Homescreen was one of the first major online DVD rental services launched in Australia, but was acquired by Quickflix; this review was kept as is for posterity.

Run in association with Hoyts cinemas, they frequently give away movie passes as bonuses for long-term customers. At the moment they are offering 2 free passes for Hoyts cinema for registering for a free trial and also if you switch to a 6 or 12 month contract.

With 14,000 titles Homescreen claim to have "pretty much everything ever released in Australia," though reviews suggest that the other two big companies out compete them on this one. Their catalogue does include some adult films, but only R18+, not X-rated DVDs.

As with the other big companies, having 3 "fulfillment centers" (dvd warehouses) should allow for a faster turnaround than the smaller companies manage and make it a viable option wherever you are located. Sadly we've heard more complaints about Homescreen's turnaround times than most companies, along with "awful customer service."

On the plus side the packaging for the DVDs is better than that of some of the other companies, and Homescreen do say that they are particularly careful about the condition of the discs they deliver - to be fair we haven't heard many reports of damaged discs from Homescreen compared to some of their competitors.

Prices: Homescreen offer a comprehensive range of price plans including limited and unlimited options. The 1 disc at-a-time with maximum 2 per month comes in at just $9.95 while the slightly less restricted 2 discs at-a-time (4 max per month) is $19.95; all an industry standard $5 per disc.

All their other plans allow an unlimited total number of DVDs per month and range from $29.95 for the 2 DVD at-a-time service to $64.95 for 6 at-a-time.

Discounts are available on six or twelve month contracts, and at the moment you get a couple of free movie passes as a bonus for signing up long term too.