The home movie giants' fight for the streaming market will be good for consumers. So which should you go for?Maybe you have a laptop or games console in your sitting room. Perhaps you have recently bought an internet-ready TV … so are you ready to start watching films streamed directly into your home via your broadband connection?Two companies are banking on the fact that you will, and are waging a fierce ad campaign to persuade you to give it a go. If you are still renting DVDs by post, you could get them delivered over the internet, where you can have all the films you can watch for just £5-£6 a month.Until last month, Lovefilm had the delivered-to-your-door market pretty much to itself. Blockbuster rental shops have largely disappeared from the high street, and rival postal clubs have either been snapped up by Lovefilm or faded away. The company claims to post 250,000 DVDs every day to its 1 million-plus subscribers.However, last month a serious rival entered the stage – the American film giant,
Netflix. For a couple of weeks now Netflix has been offering UK and Irish consumers a month's free trial of the film and TV streaming service it pioneered in the US. After the trial, the service costs £5.99 a month.Lovefilm has been streaming films since 2009 but the arrival of Netflix has prompted a price war, with Lovefilm now offering its service at £4.99. A battle between the two looks set to be good for consumers.How does it work?To watch films live you need a fast-ish interest connection, and if you live in the sticks it will probably be too frustrating. The companies say that you need at least a 500Kbs connection; however, to have a buffering-free experience you will need a download speed of at least 1.5Mbs. Ideally, you'll also want an internet service provider that has no download limits or it could get very expensive.You will also need a way to connect your TV to the internet. Alternatively, you can watch films on a laptop or via games consoles such as Xbox, Playstation and Wii connected to your television via a Wi-Fi router.Once you have logged on to the film company's website, you choose the film you want to stream, and away you go.Viewers can pause, rewind and fast forward the film, but can't download it – it has to be watched "as live". The great advantage is that once the monthly subscription is paid, you can watch as many films as you like – two at a time if you wish, assuming you have the facilities. The problem of scratched DVDs is a thing of the past.What can you watch?The major downside to online streaming packages is that choice is restricted to slightly older films, with the number on offer just a fraction of the full range offered through the traditional DVD delivery service.For example Lovefilm offers 70,000 titles to rent, including games, films, TV series etc. On the £4.99 a month streaming-only package, the choice is limited to 5,800 films. These have mostly been made in 2011 or earlier. Inevitably, fans of art house or less popular films may be frustrated, but 5,800 films is still a lot.Lovefilm also offers a pay-as-you-go service, which gives viewers access to around 1,000 of the latest titles. These cost around the same as films from Blockbuster or the pay-as-you-go deals from Sky and Virgin.Netflix has around 3,000 titles to choose from, although it says it is adding more all the time. It doesn't offer a pay-as-you-go option, but it does have more TV series.Given the cost benefits of not having to ship a DVD, you might think the two companies would be getting all their titles online as quickly as possible.However, rights issues in differing territories appear to be holding this up, though a full streaming library is probably only a matter of time.So which is best? The advantage of Lovefilm is its mix-and-match possibilities. If you are the type of viewer who likes obscure films, a deal that mixes both streaming and in-the-post rental is probably best.If you are an existing customer of Lovefilm, it is possible to start streaming at no extra cost.Its £7.99-a-month deal gives customers unlimited DVDs through the post as well as free streaming.Lovefilm's iPad app has won praise among the techie community, but the site doesn't allow customers to use a Wii console to access its service – a major downside if you don't have a laptop or another way to connect your TV to the web. Netflix does allow Wii access.Several smart/internet-connected TVs now sport Lovefilm apps, making live streaming hassle free.Netflix apps for TVs, are still relatively rare. But Netflix appears to be the choice of the techie community. For those who have a decent broadband connection, Netflix tends to win the audio-visual quality battle.This is because it supports HD streaming while Lovefilm does not. It also offers 5.1-channel surround sound audio tracks while Lovefilm delivers only stereo sound.Ultimately, the service you get will depend on the reliability and speed of your broadband connection. Both Lovefilm and Netflix have free 30-day offers so you can try both for live streaming – and then decide which suits you best.Alternative viewingInternet, phones & broadbandHousehold billsConsumer affairsLoveFilmNetflixVideo on demandMiles Brignallguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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