Finally Left Blockbuster for Netflix

I had been a Blockbuster Total Access subscriber for over two years and had their highest end 3 at a time with unlimited trade in plan.  I was happy with their mail order DVD service and loved trading in the movies when I was done with them for a new DVD on the same day, yet I finally had to make the switch to Netflix for one simple reason.

When it comes to streaming instant movies to your TV, PC or Game Console Netflix blows the competition away.  Blockbuster doesn’t even offer free streaming and charges a rental fee for their “On Demand” movies which is just pointless and only further prevents them from competing with Netflix.

I myself have a Nintendo Wii and five minutes after signing up for Netflix I downloaded the Netflix App from the Wii Shop Channel, hooked it up to my Netflix account and was busy streaming live SpongeBob season episodes for my kids within 10 minutes.

Now I can have my kids instantly watch classic films like Tron, Clash of the Titans (the original) and some old Jackie Chan flicks without having to wait for them to arrive in the mail (my local Blockbuster store had a limited selection of movies and only one copy which was usually rented out of some older titles).

The funny thing is Netflix gives you DVD’s by mail and Instant Streaming movies for less per month than Blockbuster Total Access.  I am getting 2 dvd movies at a time plus streaming movies for $14.99 per month.  Blockbuster Total Access will charge you over $20 for 2 movies at a time plus unlimited in-store trades and $16.99 for 2 movies at a time with 5 in store trades per month, this is all with no streaming video.

It is ironic that someone who is as into movies and TV Shows as myself has taken so long to jump on board with Netflix, but now I can tell you my household is Netflix enabled and I don’t intend to look back.  I also did this and wound up saving $7 per month over staying with Blockbuster Total Access, so I have live streaming content and pay less per month than I was paying.

One thing, it does seem that Blockbuster Online had a slightly better movie search listing as you can sort movies by # per page, but Netflix claims to have a much larger selection.  I also see that Blockbuster also has some deals with movie studio’s and sometimes gets some movies 30 days before Netflix or Redbox but if it was a movie you wanted to see that badly, chances are you already saw it in theaters or would just buy it.

Blockbuster Total Access does offer Console Game rentals now at no extra cost which does actually give it a slight edge of Netflix, as I am using Gamefly + Netflix to cover my Game and DVD rentals.  With Blockbuster offering game console rentals, you can actually use just a Blockbuster Total Access membership for movies plus games which could save you money if you are using Gamefly.  I do love Gamefly and was using them before Blockbuster Total Access offered game rentals, and still was using them even after Blockbuster offered game rentals.

Who else is on board with Netflix and who has yet to try this service that gives you thousands of movies on demand so you don’t have to wait for one to arrive in the mail or drive out to your local video store anymore?

-Justin Germino