Is RedBox the new Red Envelope?.....
April 18, 2023 2:08 PM Subscribe
For reasons of cost, convenience, and access, I have been using Netflix's DVD service to get the vast majority of films for my movie blog. But I've just learned that come the end of September, Netflix is ending the DVD program. Please help me replace it! (And please, PLEASE read my conditions inside....)
Let me say up front: I am very, very much aware of the many streaming services out there. But many of the films I need are not available on any streaming services; in many cases, a DVD is the only way I can get them. I also don't have anywhere near the budget to buy all the DVDs I need, or to sign up for every last streaming service just to cover all the bases.
Ideally, then, I'd like to find another DVD-rental service like Netflix, with at least a similar range of films. Not that I could get everything on Netflix anyway - but I could still get a whole fuckton.
Options I've considered (and in some cases why they won't work):
* I keep seeing ads for Mubi, but I get the impression that it's a crapshoot when you have access to things so I am not sure that'd work.
* I know Kanopy exists, but my library doesn't work with it. If there's a way to access Kanopy WITHOUT having your library involved, I'm all ears, but if not this isn't an option.
* I could probably work with the Criterion service and get a whole lot that way - but how much is that, anyone know?
* Are there any BUDGET-FRIENDLY streaming services that have a big-ass selection of both classics and rare shit, as well as the popular stuff? I need to be able to jump from THE FRENCH CONNECTION and KLUTE to obscure Czech stuff from the 70s.
* I plan on keeping Netflix streaming, and renting the occasional thing to stream on Amazon Prime - would adding just Criterion streaming do the trick, maybe?
....I'm also going to ask my much more tech-and-media-savvy roommate to teach me how to torrent stuff sometime in September before this goes down, but I'd like to do that only as a last resort. I'm trying to cover all the bases here.
Let me say up front: I am very, very much aware of the many streaming services out there. But many of the films I need are not available on any streaming services; in many cases, a DVD is the only way I can get them. I also don't have anywhere near the budget to buy all the DVDs I need, or to sign up for every last streaming service just to cover all the bases.
Ideally, then, I'd like to find another DVD-rental service like Netflix, with at least a similar range of films. Not that I could get everything on Netflix anyway - but I could still get a whole fuckton.
Options I've considered (and in some cases why they won't work):
* I keep seeing ads for Mubi, but I get the impression that it's a crapshoot when you have access to things so I am not sure that'd work.
* I know Kanopy exists, but my library doesn't work with it. If there's a way to access Kanopy WITHOUT having your library involved, I'm all ears, but if not this isn't an option.
* I could probably work with the Criterion service and get a whole lot that way - but how much is that, anyone know?
* Are there any BUDGET-FRIENDLY streaming services that have a big-ass selection of both classics and rare shit, as well as the popular stuff? I need to be able to jump from THE FRENCH CONNECTION and KLUTE to obscure Czech stuff from the 70s.
* I plan on keeping Netflix streaming, and renting the occasional thing to stream on Amazon Prime - would adding just Criterion streaming do the trick, maybe?
....I'm also going to ask my much more tech-and-media-savvy roommate to teach me how to torrent stuff sometime in September before this goes down, but I'd like to do that only as a last resort. I'm trying to cover all the bases here.
Best answer: DVD rental from the library would be my go-to. Caveat: sometimes people don’t treat them well. Hoopla is another service that might be worth looking at.
posted by amanda at 2:26 PM on April 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by amanda at 2:26 PM on April 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
Best answer: I would contact the fine people of Scarecrow Video. Apparently they have a sort of open trial going of a rent by mail system, too, but the folks working there will probably have other good suggestions for you.
posted by Mizu at 2:26 PM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Mizu at 2:26 PM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
This is probably too obvious and may not be right for your area but as one avenue to explore, does your library have a good collection of DVDs? Or do you have access through inter-library system loans to access larger collections?
Relatedly: do any of the university libraries near you have good film collections? And, if they do, can you get some kind of "community access" library card or reciprocal access there? (Sometimes this is possible, sometimes not at all.)
posted by Dip Flash at 2:27 PM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Relatedly: do any of the university libraries near you have good film collections? And, if they do, can you get some kind of "community access" library card or reciprocal access there? (Sometimes this is possible, sometimes not at all.)
posted by Dip Flash at 2:27 PM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Here in Chicago the Facets Cinema center offers DVD rental of international and art films; does Angelika Film Center in NYC or another cultural organization have movie rentals and/or streaming?
posted by sencha at 2:28 PM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by sencha at 2:28 PM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The Vidiots Foundation is re-opening their video rental business in LA this June and if they don’t do rentals via the mail, they’ll know someone in your area who can help. They specialize in obscure movies!
posted by corey flood at 2:28 PM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by corey flood at 2:28 PM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Others have beaten me to it- local and university libraries. The university libraries will be more likely to have hard-to-find dvds that students need for film classes. And regular neighborhood libraries often have loan programs from those universities.
posted by JennyJupiter at 2:34 PM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by JennyJupiter at 2:34 PM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I am going to reveal my very best trick for maximizing your streaming buck, something that will explain how weird ol' DOT seems to have every streaming service: Gowd.com.
Through Gowd, I currently pay $14.26 combined for Apple TV, BritBox, Hulu without Ads, MGM Plus, and Paramount Plus with Showtime (no ads). If I didn't already have them and prefer to keep them as is (already shared, free with something else, whatever) I could add Netflix, HBO Max, Shudder, Starz, and Peacock for another $16.02. So that would be $30.28 a month to have 11 streaming services. Legally. That's about 73 cents a month less than the Hulu would cost on its own.
The two obvious questions are: how? and "Is this legal?" The answers are "Hold on I will tell you" and "Yes, apparently."
Gowd isn't some shady hacker site or a quasi-legal overseas thing. I read about them in Crain's Business. They're a real company, with real investors, operating publicly. They have offices and stuff. What they do is they let people sell slots on their family plans for streaming services to other people. And so, I own part of several accounts and can use them to watch what I want.
Yes, it's very cheap. Are there downsides? Yes. Some of the people selling their slots are awesome and it works without much trouble. Some seem to be cycling through free trials (which they're not supposed to do, but some do anyway). And when someone drops, the password changes. Sometimes the login name, too. In the better instances on the better apps, you'll get your own profile and it will be easy peasy. In other cases, several people may share an account that does not allow separate profiles. In those cases, it may be weird to keep track of what you're watching. Someone else on my Apple TV account is ahead of me on Hello Tomorrow and weirdly fond of See. Someone on my MGM Plus account finds all of the sleazy erotic thrillers. I don't consider it a big deal because I don't use those services much and having them for $1-2/month each suits me better. YMMV. Also you have to "deposit" money into your account, from which the fees are deducted as they hit. I don't mind this. Maybe you will.
Back to the legality... Is it legal? Yes. It's legal like the beloved broadcast channels-turned streaming app Locast was legal before it was killed in court: it is likely to be legally challenged at some point and it may lose the case and cease to exist. At that point, my subscriptions might work for a little while, but they'd die soon too. And whatever few bucks I had floating in my account would be gone.
Personally, it works for me. I still subscribe normally to some things: Shudder, Arrow, and Screambox because I'm a horror nerd and I want them to have my money. A few months of the year, I get Criterion for $10.99 and go hog wild. I don't watch it regularly enough to do that every month, but this is fine for me. I have a Netflix account my whole extended family was depending on already. Etc. But this really slashed my streaming budget amazingly. I will be enjoying it while it lasts.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:43 PM on April 18, 2023 [13 favorites]
Through Gowd, I currently pay $14.26 combined for Apple TV, BritBox, Hulu without Ads, MGM Plus, and Paramount Plus with Showtime (no ads). If I didn't already have them and prefer to keep them as is (already shared, free with something else, whatever) I could add Netflix, HBO Max, Shudder, Starz, and Peacock for another $16.02. So that would be $30.28 a month to have 11 streaming services. Legally. That's about 73 cents a month less than the Hulu would cost on its own.
The two obvious questions are: how? and "Is this legal?" The answers are "Hold on I will tell you" and "Yes, apparently."
Gowd isn't some shady hacker site or a quasi-legal overseas thing. I read about them in Crain's Business. They're a real company, with real investors, operating publicly. They have offices and stuff. What they do is they let people sell slots on their family plans for streaming services to other people. And so, I own part of several accounts and can use them to watch what I want.
Yes, it's very cheap. Are there downsides? Yes. Some of the people selling their slots are awesome and it works without much trouble. Some seem to be cycling through free trials (which they're not supposed to do, but some do anyway). And when someone drops, the password changes. Sometimes the login name, too. In the better instances on the better apps, you'll get your own profile and it will be easy peasy. In other cases, several people may share an account that does not allow separate profiles. In those cases, it may be weird to keep track of what you're watching. Someone else on my Apple TV account is ahead of me on Hello Tomorrow and weirdly fond of See. Someone on my MGM Plus account finds all of the sleazy erotic thrillers. I don't consider it a big deal because I don't use those services much and having them for $1-2/month each suits me better. YMMV. Also you have to "deposit" money into your account, from which the fees are deducted as they hit. I don't mind this. Maybe you will.
Back to the legality... Is it legal? Yes. It's legal like the beloved broadcast channels-turned streaming app Locast was legal before it was killed in court: it is likely to be legally challenged at some point and it may lose the case and cease to exist. At that point, my subscriptions might work for a little while, but they'd die soon too. And whatever few bucks I had floating in my account would be gone.
Personally, it works for me. I still subscribe normally to some things: Shudder, Arrow, and Screambox because I'm a horror nerd and I want them to have my money. A few months of the year, I get Criterion for $10.99 and go hog wild. I don't watch it regularly enough to do that every month, but this is fine for me. I have a Netflix account my whole extended family was depending on already. Etc. But this really slashed my streaming budget amazingly. I will be enjoying it while it lasts.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:43 PM on April 18, 2023 [13 favorites]
Also are you aware of JustWatch? It seems like the question of whether another streaming service would meet your needs and, if so, which streaming service that would be, is going to be really dependent on what movies you're trying to watch. Some movies really aren't streaming anywhere. JustWatch isn't 100% reliable but it's a good starting point in figuring out what movies are available where.
(I was also gonna suggest the library but lots of people beat me to it.)
posted by mskyle at 2:45 PM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
(I was also gonna suggest the library but lots of people beat me to it.)
posted by mskyle at 2:45 PM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
I have (and love) Critierion Channel but it's like any other streaming service in that they cycle which movies are available constantly, so it's not a good replacement for a DVD-by-mail service when you're trying to watch specific movies in a specific order. Of the last several movies you've watched on your blog they have about half or maybe a little less of them currently streaming. Hopefully someone will fill the Netflix dvd-by-mail void; so frustrating when you just want to watch a specific movie and there seems to be no way to do that anymore if it's only on physical media.
posted by matcha action at 3:14 PM on April 18, 2023
posted by matcha action at 3:14 PM on April 18, 2023
The limitation of Kanopy & Hoopla is that they'll only offer films that are available to stream. If streaming rights/VOD have expired, they're unlikely to have it. Some films have simply never been offered digitally. However, finding a community near you that subscribes via their public library and would let you become a cardholder may be a huge help. Some community colleges allow members of the public to get library cards (and some universities will honor community college cards for some types of loans).
I would also suggest eBay/Craigslist/Nextdoor/Goodwill sale postings for DVDs. There are a lot of films out there that were released on DVD, but never made the streaming cut. Yes, buying is expensive even if the DVD is only $3 plus shipping. The better bet is to buy whole collections of DVDs knowing that you're only going to want five and set the others free. Used record stores often have DVD sections as well, and buy-back policies.
Torrents are often of files ripped from DVDs, and if nothing else, the listings of them can help you assess that they actually exist out there, maybe help you find the best quality version.
posted by typetive at 3:15 PM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
I would also suggest eBay/Craigslist/Nextdoor/Goodwill sale postings for DVDs. There are a lot of films out there that were released on DVD, but never made the streaming cut. Yes, buying is expensive even if the DVD is only $3 plus shipping. The better bet is to buy whole collections of DVDs knowing that you're only going to want five and set the others free. Used record stores often have DVD sections as well, and buy-back policies.
Torrents are often of files ripped from DVDs, and if nothing else, the listings of them can help you assess that they actually exist out there, maybe help you find the best quality version.
posted by typetive at 3:15 PM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Seattle's Scarecrow Video is fantastic, and they have a mail rental program!
posted by splitpeasoup at 4:59 PM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by splitpeasoup at 4:59 PM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Criterion is eleven bucks a month, and you’d be able to knock out a ton of movies off your list. Especially because your project seems like it could take a long while and movies come in and out of streaming all the time.
posted by cakelite at 5:22 PM on April 18, 2023
posted by cakelite at 5:22 PM on April 18, 2023
I know Kanopy exists, but my library doesn't work with it. If there's a way to access Kanopy WITHOUT having your library involved, I'm all ears, but if not this isn't an option.
Can you get a membership to another library that's not "local" to you? For example, my county public library system (Cuyahoga County Public Library) will issue a card to anyone who's a resident of Ohio, and my city library system (Cleveland Public Library) will issue a card to "Permanent residents of Ohio, Those who go to school in Ohio, Those who work on a permanent basis in Ohio, Those who own property in Ohio." So maybe there's other library systems in NY state that will issue you a card.
Kanopy's selection is not huuuuuuge, and they definitely tend towards the classic/arty stuff (for a wide definition of "classic/arty" - for example, "Halloween" movie selection during October is far more likely to be the 70's/80's works of Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci than, like, all the Friday the 13th movies.) And like all streaming services, films tend to appear and disappear. And you're limited to 20 films/shows a month. (It was 10, it got bumped up to 20 during the pandemic and so far for me it hasn't gone back down.) Taking a quick peek at your blog I think you'd find it at least somewhat useful.
Hoopla seems to have a wider selection, but I find their system a bit annoying, at least on my current set up (older Roku device into old dumb TV.) It's more like a library, where you "check out" certain titles and then you have a limited time to watch them. (3 days? 48 hours? I don't remember.) But the search function on the Roku app kinda sucks, (and the website frankly isn't a ton better), so I have to log onto the website on my desktop to find movies and then check them out, and then I watch via the Roku app on my TV. If you're watching directly on a laptop it might not be so annoying. You can "favorite" movies so you can have some kind of "watch eventually" list going.
posted by soundguy99 at 5:23 PM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Can you get a membership to another library that's not "local" to you? For example, my county public library system (Cuyahoga County Public Library) will issue a card to anyone who's a resident of Ohio, and my city library system (Cleveland Public Library) will issue a card to "Permanent residents of Ohio, Those who go to school in Ohio, Those who work on a permanent basis in Ohio, Those who own property in Ohio." So maybe there's other library systems in NY state that will issue you a card.
Kanopy's selection is not huuuuuuge, and they definitely tend towards the classic/arty stuff (for a wide definition of "classic/arty" - for example, "Halloween" movie selection during October is far more likely to be the 70's/80's works of Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci than, like, all the Friday the 13th movies.) And like all streaming services, films tend to appear and disappear. And you're limited to 20 films/shows a month. (It was 10, it got bumped up to 20 during the pandemic and so far for me it hasn't gone back down.) Taking a quick peek at your blog I think you'd find it at least somewhat useful.
Hoopla seems to have a wider selection, but I find their system a bit annoying, at least on my current set up (older Roku device into old dumb TV.) It's more like a library, where you "check out" certain titles and then you have a limited time to watch them. (3 days? 48 hours? I don't remember.) But the search function on the Roku app kinda sucks, (and the website frankly isn't a ton better), so I have to log onto the website on my desktop to find movies and then check them out, and then I watch via the Roku app on my TV. If you're watching directly on a laptop it might not be so annoying. You can "favorite" movies so you can have some kind of "watch eventually" list going.
posted by soundguy99 at 5:23 PM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Ugh. And I'm gonna be that person and suggest you consider...whether there is a local movie rental place near you. HEAR ME OUT! I recently became aware that my town does indeed have a movie rental shop and it is awesome! And apparently I miss going into movie rental shops. They have a huge selection because there is no one else in town (I think). Might be fun...?
posted by amanda at 6:44 PM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by amanda at 6:44 PM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Queens Public Library has Kanopy and Hoopla and you can apply online, no need to hop on the subway. However, as others have noted, the selection is limited.
posted by betweenthebars at 7:13 PM on April 18, 2023
posted by betweenthebars at 7:13 PM on April 18, 2023
Best answer: Any chance there’s an Alamo drafthouse near you? In addition to in theater showings they often (always?) have a video rental attached to it
posted by raccoon409 at 7:17 PM on April 18, 2023
posted by raccoon409 at 7:17 PM on April 18, 2023
Response by poster: Hyperventilating thanks to those of y'all who've mentioned other by-mail-rental options and HUZZAH to the news that Queens still has Kanopy!!!
I also pitched a bit of a hissy fit on Netflix's Facebook page, and someone at Netflix responded to say that they are offering some members the chance to take out EIGHT (!) videos at a time so they can go through their lists quicker. So I may do that as well to knock out more stuff between now and September...which also gives me more time to research all these options, and get through most of the 60s arthouse stuff and into the 70s when I may have more of a chance of finding things on streaming or in the library.
Also:
Any chance there’s an Alamo drafthouse near you?
You've reminded me that the Alamo in Manhattan has taken over the stock of the former Kim's Video, and I think this is a kick in the pants to pay them a visit.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:54 PM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
I also pitched a bit of a hissy fit on Netflix's Facebook page, and someone at Netflix responded to say that they are offering some members the chance to take out EIGHT (!) videos at a time so they can go through their lists quicker. So I may do that as well to knock out more stuff between now and September...which also gives me more time to research all these options, and get through most of the 60s arthouse stuff and into the 70s when I may have more of a chance of finding things on streaming or in the library.
Also:
Any chance there’s an Alamo drafthouse near you?
You've reminded me that the Alamo in Manhattan has taken over the stock of the former Kim's Video, and I think this is a kick in the pants to pay them a visit.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:54 PM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Hey, I live in NYC too and have an Alamo Pass, let's meet up for a movie night sometime!
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 9:08 AM on April 19, 2023
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 9:08 AM on April 19, 2023
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posted by warriorqueen at 2:13 PM on April 18, 2023 [13 favorites]