Consumers have a number of options when it comes to viewing movies at home. Two of typically the most popular are renting movies at the area video store and renting movies via an on line service. An informal survey was recently conducted on a property electronics/entertainment site about the movie viewing habits of website visitors. The results pointed to a number of the misconceptions that also exist about online rental of DVDs by consumers that have not yet tried the service.
Participants in the survey were asked a number of questions, including how often they watch movies in the home, whether or not they rent movies online, and or even, why. Nearly 28% of those responding indicated which they rent movies online. Of the remaining, the most frequently cited reason for not utilizing an online movie rental service was concern which centered across the perception that online movie rental would be more expensive than the area video store. When taking a look at several scenarios it becomes evident which method tends to be more affordable.
For people who indicated which they watch only 1 to 3 movies per month the savings from renting online are small. Renting 2 movies per month at the area video store would average around $7.40 whereas renting from Netflix as an example, if they chose the master plan that has a control of 2 movies per month, would run $5.99. After finding a video at the area store the user could have overnight or simply 1 week to return the movie but an on line rental allows them to keep the movie for an unlimited period of time.
For anyone people who responded which they view 1-3 movies weekly, the savings would be more significant. For instance, renting 8 movies per month would run around $29.55 at the area store and as little as $14.99 online if they find the “2 out at a time” plan or $17.99 for the “3 out at a time” plan. As viewing increases so does the likelihood of experiencing greater savings.
For folks who responded which they view 4 movies weekly (averaged out to 16 per month) the common cost at the area store would be $59.04 while online rental would be $23.99 allowing the user “4 out at a time” ;.123movies Renting via a service like Netflix generally does not limit how many movies a person views but rather, how many movies they are able to have out at any given time. Therefore rentals are pretty much unlimited with most of the plans.
The next most frequently cited reason for not utilizing online movie rental services was that the in-patient rented movies on the spur of the moment and didn’t plan ahead. Certainly renting movies online and receiving them through the mail would not allow someone to decide at 6:00 p.m. that they wish to see The Queen and receive it so that they’ll be viewing the movie by 8:00 p.m. However, the delay for receiving movies selected through the mail is 1 business day which may seem sufficient in most instances.
The future of DVD rental may be changing however as Netflix announced in early 2007 that customers would now have the choice of watching movies instantly with a streaming service that is now available for some movies. The service must certanly be quicker than most download services as streaming allows viewing of the movie since it is streamed as opposed to waiting until download is complete. Although the full transition from the current mail delivery system to a download form of service will require time, it is clear that immediacy is only going to continue steadily to improve. It would seem that other online movie rental services would follow suit in coming years in order to compete.