# DVD-by-Mail Services are now a status symbol, it seems **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 26, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877 "2009-03-26T16:18:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/41 "2009-03-27T21:01:56Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > Let me get this straight. You order a dvd online and have it sent to your home through the post office? And you expect that it will actually arrive at your mail pickup spot without the postal person pocketing it? > Geez, you guys must have better postal service than the drunken crack addicts that Canada Post contracts to deliver our mail. I’ll have you know when ever I mail crack to Canada it always arrives undamaged and on time. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/42 "2009-03-27T21:09:45Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Blockbuster edits movies? Yes. For instance, a friend of mine was going on about the end of _Reqiuem for a Dream_ because I mentioned that I find Jennifer Connelly quite fetching. So I rent it from Blockbuster. Watch it. Fine movie, some nice stuff with Connelly, but nothing especially remarkable about the end. So I’m talking about this with my friend, and he says “You weren’t impressed with the double headed dildo scene?” “What double headed dildo scene?” I thought he was kidding, until I read about it elsewhere, and read about Blockbuster editing movies. Fuck that noise. I do Netflix, and I stream through my PS3. When I need to rent, I go to Family Video, where they not only don’t edit movies, but have a porn section. I am curious if Blockbuster still edits movies, and if they do this with their mail based service. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/43 "2009-03-27T21:11:56Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > > [@brad\_d](#): > > > > :eek: > > > > Maybe we got grandfathered in or something - we’re paying … ::checks:: … $21.64 per month (including tax) for BB’s 3-at-a-time plan. I think that plan was $17.99+tax when we started it, and the price has gone up once since then. ($19.99+tax? That looks about right…) > > > > No way in hell would I consider this plan worth $35 a month; if prices start to approach that level, we’re getting out. > > Yeah, another friend is still paying the price I used to have, but I’m guessing you guys just got in before they changed it. > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > I just checked the Blockbuster website. $35/month for unlimited DVDs through the mail and unlimited in-store movie exchanges. $20/month for unlimited DVDs through the mail and five free in-store exchanges. > > Right. I never said otherwise, but the fact still stands that limiting to 5 in store exchanges is . . . well, not a lot. Like I said, before, I had unlimited in store exchanges and three at a time for a whole lot less than $35. Them limiting the in store exchanges and raising their prices 40% (according to a bunch of sites I was searching through) just is bad business to me. So, Netflix I go to. But perhaps brad\_d is paying 20-something bucks for the five-in-store-exchange plan. ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/44 "2009-03-27T23:30:58Z")
Unless something has changed in the recent past, Blockbuster won’t carry NC-17 or unrated films. So, for films like _Requiem for a Dream_, the version that you’ll find at Blockbuster is an R-rated version, with the NC-17 stuff edited out. I had a similar experience several years ago with _The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover_–I’d seen the unedited, NC-17 version previously, and noticed the Blockbuster version left out several of the more graphic scenes. I don’t know exactly WHO does the editing–I seem to recall that some movie studios will release these R-rated versions of NC-17 films precisely because companies like Wal-Mart and Blockbuster won’t carry them otherwise. So, it may not be entirely accurate to say that Blockbuster edits the films themselves–but it is true (or has been) that they only carry edited versions of such films. That’s why I abandoned Blockbuster ages ago, and today am devoted to Netflix. If your choice of films are never NC-17, then you may not have a problem with Blockbuster. It’s just something to be aware of, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/45 "2009-03-28T00:36:16Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Yes. For instance, a friend of mine was going on about the end of _Reqiuem for a Dream_ because I mentioned that I find Jennifer Connelly quite fetching. > > So I rent it from Blockbuster. Watch it. Fine movie, some nice stuff with Connelly, but nothing especially remarkable about the end. > So I’m talking about this with my friend, and he says “You weren’t impressed with the double headed dildo scene?” > > “What double headed dildo scene?” I thought he was kidding, until I read about it elsewhere, and read about Blockbuster editing movies. > > Fuck that noise. I do Netflix, and I stream through my PS3. When I need to rent, I go to Family Video, where they not only don’t edit movies, but have a porn section. > > I am curious if Blockbuster still edits movies, and if they do this with their mail based service. I rented Requiem for a Dream through BB Online and I got the double-ended dildo scene. Dunno why you got an edited one. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/46 "2009-03-28T01:45:17Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > I rented Requiem for a Dream through BB Online and I got the double-ended dildo scene. Dunno why you got an edited one. Probably because of this: > [@](#): > > **It is true that Blockbuster does not carry movies that the Motion Picture Association of America has rated NC-17; this is a long-standing Blockbuster policy, Cannizzaro says. Blockbuster does carry some unrated films, but only those that the company has determined would not have received an NC-17 rating had the MPAA rated them.** Thus even though they weren’t rated, you won’t find John Cameron Mitchell’s “Shortbus,” Michael Winterbottom’s “9 Songs,” nor, of course, Kirby Dick’s “This Film Is Not Yet Rated” at Blockbuster. > > Netflix, meanwhile, does carry both NC-17 and unrated movies. If this is important to you – it is to me – choose Netflix. Bolding mine. [http://machinist.salon.com/blog/2007/08/29/blockbuster\_redux/index.html](http://machinist.salon.com/blog/2007/08/29/blockbuster_redux/index.html) Maybe they changed their policy because they realized that it was asinine. Or maybe you got lucky. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/47 "2009-03-28T02:14:51Z")
I am with Netflix because of the price, selection, and lack of censorship of bawdier titles (I liked Shortbus, for example). However, I thought I’d never use the streaming feature and now I use it all. the. time. Streaming on Netflix and Hulu combined have taken over 100% of my watching; I moved a month ago and I still haven’t hooked up my TV, which I used mostly for receiving the Netflix discs. I put Netflix down to one disc a month and just watch what’s available on streaming. More power to you if it’s not what you’re looking for, but I think streaming is the future. It’s so convenient to be able to pull up a big library and find something to watch; I find that it allows me to try things I otherwise wouldn’t have committed to getting on disc. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/48 "2009-03-28T02:20:52Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > As opposed to Block Buster which works with his dvd player without any extra costs/clogged internet lines. Netflix streaming doesn’t cost extra. They also have DVDs. The clogged internets tubes can be fixed by emailing Netflix some Internet-Strength Digital Drano. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/49 "2009-03-28T02:42:16Z")
> [@yoyodyne](#): > > > [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > > > > [@yoyodyne](#): > > > > > > There is a Netflix [streaming box](http://www.amazon.com/Roku-Digital-Video-Player/dp/B001PIBE8I?tag=lword1-20&gclid=CNDg_6rrwZkCFUJM5QodRXTRtQ) that should work with your TV if you have high-speed internet. And $100. > > > > As opposed to Block Buster which works with his dvd player without any extra costs/clogged internet lines. > > Netflix streaming doesn’t cost extra. They also have DVDs. The clogged internets tubes can be fixed by emailing Netflix some Internet-Strength Digital Drano. So you going to give him the streaming box for free yourself or did you mean $100 in monopoly money? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Krebbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@Mr.Krebbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Krebbs)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/50 "2009-03-28T16:47:03Z")
**Jester** , my friend, the golden era of Blockbuster Online is over. It used to be that the chain store computers only told whoever ships you movies when the enveloped DVDs were returned to the store. In these days, your DVD came whether you returned your store rental or not. No longer. Now the chain store tells the shipper exactly what you rented and the bastard that ships movies will hold your envelope hostage until you take the store’s copy back. Two weeks ago, I was extremely confused as to why they were refusing to send me movies (I previously returned store copies when I had another movie to trade in). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Krebbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@Mr.Krebbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Krebbs)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/51 "2009-03-28T16:54:00Z")
Missed the edit window. Yeah, I still have an account with Blockbuster. Be warned: “Very Long Wait” means a wait on the scale of waiting for Mt. Helen’s to explode again (I’ve had one in my queue for over a year; gave up on the others). It’s only significantly worse than Netflix in this respect, if you have a BB close by, BB is the better option. I also had Netflix for around a year (Summer '07-October '07). Note that I don’t watch movies on my PC. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/52 "2009-03-28T20:46:47Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > So you going to give him the streaming box for free yourself or did you mean $100 in monopoly money? If he doesn’t want to spend the money for the box he doesn’t have to. If he doesn’t have high-speed internet he doesn’t have to. If he doesn’t want to stream to his computer he doesn’t have to. It’s a free option that Netflix has and BB doesn’t. If you want to ignore a feature Netflix has that many people do enjoy and makes it that much better than BB, fine. Netflix is still better than BB just for DVD rental. ---
**Author:** ![pricciar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@pricciar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pricciar)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/53 "2009-03-28T21:49:56Z")
> [@yoyodyne](#): > > If you want to ignore a feature Netflix has that many people do enjoy and makes it that much better than BB, fine. Netflix is still better than BB just for DVD rental. I don’t know where you are coming from here. The OP said > [@](#): > > # Netflix streaming isn’t really a big sell for me, since I can’t stream to my TV (if I wanted to watch movies on my laptop, I’d use iTunes). He obviously did not ignore the feature. He said he wasn’t interested in it. And, for him, it didn’t make the service any better. Netflix might be better for some people,but for Jester BB was the better choice since he could drop the movies off at the store and pick up a movie there, as well. He didn’t say it was better overall. Or better for everyone. He said it was better for him. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/54 "2009-03-29T22:43:28Z")
I went with Netflix first, and after awhile BB tempted me to try them. They sounded great! I tried them for all the reasons in the OP. What they promised and what they delivered was beyond a joke, it was just atrocious. Half my DVDs arrived broken, half were wrong, and 9/10ths of the discs in my queue would just sit there saying “available now.” Except after a couple weeks of no discs I finally figured out “available now” means “not available now, add 100 more obscure movies you don’t really want to watch to your queue because those probably are available.” I went crawling back to Netflix, kissed its feet and begged forgiveness. I’ll never cheat on you again! ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/55 "2009-03-30T00:49:53Z")
> [@pricciar](#): > > I don’t know where you are coming from here. The OP said I was replying to **The Tao’s Revenge** , not the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/56 "2009-03-30T01:08:45Z")
It’s so simple for me. The nearest video store is 10 miles away and carries only 68 titles. (That’s two gladiator movies of 34 copies each.) The nearest Blockbuster is 50 miles away. The mailbox is 100 feet away. You do the math. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/57 "2009-03-30T03:21:34Z")
> [@yoyodyne](#): > > I was replying to **The Tao’s Revenge** , not the OP. And I was talking about what the OP said. Dude already has a DVD player so watching DVDs on his TV is free where as getting a box to stream to his TV costs $100. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/58 "2009-03-30T15:24:36Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > And I was talking about what the OP said. Dude already has a DVD player so watching DVDs on his TV is free where as getting a box to stream to his TV costs $100. Neither Netfilx nor BB is free to watch DVDs. The OP said it was impossible to watch Nexflix streaming on his old TV. I pointed out that it was possible if he bought the box. I didn’t say he had to, just that it was an option. An option that would give him more reason to go with Netflix should he decide to buy the box. I use the streaming all the time and it doesn’t cost me any extra. You seem to think that the streaming costs more and is worthless. Neither is true for me. For the OP an initial $100 investment would let him stream. That decision is his to make. ---
**Author:** ![Jester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jester/32/8223_2.png) [@Jester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jester)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/59 "2009-03-30T16:49:40Z")
**yoyodyne** , if I had an extra hundred bucks to spare, it would’ve been put towards something else more useful to me, like beer. Or perhaps a mango juicer. I have no doubt that I’d enjoy streaming and all, but given the small amount of free time I have in the evenings, it’s pretty easy to anticipate the nights when I’ll actually want to/be able to watch a movie, and adjust the queue accordingly. Real, true, honest-to-God vegging out time is about as sparse in my life as is money these days (which is also the reason I don’t have cable, alas alack). First round of movies came this weekend, and were in spotless condition. A day early, even. _Sukiyaki Wester Django_ was fantastic, and I’m much looking forward to _Blood Simple_ this evening. Hooray for delivery of out-there genre flicks. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877/60 "2009-03-30T18:49:18Z")
Well, for my previous lauding of Netflix, they just told me that they’re increasing their surcharge to allow me to get Blu-Ray flicks from $1 to $4 meaning that my $16.99 “3 at a time” plan is now really a $20.99 plan. Fuck that noise. I suppose I’ll have to, at least, trim down the number of movies I receive. Too bad because I enjoyed the flexibility of the 3-plan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-by-mail-services-are-now-a-status-symbol-it-seems/490877.md?page=4)