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It used to be that you went down the block to the video store and grabbed whatever movie you wanted to see, paid for it, took it home and watched it on your VCR. That was as recent as 10 years ago.

Today, the options for renting movies has expanded in ways that many of us, myself included, could have never imagined.

Here are some of the modern, high-tech options for renting movies that are available these days…

 

1. Visit your local video store.

Yes, you can still go down to your neighborhood Blockbuster or Hollywood Video store and rent movies. However, movies are now only available on DVD or blu-ray disk these days. VHS tapes have, for the most part, disappeared as far renting movies goes.

 

2. Pay a monthly fee to get movies mailed to you each month.

This includes services such as Netflix. You sign up online, and then put in a list of requests. When the movies become available, the service sends them to you in the mail with a pre-paid return envelope which you use to send them back after you’ve viewed them. The Blockbuster option also allows you to go to their video stores and exchange one of the movies you received in the mail for another movie on their shelf if you want to. Meaning, you don’t have to wait while you send one in for them to receive it and send you another one in the mail if you don’t want to.

 

3. Check out video kiosks that are popping up everywhere.

Just recently I noticed a kiosk for Movie Cube’s The New Release in my neighborhood Fred Meyers. I haven’t tried one yet, but I’m seriously considering it. The cool thing about this option is that the cost is only $1 per movie per day. Plus, your credit or debit card is not charged until you return the movie — which I think is cool. The one downside to this is if you don’t return the movie by the 14th day then your card is charged for those 14 days, plus the taxes, plus fees, plus a $21 “didn’t return it” charge. So, it behooves you to return the movie after you’ve watched it when using this option!  Redbox is another similar option.

 

4. Use On-Demand to watch some programs when you want on cable.

This can be a really great way to rent a movie if you don’t like leaving your house. Another plus is the fact that the charge for new movies (which is typically around $4.99) is simply added to your cable bill at the end of the month. So, there’s no need to worry about having the money on the spot if you are someone who prefers to pay for everything with cash, and/or you don’t like using a credit card for small expenses. Since many people have the On Demand service available to them, this can be a very convenient way to rent movies.

 

5. Rent a movie online and then watch it on your computer.

Netflix offers this option, as does the Apple iTunes store and Amazon. The cool thing about this option is, of course, the fact that you don’t have to leave your home. Another nice thing is that if your spouse is watching something on TV that you don’t want to watch, you can rent a movie to watch in another room on your computer. iTunes also makes movies available to watch on your iPod, iPhone, or widescreen TV. The Online Spotlight Portal provided by Windows Media Center PC enables you to watch movies online as well.

 

These are just a few of the many options for renting movies these days. I’m very certain as our technology improves more and more that the options will continue to expand.