So with the announcement that Blockbuster is getting close to bankruptcy, it looks like we’re at the end of the road for DVD rental retail stores. It’s not that these strip mall icons are going to vanish completely, but with newer, and better, alternatives taking the lime light these days, the DVD retail option just isn’t as interesting as it used to be. If I can download a movie or have it sent to my home without ever having to set foot in a store, then so be it. All things being equal, I probably will. It’s just the way things work.

That said, a few alternatives have appeared, many of which are worth a note. Some of the more interesting include:

HULU: HULU has been providing a viewing channel for movies and television shows for a few years now, and many people consider it a staple of their television watching day. For watching shows such as Lost, Vampire Diaries, or the Office, Hulu is a must have for many, who struggle to keep up with their daily shows without the comfort of a TIVO or DVR. For the networks, it provides a way to keep people tuned in to their programming. For advertisers with deep pockets, it provides an alternative channel to reach their customers. And for HULU, which has threatened to add subscription based content to the mix, the site is looking like a money maker. Also, those ads with the space aliens taking over the world are pretty clever.

YouTube Rentals: The company that brought online video into the mainstream public eye is just the place you’d expect to find new and exciting video services. They have added a lot of functionality to their site in the past year or so, with the main goal of making the company profitable this year. Advertising has definitely been a big part of this, but also, getting the community involved in creating new and improved content has been a big a step in their development. In a lot of ways, YouTube is like the Indy record industry of a few years ago. Ordinary people started private labels in order to sign acts that slipped through the cracks. Many of these records were even self produced. Some of these companies were bought up by larger labels or became power house labels in their own right. Still, much of the music continues to remain accessible to the discerning masses, and accessible means more play for a great artists such as Derrick Webb or Ben Folds to distribute their music without all the hassles of a major studios getting in the way of the art. Last year I noticed that Youtube had added a Movie channel for watching free movies, legally, and with advertising. This year, with the launch of Youtube rental, many independent or otherwise so motivated filmmakers can take advantage of direct marketing of their own works, and even get paid to do so; they can also capitalize on in-video advertising and commercials, for which many receive a cut of the profits. Some interesting samplings include: The Socalled Movie and loudQUIETloud: A Film About the Pixies.

Amazon Video On Demand: Amazon has always struke me as one of those companies that is the last thought on everybody’s mind, but then finishes first in the race because no one thought they would. They are always the consummate underdog, yet they have the largest market on earth as their customers. If you’ve shopped online, you’ve probably been to Amazon. And having become the leading worldwide retailer of books, video games, and movies in just the last year and a half, they carry that same reputation over to their rental business in the form of Video On Demand. Just like the rest of the Amazon site, the consumer is able to watch the trailer, read reviews, and learn more about the film even before they watch it, so if you’ve had a good experience with Amazon in the past, you’ll know what to expect. Also, much like Google’s YouTube, Amazon is a very artist friendly company that allows patrons to mail in a master copy of their work, then sell the DVD to consumers directly or rent the videos online or through a set top box. The artist even gets to control the price.

Netflix Online: Netflix is, for a lot of people, the name they can trust for all things video rental. It’s a reputation that comes, in part, from the nature of their business: movies delivered directly to you, to watch when you want, and in the intimacy of your own home. Netflix has always had a good reputation with their internet savvy customers, making use of an online booking system, called a rental queue, from which customers could select what they wanted to watch, which would then be sent to them as long as it was in stock. Movies in the queue could be supplemented if one couldn’t be sent out right away, so customers always had something to watch, as long as they weren’t too picky about what it was on any given evening. Used to be that you could have up to three movies in your possession at a time, now I think it’s only one. Moving on to modern times, Netflix has continued to develop, leading the pack by offering online video viewing as part of their standard subscription package. Mac, PC, as well as a plethora of Netflix supported devices such as TIVO, Sony TV’s, and XBox 360 are supported.

LiveOn: Unlike many of the services mentioned above, LiveOn is a new service and deals only in video games. Debuting in June 2010, the service offers a server side option for playing video games on a multitude of devices: from Mac and PC based personal computers to set top box enabled televisions. This means that you can rent any game that is available and play it on nearly any device for as long as you pay the service fee. It’s a good idea, on paper, though I’ve seen some descent on the web as to whether or not they’ll be able to pull it off as stated. Personally I’d be impressed if they could port the games to my cellular phone or iPod as well. I know, it’s a sick world we live in.