
Not one to just sit around and be outdone by Netflix as it gains customers through Xbox 360, and their recently revealed Rokum– Blockbuster has stepped into the “battle of the boxes” ring.
Yesterday, Blockbuster started selling their MeidaPoint box which, like the aforementioned services, will send movies through your internet connection straight onto your television screen. Unlike Netflix, this new service from Blockbuster does not charge a monthly subscription, but instead will cost the buyer an initial $99 for the box plus between $1.99 and $3.99 to rent a “DVD”. The box comes with 25 pre-paid movies (thus the $99 price tag) and holds up to 5 full length movies, which must be viewed within 24-hours of downloading.
Netflix’s box also costs $99, plus your monthly subscription; however, the biggest selling point for Netflix is that you can rent up to 10,000 movies through their box, unlike Blockbuster’s 2500 “of the best, biggest and most current movies available”. The difference between the two that may sway you one way or the other though, has to do with the quality and speed differences of the services.
Blockbuster’s MediaPoint box does “progressive playback” instead of streaming, which means that it is downloaded onto the box. With Netflicks streaming service, the video quality is not independent of your broadband’s connection therefore quality may be decreased if your internet connection is slow.
So, on the one hand you can get more movies via Netflix, but better quality through Blockbuster. The choice will mostly boil down to having a fast internet connection. Depending on who your service provider is and where you live, that could be the deciding factor for you. However, if you already own an Xbox 360–both of these products would be a waste of money for you now that you can get Netflix through your console.
Any way you look at it though, it appears as if the days of driving to the video store and trying to find something to watch are eventually going to become a thing of the past. That in itself is a good thing. Convenience and product availability is what matters in the long run, and the old fashioned video store just can not keep up any longer.
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