Best Online Rental Sites for DVD Movies / Games

DVDs Only	DVDs + Games	Games Only
NetFlix Top Programs • 3 DVDs at a time ($16.99/mo) • 2 DVDs at a time ($13.99/mo) • 1 DVD at a time ($8.99/mo) • 1 DVD at a time ($4.99/mo) - limit 2 a month. Current Promotions • 2-week free trial Notable • Leading Online DVD Rental provider • Over 40 distribution centers and growing will get your movies to you the fastest across the US. • Over 100,000 Titles • Includes Blu-Ray and HD-DVD movies. • Watch unlimited movies online with your dvd subscription. Over 12,000 "watch instantly" titles available. Now Available through XBox 360, TIVO, and some stand alone players! Go to Netflix Blockbuster Total Access Top Programs • 3 DVDs at a time via mail $34.99/mo - with unlimited in-store exchange $19.99/mo - includes 5 in-store exchanges (most popular) $15.99/mo - online only • 2 DVDs at a time via mail $29.99/mo - with unlimited in-store exchange $16.99/mo - includes 3 in-store exchanges $13.99/mo - online only • 1 DVD at a time via mail $21.99/mo - with unlimited in-store exchange $11.99/mo - includes 2 in-store exchanges $8.99/mo - online only Current Promotions • $9.99 for first month Notable • Blockbuster Total Access - you may optionally return your online rentals to a Blockbuster store, and they will give you a free movie for each one! • Over 85,000 titles • Over 30 distribution centers (not including over 1000 retail stores they ship from). • Includes Blu-Ray and HD-DVD movies. • New pay-per-download feature (to PC or some set top boxes). Go to Blockbuster	It looks like both GamezNFlix and Intelliflix have gone belly up. So unfortunately for the time being there isn't much for combined game and dvd rental companies. If you want both I would just recommend using both Gamefly and Netflix. Doing both would be a little more expensive than the combined sites, but overall you'll get a much better experience (especially over a nonexistant one). GamezNFlix Intelliflix	GameFly Top Programs • 2 Games at a time ($22.95/mo) • 1 Game at a time ($15.95/mo) Current Promotions • $12.95 for first month for 2-game plan, $8.95 for 1-game plan. • 14 free issues of Sports Illustrated or Entertainment Weekly. Notable • Leading Online Game Rental provider • Fast Shipping to West Coast. • Over 6,000 Titles • XBox, XBox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, GameCube, GBA, Nintendo DS, and PSP Games. • Discounted preowned games for members. • View Distribution Centers (new shipping center on east coast). Go to GameFly Gamerang Top Programs • 2 Games at a time ($24.95/mo) • 1 Game at a time ($17.95/mo) Current Promotions • $14.95 for first month for 1-game plan Notable • More shipping centers than GameFly. • Over 4,500 Titles • XBox, XBox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, GameCube, GBA, Nintendo DS, and PSP Games. Go to Gamerang GameLender

How Online Renting Works

The trend has moved away from traditional video rental chains and towards online video rentals. If you're new to online movies or game rentals let me tell you it's so much better than renting from your local video store. The way these online rental sites work is that you pay a monthly fee to rent as many games or movies you want with up to 3 out at a time (or more or less depending on the deal you choose). To select the titles you want browse or search for them on their website and compile a prioritized list of what you want to see (or play). They will send you titles from your list to you through the mail and when you're finished with a title simply drop it in the mail and they will send you the next title in your queue. It's as simple as that. No Late Fees. They pay shipping both ways. This is the way rentals should be done!

Recommendations:

Netflix is the industry leader for DVD rentals - they have an excellent selection of titles, excellent service and very quick turn-around times (with over 40 distribution centers). Netflix also offers unlimited free movies for download with most of their plans. You can currently watch the movies on your TV with the Roku box or on your XBox 360 (requires live gold), and many other compatible devices are coming. The other big player Blockbuster has identical pricing for their online-only program. The real advantage to Blockbuster is it's Total Access program - that allows you to return rentals to a Blockbuster store for free rentals for each envelop. Blockbuster also recently started a download program, but their's is on a pay-per-view pricing level rather than free unlimited like Netflix. They are also introducing set-top boxes to use on your tv with the download system. On the gaming side Gamefly is an excellent service that gives you 2 games out at a time. They also have an excellent selection and quick turn-around times. If you're interested in only movies or only games or want the largest selection and quickest turn-around times I would stick to Netflix, Blockbuster or Gamefly.

As I mentioned in the table, the combined DVD/Game programs (Intelliflix and GamezNFlix) are gone. If you want both movies and games I would suggest to use Netflix and Gamefly.

Remember most of the sites offer free trials - you can always quit if the service doesn't live up to your expectations.

FeedBack:

I'd love to hear feedback on your experiences with the online rental sites. I am working on a user feedback and rating system but if you would like to add feedback use the form below and I will add it to the site soon. Your full name and email will not be shown on the site. Thanks.