right off the bat, this thing is the epitome of ‘straight foward’. Box is $99 (MSRP). Buy it, keep it. If you already have a Netflix unlimited plan (from $8.99/month), then you’re all set. The terms and conditions isn’t a bunch of legal jargon — it consists of six bullet points. Your existing Netflix plan doesn’t change. The number of movies available on demand is limited to a little over 3,500. One blogger even went so far as to compile a list of Netflix On Demand movies. Netflix claims 12,000 selections; we can assume the other 8,500 or so are TV shows. More importantly, watching movies or TV shows instantly does not affect the number of DVDs you get.
In addition to the Roku player, you can use the Netflix service with a number of other devices such as the Xbox 360
In addition to those devices, today LG announced the first broadband-enabled HDTVs with Netflix streaming software embedded directly in the TV, eliminating the need for one of the above boxes.
THE WINNER IS…. It looks like Netflix has found a way to marginalize Blockbuster. I’m tempted to take advantage of the 30-day free trial to see if I like the ‘DVD by mail’ service as much or better than Blockbuster. If so, why wouldn’t I make the switch to the company with a better On Demand product?
The bottom line is that Netflix rules the VOD battle.
While I test drive the two services, there are still some other VOD services out there for me to research such as Amazon Video On Demand
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January 5th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
if i had more hours in the day, i’d subscribe to netflix. blockbuster B&M has always been a bad experience for me. between tivo, work, twitter (!), blah blah blah, i have little time to sleep
January 5th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
I hear ya. I’ve still got stuff on my DVR from a few weeks ago. :O
January 5th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
We’ve been subscribed to netflix for awhile now and we love it, although I tend to be streaky with how many movies we go through in a month. Some months we turn around the three movies once (or more) per week and then other times we hold the same movies for a month.
And if you do decide to sign up with netflix, you can always through a fellow “ekichick” a bone and use my handy dandy link to sign up.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:10 am
[...] It’s just not convenient. It’s all about Video on Demand (VOD) for this movie geek, but which VOD service is the best? Derrich pits Netflix against Blockbuster in a battle for digital movie distribution supremacy. Who [...]
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:19 am
What about the difference in the content? Netflix is a all-you-can eat subscription model which means that the content is older. You are not going to get The Dark Knight on Netflix VOD, but you will on Blockbuster as they are earlier in the movie release calendar.
Would a better comparison be between Amazon.com and Blockbuster? To compare apples-to-apples? Both are basically pay-per-view while Netflix is subscription based.
March 20th, 2009 at 1:01 am
[...] & TV episodes available to watch instantly, but very few are new releases.” Meanwhile, a recent email (January, 2009) to a Blockbuster customer reported, “Roughly 2,000 titles are currently [...]
May 27th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Netflix is a better deal, $8.99/month and you don’t pay per watch. If you want the latest and greatest releases, the Roku now supports Amazon on Demand and more is on the way.
Also Netflix has content you might not see on Blockbuster.
The 2wire device appears to have similar features of the Roku, not sure about the upscaling the Roku support 720p with higher res. in the future.
November 30th, 2009 at 5:19 am
Life without Netflix would be meaningless. But seriously folks… Now you can stream through your XBox OR PS3! Plus the movies they send are there amazingly fast. Great they were… Awesome they are now!
January 20th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
With just a couple thousand titles, and not much that’s new, I don’t see the value here if you’re a movie watcher. When you go to the blockbuster store, or the netflix by mail site, there’s plenty of near first run movies. This really only works if access to the streaming version has a big library. Does anyone know how long it will be until the streaming catalog is what it should be for either of these services?