OK, so a bunch of you are all red & angry over Netflix� recent price increases.
I�m not
with you on that one, but that won�t stop me from helping in your time of indignation.
I�m B.C.
with the Top 5 places to watch movies while sticking it to Netflix, ranked by
consensus of CNET�s editors.
#5 Vudu, which BTW also just launched on Walmart.com.
No subscription plan or disc
rentals to counter Netflix, but online movies from 1-6 bucks -- $4-$7 for 3D.
There�s HD
as well.
Just started a daily �movie of the day� for 99 cents and on Friday that movie is
selected by users so it might actually be something good.
About 10,000 movies and 150
TV series in the catalog.
And of course, Walmart.com sells DVD�s.
#4.
Poor old Blockbuster.
Broke, adrift and not entirely sure who owns it this week,
Blockbuster still has some rather compelling features not the least of which is over 1
million titles all in.
That�s the kind of catalog we all want.
Unfortunately, you first have to
find a store that isn�t boarded up.
They�re hopping to settle in at 600 locations, down
from 4,000 they used to have.
Its $12 a month for their a one disc at a time DVD plan --
more than Netflix.
They also have on demand streaming for around $4 title, but not to
iOS devices.
#3 Redbox, you know the red kiosks in some 27,000 stores.
They�re in retail spaces
because this is a division of Coin Star, the coin counting machine folks, and was
originally bankrolled by McDonald�s.
Redbox is known for being strong on current
releases for a buck a rental as long as you get it back by 9 the next night.
After that late
charges start to accrue until 25 days as which point your own the disc.
Redbox is also
working on a streaming service to more closely parallel Netflix.
#2 Hulu Plus.
This is your main competitor to Netflix� $8 a month AYCE plan -- same
price at Hulu, but you�ll watch with �limited commercial interruption� even though you�re
paying.
Hulu is largely owned by Comcast, Disney and News Corp -- all of whom, BTW,
are trying unload it.
Good device support on Hulu, including XBOX and PS3 and Roku.
Before we get to #1, where�s iTunes?
It belongs in a sort of class of its own, since it is
largely married to Apple TV and their other devices for the kind of service we�re looking
at here.
Its not built into other companies TV�s, Blu-ray decks, or tablets.
So we�ll give it
a special place all its own...
...as we�ll do for your cable company�s VOD service and streaming apps.
But those are
limited by the cable service available to you, so its not a wide open choice like the others
in our list.
OK., the #1 other video service if you�re convinced Netflix is the devil is Amazon.
With their Instant Video service you can get movies for roughly $4 and TV shows for
about half that for a 24-48 hour watching window -- typical industry stuff, but the key
difference with Amazon is that if you are an Amazon Prime member you can get access
to an admittedly modest 6,000 titles for free.
Broad device support, but no Apple TV or
PS3.
Finally, Amazon is sort of a DVD service in that they sell just about every new DVD for
great prices and their Marketplace vendors have just about any DVD used for real
cheap.
And when you�re done, you can sell you discs there too.
So that�s sort of like a
Netflix for people who like their DVD�s slow and cumbersome.
So, did any of these jump out as the Netflix killer?
Exactly.
For everything DVD, streaming and video related, make sure you keep tabs on CNET�s
home Video section (http://reviews.cnet.com/home-video/) and thanks for Katz and
Falcone there for help with today�s list.
Man, they watch a lot of TV.
More like this, head on over to top5.cnet.com.
