I've tried Netflix and Blockbuster online before the new Total Access. Apparently they are claiming you can bring in your sealed blockbuster online movies to the store and get videos from the store now too.

But my question is what happens next? Can you return those back to the store and just keep exchanging from the store essentially bypassing mailing it back? Or do you have the wait for the next batch to come in via postal mail. Very confused.

2/10/2007 12:31:01 AM

I turn my movies in at the store. It is considered mailed in and your online queue will be shipped the next business day. So it tons of movies.

2/10/2007 12:37:12 AM

yes, it's great. There are a couple threads about this in Entertainment already.

but everything they claim is true. It's perfect if you happen to live close to a store, or pass by one on the way to work or something.

here's the deal. You make an online queue, just like netflix, and they mail dvds to you in an envelope, that includes a return envelope. You can mail that back if you want (again just like netflix) and they'll mail you another one from your queue when they receive it.
Alternatively, you can take your envelopes into a store and exchange each one for an in-store movie - completely free. You walk in with an envelope (or 2, 3, etc), pick out some movies in the store, go to the register, give them your envelopes, and you leave with one movie for each envelope you bring in. Then, when they check your envelopes in at the store, the central distribution center goes ahead and mails out more on your queue.

You can really rack up movies this way. Say you get 3 movies in the mail on monday. You could, theoretically, burn or copy watch all those DVDs, then take them into a store on tuesday and get 3 in-store DVDs. You could copy watch those and take them back to the store whenever you want. In the meantime, the distribution center will go ahead and ship you 3 more, maybe on wednesday or thursday, and you could get them on friday. Then when you're done, you take those 3 back to the store and get 3 more in-store rentals. repeat, until you realize you've completely run out of movies you want to watch, and all the copied DVDs are just sitting there.....

also, you can print off a coupon from online to get an additional free in-store rental once a month. So once a month, if you bring in your 3 envelopes plus the printed coupon, you can walk out with 4 dvds.

[Edited on February 10, 2007 at 12:40 AM. Reason : .]

2/10/2007 12:39:14 AM

this thread has been locked by mpaa.gov

2/10/2007 12:47:32 AM

^^ so it sounds like i can't return the instore ones back instore and get more instore...
so how fast does the store mail them back....aren't i at their mercy?

i see the benefit of returning it to the store...which is i get more movies in the meantime while waiting for the ones to ship via mail but does it slow down the process?

2/10/2007 2:39:30 AM

^BB is supposed to count them as returned to the center when you return them instore. So they should send it out that same or the next day. You aren't stuck waiting for the store to mail it in at their own pace.

NetFlix is countering this now. They have a system that they are putting in place whereby you can watch movies online, instantly. The library is far from complete yet, but it is a damn good start. You get the number of hours you can watch a month based on your current plan. For every dollar of your plan, you get an hour a month of viewing time. It only counts the time that the movie is playing, so if you pause or fast forward, then it does not count that time that you skipped over or were not actually watching.

I have already watched Zoolander on this and love it. This was about the only way that NetFlix could really trump Blockbuster Total Access. Now who the fuck needs to go to a store? I can sit in my damn house and watch more movies if I want.

[Edited on February 10, 2007 at 9:20 AM. Reason : ]

2/10/2007 9:19:39 AM

i have one out at a time and with the instore thing i get 5 movies a week for 8 bux. the ecoupon can be used on a game or a movie.

2/10/2007 10:50:49 AM

there is something called vongo as well i believe that lets u play movies online streamed to your computer

2/10/2007 12:05:34 PM

Does BB Total Access have the large selection that NetFlix does?

2/10/2007 1:33:52 PM

i don't know the numbers, but let's just say they have "enough", for 99% of people. A lot of people like to claim one way or another that Netflix has more independant films, more old films, more foreign, etc. I think that may be true, but seriously, most people never watch those movies anyway. Unless you're really looking for the seriously obscure movies, they'll probably have it.

2/10/2007 2:04:18 PM

Quote :

"They have a system that they are putting in place whereby you can watch movies online, instantly."

Quote :

"Now who the fuck needs to go to a store? I can sit in my damn house and watch more movies if I want."

That's nice if you don't mind watching movies on your computer or have video out and your computer is near your tv. For most people that's not comparable to actually having the dvd.

Quote :

"Does BB Total Access have the large selection that NetFlix does?"

if you go to blockbuster.com you can browse and search for movies if you'd like to compare.

I've never had any problems finding something I want to see from blockbuster. As far as turning the movies in at the store, I usually have the next movies in my queue within 2 days. Keep in mind that I'm turning them in at night typically, so really a day and a half. And i've had them next day when I've turned them in during the day.

and as someone said, you can rent games or movies with the blockbuster coupon they send to your email every month.

Right now I'm very happy with BB, but I'm planning to build a DVR from an old computer so when that time comes I'll look into the netflix thing a little more just to cut out going to the store.

2/10/2007 3:00:14 PM

Quote :

"^^ so it sounds like i can't return the instore ones back instore and get more instore... so how fast does the store mail them back....aren't i at their mercy? i see the benefit of returning it to the store...which is i get more movies in the meantime while waiting for the ones to ship via mail but does it slow down the process?"

To answer your questions, no you cannot exchange the movie you got in-store for another movie in-store.

BUT, when you exchange your mailed movie for an in-store movie, BB immediately sends the next movie in your queue, so you are not at the mercy of the store to send in your mailed movies. The process is actually much faster than mailing a movie, waiting 1-2 days for them to receive it, them shipping a movie, you waiting 1-2 days to receive it.

2/11/2007 10:29:30 AM

If anyone wants to try it out, this code should be good for a free 4-week trial (two more than you'd normally get from registering in-store).

http://www.blockbuster.com/bbfamily and enter the code 1795ta

2/11/2007 10:47:01 AM

back in my day when you wanted to watch a movie put on your ridin clothes and drove to the blockbuster, rented something, came back and watched it, later on you would return it to the store.

2/11/2007 2:11:14 PM

bttt

11/13/2008 10:47:27 PM

come on, if you're gonna lock the other thread then at least put my original post in this one. and if it doesn't go in the lounge then somebody tell me where.

Quote :

"so found out the hard way tonight that Blockbuster changed how they calculate your allotment of in-store rentals for the month...it is now based on your BILLING CYCLE instead of the actual calendar month. naturally, they didn't feel the need to tell this to the customer. so i basically got screwed out an in-store rental for November. i didn't pay the "discounted" fee for an in-store rental since it should've been free. has anyone else with the Total Access deal run into this yet?"

11/13/2008 10:59:32 PM

They really neutered the service to the point where it doesn't even seem like the Blockbuster Total Access that currently exists could possibly be the same service they have now.

It's ridiculous.

11/14/2008 12:21:37 AM

^yeah, i went with netflix when they reduced the total access from unlimited in-store exchanges to only 1 per month.

Now that I am with netflix, I realize how much better it is in every facet of the service.

11/14/2008 8:40:40 AM

^ same here.
It was a really great service, at least for the consumer. I imagine Blockbuster was losing money like crazy over it, though.
But when they started putting up more and more restrictions, and then when i started having trouble finding anything in the store worth watching, i switched to Netflix also

11/14/2008 8:47:33 AM

i didn't really mind the price hike, it was insane cheap when they first started it. but i switched to the to the single DVD out at a time + 2 free in-store rentals/mo for $11.99. it was great because not only did you get the two in-store rentals, but you can return the mailed DVD in the store (even if you were not exchanging for an in-store movie) and that counts as being "checked in," so they immediately mail the next one. Even with only one out at a time, I can still get through two mailed DVD's a week, plus the in-store rentals...could really clean up if I wanted to.

The downside to Blockbuster is the customer service - I don't think I've ever dealt with a company with worse. I can't tell if it is blatant disregard for the customer, or they are just utterly clueless. And this changing how they calculate monthly rentals without bothering to tell us...I am probably done with them after this.

11/14/2008 7:44:05 PM

I second that block buster gives you no communication and has shit customer service. I had their cheapest plan, back when, it was something like $5 a month and it was 1 out at a time, 2 per month + exchanges. It was great, but then they started hiking their prices. Eventually they hiked mine to about $10 / month. I didn't mind paying more, as I could imagine how they were actually making money at $5 a month, but they never sent any notice that the price was going up, they just upped it one month. Even that wouldn't have been so horrible, as of course their TOS allowed them to do that, what bugged the crap out of me was that for the previous 6 months before they upped the rate, they kept sending me emails saying "Our prices are going up for new members, but don't worry, your plan is staying the same!".

When I canceled and wrote an email of complaint, I got a form response back that essentially said "Thanks for your complaint, if you want, you can send it to our executive relations team, but no one will reply" (read, no one will read it)

11/14/2008 8:21:27 PM

Quote :

"And this changing how they calculate monthly rentals without bothering to tell us...I am probably done with them after this."

I got an e-mail about it well before the change happened. Are you sure the e-mail address on the account is one you check?

I have the 2 at a time/3 exchanges per month plan and I haven't had any issues. Well I did have one issue with an exchanged DVD but that was the store's fault, and they aren't actually connected with the online part.

11/14/2008 8:38:38 PM

^you got an email? when did they send this? I regularly get their emails because I have it set so to receive an email when they receive and ship new movies. And it's funny you mention that the store has no connection with the online part...when i told the kid what was happening he looked at me like I was speaking Greek. He told me that the online rentals are like a completely different store and that I would have to sort it out with them. How much sense does that make?? And they flat out refused to give me a free rental. What a great company.

11/14/2008 9:08:58 PM

I got it a month ago. So I guess it wasn't "well before" but it was still before they changed it. And it's a little annoying that the online and in-store parts are separate, but it's not the end of the world. I like being able to go to the store and exchange them.

11/15/2008 3:49:05 PM

i like it

11/17/2008 10:40:37 AM

i like it too, and my complaint got me two free coupons so i'll stick around for now. but the bottom line is that they are a poorly run company, one that manages to lose money and alienate consumers at the same time. we'll all probably have to switch to Netflix (or hopefully some other form of competition) in the future when Blockbuster goes out of business.

11/17/2008 10:51:07 AM

i've never had a problem with them

11/17/2008 11:07:54 AM