A few months ago, I was at the pub talking to a buddy about films. It transpired that we enjoyed the same types of film and the conversation continued in this vein. It was around then that he told me about a service he was using called LOVEFiLM. LOVEFiLM was something I had definitely come across before, but to me it seemed overcomplex, so I made him answer a few questions for me about how the service worked. I was pleasantly surprised - a lot of the negative things I held to be true simply weren’t. I’ll go ahead and list the things I learned. Before I do that, though I’ll give a quick run-through of how it works, for those of you who aren’t familiar with LOVEFiLM. Some of you won’t need to read the next paragraph, so by all means skip forward. Hopefully you can make use of the LOVEFiLM free trial available at the foot of this page.
How does it work?
In short, you create an account, select a package type - I’ll explain those shortly - and then you can start borrowing movies. Choose a film (or films), and they’ll get posted to you. When you’ve seen them, simply pop them back in the post and select more. Great idea, don’t you think? If, like me, you have more questions about how it all works, read on, and hopefully I can answer them for you.
What’s the film selection like?
I’m not sure why, but I believed that their selection would be small and I wouldn’t be able to find what I wanted. My friend said that he actually found it hard to find movies they didn’t have. My subsequent research has told me that, indeed, they hold over 67,000 movies, so the issue of choice isn’t really a problem.
Can I borrow Blu-rays?
For those of you with Blu-ray players, you’ll be happy to hear that you can also rent Blu-ray discs.
How long do I have to wait for the film(s) to arrive?
My friend told me that they usually arrived the day after he ordered them, or the day after that, depending on the time that he placed the order. After some investigation, I discovered that movies are sent first class and so should be with you very quickly. This is not bad at all.
Do their packages fit through letterboxes?
The movies are all packaged very minimally (picture a DVD inside a DVD-sized envelope), so if you can receive letters, you can receive these.
But what if I don’t get the chance to see the films?
This did make me slightly nervous, but it’s something they have under control. You can keep hold of movies for as long as it takes for you to watch them - just send them back when you’re finished. LOVEFiLM won’t charge an extra penny no matter how long you keep the films for.
What’s the postage cost for returning movies?
I was trying to factor in postage into everything, so that I could come up with a fair overall cost, however it turns out they’re one step ahead of me (again). You post the films back in the prepaid envelopes that they give you.
How many movies can I borrow at a time, and how many can I borrow over the course of a month?
From this point on, things are (slightly) more complex. LOVEFiLM have a range of plans to suit anyone from a light user to a film buff. The simple answer here is that you can borrow from 1 to 3 movies at a time, and, while light users can only borrow 2 movies per month, users at the other end of the scale can borrow as many as they like - it’s truly unlimited. Of course the package costs reflect this, but as they range from £3.99 per month to £15.99 per month, there should be something for everyone in there.
What if I decide it’s not for me?
Well, there’s no contract, so if you do decide that you want to cancel, this promises to be a painless process.
Ok, I’m interested now. Are there any other services they provide?
But LOVEFiLM haven’t stopped there - there’s a bit more to their service, which I will to elaborate on now.
Film shop
If you fancy keeping a film forever, you have the option of buying a copy from LOVEFiLM too. Films can be purchased new or formerly rented. The brand new films are sold at decent enough prices, but the ex-rental items are the ones that represent the best value.
Watch online
Users who enjoy watching f ilms on their PCs will no doubt love this part of the site. Some films are pay-per-view but there are also a selection of totally free ones. They even have a few movies that you can watch online without even needing to sign up with them, so you could potentially try this without even minimal commitment. They have only recently started allowing users to see movies via their website, and so this is a part of their site that will improve a lot in the future.
TV series’
They don’t just have movies; you can borrow TV shows too.
Video games
If you’re into gaming, there is also a good set to choose from (these do exclude PC games - probably for piracy reasons). They have games for PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii, DS and Gamecube. For any gamers out there, if you remember the fact that you can borrow these for as long as you like, this really does represent a great service - you won’t feel rushed to complete any of these games! The video games packages do cost more (from £9.99 to £18.99 per month) but I think this still represents good value.
Conclusion
I had been convinced to give them a try after chatting with my buddy, and so I registered. I didn’t have long to wait for the packages to arrive, and returning them was a trivial task. I found that the month’s free trial was a fantastic way to get to know the service. Renting games is handled in the same way as movies, so it’s a very simple and easy thing to do.
Can I recommend the service? I have to say, the answer is, ‘yes’! I think anyone trying it out will definitely see how easy they’ve made it. It is such a great system that I wish I’d tried it sooner. I’m looking forward to picking my next movies already!
If you feel like trying out their service, check out this LOVEFiLM promo code - at the moment you can get a 30 day free trial, among other things. Enjoy!
Technorati Tags: lovefilm discount code, lovefilm free trial, lovefilm promo code, lovefilm voucher code
Tags: lovefilm discount code, lovefilm free trial, lovefilm promo code, lovefilm voucher code