Guide to Video on Demand

= Value
= Design
= Service

Value Rating: Includes prices at all service levels and our assessment of what you actually get for your money.

Design Rating: Includes how well the website interface is designed and easy to use; there are some really aggravating online VOD sites out there.

Service Rating: This measure of customer service--which includes inventory size and number of recent releases--is the least "scientific" rating, relying mainly on reports we've gathered from the net and personal testing.

Titles: The estimated total number of available VOD film and TV titles.

Phone Support: Only some VOD services offer a real customer service phone number; important as it can be very frustrating and slow trying to use email.

Free Trial: These are only for sites which have subscriptions--most VOD sites are pay per view/purchase.

Rental Prices: In dollars for a typical new title, either streaming or downloaded. (tax not included) for standard films. This does not include volume discounts sometimes offered for paying a year in advance, or lower prices for TV episodes and such--see the individual VOD company reviews for this information.