Dothan (AL) - Rental chain Movie Gallery announced this week that it has plans to enter the arena of online DVD renting.

The move is similar to Blockbuster, which was hit hard by the online alternatives to in-store renting. Movie Gallery, which also owns the chain Hollywood Video, says rentals of older movies have been declining because of services like Netflix and Movielink, citing results from a store survey.

To distinguish itself, Movie Gallery says the alternative will be less expensive than other online services. Unlike Blockbuster’s colossal marketing budget and in-store promotions for its online service, store CEO Joe Malugen said it will not excessively push its new online store. Malugen didn’t mention how else he plans on getting the word out.

Movie Gallery also recently acquired MovieBeam, a video-on-demand service that allows video playback onto TVs, which requires a proprietary $200 set-top box.