Movie Are Video Shops Doomed???

[raticus_usm]

I managed a video shop for 10 years before my current job and it was a thriving business - but i cant see how they can survive these days - I havent been to our local for months. Admit it - most of you guys watch movies downloaded by u or freinds. Hell Zac and miri was doing the rounds several months ago and its only just started at the cinema. Just curious to what u guys think.

 

[tarky]

i still love good ol vid shops...i don't download any movies because more often than not, it's sh*thouse quality and i'd rather watch it for the first time on the big screen (if it gets theatrically released of course). I'd see around 1-2 movies a week at cinemas (6-10 during festivals)

 

[Lotch]

I still like going to video shops and looking at the actual covers etc

But the video shop as we no it could be doomed or changes will occur anyway. Most people do download these days.

 

[CF]

I think that video shops still do a trade but there are certainly less around these days. Maybe the Blu Ray market will give them a bit of a boost.

 

[tarky]

I think that video shops still do a trade but there are certainly less around these days. Maybe the Blu Ray market will give them a bit of a boost.

..not if video ezy always want a $50 deposit on each one you borrow

 

[kangaroo19]

Must admit, I've never really got into the whole downloading thing for movies or music. Much prefer to buy CD's and DVD's and I can never really be bothered looking and waiting to download stuff... give me the original any day! Still go to the local Blockbuster each week to find me good deals to rent and buy.

 

[dont bowl there]

I still like going to video shops and looking at the actual covers etc

But the video shop as we no it could be doomed or changes will occur anyway. Most people do download these days.

Nah the % of people who download would be tiny.

 

[tarky]

Nah the % of people who download would be tiny.

that's true...the percentage of film viewers that do that would be around 1% i'd guess, maybe even alot less.

 

[Andre]

I download tv (especially older shows, instead of buying lots of box sets), but not a lot of movies. Generally movies it's impulsive - lets go see what's there. Or lets go hire 'X'. You don't then want to wait 1 - 10 hrs (depending if you want shit to top quality) for it to download and watch on your pc.

If we ever got really fast broadband here I can see the shops dying out, but until then no. And I'd say their risk is not downloaders, but the price of DVD's these days. I remember when VCR's first came out - you could pay 50-100 in those days dollars for new movies. Now nothing (not including special editions) is generally over $20-$30 for a new movie. And older ones cost the same as to hire, so why hire most times?

 

[mdc]

I also don't really see how they stay in business. Most of them have a shitty selection, new releases aside. If you're after a quality older film, it's often out, if they have it at all. Plus, as mentioned above, it's almost cheaper to buy now than to hire.

Basically, I haven't used one in years. The university library has a much better selection than any video store I've ever been to, and any films they're missing I can easily source online.

 

[Upgrayedd]

TBO ild rather pay 4 dollars then 1/10th of my download allowance, and face the risk of being capped to dial up

 

[Zarrix]

I don't think ive actually rented from a video store since the beginning of the decade, but I don't see downloads killing video stores. $5 for 3 days or w/e is more than fair, because with a few exceptions, I rarely watch any movie or show more than two or three times. Don't forget the Video Game component of the store either. $ 8 weekly hire for a $70-100 game, thats a much tastier proposition albeit it will take at least 3 months for the store to get their money back >_>

 

[Mancey]

Baby boomers will keep them going.

Next generation will knock em on the head tho. Will go the way of the farrier or apothecary shop

 

[tarky]

I don't think ive actually rented from a video store since the beginning of the decade, but I don't see downloads killing video stores. $5 for 3 days or w/e is more than fair, because with a few exceptions, I rarely watch any movie or show more than two or three times. Don't forget the Video Game component of the store either. $ 8 weekly hire for a $70-100 game, thats a much tastier proposition albeit it will take at least 3 months for the store to get their money back >_>

most dvds cost the video stores between $70 and $100 too. I used to work in one

 

[CF]

..not if video ezy always want a $50 deposit on each one you borrow

really? maybe not then.

 

[JUBJUB]

There was a bit in the paper earlier this year saying that hundreds of video stores had close down in the last year.I guess these days with downloading,Foxtel movie channels and cheaper places to buy DVDs [i.e JB HiFi,Kmart,Big W ....etc] it's gonna be tough.I haven't hired a DVD for about 8 years.

 

[Xtreme]

I havn't hired a dvd in close to 2 years (will be 2 years in April), but have still gone in to my local to check it out from time to time (always curious as to the layout, what new vs old titles they stock etc). While i havn't hired anything over the last few years, i've still purchased new + ex-rental titles from them (usually as a last resort when other stores i've been to didn't have what i was after).

Actually have found it amazing over the last 10 years, my main videoshop is huge. When they started bringing in dvds, it was barely half a shelf full (say 2-3 rows, 5 dvds per row). Obviously it built up over time, to being a FULL shelf (10+ dvds in a single row, across multiple rows), then sections of rows, complete asiles etc.

Over the last 4 years, while the dvd section has increased, the vhs section decreased. In the last 2 years, they finally wiped out the vhs section (the only vhs tapes still around are those in the ex rental bins). I found seeing so many dvds in the one spot (larger than JB Hifi's range) incredible.

Now it's funny, seeing the videoshops blu-ray range starting off just like the dvds with 3 rows of 4 titles per row. Over the last few months they've now got a full shelf zone devoted to the blu-ray range.


Kinda like in retail at JB Hifi, they started off small, they're aiming to have a full standard shelf (like the dvds), just full of blu-rays by the end of the year. They're nearly half way there now.

 

[CF]

I haven't hired one for a few years now as well. What is especially cool right now is that I have just learned how to burn MKV files onto DVD that will play in a Blu ray with the High def video/sound intact. So that means I wont need to hire any blu rays as well. Viva la P2P

 

[JimDocker]

I have never downloaded either music or films.

I still go to the movies with my wife fairly often, if we can get a babysitter.

Some of the festival films are harder to get too now with daylight savings as the film does not start till 9 and we end up not going. Having someone look after our kid till midnight mid week is a bit rude.

That is where our local video store (Starland) is brilliant. They get all the festival films fairly quickly. Have a dedicated area in the shop and have great deals. I have not been to one ofthe franchise video stores for years, but hopefully the independents hang in there as they offer a valuable service.

 

[Ry009]

I haven't hired one for a few years now as well. What is especially cool right now is that I have just learned how to burn MKV files onto DVD that will play in a Blu ray with the High def video/sound intact. So that means I wont need to hire any blu rays as well. Viva la P2P

Interesting, could you please share mate?

 

[Chief]

Video shops will eventually become banks of vending machines that create discs on demand for $5 and you will keep the movie, unless you return it for $1 credit on your next 'rental'.

You heard it here first.

 

[CF]

Video shops will eventually become banks of vending machines that create discs on demand for $5 and you will keep the movie, unless you return it for $1 credit on your next 'rental'.

You heard it here first.

good idea

I reckon it will be movies on demand sent over the internet which will kill the video store. Not currently as the internet in Australia is too slow. But I can imagine when we have super fast internet you could hire a movie directly to your home with full access to play it for 24 hours. The movie would only take a very short time to download into a player connected into TV much like Tivvo etc and would automatically wipe it after 24 hours.

I think I even once read Bill Gates (Boooo) saying this will be the case in the future.

 

[YOTC]

Video shops will eventually become banks of vending machines that create discs on demand for $5 and you will keep the movie, unless you return it for $1 credit on your next 'rental'.

You heard it here first.

Puck you Miss.

I was about to say that.

 

[Chief]

good idea

I reckon it will be movies on demand sent over the internet which will kill the video store. Not currently as the internet in Australia is too slow. But I can imagine when we have super fast internet you could hire a movie directly to your home with full access to play it for 24 hours. The movie would only take a very short time to download into a player connected into TV much like Tivvo etc and would automatically wipe it after 24 hours.

I think I even once read Bill Gates (Boooo) saying this will be the case in the future.

If they let people pay $5 to keep the movie for up to a year you'd get more people watching more movies. With distribution at a few cents a movie they'd rake the cash in. At the end of the year ask if they want to buy the movie for $5. Sandwich it between ads that you can't skip and there is more income.

Even better, $20 a month for an all you can eat service, added onto your ISP bill. It's $20 a month they're NOT getting out of torrent users now.

Free it up. Give people more than they could ever watch for a cheap price. People will love it and torrents with their long download times and poor quality would stagnate.

 

[CF]

I see the merit in your idea, but most Hollywood distributers go the way of "How we can make the most money" That is why torrents exist in the first place, because of Hollywood greed and culture control.

If you download torrents using a bittorrent client then yes it can take ages to download because of ISP throttling. But if you are willing to pay for a seedbox (which are cheap) and then use an FTP client then the download times are pretty quick depending on your internet connection.