Thursday, June 22, 2006

Update re: SilverScreenArchive, formerly ClassicFlix

11/14/2007 UPDATE: I have replaced all references to Classicflix in this post to SilverScreenArchive, which is their new name since October 2006.

I am really enjoying using SilverScreenArchive, which I joined back in March to use as a supplement to my Netflix subscription. If you would like to see the greatest classics of foreign and American film, this is your source. They have thousands of titles which are missing from the Netflix collection, because Netflix carries only DVD releases. SilverScreenArchive does something very helpful for the customer. They take movies which are only on VHS and convert them to DVD for ease of mailing, which makes movies available for rent which you can't get any other way. Since I am trying to complete the list of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, this is a big help.

They ship series discs in order, I haven't received any unplayable or damaged discs, and they've never made a mistake.

I have two challenges with using SilverScreenArchive, but these don't bother me enough to give up the service, because they still have movies I must see. Turnaround is slow. It can take about 4-5 days for them to receive my returns. They are in California, and I am in North Carolina. The fastest was 3 days once, and the slowest was 8 days once. As a result, even though I'm limited to 8 per month, I've reached my limit only once. Still, I get my money's worth.

The other challenge is that they do not ship in queue order, so there is no predicting what you'll get next. Blockbuster Online does the same thing. However, I never put anything in my queue that I do not always want to see, so that's not a big deal. It's just that there was a title at the top of my queue for three months that just now shipped.

Considering that they are a little mom & pop organization, they do a great job.

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