Redbox Instant streaming service review

At $8 a month Redbox affords you the opportunity to stream movies and games right in your home along with 4 night rentals all at a rate that is cheaper than the streaming and DVD service that Netflix offers. I was super excited when  BzzAgent asked me to try out the new Redbox streaming experience but the excitement was short lived. I do not claim to be a streaming expert but my family enjoys the convenience of streaming from home so we have tried several products to help us do this. We have Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus, Vudu and Netflix so I was excited to see the different movies that Redbox would offer me.  Once I had my account set up I went to the app on my tv and started looking through the titles to find something to watch.  I was very disappointed when I looked through the movie selections and realized that first off the number of movies available for instant streaming were few and secondly I saw that the ones that were there were older and there was very little variety. What I found was a lot of unheard of movies that I never knew existed.  After further research, I found out that Redbox only offered movies from certain movies companies which explains why they did not offer as many movie options as you would find on Amazon or Netflix.  To make matters worse, I was shocked to find out that even after paying the monthly fee, there was still the possibility that if I did find a movie I wanted to watch, I could be charged an additional fee to rent. For example, if I wanted to watch the new release Admission, I had the option of paying $4.99 for standard definition, or $5.99 for HD. I was disappointed with this because I was under the impression that Redbox was going to provide me with new releases which I could then stream to my home but this was not the case. I feel that there are other programs out there which provide a better movie selection at cheaper prices that would allow me to stream directly to my television.  I understand that the extra fee of 4.99, compared to the kiosk fee, is for the convenience of being able to watch it in my home, but I guess I have been spoiled by the low cost rental fees that Redbox had spoiled me with all these years.  I did not see anything different or better than say Amazon Prime, Netflix or Hulu Plus that would warrant me dropping these subscriptions for the Redbox one. The only plus that I saw was the four kiosk rentals you get but I felt like when you are paying $8 a month, you are basically paying for the rentals.  

One great thing that I did find when watching the movies through Redbox program is how clear the movies showed. Aside from an occasional error message, which I could locate the solution to on their site, I had no trouble using the service and the movies started up with no problem. One thing that I think I would have liked to have known before I signed up for the service is the types of movies I would be able to stream instantly. It would have been nice to have a clearer understanding of which movies were subscription, rental, and kiosk.  I was pleased with the devices that I was able to stream movies on and I was happy that there was an app.

So what is my final verdict on the new Redbox Instant streaming? Well, if you are someone who enjoys watching older movies and going to the red box kiosk than this will work for you.  If you are someone who enjoys both movies and gaming than look no further. If you are looking for a subscription that gives you both movies, and television, then this is not the service for you.  Overall, I think that Redbox has a start to the new streaming subscription plan, but in order to compete with existing companies, they will have to make some big changes.  I love the concept but unfortunately, it has not been fully executed. I think that I would be OK with paying a higher monthly rate if I knew that I would be able to instantly stream the new releases straight from home without the extra fee. In Red box’s defense, I did some research and found out that there are some Movie restrictions which prevent them from doing just this so I have come up with another solution.  I think that it is great that you have the 4 monthly kiosk rentals but I would prefer if I could use those on renting some of the new movies that are I am currently being charged 4.99 for. I think that in order for Redbox to be able to compete with other streaming companies, they are going to have to expand their movie selection, remove the additional rental fees, and make all new releases available for instant streaming.   So as for me, I will be keeping my Netflix account, and I am even more in love with my Amazon Prime account which gives me free streaming of a great selection of movies and TV shows.  

I was provided a free month of Redbox instant streaming from Bzzagent in exchange for me to review. All opinions are based on my own experiences.