Posted on 02/23/2010 11:18:29 AM PST by raccoonradio
Convenience, choice drawing consumers to other movie options
On a recent weekday, Ken Moore browsed the new release wall at Hollywood Video but he couldn’t avoid the “Store Closing’’ banners that draped the inside and outside of the Quincy store.
“I’m like a dinosaur,’’ said the father of two from Milton. “People tell me ‘You’re still going to the video store?’ and I’m like ‘Yeah.’ ’’
Moore is a part of a growing minority of movie renters who shun the convenience of instantly uploading moves online or grabbing a DVD at supermarket kiosks in favor of roaming the aisles of the big-box video rental stores such as Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. At a time when mainstream video store chains are being challenged like never before by the growth of on-demand cable movie rentals and Internet-based mail delivery outlets, these cinephiles are like nomads, driving farther and farther to find another video store when their neighborhood shop closes.
“The trend for video stores is, in some ways, going in the same direction as neighborhood bookstores, in that they’re closing,’’ said Gloria Boone, a media and advertising professor at Suffolk University. “Between choice and convenience, it really is dooming the local video stores. It’s their death knell.’’
The shuttering of movie rental stores has become common in recent years as closings have quietly dotted city neighborhoods from Dorchester and Porter Square to Abington and Quincy.
Earlier this month, Movie Gallery Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection and is closing 760 of its Movie Gallery, Hollywood Video (including five in the Bay State), and Game Crazy stores nationally, according to the company website. Blockbuster Inc., which owns Blockbuster Video, closed 300 stores last year and will shutter up to 600 this year.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
After a while you end up having to rent a storage unit for all those DVDs.
[When you can buy a new release for $10, what’s the point of renting for $5 and paying a few bucks more for the eventual late fees.]
Exactly, especially when as you get older, you’ve forgotten what you’ve seen in a week and can watch the same show over. Pretty soon I’ll just be able to put John Wayne in Rio Bravo on a continuous loop and not even have to get up off the couch. Perpetually entertained.
“Mystical late fees?”
You mean those pesky fees that showed up when you didn’t return your movies on time? I don’t think there’s anything mystical about them.
“Mystical late fees” is right up there with “Predatory Lenders” that hunted innocent people and made them by homes they could not afford.
I hadn’t rented a movie in quite a few years. I’d either bought or DVR’d them. Then we got into the mode of upgrading our TV. So in December I looked at joining Netflix, or some other DVD rental.
Not being big movie buffs, I stopped when I saw it would cost a monthly fee whether we ordered movies or not. I looked into Redbox, but what they have locally is pitiful, and I want to be able to walk into a store and walk out with something. So, I set up a membership at our local video rental store. I’ve only rented two movies since then (like I said, we’re not into movies much), but will rent more now that we have our new, super duper TV.
It’s all in what one’s needs are.
Netfix streaming is the final nail in the coffin.
Do editors actually do any work these days?
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Can a minority not grow in size and still be a minority?
Eddie Coyle was a tough movie to find.
I grew up in the town where the bank they robbed is located.
My town also has the plaza where Eddie bought the guns.
I buy most of mine via Amazon. I get many DVDs for less than $10 including shipping and I do not have to worry about getting hit with a rewind fee if forget to when I send the rental DVD back.
Yes, it can--but this article is about a shrinking minority. The group going to rental stores is getting smaller--not growing.
Netflix streaming is great. Netflix has stuff you’d never find in a million years at a video store, and they have imports that would cost $30-40 dollars if you had to buy them. Between Netflix, Redbox, YouTube, Hulu, On Demand eps from the networks, On Demand from DirecTV, Tivo, DVR’s and BitTorrent, people have no need for video stores anymore. If I miss a tv ep, I can pull it off the internet, stream it over my network and watch it on my TV with my XBox. Or I can watch Netflix on demand with their XBox app. I haven’t been in a movie rental store in years.
I’m more amused by “instantly UPloading movies online.” The writer and copy editor don’t understand the difference between uploading and downloading.
No, they aren’t. It’s part of their company FAQ. They made a business decision not to carry porn or mature titles.
I am 1/2 mile from a Redbox. I get movies for 1 buck a pop.
On Demand is a good thing too.
They carry “9 Songs” “Brown Bunny” that is not porn?
BTW, if you're in the market for an excellent documentary (one of three in the world that is not liberal) rent "King of Kong."
It's about a couple of guys battling for the world record in Donkey Kong, which you would think would be incredibly boring, but it's not. I only watched it because it was one of the few rated better than 4.5 stars. I can see why now - it's absolutely fascinating and hysterically funny at times.
There is a whole very weird world out there where competitive gaming is bloodthirsty and ugly.
We joined netflix about a month ago. Then we heard about Lost and have watched all five seasons through their instant watch program. Sometimes we watch two or three in one day.
Yeah, but the scene where that big, hairy arm reaches in through the bathroom window is still a classic. Hmm, I wonder if NetFlix has Gargoyles on DVD?
RedBox is good, and it’s cheap.
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