A few Offbeat Alternatives To Netflix: Crackle, Vudu, And More

After publishing a list of the best alternatives to Netflix in the wake of the company's surprise price hike, many of our readers took to the comments section of my piece to explain to me how stupid I was for overlooking their favorite services, and for only covering the largest, most mainstream options instead of more deserving underdog websites.

I always welcome insults to my intelligence, of course; and this time, I am responding to those insults with a list of 5 more movie delivery websites that are legitimate alternatives to Netflix. This time we're not focusing on the Blockbusters or the Apples or the Hulus of the world; we're looking at some smaller, less popular websites, run by mom-and-pop operations like Wal-Mart and Sony.

But seriously, we've highlighted 5 fresh, insurgent alternatives to Netflix that are out of the view of most mainstream online movie watchers. Did I once again forget your favorite alternative to Netflix? Let me know by suggesting it using the "Add a Slide" tool below.

See list Below:

Crackle (One of my faves, I am on here just about every weekend!)

Crackle was bought by Sony in 2006 (when it was a startup called Grouper), and now its streaming-only movie and TV library features mostly Sony productions. It is free to watch, and you don't have to register, but you do have to sit through advertisements that break up your movie.

The options are fairly limited right now--there are about 250 full-length movies and episodes from 50 TV shows, though apparently Crackle adds about 10 of each every month. The quality of the options is pretty good, however; I've been watching "Pineapple Express" since lunch, and I'm moving on to the original "Bad Boys" when that's done. The stream looks great at 480p on my laptop, though would probably pixellate on a television screen.

PROS: Totally free, no registration required; varied quality options; user-friendly website design; good picture on laptop for free service; free iPhone, iPad and Android app.
CONS: Ads, ads, ads; limited quantity of movies and especially TV shows; no DVD rental option.

Vudu

A startup founded in 2004 and purchased by Wal-Mart in 2010, Vudu is a movie-streaming service that prides itself on two key features: first, it has a database of high definition, 1080p movies that is larger than any other website's; and second, it is accessible on any device that connects to the Internet, from PlayStation 3s and Blu-Ray Players, to laptops and Internet-enabled TVs. Vudu is compatible with over 300 devices and works as a simple laptop movie streamer, too.

The selection is terrific--over 20,000 movies are available-- though the payment option (for me) is not as terrific. Renting a movie for two days costs between $2 and $7, depending on the desirability of the movie and the streaming quality. A new release in high definition at $7 for 2 days? Pass.

PROS: High definition streaming; terrific selection of new releases and classics; great "Collections" sections, including my personal favorite, a "Best of Rotten Tomatoes" playlist.
CONS: Pay-per-view on-demand system can get very expensive very fast; no DVD rental.

Facets.org

That ".org" is not a typo: Facets Multi-Media is a Chicago-based non-profitfounded in 1975 as a film appreciation group that now has a monthly DVD-by-mail rental system similar to Netflix's. There are over 75,000 movies in its warehouse, and one-out-at-a-time plans are $8.99 a month or $90 a year. If you're a little squeamish about signing up for a year, the monthly plan is one dollar more than the new Netflix DVD-only plan ($7.99), but perhaps you can justify the extra expense with the knowledge you're supporting a non-profit.

As a film appreciation society, Facets has a great selection of rare and imported films, as well as playlists curated by "experts" that are worth checking out.

PROS: Reasonably priced DVD-by-mail rentals from a non-profit; excellent selection of independent and foreign films; recommendation lists from Werner Herzog, Stephen Sondheim, Dan Savage, and other notables.
CONS: No streaming (yet--a company spokesperson says it's on its way); cannot match Netflix's prices, even after the price hike.

Zediva

Zediva is an intriguing video-streaming service that may or may not be legal (they are currently being sued by the MPAA). It is streaming-only, and there is no high definition streaming, but the prices are incredibly low ($2 for a 14-day rental of a new release, or 10 rentals for $10). How do they do it?

When you rent a movie online, you are really renting a physical DVD and a DVD player at Zediva headquarters. The DVD player plays the movie for you and streams it--and thus Zediva does not have to pay the Motion Picture Association of America. So if you're looking for a way to both save money and tick off the MPAA, Zediva might be your best option.

PROS: Very cheap prices for streaming new releases; no monthly fees; chance to stick it to the man.
CONS: Might not exist soon; possibly illegal; substandard video quality and website design.

GreenCine

San Francisco-based GreenCine is Netflix for film buffs; they have "an accent on independent, art house, classics, foreign, documentary, anime and Asian cinema," as their website boasts. With over 30,000 DVDs available for rent at plans starting at $9.95 per month (which lets you take out one video at a time), it's a little more expensive than Netflix for mail rental, but that is the price you pay for Greencine's "eclection" (again, per their website).

Not included in your monthly fee are on-demand rentals: rather than streaming, you download the movie on DivX. Most of those rentals are $5 for 30 days with the DRM-protected flick. So, streaming is available, but only for a price.

PROS: Awesome online selection of niche films, including anime, indie, and foreign; Blu-Rays available; DivX-quality watching on computer
CONS: The prices. More expensive than Netflix, and the per-rental fee for streaming is way too high unless you are only streaming one movie a month.

Also they forgot Miro:

Pros: Miro is cross-platform and 100% free and open-source. Built by a non-profit company and volunteers around the world.
Cons: You may have to wait a week to see the show you want to see. Still this is a banging Ass site!

And Veetle:

Pros: share high quality live video without the need for fancy cameras and expensive software. Our users’ videos are seen by over 10 million viewers a month. And premier events like the World Series of Poker, the SAP Open and the United Football League (UFL) use Veetle to broadcast their events. Not to mention Movies, Whole Series of Tv, Movie, and internet series are shown there. I just purchase a decent tv that has great HDMI, USB, and Wireless Streaming possibles  with my router so I can view a lot of the programming right on my Tv.  These two are great are:

Cons: Some of the people who do share, don't really have the computers to do it correctly, so you may have some lag or rendering issues. Buffering is key when doing this, so also make sure you have ample memory and a decent video card.  Still, I would pick Veetle ,Crackle, or Miro over the others.