I forgot about this site

Hello everyone. It's been a while.

I unsubscribed from LOVEFiLM a good long while ago. Not because of the service, but I simply couldn't afford to keep it going. I'm a university student now, and I have to think twice about buying a £1 bottle of cola, let alone a monthly subscription to LOVEFiLM.

Apologies for not saying so sooner. BUT, here's the interesting bit, I didn't leave because of the service. Heck, I'd probably still be subscribed if I could afford to. The horror stories about LOVEFiLM are seemingly untrue, or at least very rare cases. I've had scratched discs a few times, but that's the same as most rental services, and LOVEFiLM were very quick at responding and sending out a replacement disc.

If you want to let me know about your experiences, let me know in the comments and I'll put them all into another post at some point. Otherwise, see you around.

Peter

Lieben Filme

Guten tag! Ich bin Peter und ich lieben filme.

Sorry, I went all German there for a moment. I received Pokemon Ranger for the Nintendo DS this morning........in German. Seriously, I received the title, played it and found it in German. After checking the reviews of the game on the website, I found everyone else had the same issue. It's likely they didn't tell LoveFilm about the issue, so I DID! They're expecting it back off me soon (I missed the last post today, so I shall post it tomorrow) and I'll let you know what they're planning to do about it. On the topic of faulty goods, when you report an item you have as faulty, you have the option of having either another copy sent to you ASAP, or shipping another item off instead. I chose the former as I'd rather like a go of this game.

You may remember here that my friend rented a Nintendo DS game from LoveFilm and he received the game simply put into a standard disc holder. It seems that LoveFilm have realised that this isn't such a good idea and are now sending DS games in their own special style of case. As always, I have pics. Though This time, I will link to the pics instead of hosting on the blog.

From the front

From the Side

You can't see it on the pic clearly, but the join between the outside sleeve and the DS bit has ripped quite a bit. Maybe a re-design needed? Answers on a postcard please.

And now for something completely different

I forgot to post this earlier, so I'm posting it now:

LoveFilm have introduced "Watch Online (BETA)". This allows you to watch certain films or TV shows online. Some of you may be thinking "awesome". Well think again.

For starters, there are 2 levels of pricing: "As part of your subscription" and "pay per view". These two are exactly what they say on the tin. The included ones are purely free for subscribers. The majority of the titles in this bracket I've never heard or did terribly in the box office (the film "Help I'm a Fish" may be an exception as I enjoyed that, though I don't know how well it did in the box office).
The pay per view collection is a bit more premium than the films in the former section. Though the prices vary from 99p (TV episodes) to about £5 (for a movie if I recall correctly).

This is where, unfortunately, I can't go into detail much. Instead, I shall rant.

The service STREAMS the episode/movie from their server (it may load temporarily like a YouTube video, I don't know I haven't tried it yet). But the issue with both of these is that those with slow internet connections (like myself) are left in the dust. My internet connection is supposedly around 512kbps (that's HALF a meg broadband). It's not fast enough to watch standard quality Youtube videos as they play, and it's definately not fast enough to watch streaming videos on BBC iPlayer, 4oD and LoveFilm's watch online service. The former two are sensible enough to keep their streaming free. LoveFilm on the other hand, want to charge a LOT for the service which a lot of people can't use properly (I'm assuming it isn't just me with a slow internet connection).

It's also a bit hypocritical of LoveFilm to charge for this service as a company who's pride service is UNLIMITED rentals.

OK I'm done.

Titles on the way

Previously on "LoveFilm - My Experiences"....

So, combined with my Film Extra (assuming they all get sent out at the same time), I should be getting 3 discs pretty soon.

And now for the stunning conclusion...

So LoveFilm e-mailed me last night that they'd shipped out my latest rentals. This DID include the FilmExtra I added. So on the way is:

Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 1 (Anime list)
Pokemon Ranger (Nintendo DS game - Games list)
How to Start Your Own Country - Disc 2 (Non-anime list)

So I'm gonna have a lot to watch when it arrives on Tuesday (probably Tuesday seeing as the "next working day delivery" I had at the start doesn't seem to happen any more).

Remember Film Extra?

I just got an e-mail from LoveFilm. Basically, they gave me a free Film Extra rental because I'd rated "The Da Vinci Code" on blu-ray (incidentally, I gave it 1.5 stars. I didn't really like it.)

The e-mail went like this:

Hello Peter,

Thank you for rating Da Vinci Code, The - BLU-RAY Version. We know it is disappointing when a film is a bit of a turkey so to thank you for taking the time and contributing to the LOVEFILM community we want to give you an extra rental - absolutely free.

Redeem your free rental by clicking on the 'Use a credit now' button on your Rental List. That's it - no hassle and no strings - just a free rental on us.


Happy viewing,
from the LOVEFiLM team

It's such a random and bizarre reason to give a free rental, but I'm not gonna complain of course. I finally sent back Super Mario Galaxy this morning too, along with the final Death Note disc. So, combined with my Film Extra (assuming they all get sent out at the same time), I should be getting 3 discs pretty soon.

Currently Watching: The fansubs of the new Suzumiya Haruhi episodes just released in Japan. I recomment renting/buying the first series on DVD (licensed by Beez Entertainment). The second season is weird how they've got episodes ordered, but still awesome.

Currently Playing: Another Code R: A Journey into Lost Memories (Nintendo and Cing game for Wii). I played the previous game on the DS and loved it, although a little short. I've been looking forward to this coming out for a long time, and it was released today (I made sure to get to the Gamestation store pretty soon after it opened this morning to get it). It's very stylish and really draws you in....I'm stuck at the moment, so I'm giving it a rest for a bit to let my mind recover ^_^

Something's Up

I've noticed something odd. LoveFilm seem to be taking longer than usual at sending me things than before. There's a day (or two!) where I have to wait with just "awaiting dispatch" and no title listed. Then it seems to take 2 days for titles to arrive now instead of the next day thing they had going when I started. Maybe it's because they have me hooked as a customer now and not on a free trial where they're trying to impress me. Either way I'm starting to get concerned. The thing is though, I can't call them up and go "oi! Why are you taking so long to send things?" cos I'll just get a generic answer like "we aim to dispatch titles within 2 working days [blah blah blah] after dispatch it's up to Royal Mail [etc]". There's nothing I really can do.

Blockbuster already have a rival to LoveFilm. So here's a business proposition for Blockbuster/other retail rental stores: Use your rental stores as local distribution warehouses. BUT allow people to come into stores, show their card to say that they are a member, and allow them to check out a rental as part of their package, and maybe additional ones for an extra fee. This would combine the cheap, monthly payment of LoveFilm, but also the browsing of being there (like retail stores).

Something for you to consider there.

You may have noticed the addition of adverts on the site. These are there so I can attempt to earn a bit of money to keep paying for LoveFilm (I'm just about managing at the moment). If you have any complaints about them being there, use NoScript. Otherwise, keep quiet and click on them if they appeal to you.

Currently NOT playing - Super Mario Galaxy (promised to keep to let a friend play, but I've completed it and it's just sitting there at the moment)
Currently waiting for since 18th June - Death Note - Vol.5 - Disc 2 (should arrive tomorrow, otherwise I will rage)

UMD Cases

I wasn't expecting this! It turns out that LoveFilm have specialised cases for PSP titles. It's a plastic case with a fold open flap that holds the UMD in place. As always, have some piccies:

This first pic shows the case closed with the information.


This next pic shows the sleeve open with the PSP game in the centre.

One thing to note is that the casing for the disc is not the original. It's a replacement one with the address "umdcase.com" on it. I'm not sure whether a customer did it or LoveFilm themselves did it, but the silver sticker on the centre suggests that it was LoveFilm (as a customer probably wouldn't go to the trouble of making the label for it). It also suggests that the casing broke at some point and LoveFilm had to replace it. It shows that they do care ^_^

Currently Playing - "Super Mario Galaxy" (Wii) and "Me & My Katamari" (PSP) (both on Games list cos I feel like playing some games instead of watching films for a change)