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Clixflix is a technically advanced, family-based enterprise that has grown substantially since its 2004 launch, and now serves Mumbai and extended suburbs of Thane and Navi Mumbai.
Clixflix began in October 2004 as a traditional video store with 1,000 titles, and soon became one of India's pioneers for an online hybrid service. By late 2007 they'd grown to 7 stores, 15,000+ members, and 10,000+ titles. They've launched an all-access program (in the vein of popular company Blockbuster's initiative in the US), to seamlessly traverse the virtual and real worlds, encompassing the phone, mobile, the net, and walk-in stores.
Clixflix list an impressive19 genres to aid browsing, as well as listing films from A-Z by actor, director, writer and producer. These are excellent, but we'd prefer if they had a few extra categories handy to help surfing, like some best of, oscar winners, film festivals, etc. Likewise, their individual film title information, while useful and innovative in its pop-up nature, leaves something to be desired. They do list star, director, genre, writer, producer (these two are admittedly a plus most sites don't list), format, language, and subtitles, however, we'd prefer if several of these fields were hyperlinked. For instance, you click on Pierce Brosnan and it lists other films he's starred in. Also, they appear to list ratings for movies (which disproportionately appear to be around 3 stars or so), but they don't let you rate the films.
Clixflix Terms and Conditions state they try to the extent possible to make deliveries on the following day for all orders placed before 4PM, with the exception of Sundays and national holidays. Members on the 4 DVD per month fixed plan will get deliveries by 6 PM, while pick-up will occur between 10 AM and 6 PM on the day of your choice.
They have an excellent selection of RSS feeds so you can get direct computer updates on things like their new releases or coming soon, an excellent feature. We particularly like their FAQ entry, which notes Clixflix is "powered by an energetic group of hardcore couch potatoes." To their credit, the site features suggest they are a technically savvy bunch. They payment options are among the broadest of India's rental services; they accept payment by cash, cheque, credit card/debit card, or even direct debit if you have a net banking facility on your bank account.
Reports across the net and blogosphere on Clixflix are broadly positive. They appear to focus on English films, with only limited ones in Hindi.
Prices: Clixflix does not have any unlimited monthly plans; instead, they have two 30-day subscriptions with maximums of 6 DVDs (2 out at a time) for Rs 399 (which comes out to Rs 66 per disc), and 8 DVDs, also 2 out at a time for Rs 499 (Rs 62 per disc). They also have four pay-as-you-go, per disc subscription plans instead of monthly plans. For instance, you can rent 10 DVDs in an unlimited time for Rs 849 (Rs 84.9 per disc), 25 DVDs for Rs 1749 (RS 69 per disc), 50 DVDs for Rs 3249 (Rs 65 per disc), or a whopping 100 DVD rentals for Rs 4999 (a mere Rs 49 per disc). Unlike most companies, there are no monthly fees, no membership fee, but the refundable security deposits run from RS 999 to 1998.
The 100 DVD package averaging at only Rs 49 per disc is among India's best rental values--you just keep renting until you use all 1300 credits, then perhaps purchase another rental package. Nonetheless, we suggest trying their 3-disc package first as a trial before plonking down for 100 discs, so you're not locked in.
There is a three-day limit to keep the discs at home and a late fee of Rs50 per day is applied until the outstanding discs are returned--in our opinion, these late fees are a major negative to the service, and why we gave them lower Value marks. If you're sure you can get through the films within 3 days and remember to arrange pickup, them Clixflix can be a real value, if not, we'd seek a service without late fees.
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Rental Basics