The near universal hatred for Netflix over their price increase is starting to settle, but many are now left without a movie subscription service due to their enraged cancellation. Have no fear though; there are plenty of alternatives to the red envelope that will work out pretty well for you. Some of them could even end up saving you money.
One thing to consider though is how many movies you watch every month. For me, the Blu-Ray (I’m a high roller like that) sat there for a week or so before I got around to watching it, so I maxed out at two to three per month. If you’re like I am, some of these will be great options for you. If, on the other hand, you tried to maximize your viewing and burned through 10 to 12 movies per month, you should probably just run crying back to Netflix and pay up. They’ll still accept your money; I promise.
For the sake of the article, I used Source Code as my test movie. It was released seven days ago, at the time I wrote this particular paragraph, so it seems like a good standard.
For those dinosaurs who still demand an actual disc, Redbox is by far your best option. Back in your day there were plenty of Hollywood Video and Blockbuster stores to shop at, but they are almost all entirely gone. Thankfully, Redbox kiosks are popping up all over the place and it’s only $1 for a DVD or $2.50 for Blu-Ray for 24 hours.
The simplest option of all is to just use your cable/satellite provider to rent movies. Both DirectTV and Comcast have movies at the same time the DVD is released, unlike a few years back when it took an extra month. Both are $4.99 and $5.99 for Standard Def and High Def respectively. The downside to DirectTV is that if it’s raining, which is prime time movie time, you may be shit out of luck.
While a solid internet connection is needed to stream, it’s the 21st century, and you should probably be high-speed by now. Movie2k is a free site, and you are never in possession of the movie, so I think you are in the clear legally. The downside is that the quality is pretty shoddy. Not as bad as the sex tape you shot from your closet, but not great for anything bigger than your laptop.
YouTube deserves a mention here because they are just getting into the game. They didn’t have Source Code, but Limitless and Lincoln Lawyer were available. Clearly they are working to get all the new releases so I won’t hold it against them. Plus, my life would be miserable without YouTube, so I don’t want to upset them. DVD quality is $3.99.
While Blockbuster’s brick and mortar locations were shut down faster than my request for a date with Kate Upton (we can’t all be Ryan Jones), their Web site business is booming. They allow you to download or stream the movies and have pretty much every new release you could want. In fact, streaming of Source Code was available eighteen days before the DVD was released. At $3.99 for SD (couldn’t find reference to HD), they are definitely worth a look.
iTunes is probably the most well known of the bunch. Steve Jobs’ closet allows you to download any movie you want for 24 hours. I always avoid buying music via Apple (Amazon has better formatting and is often cheaper), but when it comes to renting a movie there is no reason to stay away. Source Code was $3.99/$4.99 for SD/HD, but the prices vary depending on the movie. Blue Streak, AKA the greatest movie ever, is a dollar cheaper for each format.
CinemaNow is Best Buy’s foray into the video rental business, and they’ve found quite a bit of success with it. One plus is that you can stream with the Xbox 360 Media Extension, as you can with Blockbuster, but unfortunately if you are looking to download, you will need a Windows computer. Chalk up a much needed win for Bill Gates. Again, it’s only $3.99 for SD, so there’s not too much setting it apart from than the others.
Probably the most popular way of obtaining movies for people under the age of 40 is to download a torrent. It’s fast, convenient, and so long as it’s relatively new, sites like The Pirate Bay always have what you want. Unfortunately, the downside is that it’s 100% illegal. You wouldn’t download a car would you? My in-house attorney has instructed me not to go into details about how to go about committing these heinous crimes, but if there is interest, I may do a write-up on that as well.
These aren’t all the options out there, but they are some of the most popular. If you aren’t tech savvy, you will probably want to stick to your satellite/cable provider, if for no other reason than simplicity. If you can perform the simple task of hooking you computer up to your TV though, or don’t mind watching on the small screen, you are only a couple clicks away from anything you want. After seeing the prices, some of you should probably run back to Netflix. For those who refuse though, I hope this helped.
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