UK DVD & Blu-ray Rental Guide 2020
Surprisingly easily really. Your DVDs or Blu-rays arrive in prepaid envelopes making the potential difficult part a breeze so all that's left is to keep your favourites list up to date...
When we first wrote this DVD rental guide there were several websites offering to rent dvds online. Fast forward 10 years and that list is down to one! Cinema Paradiso is the sole survivor as more and more people move to streaming services like Netflix and Amazon. Thankfully Cinema Paradiso were always our favourites after using their service for several years.
Which completed an extensive study of Online DVD Rental Services when the competition was at its strongest with LoveFilm, Blockbuster & Tesco vying for top spot and gave Cinema Paradiso one of their top ratings of 87%. So if you still enjoy renting DVDs or Blu-rays by post sign up with Cinema Paradiso for a no-commitemnt 30 day trial.
Why Rent DVDs & Blu-rays online in the age of streaming media?
So why would anyone still want to rent DVDs online or receive Blu-rays by post when they can just stream everything? It's surprising how many films and TV shows aren't available to stream and are only accessible via DVD or Blu-ray. Not convinced? Search for a favourite title on JustWatch UK and check if it's available to stream. Obvioulsy most of the mainstream Hollywood releases are covered but there's some noticable gaps when you strat digging deeper.
Another big reason people still rent DVDs online instead of streaming is to enjoy the DVD extras, director's commentaries and bonus scenes. But perhaps the biggest reason is similar to the reasons that vinyl has refused to die. Some of us just prefer the physical object. Netflix doesn't allow us the rituals of enjoying the DVD artwork, reading the liner notes and discovering what might be uncovered in the extras. For these reasons we're pretty confident that renting DVDs & Blu-rays online will be around for some time to come.
Cinema Paradiso Which Report - 87%
The last man standing in online DVD rental services
With over 13 years in the online DVD rental business Cinema Paradiso know what they're doing. Have to say that these are the guys we've used the most and have no complaints from us. If you're looking for a strong selection of TV Series, Hollywood, arthouse and world cinema then look no further.
- Scored 87% in Which Report
- Over 90,000 DVD Titles
- Take out up to 3 DVDs at a time
- Unlimited and low use monthly plans
- No Late fees, keep as long as you want
- Free 1st Class Delivery & Return
This service has grown and now allows customers to have access to almost every DVD and Blu-ray available in the UK.
Lovefilm by Post Closed
Does big mean beautiful? In this case, yes.
Lovefilm (now owned by Amazon) is the by far the largest of the online DVD rental sites but thankfully it's also one of the easiest to use with an uncluttered and intuitive design. If getting a dvd in the post already seems too last century then there's an ever growing selection of digital downloads to buy or rent.
- Scored 82% in Which Report
- Over 65,000 DVD titles
- Take out up to 3 DVDs at a time
- UK's biggest film download site
- Light use or unlimited monthly plans
- No Late fees, keep as long as you want
- Free 1st Class Delivery & Return
If we were you we'd give them a try and bag the 3 month trial offer below to see for ourselves. Highly Recommended.
Amazon DVD Rental Closed
Lowest monthly price, 5% off DVD purchases.
The lower price plans at Amazon make this our great buy for anyone not wanting to commit to a high monthly fee and are happy with a new dvd every couple of weeks.
- Over 40,000 DVD Titles
- Up to 6 DVDs per month (3 at a time)
- 5% discount on Amazon DVD purchases
- No Late fees, keep as long as you want
- Free 1st Class Delivery & Return
If you buy the odd DVD box set at Amazon then your DVD rentals could pay for themselves in no time with the 10% discount off any DVDs for as long as you're a member.
Blockbuster Closed
The neighborhood store meets the interweb.
We'll be honest, we've often used the Blockbuster store round the corner but have yet to try the online version. So we'll just list the stats and erm, trust that Which got it right.
- Over 40,000 DVD Titles
- Take out up to 5 DVDs at a time
- Unlimited monthly plans
- No Late fees, keep as long as you want
- Free 1st Class Delivery & Return
Blockbuster DVD Rental comes with standard 14 day trial but you can double it up by using the promo code below.
WH Smith Movies Direct Closed
High Street DVDs powered by Lovefilm.
The familiar WH Smith brand teams up with Lovefilm to power it's dvd rental service. So no big surprises here, not as expansive as the Lovefilm site but a similar level of service.
- Scored 77% in Which Report - April 2007
- Over 40,000 DVD Titles
- Take out up to 6 DVDs at a time
- Unlimited and low use monthly plans
- No Late fees, keep as long as you want
- Free 1st Class Delivery & Return
Not much more to say other than you won't get the free trail if you've already used the Lovefilm trial.
Tesco DVD Rental Closed
Now changed to Lovefilm with some carrots.
Ok, so no carrots but they are powered by Lovefilm, we're pretty sure about that. Could be quicker with turnaround sometimes but a nicely designed site to set up your list that we found no problems using.
- Scored 73% in Which Report - April 2007
- Over 40,000 DVD Titles
- Take out up to 6 DVDs at a time
- Unlimited and low use monthly plans
- No Late fees, keep as long as you want
- Free 1st Class Delivery & Return
A low cost alternative to Lovefilm. As with Wh Smith, no free trial if you've already used the Lovefilm sign up offer.
