Amazon DVD Rental

Amazon UK have started a DVD rental service: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/subs/rentals/help/learn-more.html

My first thought is "why did this take so long"?  I've been merrily renting from DVD Options for about three years now.  Whatever happened to "first mover advantage"?  It seems to have swung the other way - Amazon are now the big guys who have the brand, infrastructure and traffic to successfully turn their hand to pretty much any market, irrespective of whether someone else got in first several years previously.

The pricing looks reasonable - £7.99 for up to four DVDs a month.  I'm paying £7.99 a month currently for Top Up TV and the only shows I seem to watch are American Chopper and The West Wing!  So perhaps this would be a better use of that cash.  But I dislike the subscription paradigm - I hate feeling obliged to make use of a service because I've already paid for it, I would be more comfortable renting a DVD or two on an ad-hoc basis when the mood struck.  I'll give it some thought, and see what J thinks.

 Heh, J just brought me a cup of tea and saw what I was writing.  She's persuaded me that we'll give Amazon DVD rental a try.