Buying 4K UHD Blu-ray movies can get expensive. If you are trying to build up a nice library of movies it can tax the wallet. I’ve supplemented my collection with used buys at the local thrift stores and borrowing movies from the library but for those nagging titles I need to “complete” my collection, I’ve resorted to renting and ripping.
Fortunately there are several services that provide good old fashioned, original discs by mail services. Two of them are GameFly and Choovie. I’ve been testing them out and here is what I’ve found so far.
GameFly
- GameFly is primarily a gaming rental service but they do have a selection of Blu-rays and 4K movies.
- One at a time service. Receive disk, watch, send back, next movie in your queue is sent.
- Less of a selection and most of the movies in my que are classified as “low inventory”
- Free 30 day trial.
- Signed up for free trial on May 22nd. First movie shipped May 24. Movie received May 30th. Returned May 30th. Next shipment mailed on June 3rd before return shipment received on June 4th. This one never arrived. Reported and they sent a replacement which arrived on Jun 17th.
- $16.95 per month for one at a time. $23 for two out at a time.
- GameFly doesn’t charge late fees. This is a significant advantage over traditional rental services. You can keep a game for as long as you want without incurring extra charges. For movies this might not be much of an advantage.
- GameFly
Choovie
- Choovie is focused on movies and shows instead of games. They offer a wider range of films and include lots of titles from boutique publishers like Arrow, Criterion Collection, Shout, and Vinegar Syndrome.
- You choose your membership level – 4, 8, 12 etc. movies a month and they are sent in batches – either once a month or twice a month depending on the membership level you choose.
- You manage your movie queue then when you’re ready to order, just move the discs you want to receive into your cart and proceed to checkout.
- Signed up on May 23. First batch of movies shipped on May 24. USPS lost it and then found it on May 28th. Movies received on June 4th. Shipped back June 6th.
- https://www.choovierentals.com/
- Starting at 4 movies a month for $18 up to 16 movies a month for $58.
Conclusion
Overall I like Choovie’s service better than GameFly for movies and particularly 4K and boutique releases. With GameFly I have to watch my queue closely as the top movie in the queue will be sent next. Also, to maximize the service you have to turnaround the movie as soon as possible and since it took six days to receive my first movie, I doubt I’ll be able to rent more than 2 movies for monthly subscription price.
Choovie gives one more control of which movies you’ll receive in the batch and you have all month to watch them. You can’t “game” the system with a faster turnaround but at least you know how many movies a month you are actually going to get.
So Choovie has a better selection for movie only people and a more laid back return system. Less trips to the post office since a month’s worth of movies come in a batch.
Choovie offers:
- More selection of boutique titles
- More control over selections
- Batch mailing for less trips to the post office\
- Less concern about the slow mail system
- You know exactly what you are paying for with the subscription plans