First off, the signup process is a bitch. Trying to be prepared I went and signed up at blockbuster.com.au a couple weeks ago, apparently that was a waste of time, because Blockbuster On Demand uses a completely separate login. http://tivo.blockbuster.com.au for those left wondering.
Once you’ve signed up online (no option to from the TiVo), then you need to link your account on the TiVo. Just go and try rent something and you’ll be prompted to link your Blockbuster and Tivo accounts. Then of course after typing what’s hopefully semi-secure passwords on the sketchy TiVo remote, you then need to choose a 5-digit PIN. I guess to prevent your housemate or crazy ex-girlfriend from ordering on your behalf.
Once all that’s done you can actually start renting.
What’s on offer ?
There’s a number of categories
– Movies (46)
– Arts (4)
– Comedy (48)
– Documentary (3)
– Drama (68)
– Interests (30)
– Mystery and Suspense (7)
– Sci-Fi and Fantasy (19)
– Sport (8)
So the initial selection is fairly limited, but let’s hope this is improved quickly.
How much ?
Movie rentals range from $3.95 to $5.95. Your probably wondering how this compares to iTunes ?
The comparison movie I chose is Max Payne. 
| Blockbuster On Demand | iTunes | |
| Price | $5.95 | $5.95 |
| Size | 1.4 GB | 1.38 GB |
| Quality | Great | Good |
Update
After days of not being able to download content from BBOD, the teething issues seem to be resolved. I’m really impressed quality of the movie – Max Payne in both video and audio. The compression artefacts are significantly more noticeable on the iTunes version. It’s also great that BBOD allows you to take advantage of surround sound setup.
How big ?
The size of most movies is between 1.4 GB and 2.6 GB. So remember if your not with Internode, then your going to chew through your cap pretty quickly.
Overall
I do like the convenience of renting from the couch, however I would have like to see them undercut iTunes.
However while Blockbuster On Demand doesn’t have TV shows and features a much smaller catalogue, it does have 3 great advantages.
1. As an Internode customer BBOD movies don’t count towards my download cap.
2. The TiVo is already connected to my HDTV, so no need to worry about PC connection or streaming.
3. BBOD has 5.1 surround sound.
So basically if the movie’s available on BBOD, I’ll be renting it from there, rather than iTunes, even despite their strange payment plan.
