Netflix vs Lovefilm: the cheapest way to watch films

by John Fitzsimons on 16 January 2012  |  14 comments
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Netflix has launched in the UK, offering a film-streaming rival to Lovefilm.

Almost everyone I know is a customer of Lovefilm, the postal and online film rental service now owned by Amazon.

That’s partly my fault – having been a customer for a couple of years, I regularly get sent gift cards offering family and friends a two-month free trial of the service. It’s a smart way for Lovefilm to expand their customer base, and I get to look generous without actually spending any money to boot. Perfect!

However, there’s a new player in town to consider, with this week’s launch of Netflix.

What is Netflix?

Netflix is well established in the US and Canada, and claims to have more than 20 million customers across 47 countries and territories.

The service makes use of your internet connection, streaming films and TV shows direct to your home. You can watch that content in a variety of ways, whether using your PC, streaming it onto your smartphone, or even straight onto your TV by making use of a games console, like a PS3 or Nintendo Wii.

For £5.99 a month, you can watch whatever content you like, whenever you like. You can even connect through Facebook so that your friends can see what you’re watching.

You can sign up for an initial month’s free trial to give the service a go too!

Films and shows available on Netflix

OK, I’ll be honest, my excitement at the launch of Netflix in the UK was pretty seriously dented when I saw the selection of films for subscribers. There isn’t much in the way of new releases – yes, there’s The Expendables and The Men Who Stare At Goats, but most of the line-up is dominated by films that are at least five years old.

I love Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey and Reservoir Dogs as much as the next guy, but I’ve got them on DVD already, and I doubt I’m alone.

There are plenty of classics though, from West Side Story and Brief Encounter to Some Like It Hot and Midnight Cowboy.

The TV selection is a little better with programmes like Breaking Bad and 24, as well as full seasons of British shows like The Inbetweeners and Torchwood. You can also catch up on old episodes of Top Gear, which will no doubt be a blow for the digital channel Dave.

The Lovefilm service

While I’ve long made use of Lovefilm’s postal service, I haven’t ever tried the online streaming service, Watch Online, which the site launched last year.

Pricewise, it appears pretty similar to the Netflix deal, in that you can make use of it so long as you are on a package costing at least £5.99 a month. You can watch the films on your computer, or on your TV via a Lovefilm-ready device. These include the PS3, Sony Bravia TVs (with internet video) and Samsung TVs. Check out this section of the Lovefilm website for more info on Lovefilm-ready devices.

If you're not already a Lovefilm customer and you haven't had a free trial in the past, you can opt for the streaming-only service, Lovefilm Instant. Lovefilm is currently offering a free 30-day trial to this. After the 30 days, you will pay £4.99 a month for an "introductory period", £1 cheaper than Netflix.

Or if you want physical DVDs as well as the option to stream, you can sign up for a free trial of that too. And if you sign up via Vouchercodes.co.uk, you can also get a free voucher, ranging from £20 off at M&S to £20 off at Amazon or £10 off at John Lewis.

The Lovefilm selection

There’s currently a little under 5,000 films available if you watch as part of a package or take the streaming-only service, and while they are not exactly the latest releases, they seem a lot more current than the Netflix selection. For example, Liam Neeson in Unknown and the black comedy Four Lions have just been added to the range.

However, there is also a pay-per-view offer, which features far more recent movies, including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Cars 2, Green Lantern and Final Destination 5, each for £3.49. There are also older films and TV series costing from £1.89.

It’s worth noting that the online library is still nowhere near as comprehensive as the physical DVD library, but Lovefilm’s selection of films still seems far more enticing to me than the current Netflix range.

Other options

There are some other pay-per-view services out there, all powered by a company called FilmFlex. HMV has hmv on-demand, Virgin Media has its own Movies On Demand and Film 4 has Film4OD. They all offer a fairly limited selection of films, in comparison to Lovefilm or Netflix, that you can stream online or offline. The cost ranges from 99p for an older film to £3.99 for a recent blockbuster like Cars 2.

The new way of watching movies

I’ve no doubt that in the coming months the selection of films and TV shows from Netflix will improve significantly, and we will then see a real battle between the firm and Lovefilm. However, the more important point in all of this is that streaming movies directly to our TVs is going to become an ever more mainstream thing to do.

At the moment, there are hoops to jump through – you need to have the right type of telly, or the right games console. However, it’s no coincidence that Roku TV adaptors are set to launch over here too.

Roku boxes plug directly into your TV, providing a platform for streaming content, making it a perfect fit alongside Netflix. Indeed, Roku boxes are already popular in the US for precisely this reason. The two boxes launching cost between £49.99 and £99.99, and you won’t have to pay any further charge after that.

What it means for your broadband

So you’ve decided which firm to stream films from, and whether to do it via a Roku box, internet-ready TV or games console.

The final thing to bear in mind is your broadband. It’s all well and good streaming a film every couple of nights, but what about the dent that will make into your broadband allowance? If you’re only on a package with a very small download ceiling, streaming films could see you smash through that limit, incurring additional charges along the way. So bear that in mind next time you shop around for broadband.

For a guide to the best deals in the market at the moment, be sure to read Your best broadband deals for 2012.

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