Blockbuster copies Netflix -- For real this time

[EvilYoda]

Interesting...seeing how much I spend on my theater and DVDs, it wouldn't hurt to route $20 a month to an online service...hmmm.

 

[Turkish]

will they have 8 DVDs out at a time? If not, I'll stay with Netflix.

 

[homestarmy]

its still in beta

 

[thomsbrain]

go to blockbuster and rent "requiem for a dream." oops, what happened to the overhead double-ended anal dildo shot? i guess it just disappeared! same with the needles going into the arms! whoops! gone! i must have blacked out for a moment! or maybe i just hallucinated seeing those shots in the copy i rented from hollywood. and when i saw it in the theatre. and when i rented it from netflix.

let me add, that yes, technically, blockbuster does not edit their movies. they, as they say, get them they way they recieve them from the studios. but they do not get the same cuts, because they force the studios to give them edited copies. so they can say that on their website and not "lie," because they didn't do the editing themselves. after all, it would be pretty hard to edit things in a DVD, not to mention it would be illegal, because they don't own the rights to it. but it's perfectly legal for the studios to do it for blockbuster, and the actual filmmakers can't do a thing about it. walmart does the same thing with music. in the end, it doesn't really matter who did it; you're still not seeing the same movie.

 

[DT4K]

This may be true, but you will find that there are many video stores that carry r-rated versions of movies that may have been unrated or nc-17 when released. I have also seen plenty of unrated versions and director's cuts of movies at BB stores that were released in theaters with an R rating. So in this case, they are providing movies even more graphically sexual or violent than the MPAA mandated version that was released in theaters. It can really go both ways.

I was just checking out what versions of Requiem were available online.
BB Online has both an R-rated version and an unrated director's cut version. Choice is good.
Netflix has an NC-17 version.
Hollywood lists an unrated version for rent in their stores.
Blockbuster's regular website lists both rated and unrated versions, so maybe which one they carry depends on which store you go to.

 

[bockchow]

does anybody know if your preferences/queue/ratings will stay if you cancel your acount for a couple months? also the same question for netflix and walmart. thinking of trying each out and seeing what i like. so far with BB i have like 50 in queue and 200 rated, don't want to do that all over again if a decide to come back.

 

[DT4K]

I don't know about bb or walmart, but I'm pretty sure Netflix will keep your queue for several months.

 

[cthulhu]

I am happy with netflix. I just checked my queue and they are shipping today two movies that have release dates of 8/3. BB would have to be significantly better for me to change.

 

[digitalsm]

Originally posted by: DT4K

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
i don't trust blockbuster. they are not movie fans. its a company that woulda stuck with pan and scam if it weren't for netflix...not carrying directors cuts etc... if they didn't have competition forcing them to do things it would be ugly.

But it's like any company. Blockbuster and Netflix are both in the business to make money. If a competitor starts taking business away from you, you find out what is drawing customers to that competitor and you change your business accordingly. BB didn't start carrying widescreen just because they had competition. They did it because they saw that customers wanted it.

Originally posted by: digitalsm
If you can mix and match B&M and Online Blockbuster hands down. B&M for big new mainstream movies, Online for harder to find movies etc.

It's not mix and match, but if you do the online membership, you get 2 free in-store movie rentals per month. That should be enough for my impulse rentals.

Booo. That sucks. I guess its because no all Blockbusters are connected to a main system. Some are owned by blockbusters some are owned by some sort of franchises.

 

[DT4K]

Originally posted by: XietyCOM
will they have 8 DVDs out at a time? If not, I'll stay with Netflix.

"Blockbuster offers three DVDs at a time for $19.99 per month, five DVDs at a time for $29.99 per month and eight DVDs at a time for $39.99 per month, plus applicable taxes."

I don't see the option to sign up for anything other than the 3 at a time plan on the main site, but I found the above quote in one of the FAQ's. I think you can sign up for the 3 at a time free trial, then change your plan. It's still in beta though, so who knows.

EDIT: So for the 8 at a time plan, BB is $10 cheaper than Netflix.

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
go to blockbuster and rent "requiem for a dream." oops, what happened to the overhead double-ended anal dildo shot? i guess it just disappeared! same with the needles going into the arms! whoops! gone! i must have blacked out for a moment! or maybe i just hallucinated seeing those shots in the copy i rented from hollywood. and when i saw it in the theatre. and when i rented it from netflix.

let me add, that yes, technically, blockbuster does not edit their movies. they, as they say, get them they way they recieve them from the studios. but they do not get the same cuts, because they force the studios to give them edited copies. so they can say that on their website and not "lie," because they didn't do the editing themselves. after all, it would be pretty hard to edit things in a DVD, not to mention it would be illegal, because they don't own the rights to it. but it's perfectly legal for the studios to do it for blockbuster, and the actual filmmakers can't do a thing about it. walmart does the same thing with music. in the end, it doesn't really matter who did it; you're still not seeing the same movie.

um, so stop being stupid and stop renting the R version when you could get the director's cut.

 

[maddogchen]

i signed up for a free trial, but it takes 3-4 days for me to receive my dvds, whiile it only takes 1 day to receive my netflix ones.
In my two weeks i've only gotten 3 dvds and 3 on the way from blockbuster while i got 9 dvds already from netflix.

 

[JDub02]

looks like it's 3 at a time online + 2 free in store rentals for $20/mo

not a bad deal. i wish it came with more in-store rentals though.

 

[Cobalt]

Originally posted by: DT4K
I just looked at the website again and BB claims to carry 25,000 titles.
I checked the front page at Netflix and they claim "over 20,000 titles".

I'm sure BB has made a pretty big investment in researching why Netflix took away so much of their business in the last couple years. So maybe they realized that not only do they have to beat the price, but also the selection.

If BB doesn't have the Family Guy box sets like Netflix does, then screw BB.

 

[DT4K]

Originally posted by: maddogchen
i signed up for a free trial, but it takes 3-4 days for me to receive my dvds, whiile it only takes 1 day to receive my netflix ones.
In my two weeks i've only gotten 3 dvds and 3 on the way from blockbuster while i got 9 dvds already from netflix.

Maybe they are working out the bugs.
For me, it will probably depend on shipping time. Netflix is 3 days each way for me.

 

[z0mb13]

doenst netflix hold a patent over their online system??

 

[bockchow]

you can get the plans with more dvds buy going to the my account section and changing your plan. it just defaults to the $20. they shipped out my dvds today so i'll see how long they take to get here. i'm in Portland OR.

 

[DT4K]

Originally posted by: bockchow
you can get the plans with more dvds buy going to the my account section and changing your plan. it just defaults to the $20. they shipped out my dvds today so i'll see how long they take to get here. i'm in Portland OR.

When you get them, let us know. And tell us where they were shipped from. I'm interested to know where the distro centers will be. I'm in Southern Oregon and my Netflix DVD's come from Tacoma, Washington and take 3 days to get here.

 

[bockchow]

got the dvds in today, so it took 2 days to get to Beaverton just outside of Portland. and the return addy is in Seatle. not bad all in all, anybody in the portland area and know the turnaround time for netflix?

 

[0roo0roo]

i have bad blood with blockbuster. they are not good movie people. run by simple greedy corporate bums. they've had a record of ripping off people with late fee's, heck there was a class action lawsuit on this. not to mention they avoided going wide screen as long as possible, netflix practically forced em into it they still don't carry directors unrated cuts to my knowledge...if they change its only to keep up with netflix. they just have no love for movies. no way i'm supporting em.

 

[darkjester]

Originally posted by: Yossarian
and by frequent user, you mean people who get 8 dvds at once, burn copies, and return them the same day. boohoo.

man, I seriously need to get a DVD burner.

 

[Shelly21]

Originally posted by: Nitemare

Originally posted by: Doodoo
Not to mention how Netflix seems to send you dvds slower and slower as time goes on....

Maybe it will force them to lower their prices back down to the previous levels

I don't know... it varies, I think for some dvds it'll get here the day after they mail it, some takes an extra day.

For popular movies, I usually get them fast, but for anime, I imagine they only have a copy or two in California's distribution center.

 

[kami333]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
i have bad blood with blockbuster. they are not good movie people. run by simple greedy corporate bums. they've had a record of ripping off people with late fee's, heck there was a class action lawsuit on this. not to mention they avoided going wide screen as long as possible, netflix practically forced em into it they still don't carry directors unrated cuts to my knowledge...if they change its only to keep up with netflix. they just have no love for movies. no way i'm supporting em.

Yes, they carry unrated director's cuts. Off the top of my head I can think of them carrying unrated versions of Eurotrip, American Wedding, Requiem for a Dream, and Bad Santa (basically movies I saw in the past month). And I can't think of the last movie I saw there that wasn't widescreen, even relatively old releases like Deep Impact were in widescreen.

lol, like Netflix has a "love" for movies. No, they have a love for money, same as any other corp out there.

 

[DT4K]

Originally posted by: kami333

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
i have bad blood with blockbuster. they are not good movie people. run by simple greedy corporate bums. they've had a record of ripping off people with late fee's, heck there was a class action lawsuit on this. not to mention they avoided going wide screen as long as possible, netflix practically forced em into it they still don't carry directors unrated cuts to my knowledge...if they change its only to keep up with netflix. they just have no love for movies. no way i'm supporting em.

Yes, they carry unrated director's cuts. Off the top of my head I can think of them carrying unrated versions of Eurotrip, American Wedding, Requiem for a Dream, and Bad Santa (basically movies I saw in the past month). And I can't think of the last movie I saw there that wasn't widescreen, even relatively old releases like Deep Impact were in widescreen.

lol, like Netflix has a "love" for movies. No, they have a love for money, same as any other corp out there.

Yeah, this just makes me laugh. Netflix operates with the EXACT SAME GOAL as blockbuster. That is to make money. Netflix targeted a different market by offering more unrated versions, director's cuts, and a lot more obscure titles. They did this, not for a love of movies, but because they saw an audience for it and the potential to make money. Like any good business, BB saw how successful Netflix was and adapted their business to better compete.

 

[DT4K]

Originally posted by: bockchow
got the dvds in today, so it took 2 days to get to Beaverton just outside of Portland. and the return addy is in Seatle. not bad all in all, anybody in the portland area and know the turnaround time for netflix?

Hmmm, 2 days from Seattle to Portland seems kinda slow.

I'm in Southern Oregon, but my Netflix DVD's come from Tacoma, WA, so I'm sure that's where Portlanders get them from as well. About half the time I get my Netflix movies in 2 days and the other half of the time, it takes 3 days.