New movie-streaming service seeks to differentiate from Netflix, Amazon
By David Adams
Move over Netflix and Amazon: Redbox Instant by Verizon will fully launch to the public in March, its chief executive announced Wednesday at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The most recent streaming service to the enter the market began a public beta testing phase in mid-December, limiting its customers to users who signed up to receive an access code via email.
For $6 a month - $2 less than Netflix - Redbox Instant offers unlimited streaming of movies to computers, Apple and Android phones and tablets, and Samsung Internet-connected televisions and Blu-ray players. Unlike Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, Redbox Instant does not currently offer TV shows for streaming.
Redbox Instant also offers two pricing tiers for customers who rent movies from its kiosks nationwide. For $8 a month, users receive four credits to rent DVDs (four DVDs for a night each, for example) per month. For $9, users can choose Blu-ray discs instead. CEO Shawn Strickland said the DVD option was the "core differentiator" between Redbox Instant and other streaming services.
Most Redbox Instant titles that are currently available are already carried by Netflix. Redbox Instant has a partnership to receive recent movies from Epix, which also has partnerships with Netflix and Amazon Instant Video - partially responsible for the similar selection.
Redbox offers the ability to search for films available for streaming and in its kiosks, as well as groupings like "Envelope Please" and "Cue the Bromance" to package similar films.
Like Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, Redbox Instant offers a one-month free trial that includes the streaming and DVD rental options. The site still seems to be working out some kinks in its billing and account set-up mechanisms (my debit card was rejected by the site and an email to customer service offered no solution). Issues like these will likely be resolved as the beta testing period continues.
If you are interested in trying Redbox Instant for yourself, sign up to receive an access code and wait a few days for it to arrive. It's "not the Netflix killer," as Strickland said, but if you already rent DVDs from Redbox kiosks and stream movies, the free trial might be worth your time.
