Blockbuster closing 960 stores. How often do you rent?

[alex]

I watch so many movies every week, if theres some big block buster that u have to see on a big screen, then I go to the movies, otherwise just download the movie, in great crystal quality for free. Im sure uve got the same in the states, here u have a service where u can order a film to watch on line, never leaving your front room. Also we have a dvd store, ring them up, and they deliver the dvd to u(u have to return it), they actually had a little promotion with pizza hut, so a pizza and film would arrive, not bad eh

[jds1911a1]

Blockbuster is behind the times. the brick and mortar rental store is a dinosaur. the price is the same as on demand rentals and now almost everyone with cable has that option with digital conversion requirements. Kiosk machines in grocoeries offer decent selection at better prices - redbox dvd is 1.00 per day and I can return that dvd to ANY redbox ANYWHERE (very useful for travelling btw).

At BB despite being a chain you have to return where you rent. and it isn't like you can get "adult" material at BB or even rarer out of print stuff. Netflix has more selection and has stuff that BB doesn't put into their stores (like Dr who or new DC animated sets). I haven't used the mail away rental from BB but the 2 people I know who did were very disappointed with it compared to Netflix

[cjefferys]

The only thing I don't understand is I thought they were owned by paramount and universal?

Blockbuster was bought by Viacom (which owns Paramount) back in 1994, but they separated in 2004. Universal has no involvement with either company.

I should look into buying used copies and save some money , but I don't want to invest into discs that may have onset of DVD rot. But then again has that even been confirmed to be happening to DVD's like it did with Laserdisc ?

There have been instances of defective discs, where two layers separate and cause problems where one or both layers become unreadable (this defect is especially common with Universal "flipper" discs, i.e. two sided discs which I try to avoid for that reason). As long as the discs are properly made to begin with, "laser rot" shouldn't take place like it has with many laserdiscs, but I guess time will tell in the long run.

[jds1911a1]

Blockbuster was bought by Viacom (which owns Paramount) back in 1994, but they separated in 2004. Universal has no involvement with either company.




There have been instances of defective discs, where two layers separate and cause problems where one or both layers become unreadable (this defect is especially common with Universal "flipper" discs, i.e. two sided discs which I try to avoid for that reason). As long as the discs are properly made to begin with, "laser rot" shouldn't take place like it has with many laserdiscs, but I guess time will tell in the long run.

Laer rot is also inferior manufacturing from specific plants. not an inherant problem in all Laserdiscs

[Gorn Captain]

I never rent DVDs.

The discs always look like the previous guy has inserted them in every orifice....

[cjefferys]

Laer rot is also inferior manufacturing from specific plants. not an inherant problem in all Laserdiscs

That's very true. That's why I said "many", not "all" laserdiscs.

So far, it appears that LDs that were made at the various Japanese based factories are holding up the best. I'll admit that out of the small amount of LDs I own, the ones that say "made in Japan" have no evidence of laser rot (not that this is a scientific method of proving the theory).

[LincoMego]

I received a Blockbuster gift card last Christmas and went and bought some used movies. The the first time i'd been there in a few years. I'm very happy with Netflix. Ive had a wait on a few movies but never had to wait a month or more. Netflix is so conveinent. I can't see going back and forth to rent movies anymore.

[GSPUSA]

Netflix is the way to go.

[toys2cool]

I received a Blockbuster gift card last Christmas and went and bought some used movies. The the first time i'd been there in a few years. I'm very happy with Netflix. Ive had a wait on a few movies but never had to wait a month or more. Netflix is so conveinent. I can't see going back and forth to rent movies anymore.

you're lucky, i waited 2 months for "He's Just Not That Into You"(which sucked by the way)

and been waiting for a long time for Eden lake

[cjefferys]

Is Netflix no longer throttling queues for heavier/more frequent renters? I know there used to be a lot of complaints about that.

[Sideshow Spock]

Not only were there complaints, there was a class-action lawsuit. Netflix settled it and gave all lawsuit participants an extra rental for a month. Meaning if your program was 3 rentals at a time, you got four for a month.

My rental/return rate varies depending on the time of the year, but I've noticed no throttling issues in the past couple years. Initially when I joined four or five yrs ago, there was definite throttling.

[thunderbolt]

^^^^ I dunno, lately, they seem to have slowed down with me. It used to be a two day turn around, now its 3-4 days.

[MegoMark71]

We have been using redbox and now that they do carry some older movies we can watch some of those as well.
Recently we wanted to get the last few seasons of lost and catch up. So we went to the big chain around here called movie gallery. These jokes wanted $4.99 for a movie that had been out forever and we ended up getting it at redbox for a buck. Mg already went through chapter 13 restructuring and i don't know how they are open.

[Rallygirl]

My wife works at the local library, and they get most of the new titles in upon release, so we just check them out there for free.

Chris

I am also a big fan of my local library. Since $200 of my yearly property taxes go towards the library, I might as well get my money back by using their services. DVDs are a frequently overlooked library service. And if your library is part of a cooperative, you might be able to request lesser known titles from other cities and have them delivered to your local branch.

[jds1911a1]

That's very true. That's why I said "many", not "all" laserdiscs.

So far, it appears that LDs that were made at the various Japanese based factories are holding up the best. I'll admit that out of the small amount of LDs I own, the ones that say "made in Japan" have no evidence of laser rot (not that this is a scientific method of proving the theory).

even many is an exageration I have 100's of laserdiscs with no rot issues but
Disc rot - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
as the articles on wiki indicate ther issues are on very early video discs (which at this point are now over 30 years old) and pressings from the US based Sony plant at the end of the cycle.

but a manufacturing error can affect thousands of prints in a very short period of time