Clutter-free movie viewing

Movie rental subscription services like Netflix.com and Blockbuster’s Total Access are such obvious alternatives to DVD ownership that not having mentioned them on our site before now seems surprising. In fact, these programs are such effective alternatives that even people who aren’t into decluttering their homes subscribe.

You might not be aware, however, of additional methods of watching movies in your home without purchasing DVDs (and, yes, these are legal alternatives):

  • Pay-per-view and On Demand movie viewing through your cable company. Usually, for less than $5, you can “rent” movies for 24-hour viewing. It’s immediate, easy, and still less than a movie theater ticket. Contact your local cable provider for details.
  • Amazon’s Unbox to download movies to your computer or TiVo-Unbox for straight to your TiVo movie downloading. Fees range from $2 to $4 for most films for 30 days of viewing. There also is an option for paying more for permanent ownership. The speed of your internet connection will determine how long it takes for you to download a film.
  • Apple’s iTunes (available for the Mac and PC) has movie downloads available for your computer, iPod, or Apple TV. Most movies are $10 and you buy the file outright at that price. Again, the speed of your internet connection will determine download time.

All movie download services sacrifice some image quality for convenience, so keep that in mind when choosing these alternatives. DRM also will prevent you from playing or viewing these movies on alternate devices. But, if you see having Netflix.com or Total Access envelopes around your house as too much clutter, then these download options may be right for you.

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Posted by Erin on May 11, 2007 | Comments |

6 comments posted

  1. Posted by Ryan - 05/11/2007

    I’m like a criminal amongst the video rental stores in my area. I believe they have a poster of my mugshot with the words, “Kill On Site!” underneath it.

    And yeah, they spelled sight, “Site”.

    I just make friends with people who buy DVDs religiously. Then borrow their’s. Same goes for video games. Movies seem to be too hard to manage over a computer (for me, at least). So I stick with DVDs. Since I’m an organizing freak, I’m pretty good at keeping my DVDs in line and out of the way.

    I’m just horrible with due dates. Maybe I should try Netflix? Of course, my current method is free.

  2. Posted by Kevin - 05/11/2007

    you forgot about REDBOX!!! It is seriously the coolest thing ever! It’s the dvd vending machine….$1/night for new releases. This is the first time in a long time I have been caught up on new releases! Check out http://www.redbox.com for locations. I haven’t been to Blockbuster in like 6 months.

    But don’t cancel your membership anywhere… The only downside is that it is only new releases. So if their is an older movie you’d like, you won’t find it at Redbox.

    For real!! just a buck!

  3. Posted by lantzilla - 05/11/2007

    The library is free and legal. Sure, you might not get the newest releases, but there is so much good old stuff out there that I haven’t seen yet!

  4. Posted by James - 05/11/2007

    Yeah, the library is great. They usually do have the latest and greatest, but you end up being #1,045 on the list.

  5. Posted by Erika - 05/15/2007

    If you have access, try an academic library (university or college), there is usually a MUCH shorter wait period than the public library. I’ve worked at a U-Wisconsin library for 5 years and haven’t rented a movie since I came here! Last movies I saw were The Queen, Good Shepherd, and Notes on a Scandal…pretty up to date!

  6. Posted by adora - 06/02/2007

    The public libraries actually have most of the movies there is at a video rental stores, but the good ones are all in circulation so you don’t see them on the shelves.
    You can browse the catalogue online and request them. They will put a hold on the item when it’s avaliable for you. They give you auto-phonecall or email depending on your local library policy. It can be a long wait for popular ones, but I wait average of 2 month from the DVD release date.
    At my local library, they have a policy for keeping the waiting list shorter than 20 for each copy. For Pirates of Carribean, they got 16 copies because there were 200 people waiting. One can only borrow the movie for 1 week. This works very well, I have never waited longer than 4 months.

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