Oh noes teh sky is falling!

[vargo]

Don't worry, it's just like when Blockbuster started closing stores. A simple re-adjustment, nothing to worry about. The physical rental market is healthier than ever, I heard Redbox are even doubling the number of installed kiosks in Timbuktu. Now excuse me while I drink some refreshing kool-aid.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by vargo

Don't worry, it's just like when Blockbuster started closing stores. A simple re-adjustment, nothing to worry about. The physical rental market is healthier than ever, I heard Redbox are even doubling the number of installed kiosks in Timbuktu. Now excuse me while I drink some refreshing kool-aid.

oh please... when you have actually worrying STATS... come to the table. until then stop with your and slick's trolling


this is a freaking 1.25% decrease based on over saturation, blockbuster did a TON of closings for their first one. this isn't in the same ballpark.

[weevon]

Greed...Greed...Greed

[HDTV1080P]

REDBOX has more than 40,000 rental kiosks in the United States that offer Blu-ray rentals. Now REDBOX is closing 500 of their rental kiosks around the United States. More and more consumers are using video on demand from cable and satellite for the latest hit movie rentals. Also streaming services like VUDU and Netflix is growing in popularity.

If consumers do not support their local REDBOX location, then possible in the years to come more rental kiosks might also be removed (closed). For most consumers in the United States, REDBOX is the only local place that exists to rent Blu-ray discs. Netflix offers Blu-ray disc rentals by mail only.

Quote

“Redbox has announced that it plans to eliminate more than 500 DVD/Blu-ray rental kiosks around the nation in a bid to reduce expenses, writes Verge.com.”

http://www.tvpredictions.com/tv052614.htm

[Dynamo of Eternia]

I haven't been much of a traditional renter in years, but that's mostly because I pretty much became a hardcore collector ever since I jumped on board with DVD about 16 years ago, and that has carried over to Blu-Ray. The number of times that I have traditionally rented a film I could probably count on one hand, but I do my part in supporting physical media through my purchases.

That said, it is very sad and problematic what the gradual decline of physical media rental options will mean for consumers if eventually they go away completely.

These two articles (one from last month, the other from July of last year) really sum up the problems with streaming options, and how that really creates a problem with accessing content.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/201...-library.shtml

http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowand...t-to-see-video


At the end of the day, digital streaming really isn't that great for the consumer. The problem, I think, is that people will of course go for the convenient streaming option when a movie or TV show is available on it, but then might be willing to seek out a physical rental option when something isn't available through any streaming services that they are signed up with. The problem is that as a result, since the physical rental options are only getting business from those people when the content isn't available elsewhere, they can't stay in business if people only use them as a last resort (i.e. Blockbuster).

Now while 500 kiosks certainly isn't by any means a huge nail in the coffin of Red Box, it's also not a sign of good things to come for them.

But when all physical rental options go away, many people will be without legit, legal options to watch the movies that they want without buying them outright... if they are even still available that way come that time.

Until they can find a happy medium most, if not all of the benefits of physical rental are maintained and carried over to a digital service, this will gradually become more and more of a problem.

[Guydowood]

digital downloads killed the rental video business stars.....

Rent in Peace:

Movie Gallery - 1985-2010
Hollywood Video - 1988-2010
Blockbuster - 1985-2013

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

To me, this just indicates that many people will opt for the convenience of streaming vs. the relative hassle of having to deal with renting a physical DVD/Blu. This is despite the fact that with streaming, the PQ is sometimes not as good as regular DVD (in some cases) & can be jerky at times.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by vargo

Don't worry, it's just like when Blockbuster started closing stores. A simple re-adjustment, nothing to worry about. The physical rental market is healthier than ever, I heard Redbox are even doubling the number of installed kiosks in Timbuktu. Now excuse me while I drink some refreshing kool-aid.

Gee varg, I put down the kool-aid and I came to my senses in realizing that I’m not immortal. I figure I’ve got about 20-25 years to go before the bugs start eating on me. In fact, odds are, some of my friends probably have even less as they’re not as healthy. I guess we’d all be better served just jumping off a tall bridge right now knowing that death is inevitable. Just get it over with.

Maybe, someday the disc doomsayers will get it right and they’ll be happy in their forecasting. Just be careful in what you wish for......Now excuse me while I visit my favorite mountain biking forum where I’ll remind fellow mountain biking enthusiasts that the heydays were in the late 90’s and no sense in enjoying their hobby anymore as its been in a slow decline since then.

[Tok]

Originally Posted by Guydowood

digital downloads killed the rental video business stars.....



Rent in Peace:



Movie Gallery - 1985-2010

Hollywood Video - 1988-2010

Blockbuster - 1985-2013

What's funny is that many small towns in the Midwest now have Family Video stores and from what I heard they are growing. Many of these small towns don't have telcos and cable companies with the latest high end equipment to support extremely fast bandwidth.

I kind of miss the visit to the local video store.

[bruceames]

Unfortunately it looks like the sky is falling on 3D Blu-ray. Disney not releasing the 3D version of Frozen in the US, Robocop (2014) only being released on 2D BD worldwide after being shown 3D in theaters, Vizio pulling 3D support from its 2014 lineup, etc.

It sucks because I'm late to the 3D party and it's like I show up when everyone is leaving. Hopefully it'll keep going at least for the blockbusters, even if it has to be imported.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by Guydowood

digital downloads killed the rental video business stars.....

Rent in Peace:

Movie Gallery - 1985-2010
Hollywood Video - 1988-2010
Blockbuster - 1985-2013

I don't think it's necessarily only digital downloads, although they're certainly a factor. It's also the fact that catalog DVDs to a large extent and catalog BDs to a lesser extent are remarkably inexpensive. A lot of catalog DVDs are 2/$7.00. Why rent when you can buy for the same price? There's tons of BDs under $10, many as cheap as $6-$7.

Also, while limited in selection, Redbox has also hurt existing rental video stores.

In addition, cable/satellite TV subscribers have a large selection of movies to watch, especially on the premium channels.

When the industry makes movies available everywhere at the same time that they're substantially reducing or eliminating exclusive windows, you have to expect that some of the outlets won't survive. I'm amazed there's any video rental stores left at all (except perhaps for international foreign language films).

In a few years, you'll be writing about the additional theaters that just closed. Since 2011, New York City has lost 7% of its screens and 11% of its theaters. Since 2006, it's lost 10% of its screens and almost 18% of its theaters.
Since 2001, it's lost almost 14% of its screens and over 20% of its theaters.

That trend is only going to increase as real-estate prices continue to increase and as fewer people see movies in theaters. In 2013, 1.34 billion tickets were sold domestically. In 2002, 1.6 billion tickets were sold when the U.S. population had about 34 million fewer people.

[bruceames]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

That trend is only going to increase as real-estate prices continue to increase and as fewer people see movies in theaters. In 2013, 1.34 billion tickets were sold domestically. In 2002, 1.6 billion tickets were sold when the U.S. population had about 34 million fewer people.

However unlike home video, the trend is compensated by rising ticket prices. Also box offices revenue for US movies is growing overseas.

Even though fewer tickets are being sold in the US, that decline will eventually bottom out. Going to the theater is more than anything a social event (especially for the young and it's still probably the most preferred destination for dating), so there will never be an obituary written about the movie theater, no matter how technologically advanced the average home video setup becomes.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

......Now excuse me while I visit my favorite mountain biking forum where I’ll remind fellow mountain biking enthusiasts that the heydays were in the late 90’s and no sense in enjoying their hobby anymore as its been in a slow decline since then.

After that , I’ll visit the message board of my off-road motorcycle club (http://www.viewfindersmc.com/ ) where I’ll inform other members that the heydays of off-road racing were in the 70’s and 80’s so, no sense in partaking in any of these events… http://www.viewfindersmc.com/html/race_schedule.html as it’s a pittance of what the racing calendar looked like back in the day. Plus, I envision further decline in the popularity of the sport as online supercross/motocross gaming and such becomes more realistic.

In fact, I think I’ll sell all my finisher pins because they are/never were a good investment of my time and sure as hell aren’t worthy of the space on my wall anymore, far upper right - https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...ns#post8865467

Also now considering changing my sig to ‘I like to whine online’.

[pentatonic]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Also now considering changing my sig to ‘I like to whine online’.

[octagon]

The lady doth protest too much, methinks - some English guy, 1602

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by pentatonic

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother”

On Blu-ray -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-released.html

a tidbit –

World War 2 as you have never seen it: rare colour footage of D-Day landings - YouTube

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

I haven't been much of a traditional renter in years, but that's mostly because I pretty much became a hardcore collector ever since I jumped on board with DVD about 16 years ago, and that has carried over to Blu-Ray. The number of times that I have traditionally rented a film I could probably count on one hand, but I do my part in supporting physical media through my purchases.

That said, it is very sad and problematic what the gradual decline of physical media rental options will mean for consumers if eventually they go away completely.

These two articles (one from last month, the other from July of last year) really sum up the problems with streaming options, and how that really creates a problem with accessing content.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/201...-library.shtml

http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowand...t-to-see-video


At the end of the day, digital streaming really isn't that great for the consumer. The problem, I think, is that people will of course go for the convenient streaming option when a movie or TV show is available on it, but then might be willing to seek out a physical rental option when something isn't available through any streaming services that they are signed up with. The problem is that as a result, since the physical rental options are only getting business from those people when the content isn't available elsewhere, they can't stay in business if people only use them as a last resort (i.e. Blockbuster).

Now while 500 kiosks certainly isn't by any means a huge nail in the coffin of Red Box, it's also not a sign of good things to come for them.

But when all physical rental options go away, many people will be without legit, legal options to watch the movies that they want without buying them outright... if they are even still available that way come that time.

Until they can find a happy medium most, if not all of the benefits of physical rental are maintained and carried over to a digital service, this will gradually become more and more of a problem.

Streaming could potentially become even less consumer friendly if that Dreamworks CEO's prediction about paying for movies by size of the screen you watch them on becomes a reality. It sound utterly ludicrous in my opinion. So people who like watching movies on big screens will be charged more than someone watching on a tablet or smartphone. Everything is about buy once play everywhere at the moment, yet Jeff Katzenburg is suggesting a future where that system would be turned on its head? It is now very clear why streaming is the buzzword of the moment. Total control over content and the pushing of mobile viewing rather than home viewing (the real threat to the cinema.) my theories about mobile viewing taking over seems to be becoming truer by the year. I guess the safe option is sticking with bluray and hopefully enjoying big screen entertainment for many years until the studios get their way and we are all watching on mobile devices so they can charge more for cinema viewings and advertise it as 'the only big screen experience'

[vargo]

Digital distribution projected to exceed physical by 2016:
http://variety.com/2014/digital/news...ds-1201207708/

In a sign that the future will be streamed and downloaded, the study projects that electronic home video revenue will exceed that of physical home video in 2016. Meanwhile DVDs are looking increasingly imperiled, with PwC estimating that physical home entertainment revenue will fall more than 28% from $12.2 billion last year to $8.7 billion in 2018.

By 2018, electronic home video, which includes subscription video-on-demand services and cable on-demand offerings, will be the main contributor to total filmed entertainment revenue, overtaking the box office by 2017, the study finds. In five years, revenues for the sector will double from $8.5 billion in 2014 to $17 billion by 2018.

[bruceames]

Originally Posted by vargo

Digital distribution projected to exceed physical by 2016:
http://variety.com/2014/digital/news...ds-1201207708/

Depends on how they tally SVOD in the future. Subscription streaming right now is almost all movies and TV shows. But eventually you'll have sports, news and other programming traditionally viewed on cable/sat. Counting those towards "home video" will be misleading and in my opinion the only way digital will reach $17.5 billion in four years is to include non-movie/tv show programming.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by bruceames.

Depends on how they tally SVOD in the future. Subscription streaming right now is almost all movies and TV shows. But eventually you'll have sports, news and other programming traditionally viewed on cable/sat. Counting those towards "home video" will be misleading and in my opinion the only way digital will reach $17.5 billion in four years is to include non-movie/tv show programming.

exactly. since cable is now basically becoming "streaming" in their eyes, all those subs are gonna be thrown in the mix too.