i have not tried renting movies via blockbuster total access so i can't comment on it.

i just want to tell ppl how efficient netflix has been for me so far. i had ghost rider on top of my queue list and it is actually shipping a day prior to official release date and should be sitting in my mail box this afternoon, not one day past release.

i have not tried renting movies via blockbuster total access so i can't comment on it.

I had both. Netflix is far from perfect, but BBO is a nightmare.

I had both. Netflix is far from perfect, but BBO is a nightmare.

To each his own I guess. I have BBO... Blood and Chocolate and Cruel Intentions both shipped yesterday and will be in my mail box today. I rented Ghost Rider BD at my local Blockbuster at lunch today for free while returning an online rental.

I received a total of 36 movie rentals and 1 game rental in May from Blockbuster for $17.99. I'm not aware of any other service where that is possible.

Never tried BB but have no complaints against Netflix. Matter of fact, I am hooked on it.

I went from the 4 movie plan on BB to the 2 movie plan on both BB and Netflix and I couldn't be happier.

Just wait until they start throttling your account

i'm currently on 1 disc at a time and thinking about going 2 discs.

I have Netflix for 3 months now and I love it, i also get my BD movies next day, I had BB Total Access and I also liked that for the free rentals and the in stock, but when i started renting BD for BBO, it went downhill, never had anything in stock, might be better now but it wasnt 3 months ago, i will probably go back to BBO, when my local BB starts renting BD in store

Netflix is wonderful. If they throttle you then don't be cheap and upgrade your plan already. If you really need more than 10 movies a week (on an 8-out plan) then get two accounts. It's still cheaper than cable TV.

I'm trying out BBO and it's a horrific mess. Whoever thought it was 'fine' to launch a site like that should be (manually) throttled. Searching for movies is as entertaining as gouging holes in your skin with a butter knife. Title descriptions are outright inaccurate. They seem to send you whatever they feel like from your queue, because while they may say they have a film, good luck getting it. And if you want a series... hah... maybe they have 3 of 8 discs from the set available, two of which will always say 'Long Wait' or whatever the BBO equivalent is.

BBO is fine for new releases but nothing touches Netflix for people who want to watch discs made more than 12 months ago. My only gripe with Netflix is that they drop too many titles due to loss and damage, especially single titles of a larger set (like disc 5 of 8), which makes watching the series impossible without e-baying a used copy (or crossing your fingers with BBO).

I don't have a local blockbuster store so I can't say if I would like the 'instant return' thing, but if BBO wins then we're all in trouble. I don't think anyone with a brain can say blockbuster won't go right back to their old gimmicks like charging rewind fees on DVD's if they ever get rid of Netflix.

The only worse service than BBO is GameFly, which if it weren't for $60 games I would drop kick in a heartbeat. It still costs less to wait 3 months for a game with them than it would to buy the thing.

I don't have a local blockbuster store so I can't say if I would like the 'instant return' thing, but if BBO wins then we're all in trouble. I don't think anyone with a brain can say blockbuster won't go right back to their old gimmicks like charging rewind fees on DVD's if they ever get rid of Netflix.


Wins what? Blockbuster and Netflix aren't going anywhere.

To each his own I guess. I have BBO... Blood and Chocolate and Cruel Intentions both shipped yesterday and will be in my mail box today. I rented Ghost Rider BD at my local Blockbuster at lunch today for free while returning an online rental.

But you must understand several things:

1. Not all BB stores have BD or HD-DVD titles, so for a lot of us, being able to get HD content at the store is not possible, negating the value of the return to store option.

2. Without the BBO thread linking to titles here, it's a pain to try and find anything on the site.

I received a total of 36 movie rentals and 1 game rental in May from Blockbuster for $17.99. I'm not aware of any other service where that is possible.

If your store has HD content, then that's great. Unfortunately, for most of us that's not the case. I don't know about you, but watching SD content just isn't the same.

I had both. Netflix is far from perfect, but BBO is a nightmare.
I can agree. BBO always shows New Release as "Coming Soon" 2 weeks after it's release. Then it shows "Long Wait" for ever. I had both for 1 month, BBO had given 1 month half off because the previous month the had a software glitch were I didn't get a movie for 1 1/2 weeks! Netflix is quicker and more reliable than BBO, for me at least. Try both and you'll see. Only way I would go back to BBO is if my local stores began to rent HD movies. That's the only way.

I can agree. BBO always shows New Release as "Coming Soon" 2 weeks after it's release. Then it shows "Long Wait" for ever. I had both for 1 month, BBO had given 1 month half off because the previous month the had a software glitch were I didn't get a movie for 1 1/2 weeks! Netflix is quicker and more reliable than BBO, for me at least. Try both and you'll see. Only way I would go back to BBO is if my local stores began to rent HD movies. That's the only way.

Not 'always'

I have received Casino Royale, The Fountain, Hellboy, Coming to America, and Trading Places on the first day.

But there were 15 movies that were new (or not very new) that were 'coming soon' and netflix had all but one in stock 'now'.

Not 'always'

I have received Casino Royale, The Fountain, Hellboy, Coming to America, and Trading Places on the first day.

But there were 15 movies that were new (or not very new) that were 'coming soon' and netflix had all but one in stock 'now'.
I kept saying "for me at least". I've had Netflix for 2 months, never seen a coming soon on any of my New releases in my Queue. I have seen a few short and long wait. That's why I told him to try both, see what his luck is like.

I kept saying "for me at least". I've had Netflix for 2 months, never seen a coming soon on any of my New releases in my Queue. I have seen a few short and long wait. That's why I told him to try both, see what his luck is like.

Wasn't trying to call you out or anything just wanted to add my experience.

As I see it the only reason to use BBO is the local drop off for more movies, and the free monthly game rental, and even then it is still advantageous to use netflix as well.

Wasn't trying to call you out or anything just wanted to add my experience.

As I see it the only reason to use BBO is the local drop off for more movies, and the free monthly game rental, and even then it is still advantageous to use netflix as well.
Yeah I hear you. I wasn't getting touchy. I guess it depends on your area. I've had a couple of movies take 3 days, maybe those came from another distribution center?

Oh I have POTC:Black Pearl, Ghost Rider, and Enemy Of The State shipping.


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e102/cnickersonjr/NetflixQueue.jpg

Ok, another pro for Netflix.

Music and Lyrics is in the mail to me today, Blockbuster has it as 'Coming Soon'.

This is what makes this a big deal, this is a movie that my wife and in-laws really want to see, this is the kind of stuff that justifies my obsession to them. New movies that we all want to see looking great on the big screen.

Not all BB stores have BD or HD-DVD titles, so for a lot of us, being able to get HD content at the store is not possible, negating the value of the return to store option.

This is absolutely true for me. Neither BB or Hollywood Video in my town carry any hi-def disks, so I'm totally dependent on Netflix for my BD's. They do a great job for me.

A couple of months ago, I asked the girl behind the counter at HV whether they would ever carry Blu-Ray or HD DVD. She had a blank expression on her face, clearly didn't have a clue what I was talking about, then brought over the manager. He wasn't too optimistic, but least he knew what BD and HD DVD were. He said he hoped to stock them by summer, but when I pressed him further, he admitted that it might be the end of the year. He said that there had been very few requests for them by his customers, and he was concerned about where he would put two additional formats of new movies with his limited shelf space. IMO, this is a major disadvantage of having two different formats.

I just switched back to Netflix after using BBO for about six months. Couldn't pass up the deal where you get free in store rentals until I realized I wasn't getting any of the Hi-Def movies I actually wanted in a timely manner. I've been back with Netflix for about three weeks now and they make BBO look worse than dog poo.

IMO, this is a major disadvantage of having two different formats.

yep, same issue with some B&M stores that want to sell them. i think many may decide to stock the exclusives and only one of the neutral titles, be it blu-ray or hd-dvd. or just have a catalog with list of available titles and put em in a room somewhwere.

Lately, Netflix has been very, very, good. 48 hour turnaround consistently. I have been impressed.

Quick question. Can you change the order of the next movie in your queue? For example, we have "Friday Night Movies" at my house once a month. We all get a vote as to what movie to view. Of course I watch movies on my own and may not have the next movie to ship the selected one.

If I change the next movie to the top of the queue will that ship when I return my movie?

If I change the next movie to the top of the queue will that ship when I return my movie?
Yes, you can reorder your list at anytime, either by typing in the number you want it to be or clicking the 'send to top' button.

I sent the following to Blockbuster online today, and following my letter I have also included their response (which I feel is total crap). I think if enough of us complain to them and about them then "maybe" something will be done regarding Blockbuster's Online service, particulary when it comes to the renting of HD releases. I also posted this on highdefdigest.com.

There are two issues which I am writing to you about:
1st- This has become an ongoing problem: I turned my last movie in at the store several days ago and the next movie in my queue is yet to ship. This has been an ongoing problem that really needs to be resolved. I have accounts with Blockbuster and Netflix, and Netflix gets the next movie out the same day they receive it. The only reason I stay with Blockbuster is because I can turn the movie in at the store and get a free movie there. Please make an effort to correct this issue.

2nd - I have many movies marked in my queue as coming soon, but have been released for many months. And again, Netflix has all these "coming soon" blu ray discs available. Why does Blockbuster mark these movies as "coming soon"?

Thank you for your cooperation. I look forward to having these issues resolved.

Thanks for writing to BLOCKBUSTER Online Customer Care. It's great to hear from you!

I'm sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. Please be advised that when you exchange online DVDs at your local BLOCKBUSTER store, a spot is immediately opened up in your Queue and your next movie is shipped, but it may take 2-3 business days for the returned title to clear from your Queue. Please be reminded that we don't ship or check-in movies on weekends and federal holidays. While reviewing your Queue, you may notice that DVDs exchanged or checked in at the store will remain in your "Shipped Movies" list until received by the Return Center. This does not prevent additional DVDs from being shipped; it's simply our way of tracking when a DVD is physically received by the Return Center

Unfortunately, the total number of "Available" titles in your Queue is a little low. If a title at the top of your Queue is not available at a nearby center, the system automatically searches for the title at other distribution centers throughout our network. If the top Queue selections fall outside of an acceptable shipping window, we will ship a title that falls lower in the Queue. This process looks for "Available" titles 30-deep within your queue. We do this so your shipping times will be faster, and so there is no interruption to your service. On occasion, if your top selections are not available and you have few titles in Queue, a shipment may be skipped. Based on this process, we encourage our customers to keep upwards of 30-40 "Available" titles in the Queue at all times.

If a title does not show as checked in after three business day, you may report this issue by logging into our website, clicking on the 'My Account' link, and selecting 'Report a DVD Issue'.

Some titles are produced by studios in limited quantities or for a limited period of time. Once the manufacturing run has ended, the DVD is no longer available for purchase by customers or BLOCKBUSTER Online®. The title is then termed as being in “Moratorium", signifying the suspension or delay of sales, and “in the vault,” symbolizing that film or video stock has been sealed in airtight vaults for preservation purposes.

Studios may produce these titles at a later time to coincide with product releases, as new editions, or with new marketing promotions. While these movies are in moratorium, they will not be available to rent through BLOCKBUSTER Online. Please accept this additional e-coupon for a free in-store movie or game rental at your local Blockbuster store. Click on the link below to print your coupon.


Well, at lest I got a free coupon. I would rather get the movies I want in a timely fashion.

Well now that BB is going to roll out BD in many of their stores I'm going to give them another shot.

I sent the following to Blockbuster online today, and following my letter I have also included their response (which I feel is total crap). I think if enough of us complain to them and about them then "maybe" something will be done regarding Blockbuster's Online service, particulary when it comes to the renting of HD releases. I also posted this on highdefdigest.com.

There are two issues which I am writing to you about:
1st- This has become an ongoing problem: I turned my last movie in at the store several days ago and the next movie in my queue is yet to ship. This has been an ongoing problem that really needs to be resolved. I have accounts with Blockbuster and Netflix, and Netflix gets the next movie out the same day they receive it. The only reason I stay with Blockbuster is because I can turn the movie in at the store and get a free movie there. Please make an effort to correct this issue.

2nd - I have many movies marked in my queue as coming soon, but have been released for many months. And again, Netflix has all these "coming soon" blu ray discs available. Why does Blockbuster mark these movies as "coming soon"?

Thank you for your cooperation. I look forward to having these issues resolved.

Thanks for writing to BLOCKBUSTER Online Customer Care. It's great to hear from you!

I'm sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. Please be advised that when you exchange online DVDs at your local BLOCKBUSTER store, a spot is immediately opened up in your Queue and your next movie is shipped, but it may take 2-3 business days for the returned title to clear from your Queue. Please be reminded that we don't ship or check-in movies on weekends and federal holidays. While reviewing your Queue, you may notice that DVDs exchanged or checked in at the store will remain in your "Shipped Movies" list until received by the Return Center. This does not prevent additional DVDs from being shipped; it's simply our way of tracking when a DVD is physically received by the Return Center

Unfortunately, the total number of "Available" titles in your Queue is a little low. If a title at the top of your Queue is not available at a nearby center, the system automatically searches for the title at other distribution centers throughout our network. If the top Queue selections fall outside of an acceptable shipping window, we will ship a title that falls lower in the Queue. This process looks for "Available" titles 30-deep within your queue. We do this so your shipping times will be faster, and so there is no interruption to your service. On occasion, if your top selections are not available and you have few titles in Queue, a shipment may be skipped. Based on this process, we encourage our customers to keep upwards of 30-40 "Available" titles in the Queue at all times.

If a title does not show as checked in after three business day, you may report this issue by logging into our website, clicking on the 'My Account' link, and selecting 'Report a DVD Issue'.

Some titles are produced by studios in limited quantities or for a limited period of time. Once the manufacturing run has ended, the DVD is no longer available for purchase by customers or BLOCKBUSTER Online®. The title is then termed as being in “Moratorium", signifying the suspension or delay of sales, and “in the vault,” symbolizing that film or video stock has been sealed in airtight vaults for preservation purposes.

Studios may produce these titles at a later time to coincide with product releases, as new editions, or with new marketing promotions. While these movies are in moratorium, they will not be available to rent through BLOCKBUSTER Online. Please accept this additional e-coupon for a free in-store movie or game rental at your local Blockbuster store. Click on the link below to print your coupon.


Well, at lest I got a free coupon. I would rather get the movies I want in a timely fashion.

This was exactly my issues, and that was exactly their answers when I called them while I was using their services, immediately after I hanged up, I cancelled the service and kept Netflix.

Netflix has been very good to me, but you have to time the new releases perfectly. If not, get ready for a long long wait. I've had Apocalypto in my Q for a long time and still has a long wait. Breach was at the top of my Q for months before the release and since Netflix didn't get my return back until Tuesday, now I'm in the long wait list.

Overall, I'm very happy with them, but you've got to time the new releases just right.

I sent the following to Blockbuster online today, and following my letter I have also included their response (which I feel is total crap). I think if enough of us complain to them and about them then "maybe" something will be done regarding Blockbuster's Online service, particulary when it comes to the renting of HD releases. I also posted this on highdefdigest.com.

There are two issues which I am writing to you about:
1st- This has become an ongoing problem: I turned my last movie in at the store several days ago and the next movie in my queue is yet to ship. This has been an ongoing problem that really needs to be resolved. I have accounts with Blockbuster and Netflix, and Netflix gets the next movie out the same day they receive it. The only reason I stay with Blockbuster is because I can turn the movie in at the store and get a free movie there. Please make an effort to correct this issue.

2nd - I have many movies marked in my queue as coming soon, but have been released for many months. And again, Netflix has all these "coming soon" blu ray discs available. Why does Blockbuster mark these movies as "coming soon"?

Thank you for your cooperation. I look forward to having these issues resolved.

Thanks for writing to BLOCKBUSTER Online Customer Care. It's great to hear from you!

I'm sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. Please be advised that when you exchange online DVDs at your local BLOCKBUSTER store, a spot is immediately opened up in your Queue and your next movie is shipped, but it may take 2-3 business days for the returned title to clear from your Queue. Please be reminded that we don't ship or check-in movies on weekends and federal holidays. While reviewing your Queue, you may notice that DVDs exchanged or checked in at the store will remain in your "Shipped Movies" list until received by the Return Center. This does not prevent additional DVDs from being shipped; it's simply our way of tracking when a DVD is physically received by the Return Center

Unfortunately, the total number of "Available" titles in your Queue is a little low. If a title at the top of your Queue is not available at a nearby center, the system automatically searches for the title at other distribution centers throughout our network. If the top Queue selections fall outside of an acceptable shipping window, we will ship a title that falls lower in the Queue. This process looks for "Available" titles 30-deep within your queue. We do this so your shipping times will be faster, and so there is no interruption to your service. On occasion, if your top selections are not available and you have few titles in Queue, a shipment may be skipped. Based on this process, we encourage our customers to keep upwards of 30-40 "Available" titles in the Queue at all times.

If a title does not show as checked in after three business day, you may report this issue by logging into our website, clicking on the 'My Account' link, and selecting 'Report a DVD Issue'.

Some titles are produced by studios in limited quantities or for a limited period of time. Once the manufacturing run has ended, the DVD is no longer available for purchase by customers or BLOCKBUSTER Online®. The title is then termed as being in “Moratorium", signifying the suspension or delay of sales, and “in the vault,” symbolizing that film or video stock has been sealed in airtight vaults for preservation purposes.

Studios may produce these titles at a later time to coincide with product releases, as new editions, or with new marketing promotions. While these movies are in moratorium, they will not be available to rent through BLOCKBUSTER Online. Please accept this additional e-coupon for a free in-store movie or game rental at your local Blockbuster store. Click on the link below to print your coupon.


Well, at lest I got a free coupon. I would rather get the movies I want in a timely fashion.
I had this same exact issue with my BB.com account. Furthermore, my queue had over 50 movies in it. They gave me a free rental coupon. However, the only thing I wanted was for their service to actually work.

With Netflix, I get my movies quickly. Most of the time, I receive a new release from Netflix on the Tuesday of its release.

There is a format neutral thread and poll on the HD DVD Software Forum titled Netflix vs. Blockbuster.com. This thread is a good discusion of the differences between the two services.

Netflix has been very good to me, but you have to time the new releases perfectly. If not, get ready for a long long wait. I've had Apocalypto in my Q for a long time and still has a long wait. Breach was at the top of my Q for months before the release and since Netflix didn't get my return back until Tuesday, now I'm in the long wait list.

Overall, I'm very happy with them, but you've got to time the new releases just right.


At least you can time it with Netflix. With BB you just get ready to wait at least a month for any new release.

To each his own I guess. I have BBO... Blood and Chocolate and Cruel Intentions both shipped yesterday and will be in my mail box today. I rented Ghost Rider BD at my local Blockbuster at lunch today for free while returning an online rental.

I received a total of 36 movie rentals and 1 game rental in May from Blockbuster for $17.99. I'm not aware of any other service where that is possible.

Holy cow! Where do you have the time to watch 36 movies in a month?

Here in Canada I use a company called Zip.ca for my online rentals. For the past 10-15 rentals, I've received only HD DVD and Blu Ray, which is great! I actually got both the HD DVD and Blu Ray versions of Battle of the Bulge shipped today by accident (I had both of them one after the other in my list, whoops).

Here in Canada I use a company called Zip.ca for my online rentals. For the past 10-15 rentals, I've received only HD DVD and Blu Ray, which is great! I actually got both the HD DVD and Blu Ray versions of Battle of the Bulge shipped today by accident (I had both of them one after the other in my list, whoops).

I'm watching BOTB right now on HD-DVD and its simply stunning for an older movie. A few scenes are messed up but most scenes are amazing.

Holy cow! Where do you have the time to watch 36 movies in a month?

Perhaps I should have said disc rentals. Not all were movies. Some were TV series. I don't have cable and I don't have an antenna hooked up for network TV either. So those 36 rentals encompassed all of my tv watching for the month.

To some I guess it would seem like alot however I think you'd be suprised how many people watch more than 2 hours of television a night. For me it varies.... I won't even come close to watching 36 discs this month... however if I wanted to Blockbuster gives me that capability.

Basic cable or satellite service would cost more a month than the $17.99 Blockbuster is charging me.

Blockbuster was TERRIBLE for me for BR. 2/3 of my list was unavailable all the time. Netflix has been awesome. I couldnt be happier.

I have nothing against Netflix, I used their service for a while a couple of years ago and it was good. Later I subscribed to BB online service and never looked back.
I find it pathetic when people express those strong feelings for or against these rental services. They both work fine. They haven't done anything to you or your loved ones to deserve your "hate". Stop being ridiculous.
BB definitely has an advantage of offering free in-store rental exchanges on top of the online rentals. You can safely ignore all those "Long Wiat" status notes - the moment you return the discs they will ship you something from your queue. I have never had to wait "Long" or "Very Long" for any of the movies. And I am glad Netflix is around as well - it keeps BB from becoming a monopoly.
I guess this thread was meant to be a damage control action after all the buzz about BB Blu-Ray support, but I doubt it will be much usefull in that regard.