The Top Seven Reasons I Took Blockbuster Up On Their Free Trial

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It’s been a big few months for content providers in the home theater space. Hulu led a multi-pronged assault to see who, if anyone, would buy it out (and it turned out no one would after all!), Dish Network got a revived Blockbuster off the ground, and Netflix raised its prices, divested its DVD arm, and then reintegrated same back into the whole, apologizing all the while. And frankly, after having been with Netflix for nearly the last four years now, I was starting to wonder if maybe Dish Network and Blockbuster might not be the better buy after all. When I discovered Blockbuster offered up a free trial period, I decided to put them to the test myself. You’ll find out about that later, but for now, I put together a list all about the Top Seven Reasons I Took Blockbuster Up On Their Free Trial.

7. Video games included

I’m fond of video games in general. You’ve seen a couple of my previous lists that show that off nicely. And while Netflix was still considering, at last report, the addition of video games to their disc rental roster, Blockbuster already has it on theirs. And that was enough to get my interest–movies are great, but sometimes you want to control some of the action yourself. Blockbuster adds that on at no extra charge and offers up a good quantity of titles, too; my count says there were around 300 Xbox 360 titles alone. And not surprisingly, the more systems you have available to you, the more value you get from the service.

6. Faster availability

The studios still hate Netflix, even in its DVD arm. And as such, they’ve banded together in many cases to punish Netflix for existing by establishing an embargo against Netflix, forcing them to wait almost 28 days before they can add a new release DVD to their roster so as to not put a lot of pressure on DVD sales. Blockbuster, meanwhile, operates under no such embargo, possibly owing to their brick and mortar outlets. They may have been on the decline in total number, but they still exist, and this gives Blockbuster an edge in the marketplace, even over competitor Netflix. And the faster you can replace titles you’ve already seen, the more you can see in a month. The more you can see in a month, the better value you get out of the service.

5. Dish Network premiums

Thanks to Blockbuster’s connection to Dish Network, there are a variety of bonuses available for Dish Network customers, including the Blockbuster Movie Pass. An extra $10 on your Dish Network bill, and you’ve suddenly got access to a variety of streaming options and even some television channels. That’s a whole lot more than Netflix has to offer, even with Netflix’s substantial streaming library. Plus, it gives you something to do in those time frames between sending DVDs back and getting a new set in.

4. Expanded DVD selection

It’s strange to consider, but Netflix actually has slightly fewer titles than Blockbuster does. They’re close, admittedly, but it’s just a bit on Blockbuster’s side, especially when you consider that you not only have the online site to work with but also your nearest store, you’ve got more to choose from dealing with Blockbuster. And if you’ve got more to choose from via Blockbuster, then you’re getting more value out of the service. More value is always worth considering when buying anything, from smartphones to video rental services.

3. Faster replacement times

Sometimes you just don’t want to wait for your next movie to arrive. Netflix’s fastest took a day to reach my local distribution center, and then a second day to get me the next one. But with Blockbuster’s replacement option–I’m about a half-hour away at any given time–I can take what I’ve got on hand and run it to the nearest store, then grab a fresh set while I”m there. Netflix doesn’t offer that option, so score one for Blockbuster.

2.Many titles not previously available

I have strange tastes in movies. I love Mystery Science Theater, for example, and Blockbuster Online had most of it. Netflix, on the other hand, had only about half of the series. And where Netflix couldn’t give me so much as an episode of Mister Ed, Blockbuster could fork over the first three seasons, and that’s pretty good indeed. Part of having more titles in general means having more specific stuff that you can’t find just anywhere. Stuff I hadn’t even heard of in movies, meanwhile, could also be easily found there, and that was well worth the trial subscription.

1. Less uncertainty

Netflix has been…well…crazy seems to be the best descriptor of late. Between the shifting prices and the shifting policies and the shifting apologies, it’s hard to tell just what Netflix is going to do–or regret doing–next. Blockbuster, by comparison, hasn’t done much different since they started the only concept up in the first place. Since then, they’ve made only a couple changes, and the end result is substantially more stability than Netflix has offered up in some time. Stability is seldom a bad thing, and when I’ve got a pretty good idea that Blockbuster won’t raise its prices, change its offerings, and then change them back with apologies in between, I’m a little more inclined to take the stable route.

And there you have it–the top seven reasons I took advantage of the Blockbuster free trial period. It was more than enough to get me interested, especially since the price was right. How will it turn out? Only one way to tell and that’s to keep it right here.

But what about you guys? Anybody interested in giving Blockbuster’s free trial offer a try? Or are you happy with where you are right now, where ever that happens to be? We always like hearing from you, so head on down to the comments section and tell us what you think about the various home theater options out there!

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