THE day has come when movie buffs don't even have to leave home to rent the latest Hollywood blockbusters.
Mail-order and online DVD services have emerged as a convenient and inexpensive way for Australian audiences to get their dose of movie magic.
Movie rental stores, which charge anywhere up to $7.
50 for a new release, are facing stiff competition as the new services fight for the consumer dollar.
Established DVD letterbox operators such as Quickflix and BigPond Movies offer 20,000 titles and don't charge late fees , as movies can be kept for as long as you like.
With BigPond, a Telstra service, you can choose to have DVDs delivered by mail or downloaded to a home computer for a few dollars a film.
Chris Zipf, corporate affairs manager for Telstra in Queensland, says about the mail-order option: There's two versions of our pricing.
You can go on the program for 12 months starting on a plan price of $9.95 for four movies per month, or have no contract term starting at $14.
95 for four movies per month.
After watching a DVD, you return it in a post-paid envelope. The subscription fee depends on how many DVDs you plan to borrow in a month.
A movie buff who opts for 30 movies will pay $719.40 a year for BigPond members, $803.40 a year for non-members.
BigPond's licensing agreements include content from Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Brothers.
As a BigPond broadband member, you can download as many movies as you like and they don't count towards your monthly (internet) usage, Mr Zipf said.
We are trying to help people embrace the breadth and depth of living in an online world.
A recent Australian Film Corporation survey found that a new-release DVD costs $6.60 per night, on average.
Australia's first download-to-own movie service is offered by ReelTime, in partnership with Universal Pictures.
Buying a title gives the user access to three digital files.
One is for playing on a PC or laptop, the second for a Windows Play4Sure compatible device, and the third is used to burn the movie legally to a disc.
Prices for this service start at $14.
95, with new-release titles fetching up to $33.99. At present, the service is for Windows users only.
For those who prefer not to pay for DVD rental, check out the audiovisual section of local libraries.
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