Online DVD Rental and Streaming Service Providers.

What is the best way to watch films and T.V shows these days? The days of Blockbuster and fixed based video & DVD rental stores is gone; only to be replaced with online streaming services and film-by post rentals from the former Lovefilm company, who were brought out by Amazon.

There are 3 main contenders out there for paid online streaming of the latest movies, music and games; those are NowTV, Amazon video, and Netflix; there may be others, but they are simply not worth mentioning.

Now T.V is basically an extension of the Sky TV channels, though available as online content to stream; there are 3 packages available: Sky Movies Pass, Entertainment Pass and Sky Sports pass. Depending on what your into watching you can get some good value for money; the downside with NowTV is that your subject to the usual scrawl you get on the regular channels and that is mostly what comes free with each of those packages (depending on the type of package and the content available for it). There is a lot of confusion with the Sky Movies package and some of the latest films will take you to the main sky website, of which you’re not a member. Others are actually On-Demand and you will have to pay various prices depending on how new the title is, for each film/show; the Entertainment package, and the Sports package are more or less the same, and you are left wondering what your actually paying for, when most of what’s free is rubbish, and the stuff that’s not you have to pay Extra. Memberships range from £6.99 to £9.99 monthly.

Amazon Video has some similarities to NowTV with the mixed content that is available with your package, and the stuff that’s on Demand that you will have to pay extra for; though they have a lot more available that’s more or less ok and part of your package. The good news is that you get the Amazon Video package with the Amazon Prime membership, which enables you to have better delivery options for some of the things you buy from Amazon; as well as access to music and also the absorbed lovefilmby post service. There are some other features, but they will not be mentioned here. Be aware that the Amazon Prime membership is billed yearly in a full lump sum instalment of about £75; it is taken automatically the same time each year as a continuous credit/debit card payment.

Finally we have Netflix; by far the most popular and the most flexible of all the online streaming services for movies and shows, with a simple and affordable membership fee each month. With Netflix you get access to all the movies and shows they have available and there are no extra costs for newer films; everything basically is on-demand. They have packages from £5.99 – £8.99 per month.

Conclusion: Now.TV will have the latest movies and some of the latest shows on their Network, but they will be available at a cost for each title, on-top of the price you’re paying for the membership.

Amazon Video will have some of the Latest films available at a cost for each title for many of the title, and a lot more of the latest shows that are on any Network (Space, CBS, SciFi, etc…) ontop of the cost of your membership; their new film titles are not brought out as fast as NowTV, but their shows are fairly quick and regular.

Netflix will not have the Newest films available for a least a month or so after the top two competitors, and may or may not get them when they are available; new films and shows are slower to come in and it could be weeks before you see any new content. There are however, exclusive shows only released in Netflix, and are Netflix originals like “Orange is the New Black”; so when they are available it is worth it when all episodes are released at once without the wait.

What you choose now, is down to your preferences and also what you can comfortably afford.