COMMENT
Cheap DVD Rentals

You know the story: You've just got back from work and are about to have dinner and a nice glass of wine when it suddenly hits you – the DVD you borrowed two days ago is still sitting in the lounge. Do you interrupt your relaxing evening by driving through the rain (it always rains at times like this!) to the video store to return it - or do you ignore it, knowing you'll be stung with a late fee?

There is an alternative though. A whole host of online DVD rental companies have sprung up, offering to send you the DVDs of your choice through the post. You can then watch them at your leisure, before simply dropping them in the post box to return – no more fighting for a parking space outside the video shop!

How Does It Work?

You choose the DVDs you'd like to watch, and add them to your 'queue' (you can usually arrange them according to priority). Depending on the membership level you have chosen (you can generally have one, two or three DVDs at any one time) you will be sent the corresponding number of DVDs from your queue.

You then watch the films at your leisure, and as soon as you've finished with the first one, pop it into its pre-paid envelope and pop it into the post. When the disc is received, the next one on your list is posted to you. And so on and so forth.

The deals usually state unlimited rentals – so if you're an avid film watcher you'll get great value for money – as the quicker you can post them back, the more films you'll be sent each month.

The following table shows the current deals available from the bigger online rental companies:

As you can see, Tesco and Amazon are offering the cheapest deals. For those happy to pay a little extra for greater choice, DVDtoHome claim to have over twice as many DVDs in stock as any of the others.  

Many of the companies offer free trials, and although you do have to give your credit card details to take part, as long as you cancel within the time limit specified it won't cost you a thing. And by tailoring the package you choose to the number of films you'll actually be able to watch you can get quite good value for money.

For example, watching just one film a week with the Tesco one disc deal will work out at less than £2 each – and if you watch more each they'll work out even cheaper.

For those who like the idea of renting DVDs online but don't like the commitment of signing up to a deal, Blockbuster offers a 'Pay Per Rent' deal – you can pay £3.50 and hire a single film for 5 days.  

So if you're sick of the trips to the video store, or if you're stuck for ways to entertain the family over Easter, why not try ordering DVDs online?