And of the movies released in that are present on both Lovefilm and Netflix, only one film Hong Kong chop-socker Shaolin can be found on both.
The bottom line -- if you want anything even approaching a comprehensive movie and TV selection, you need to subscribe to both services. Lovefilm is lacking in The Thick of It , but curiously does lay claim to the special episodes.
Netflix has TV shows in total, of which can't be found on Lovefilm. Conversely, Lovefilm has TV shows, of which don't feature on the rival services.
Deciding which service is better is a near-impossible task, as raw numbers of available films and TV shows don't indicate the quality of what's available Nude Nuns with Big Guns is one of the few films available on both services, for example.
Netflix deserves a bit of credit for featuring 41 films that were released last year, however, compared to Lovefilm Instant's more meagre It's fair to say, then, that Netflix is more up to date, while Lovefilm is more comprehensive. It's dismaying, however, to see how far we are in the UK from a service that's approaching something all-encompassing unless you splash out for a pricey Sky subscription.
In fact, you can't watch Now TV on the Sky platform at all. So, as we say, no subscriptions in sight but you can tune in to any of the Sky Movie channels, any of the Sky Sports transmissions and other popular stations including Sky1, Sky Atlantic, Comedy Central and Sky Living. You can watch these channels live as well as check out all sorts of on-demand material too.
So, little excuse not to, really. The only thing to note is that p is the highest playback resolution on offer, and that's only through the PlayStation, Xbox, Roku or Now TV box.
That's very handy. It's also nice that there's no signing your life away either. Possibly the biggest bonus of all is the high level of premium content - and when we say premium, we mean new releases.
Not only do you get to enjoy all of the quality HBO series first, but also films just after they're off the cinema screen. If it's premium that's on offer, well, that's probably about right seeing as you're paying a premium to get it. The other drawbacks centre around limited device support - particularly in the mobile space - and the fact that there's little in HD and nothing at all in Full HD as yet.
If you need new release movies like a fever, then Now TV is probably quite a good bet for you, and you really need a Now TV box or games console or such to enjoy those higher-quality streams. Sports fans should probably steer clear, though. It's cheaper to go and watch the game down the pub. A subsidiary of Sony, Crackle's worth a little mention largely because it's entirely free. It's based on the Grouper video site, which Sony bought in and then rebranded as a place to watch film and TV from Sony's back catalogue.
Crackle has the least spectacular content library of all of these and, if you're looking for a new release, then don't even bother. What's more, you do get adverts in the streams every now and then as a way of funding the whole enterprise.
That said, there's still plenty of decent titles and a hatful of classics that perhaps you never saw in the first place. A very quick look just now and we were pleased to see the original Bad Lieutenant and Joe Dirt , for example. Crackle's prevalence on platforms and devices is so-so. While device support is pretty good, one should bear in mind that there's just about no HD in Crackle whatsoever. In fact, most of it is in pretty poor resolution. It's even poor by SD standards.
And don't forget that the catalogue is severely limited too. Crackle is something that everyone should use every now and then. Can't find anything you fancy on your usual video streaming network of choice? Short of funds? Head over to Crackle and see what's on. Last of all, of course, there's iTunes. Now, we almost didn't include it in this list owing to its device-specific nature, but seeing as huge, huge, numbers of people own these devices, it's worth us mentioning how it rates.
In other words, you can rent or buy films on a pay-per-view kind of basis. There's no subscriptions and no unlimited watching. If you rent, you've got 30 days to start viewing the content you've paid for and 48 hours to do with it as you will once you hit play.
HD and SD are both available for most titles, and the catalogue and prices are virtually identical to that of Blinkbox. Anything you can get iTunes on is anything upon which you can also watch something paid for in the iTunes Store.
HD viewing is consistent, and that's something of a relief. If your screen can support it, and you've paid for HD, then that's exactly the quality you get to enjoy.
Like Blinkbox, the catalogue is also really very good, which puts what's available on iTunes ahead of both Netflix and LoveFilm. Again, as with Blinkbox, iTunes can get very expensive very quickly. One HD rental is basically the same as a month's unlimited viewing for the subscription duo. That said, the cheaper titles are somewhat more searchable and better tracked by the community than they are on Blinkbox, so it's a shade easier to keep prices down.
Apple product users may as well use movies and TV shows on the iTunes Store. It's easily accessible, and right under your nose most of the time. Conclusion - so which one should you use? It's all going to vary from person to person for the reasons outlined above, but our general advice would be this.
It would also help if you got yourself a Now TV-compatible mobile device too. Anyone else who rents more than two pieces of film and TV per month needs to sign up with either LoveFilm or Netflix. The unlimited viewing is your most cost-effective package. Netflix is probably the one we'd lean towards but, if you're more about movies than telly, then LoveFilm might be the choice for you.
Whichever streaming service you go for, you'd be best advised to still dip into iTunes, Blinkbox and Crackle - in that order - depending on what hardware you already have. LOVEFiLM Instant is not currently compatible with either, unless you count being able to sort your rental lists and watch trailers on your phone. We expect that to change very soon.
You can switch from a PC to a phone and it will still work. In reality, that depends on a lot of other factors. Most of all, though, it depends on your internet connection. Both are fantastic, especially compared to 10 years ago. Alternatively, with each platform offering one-month free trials, the other way to make up your mind is to try them out and see which fits.
New on Amazon Prime Instant Video. Game of Thrones: How to watch online. UK TV air dates. Films on BBC iPlayer. Images on VODzilla.
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