NetFlix or LoveFilm?

[Kaybeelon]

We had someone from Lovefilm (who have been b*ght by Amazon, they said) going door to door the other day offering 3 months trial for £9.99 and you can always have 2 dvds at home at any time (keep as long as you need and pop in the post when you are done) and watch online as much as you like. I decided to go for it and less than 36 hours later we had the first 2 films on our doormat. So far it sounds good and looks good but I have the suspicion that we may see all the films worth seeing in those 3 months in which case we will just cancel again (if anyone would like codes for cheaper trials we also can offer some).

[caitlinmorton]

Anyone have any updated ideas on this? Looking into getting either or both and wonder if its worth it or not, especially as I'm also considering getting Sky.

[RickyRaj]

This thread was started pre RickyRaj so I felt compelled to help out a damsel in distress, especially as she was kind to me in my hour of need wanting to see Pain and Gain.

IMHO I've only used LoveFilm and have recently taken up SKY (at my new place) so can't comment on the content although I understand TV box sets are part of the SKY package I have subscribed to - got it installed yeaterday so have not had a chance to explore all the features.

If you like DVD extras then Lovefilm might be a better option as I don't think you get these with Netflix or SKY. One nice feature with LoveFilm is you can change subscriptions on the fly so if you are planning to be away then you can pause/reduce your subscription or if you are at home a lot more then you can increase it. Another reason to consider LoveFilm is console games - I use to play Call of Duty a lot until my PS3 stopped playing dvds - it's now primarily a streaming device for LoveFilm and terrestial channels. Where I think LoveFilm falls short is the newer streaming content seems to be on Sky and Netflix sooner than on LoveFilm - you can still get newer content as a DVD. Think it's worth mentioning Blinkbox which fits nicely with LoveFilm as very recent releases can be instantly b*ght or rented without a subscription as well as TV shows.

[SOLACE]

Hi , here is my bit on this as I too have made some changes recently

After being a sky customer with the entire package (sports, movies, HD, Multiroom) for years and years I have recently given my 30 day notice to sky to cancel as I am moving over to Netflix and Lovefilm instead now. I MAY just keep the entertainment extra plus package with sky if they phone me and offer it to me half price (£16 instead of £32) as this is normally what they do when you cancel , however if they don't then i'm not too fussed as thinking back I never really made the most of sky anyway ! I never got the proper time to make the most of the sports channels at home, the games that are I wanted to watch were usually watched out with friends anyway, for movies there is netflix or lovefilm, and with the entertainment channels if i look back over the years most of the stuff I watch on TV is on the free channels anyway ! if I broke it down I was only p*ying the huge sum of money that sky demands for its packages for just Sky 1, comedy central and watch, everything else were either free channels or there are alternatives available, hardly worth the money at all !

So I will see how this pans out over the coming months and if anything I can always go back to sky if I end up regretting my decision (which i very much doubt)

Now the next question

Netflix or lovefilm

I have been using the free trails of them both over the past month via my PS3 and in fact my free trials will run out in a couple of days . My friends have sent me some codes for lovefilm that should extend the free trial for another couple months which is good as I havent really got a chance to check out lovefilm as much as netflix yet because i've spent whatever time i have had over the past month to watch tv watching breaking bad on netflix !!! I watched every single episode and netflix has been worth it just for that !

From what I have seen so far I think I prefer netflix than lovefilm for streaming, the HD seems to be much better too and sky have actually spoilt me now in that I can only really watch anything in HD now and anything else just isnt right and I probably wouldnt even watch it if it wasnt in HD. However i ordered some blu rays in the post from lovefilm (world war Z, Oblivion, Homeland season 1 (they could only send out disc 1 as I can only have 3 discs out at the same time) they arrived next day and i can keep them as long as I like, this is a a very good feature of lovefilm and I will explore this a lot more over the next couple of months. I think i will keep netflix in the meantime and p*y for it with a view to making another decision in a couple of months time when my lovefilm trial will run out as to what do going forward.

One thing i'm VERY dissapointed about it is that lovefilm NO LONGER offer the games rental service , I was looking forward to renting out some games (Assassins Creed, Arkham etc ) and that in itself would have been worth every penny for me . This has been a huge downer.

Thats my take on it so far :)

If I were you I would start by taking out the free trials of netflix and lovefilm first and seeing how you get on with them.

I also have a question to all those who have Netflix or Lovefilm

Will I get bored of netflix or lovefilm ? In terms of will I run out of stuff to watch ? as in this month it seems there has not been anything new added onto both of them ? I read that they add new stuff every Monday but I cant say that I have noticed !

[caitlinmorton]

Thanks guys! Once I know for sure if I'm staying and move into my new place I'll look more into the Sky thing, as I'd likely do it in a bundle with the internet.

As far as the Netflix and Lovefilm trials, I was thinking about starting those at the same time as doing Sky, but I might just start them now and see how I get on. At the moment, I don't have a TV (something I'd try to get if the visa comes through) but my laptops are more than capable. I'll look into it when I get home today, methinks. I remember staying at a friend's who has Netflix and I loved that it had the entire series of Torchwood, but was a little bit annoyed when my friend and I wanted to watch Friends With Benefits and they didn't have it! This was September 2012. My only experience with Lovefilm was my best friend had the DVD service, but this was years ago. I'll see about the trials. Though I don't particularly want both at once. Or do I?

[Joelang92]

You can get a month free trial plus £20 free Amazon voucher from LoveFilm at the moment. Although you only receive the free voucher once you've made your first subscription payment after the initial trial.

[SOLACE]

Thanks guys! Once I know for sure if I'm staying and move into my new place I'll look more into the Sky thing, as I'd likely do it in a bundle with the internet.

As far as the Netflix and Lovefilm trials, I was thinking about starting those at the same time as doing Sky, but I might just start them now and see how I get on. At the moment, I don't have a TV (something I'd try to get if the visa comes through) but my laptops are more than capable. I'll look into it when I get home today, methinks. I remember staying at a friend's who has Netflix and I loved that it had the entire series of Torchwood, but was a little bit annoyed when my friend and I wanted to watch Friends With Benefits and they didn't have it! This was September 2012. My only experience with Lovefilm was my best friend had the DVD service, but this was years ago. I'll see about the trials. Though I don't particularly want both at once. Or do I?

I think your right that you should do the trials one after the other rather than both at once , it will give you a chance to check them both out properly before deciding which one to stick with. I have also heard that if you cancel your nextflix after your month trial then they usually offer you an extension so I would go with netflix first , then cancel and go with lovefilm and in that time maybe netflix will also send you some codes for free months or just an extension. Its a shame about the timing now as only just a couple of weeks ago there was a Groupon available for lovefilm which was £10 for 6 months ! Bargain !

Also I would not considering getting sky at all just yet until your visa situation is sorted as sky will obviously tie you into a 12 month contract , and honestly after years of having sky I can say that its just not worth it nowadays , a freeview box (one off payment) is a much better option combined with either netflix or lovefilm as you get all the main channels with freeview anyway. Also with iplayer itv player 4od demand 5 etc you wont be stuck for anything to watch AND on top of that you get all your free cinema screenings and theatre ticks too !

Why p*y more on a monthly basis for something you probably wont even have time to watch and make the most of !

Thats just my input , however, the choice, as they say, is yours :)

[caitlinmorton]

I definitely won't be doing anything with Sky until after I have moved, and I won't be looking for a new place until I know my visa is sorted. We'll have to see how all that pans out.

Another question. If I end up with just a streaming service, but get a TV like I want, how fussy are they going to be with trying to make me p*y for a TV license? I hear those guys are pretty ruthless.

[SOLACE]

Short answer is YEP (and you are right they are very ruthless) as if you are getting a TV then you will probably be watching the channels too, however if you are definately not going to watch the channels and ONLY watch the catch up streams then you wont need a license

This link although for students should provide a bit more detail

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-y ... ents-aud1/

[caitlinmorton]

Came across this today on one of the deal pages on Facebook. If anyone else is considering streaming services...Lovefilm is running the trial again...and since the voucher can be redeemed any time between now and January, I could still get the free month trial as well!