LoveFilm has arguably the most comprehensive selection of DVDs in the UK and gets our No. 1 Choice Award in this category. Well organised, with an easily navigable, uncluttered layout decked out in striking black, white and red, this website oozes enthusiasm for film. It actually feels like the website exists to encourage you to watch and enjoy more movies more easily and making a profit is secondary (the clue is in the name). This ethos carries through to LOVEFilm's customer service, which is generally reputed to be second to none...
Blockbuster's selection is huge, its service fast and professional, its coverage comprehensive. They have, after all, being doing this for a long time: the online service is just the latest outgrowth of a massive film rental empire that began over 20 years ago with a single store in Dallas renting out video tapes (remember those?) to film-hungry Texans. Now Blockbuster is all grown up, its in every high street and all over the internet, just waiting to squeeze a world of entertainment through your letterbox...
Tesco as a brand has always aspired to be provide good value for money on a wide range of reliable products and their DVD rental service is no exception. The website itself is clearly laid out and easily navigable, if it a little sparse and lacking in visual panache. There are the requisite reviews and top 100 lists, grouped by genre, but the website is clearly aimed towards providing an accessible service for the general viewer rather than satiating the die-hard film buff's every need. Having said that...
My Movie Stream is one of the fastest growing online DVD rental firms in the UK, they recently topped the first official Which?Report on DVD Rental, scoring an amazing 97/100. My Movie Stream is also the only DVD rental company to offer same day dispatch / turnaround. Thoughtfully, customers are encouraged to watch and return highly popular DVDs first in order to offer get such titles sent out again more quickly, which makes sense because with many DVD rental services the difficulty of getting hold of films that are in high demand can be irritating. Even so...
From the people who brought you EasyJet (hence all the orange) comes pay-as-you-go online DVD rental at a scandalously low price. However, it's worth being aware that a quirk of how EasyCinema set up is that if you are still in possession of any DVDs when your credits expire you will be automatically billed for another set of credits even if you haven't selected automatic top-up! EasyCinema.com use LOVEFilm to run their operations. So why not cut out the middleman and go straight to the specialists, LOVEFilm!
Reliable, reassuring and a firmly a part of British culture for as long as your granny can remember, WHSmith has long been the BBC of the High Street. And now, with the surprisingly dynamically named "WHSmith Movies Direct" its coming through your letterbox as well. This is no-nonsense, meat and-two-veg DVD rental for the great British consumer, pure and simple. However, you should be aware that the site is run in conjunction with our number one choice, LOVEFilm, with adequate, but not exceptional, extras. So why not cut out the middlemen and go straight to LOVEFilm!
From the people behind the Guardian newspaper, and several of the UK's leading independant film and cinema companies, comes one of the most popular DVD rental "communities" in Europe. Sofa Cinema offers a choice of highly competitive packages, a wide range and an accessible service comparable to most of our top DVD rental site choices. The website layout is very clear, making it simple and easy to sign up right away and start receiving films (they promise) within 48 hours. The extra features are there too...
CDWOW! is powered by LOVEFilm, so it's not surprising that when it comes to value-for-money, CDWOW! is comparable to, but no better than, our number one pick, LOVEFilm. However, the range of packages offered by CDWOW! is narrower than LOVEFiLM - there is no pay-as-you-go option. CD WOW! offers unlimited DVD goodness at a competitive price, and the exclamation mark is thrown in for free! But if you want the best of the best, then go straight to the specialists, LOVEFiLM.
Cine Bazaar specialises in bringing the cinema of the East to viewers in the UK . It offers films in many languages, including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi and even English. Registration is slightly more complicated than most of our top 10 choices; as well a completing the online form you also need to sign and return a form you will receive in the post, though, as with the DVDs themselves, the postage is all paid for. They are the leading specialists in all things Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood & Mollywood. Basically, if you want 'wood they've got the goods...
The reviews and top 100 lists of DVDs which help you choose are just as extensive as you might expect from a major cinema chain, and very clearly and accessibly laid out in neat, OCD-friendly, symmetrical rows. By all accounts, Odeon Direct does just what it says on the (virtual) tin: it offers a competitive DVD rental service that's relatively easy to use. It differs from the service offered by our number one choice, LOVEFilm only in offering slightly fewer titles and a slightly less comprehensive and engaging website. That, and all the purple writing. So why not go straight to the experts, LOVEFiLM and sign up for a free trial.
