1. How many titles does the DVD rental service you are looking at have in stock? The largest DVD rental delivery service, Netflix, has over 100,000 titles for you to choose from, which should keep you busy for a little while! The benefit to choosing a service with a large number of titles is twofold; first you will have lots of choice, and second means you won't have to wait for the most popular movies.

2. Does the service offer a free trial period so that you can check their service for speedy turnaround times? If they do, what are the DVDs like that they send you, are they scratched, full of sticky finger prints and are the order and returns instructions easy to follow.

3. How long is the turn around time from ordering to receiving your DVDs? If you plan to watch movies on a specific evening but the turn around time is slow, you might end up not be able to hold the movie nights that you had planned. The trial period is a great time to test this, as you can cancel before you have to pay anything.

4. What sort of website does your service provider have? Is it easy to find the DVDs that you want and are they available when you want them, if not try another service.

5. How many DVD titles you can order at one time will depend on the subscription rate you decide to sign up for. You will need to think about how many movies you would watch in an average week maybe and sign up at the most appropriate level. Obviously the quicker the DVD rental delivery service gets your movies to you, the less you will need to order in one go. This is a balance that you will get right as you get used to using the system.

6. What is their customer service like? Do they offer any guarantees about the quality of their service, and have you searched Google to see if there are any horror stories about the service you are considering?

Once you have found a service that meets all your requirements, you will find on-line DVD rentals offer exceptional value for money compared to your local video store. Sign up for the least expensive service at first, as you can always increase you subscription if you find that you need more movies.