On a whim, I decided to check out this Redbox service. I've heard a lot about them over the past year or so and have increasingly seen their vending machines pop up at shopping locations in my area.
Well they put one not too far from the Dunkin Donuts I go to each morning so a few days ago I decided to give it a try. Without even having an account, it took me all of about 45 seconds to get a current movie and so long as I had it back by 9PM the next night, I would only be charged $1.06. When I went to work the next day, I saw a Redbox near where I work so I returned the DVD to that one and took out another which I was able to return the next day at the Redbox near my house.
Wicked convenient as I didn't have to go out of my way to either get or return the DVDs. I can rent a movie in Boston and return it in a different city with no extra charge. And if I'm not sure where the nearest Redbox is, all I have to do is go to their website and type the zip code I'm in and I have direction on the nearest one.
Also, I opened an account online and so can now select the movie I want to see and reserve it so that when I go to the machine, all I have to do is swipe my card and it will pop out.
Anyway, sorry for the obvious advertisement (and no, I don't work for them) but it's not often I am truly impressed with a new service so when I saw the article that they rented 2 million movies in one night, I figured I ought to post it and mention my recent experience with Redbox. Can't beat paying $1 to see a recently released movie.
The only drawback with Redbox is that they only have a few hundred movies to choose from because the vending machines only hold so much. But I imagine as they get more successful, they will come out with machines that will burn DVDs on demand and be able offer just about every movie out there.
Great example of free enterprise, entrepreneurial excellence.
In other words, there’s a good reason we don’t rent movies from the DMV ;-)
Why didn’t I invent this, LOL.
With an adapter from Apple I am able to download a movie from iTunes( $.99 and up rental cost) to my iPod touch. The adapter hooks up to the iPod and to my TV’s component input. Movies plays, no adjustment or setting changes necessary. Very slick.
I don’t run the risk of a mishandled and scratched DVD from Redbox.
Like you, I don’t watch that many movies. It was just this December that I decided to get a membership at our local video store. I can rent movies for a buck and return them a number of days later (like 4). I’d checked out Netflix but decided not to because I don’t want to incur a monthly fee when I don’t watch all that much. And as you claim, Red Box has a rather small collection. And from what I’ve seen, it’s geared more toward today’s fare; not something I’m in to at all. But the concept is dead on as far as convenience and service.
They’re in almost every major grocery store in L.A. and there are line ups. Kudos to the guy who thought about it.
Redbox should generate a pin number or access code to use to pick it your movie. I don't like swiping my credit card again because there are people waiting in line or in their cars behind me.
Also, the machines don't seem to work well in the cold. I had to drive to another Redbox (inside of a Wal-Mart) because nothing happened when I hit the "Return" section of the touch screen. I could tell the machine was frozen solid. It would make better sense to put the machines inside of Walgreen's since most of them are open 24/7.
Otherwise, it's a fantastic service and it's one of those no-brainer inventions that you kick yourself for not thinking of before. I signed up 2 weeks ago and stopped going to Family Video and stopped using Time Warner's movies on demand.
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Blockbuster seems to be getting on board now with their own kiosks popping up. Ultimately, however, the future will be fee-based digital downloads.
My wife and I rented a few, but our finicky tastes soon exhausted the limited selection available.
And the website lies about what can actually be had at a given location.
Thanks for the info. I’ll have to check around to see if one is near me.
Out of curiosity, how much is the charge if you don’t return it the next day?
Can you imagine how much business they could do if they put them in Airports? Might have to charge an extra $.25 per day to cover added expenses, but they’d do a lot of business.
I like both redbox and netflix. My only real complaints about either is that the dvd are filthy when we receive about 95% of the time....which I can’t understand why people touch these dvd’s and leave greasy fingerprints and sometimes food all over the dvd.....anyone else experience this or is just me?
My answer to Redbox — a service called Starzplay, offered by Verizon. It’s 5.95 a month, and you can download as many mov ies as you want to your computer. The movies aren’t exactly current — but nearly current, and I’ve yet to watch a movie on the service I didn’t like.
That blogger thinks such pressures will mean Hollywood will become less crazy and will have to appeal to a broader, more mature audience. Young teens won't have big allowances in this economy, and the young male market is dominated by video games.
Redbox is excellent and very convenient. It’s the best way to rent new and relatively new releases. At $1 a night the price is right. I’ll grab ‘The Final Destination’ on Tuesday when it is released, for example. Not worth going to the theater for, and indeed not worth going out of my way either, but it beats tv.
For older titles, I can usually get them at my library. I reserve them and they email me when it comes in. I go to the library once a week at least anyway, so I can get as many as 7 DVDs at a time.
True, I can’t get everything, but it covers most of my viewing. The library also has new titles but for those you sometimes have to wait a month or more. Redbox is the easy fix for that problem.
I’ve been a fan of Redbox since the day I first saw one of their machines, a fee years ago.
We are members of Netflix, but sometimes, we just decide we want something different on the spur of the moment. We also use the Redbox as info for what movies are being released, then we go home and put the ones in which we’re interested on our Netflix list. ;o)