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Blockbuster is closing the doors

Services like Netflix have spoiled you. Before instant streaming we were paying for service and watching ads anyway.

Not at all I just expect not have to watch an ad every-time I fast forward 3 minutes when Im paying for a service.
 
Not at all I just expect not have to watch an ad every-time I fast forward 3 minutes when Im paying for a service.

Were you not paying for your service before?
 
But Netflix and Hulu have absolutely no new releases in their New Release section. Seriously Netflix still lists Dredd as a new release.

Well, Hulu is always coming out with the latest tv shows, but yeah, Netflix's new release schedule is awful.
 
Going to BB had a certain mystique to it. I would start on one wall of new releases and finish at the other side. Sometimes it was frustrating because there were 20 dvd covers but no rentals behind them, so plan B was to wait by the returns and bug the clerk to check the pile for you which sometimes worked. Plan C was to comb the middle rows and settle for a foreign movie or staples like the Pianist or the Fugitive IMO. Don't forget to look at the board for the new release dates and plan to get there early.

I tried Redbox but the selection sucks, now I use XBMC and watch movies while there still in the theaters but they may be dubbed in Korean or Chinese, buts its free though.
 
Going to BB had a certain mystique to it. I would start on one wall of new releases and finish at the other side. Sometimes it was frustrating because there were 20 dvd covers but no rentals behind them, so plan B was to wait by the returns and bug the clerk to check the pile for you which sometimes worked. Plan C was to comb the middle rows and settle for a foreign movie or staples like the Pianist or the Fugitive IMO. Don't forget to look at the board for the new release dates and plan to get there early.

I tried Redbox but the selection sucks, now I use XBMC and watch movies while there still in the theaters but they may be dubbed in Korean or Chinese, buts its free though.

I love The Pianist. Can never go wrong with that movie. Another thing you don't get with Redbox/Netflix - I used to have people come in all the time, asking me to pick out a good movie for them, or "What did you think about this movie?"

I would always tell them the truth. I got in trouble for it once or twice, but I never stopped. The customers knew that they could trust me, though, to not steer them wrong. I would never lie to someone and tell them a sucky movie was good, just to make a few bucks.
 
Well, Hulu is always coming out with the latest tv shows, but yeah, Netflix's new release schedule is awful.
Netflix still don't have Braking Bad past Season 6 Episode 1, and Hulu doesn't have it at all.
 
Netflix still don't have Braking Bad past Season 6 Episode 1, and Hulu doesn't have it at all.

I said it near the beginning of this thread: each of those services alone are terrible.
 
Can't help but laugh at all the comments of blockbuster being obsolete but not holding netflix to the same standard. Ever heard of torrents?
 
Collectively, they're still terrible.

Well, there's always Plan C, but I'm going to have to give you that solution in the form of a riddle because it may not be entirely legitimate.

What begins with "t" and ends in "orrent?"
 
I love The Pianist. Can never go wrong with that movie. Another thing you don't get with Redbox/Netflix - I used to have people come in all the time, asking me to pick out a good movie for them, or "What did you think about this movie?"

I would always tell them the truth. I got in trouble for it once or twice, but I never stopped. The customers knew that they could trust me, though, to not steer them wrong. I would never lie to someone and tell them a sucky movie was good, just to make a few bucks.

I remember you. You were the cool staff that always found me a great movie or took the time to find the new release in the return pile. If you didn't give me a straight answer if a new release was worth watching, I wouldn't rent it. Now I just check the reviews and look for anything from 7 stars or higher out of 10 typically. I've been amazed with XBMC, cause I get everything and great quality depending on the source. Wonder how long it will last before they take it down like napster.

Making it a BB night mattered 5 years ago and you were on your game if you kept up with the latest releases. Not to mention looking at the eye candy in the drama aisle. There were some benefits....BB made you feel good about yourself IMO.
 
Can't help but laugh at all the comments of blockbuster being obsolete but not holding netflix to the same standard. Ever heard of torrents?

That's the way I go. I buy a ton of DVDs/Blurays, I have thousands of them, but for TV, I download every new episode I want to watch and, if I liked it, I'll go buy a season set when it's released. Movies, I don't care, I can wait a couple of months and just buy the DVD, I get it first day, if I care enough to do that, and never have to deal with theaters.
 
Perhaps the President can do something to save this company. Blockbusters are unionized, are they not?

because it was the unions that caused netflix, lol.
 
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
 
I can't say I'm sad to see them go. they were a prime example of what's wrong with corporate America. They didn't think forward like Redbox or Netflix and as a result spent a good amount of coin lobbying to make sure they had a street date for new releases 1-2 weeks in front of the other two. Really pissed me off.

I did have a friend that owned a mom and pop video store. Store shut its doors 6 months after Family Video (I'm guessing regional small cap version of Blockbuster)moved into town.

Browsing the selections and watching some really good movies I wouldn't have even thought of watching had it not been for the interaction at the store with fellow patrons and friends.

Oh well, thus must give way to progress...
 
Correction: the combination of Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and other pay-for-view websites are a far better way, as the selection of each alone is kind of terrible.

Anyway, it was never possible for video rental stores (even just that name alone is so anachronistic) could possibly compete with instant streaming (and torrents).

I will, however, miss those independent rental stores that made a point of stocking everything.

I don't stream. In fact I can't stream. I actually rent the discs and play them on a blu ray player. Virtually every movie ever made is available. Way, way better than going to a movie rental store. I make a list. They mail them. I watch them and mail them back to them. They send more. It is just part of the daily mailing process for us.
 
I remember you. You were the cool staff that always found me a great movie or took the time to find the new release in the return pile. If you didn't give me a straight answer if a new release was worth watching, I wouldn't rent it.

:lol: Yeah that was me, and every member of staff I ever hired.
 
I am not sad to see them go. It's the same for any kind of medium...8-tracks, beta, laserdisc, cassettes, VHS. I'm wondering what is going to make DVD and Blue-ray bite the dust. On the other hand, I am glad to see vinyl start to make a comeback.

The only thing that sucks about VHS is there were a good handful of movies that never transitioned to DVD/Blue-ray since they went out of print.
 
Thanks a lot, Obama.
 
The market for movie rentals has been dead for a decade.
 
That's because you can buy DVD's for less than a rental fee - not to mention Netflix, Hulu etc.....

You can also rent from the library. And if it's a movie you really like, there are ways to convert it for future watching.
 
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