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Online DVD rentals allow a person to rent DVDs by Mail . Generally, all interaction between the renter and the rental company takes place through the company's Website . HOW IT WORKS Most companies operate on the following model:
Most companies will let customers keep the DVDs for as long as they want; customers are, however, limited to a set number of discs out at any one time. Once a disc is returned, another is sent out - except for pre-paid memberships. Some companies or plans may have a limit on the total number of DVDs rented in a month. Memberships are usually billed monthly, and includes postage both ways. Some companies also offer Video Game Rentals . The best-known company of this type is the American Netflix . TYPES OF PLANS Most companies provide variations on five basic types of membership plans: ;"Unlimited" : These plans have no maximum on the number of DVDs one can rent, although there is a limit on the number one may have out at any one time (the higher this limit, the higher the monthly charge). Most of the plans at , since one will be limited by the delivery time of the postal service involved, the distance between the customer and the company's warehouse, etc. The company may also take active steps to reduce the number of discs shipped - see the "Throttling" section below. ;"Limited", "Capped", "Monthly maximum" : These plans have a limit on the number of discs customers may have out at any one time, and also a maximum total of discs that can be rented during each billing period (usually monthly). This provides a cost ceiling for the supplier, and these plans are usually cheaper than unlimited plans. Some plans allow for additional shipments at extra cost once the maximum has been reached. Usually no credit is given if usage is below the maximum, although plans that allow this sort of "carry-over" are not completely unknown ;"Package" : Instead of each disc being sent and returned independently, a "package" plan sends a certain number of disks together at fixed intervals (often weekly), and one returns all the discs in a single package as well. A common scenario allows for two packages to be outstanding, and subsequent packages ship as a previous one is returned. ;"Individual Rentals", "Pay-as-you-go" : A plan of this type would allow individual rentals for a fixed fee (perhaps varying by type/age/popularity of the title), with no monthly fee. Since companies rely on the monthly fees of low-volume renters to make up for those whose shipping costs approach or exceed what they are paying, there is little incentive to offer such a plan, and the rental price would likely have to approach or exceed store costs. Still, it would be a useful alternative for occasional or periodic renters who want access to the huge selection of online companies or the advantages of mail rental, yet don't want the fixed monthly cost. ;"Peer to Peer Trading" : There is also a completely different variant which might be termed "peer-to-peer." Individuals are able to exchange items directly with other consumers, using a company's services to provide matching between customers, mailing envelopes, credit for items traded, etc. Examples include Peerflix and SwapSimple . "THROTTLING" Given sufficiently speedy mail delivery times, customers on "Unlimited" plans who turn around their discs quickly enough can receive enough shipments in a month that the company's actual cost of delivery exceeds the subscription fee, making the customers unprofitable. Even below this point, higher volume customers are by definition less profitable than customers who receive fewer discs per month. If these customers become too numerous, there are various measures which the rental company can take. One is the so-called "throttling" approach, which received a fair amount of publicity in regards to Netflix (which refers to the practice as a "fairness algorithm"). In this case, high-volume customers may experience a greater likelihood of (slower) shipments from alternate warehouses, and selections from lower in their rental queue. They are also less likely to receive replacement shipments on the same day a disc is received. Similar "fair use" caveats can be found in the Terms and Conditions of leading UK companies such as LOVEFiLM . In Canada, Zip.ca switched to "Capped" plans (with additional shipping charges for rentals over the cap) in part to avoid implementing "throttling". On March 2, 2006, Blockbuster announced MARKETPLACE SUMMARIES This form of DVD rental is closely tied to the mode of delivery. The performance of the postal service in various countries can differ, and delivery times also depend in part on a country's geography. A relatively small, densely populated area such as Great Britain poses different delivery challenges to a large area such as the United States (where the major companies have developed a network of regional distribution centers). There are also country-specific implications of the DVD Region Coding System , and even studio distribution rights within regions. For these and other reasons online DVD rental companies tend to operate in a single country, and even should a company expand to multiple markets, local delivery infrastructure would be required in most cases, as cross-border shipping is impractical in all but speciality cases. Relative pricing levels may also vary depending on the market, the local wholesale cost of DVD product, etc. Following is a summary of the main English-speaking markets. United States Netflix is the prototype for the entire industry and still the dominant company in the U.S., ending the first quarter of 2007 with over 6.8 million customers Canada The major company ( ZIP.ca ) is far larger than any rival. Estimates put the number of Canadian subscribers at 50-60,000, with ZIP.ca having around 36,000. Other competitors include Cinemail.ca, Videomatica.ca and Canflix.ca. A common feature in Canadian plans is a refill feature where a customer is mailed by the rental company the replacement disc as soon as the customer has indicated that a DVD has been returned in the post. The extent and available of refill varies by company. Some companies also have a vacation or suspension feature. United Kingdom Given the relatively small geographical area and high population density of the UK, online DVD rentals have some differences from in the U.S, as a single shipping facility can serve the entire country. There are also a bewildering number of companies, but many are actually separately branded versions of the dominant company, benefits, but the actual DVD service will be from the same source. In April 2006 LOVEFiLM itself merged with its major rival Video Island , which had operated ScreenSelect and other brands Germany Some of the companies offering online DVD rental in Germany are Amazon.de and Amango . Ireland There are three providers in Ireland - Screenclick, Moviestar and Busy Bee DVD. Screenclick was reportedly purchased for €3 million by British firm LOVEFiLM in 2006, but this is now looking unlikely as Lovefilm.ie now points to a rival company, and records lodged with the Companies Registration Office hint towards no conclusion to the deal. Australia There are several providers in Australia, the most prominent being BigPond Movies (owned by Telstra ) and Quickflix (listed on the Australian Stock Exchange). Information on the Quickflix site put it as #2 in the market, with a subscriber base of around 18,000. Based on this and other available estimates (BigPond at 60-70%) the Australian market would appear to be very roughly in the 50,000 subscriber range. New Zealand There are 3 online DVD rental companies in New Zealand, all offering flat-rate packages. The three companies, all located in Auckland , are DVD Unlimited , Fatso and Movieshack , . Both Movieshack and Fatso offer FastPost shipping to customers nationwide, while DVD Unlimited ceased to offer this in late 2005. Movieshack was launched on June 28th, 2004 and introduced the first large commercial online DVD rental system to New Zealand, which was followed 2 weeks later by the launch of Fatso. All major companies offer a library of 14-15,000 titles, and have similar pricing packages. One report in early 2007 put the New Zealand market at around 15,000 subscribers, with DVD Unlimited at 40-50%, Fatso with 35-40% and Movieshack with the remainder India There are several online DVD rental services in India, all running their own delivery systems and logistics. Unlike online DVD rental companies in other countries, online DVD Rental Services in India do not use the postal service as a means of delivery or exchange. India's first online DVD rental service Clixflix started in 2004, and was followed by several others like MovieMart, Madhouse, SeventyMM , CineSprite, CatchFlix and LazyGenie, in no particular order. The model has been tweaked in India to suit the local market place. Clixflix serves members through stores, the '''phone''' ''(Dial A Movie Service)'', '''sms''' ''(FLIX to 7575)'' and the internet '''(online)'''. Madhouse uses '''drop boxes'''. SeventyMM and Catchflix operate pure '''online''' models. Cinesprite has followed in the lines of Clixflix and also operates a multiple model. Another powerful contender may be BigFlicks from India's largest business house Reliance. Japan Major online rental DVD companies are Posren and Tsutaya Discas . Turkey Some of the online rental DVD companies are Film Servisi , Evde Izle and DVD Sokagi . Mexico One of the leading companies in this market is DVD2GO {Link without Title} although it only has service in the Monterrey and Guadalajara areas for now. They have an alternative delivery method, they don't use traditional mailing methods, they utilize they're own delivery personnel with motorcycles, so delivery times are way faster. If you're not planning on renting It's also a great page just for watching trailers anyhow! REFERENCES |
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