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Rewind those DVDs from Blockbuster (1 Viewer)

Simon Massey

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I am not sure if this has been posted, but this just defies belief :

Every now and again a big company does something so stupid you wonder whether they should be selling the products they are making at all. We have often seen VHS tapes boasting a Dolby Digital soundtrack, an amazing feat for a 100% analogue device, but these are just printing errors left unchecked by those who actually know what AC3 is. However the stubborn refusal to understand a major point of DVD seems to have hit video rental chain Blockbuster in recent history, thanks to their slogan, "Be kind, rewind."

According to the website Dumb Warnings, part of a network featuring everything from stupid laws and idiotic criminal acts, to silly facts and bumper stickers, Blockbuster had been stickering their DVDs with this same slogan much like their videos. But the story doesn't end there, as renter Kunsun Sweeley decided to ask a member of staff why they would put these on DVDs, to which he got the reply, "DVDs can be rewinded so please rewind it."

Even the manager of the store insisted that they could be rewound much like VHS tapes, and until they got a message from the head office stating otherwise, they would be keeping these labels on all discs. So Kunsun emailed Blockbuster who told him, "Most DVD players have a 'Rewind' button on it, what it does is spin the DVD the opposite direction from the direction the DVD spins during the play mode, so by spinning the DVD in the opposite direction it rewinds the DVD, it's similar to the rewind feature on a VCR."

Alas there is no information on how long ago this rental outfit were using these stickers, they may even still be doing it in some stores. So next time your bored with giving Dixons and Currys sales people a hard time, you might want to visit the big blue store instead and let us know whether all this is still true. We'd also be interested in any other stupid store ideas you may have come across.
 

Jack Briggs

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Small wonder, then, that BB's reputation around here is little better than the feelings toward pan-and-scan.
 

Inspector Hammer!

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You've GOT to be shittin me!!
 

Jefferson

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I see you are from a big city.
Ah, welcome to the wonderful world of video stores like the ones in my home town.
Our manager insisted there was an ET Part 2.
I'm sure he's rewinding dvds, too.:)
 

Jimmy M

Second Unit
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Feb 3, 2001
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Just to play devil's advocate here, let's take a closer look at the long "Be kind Rewind" stickers on a Blockbuster VHS spine. Underneath the sticker is the security device, the small metal strip that makes the alarm go off when it is passed through it.

Now, let's look at the plastic case that Blockbuster rents the DVDs in. Somewhere on the inside, there is usually a small black sticker, which also has a security strip underneath it. This would be to hopefully prevent people from just walking off with the entire box.

Now, if a Blockbuster were to run out of the small black stickers, I'm sure they would want something on the box that would make the alarm go off. Thus the VHS sticker.

Now, as for the manager and corporate office thinking they can still rewind, I'm thinking that was a bit exaggerated.

Jimmy!
 

Mitch Stevens

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This might be a tiny bit off topic here, but whenever I rent DVDs from "Video City" they print out their own DVD covers (so that you don't get the original covers). Anyway, on their own DVD covers, they also say, that all DVDs must be rewound.
 

ChristianB

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Jan 13, 2000
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Remember that those "Please Be Kind And Rewind" stickers are a security magnetic tag. Same thing they use on their VHS tapes.
Regardless, the a Blockbuster Manager told you that DVDs can be rewound, it is indeed a sign of the apocalypse :rolleyes
 

Shel

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For the record I used to manage a Blockbuster. It boils down to laziness and expenses, a lot of the franchise stores are unwilling to put out the money to buy new security lables for discs. Our DM made us put the rewind labels on video game carts.
 

Michael St. Clair

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This happened MANY years ago on laserdiscs at the few BB locations that carried them. They had 'do not rewind' security stickers, and every once in a while some idiot employee would insist that the discs did need rewinding.

The more some things change, the more they remain the same.
 

Greg O' Connel

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I wonder if any of these idiots ever actually checked to see if the Lasedisc/DVD was rewound? There's no way to just look at it and see if it's rewound like a VHS tape. I can just picture an employee going through stacks of returned discs checking them:

"Yep, this one starts at the beginning, too. People who rent DVDs are much better at rewinding than people who rent VHS."
 

Jeff Cooper

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Unfortuneately my DVD rewinder broke a while ago, and I can't find a new one. I don't want to use my player to rewind because it wears it out to quickly. Also the player doesn't slow the discs down as it finishes rewinding them, and they just crash to a halt when they are done rewinding!
 

ChrisMatson

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Jeff, you can always buy one those $69.99 "DVD players" to perform the rewind function.
:D
Here was the source listed in the above link:
http://www.dumbwarnings.com
Thy have the standard disclaimer: I still don't believe a manager said, "DVDs can be rewinded..." And who is this Kunsun Sweeley person?
 

Sanjay Gupta

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Is it just me, or are there others just as confused as I am by this thread? Are you guys suggesting that I have been wasting my time sitting there with the remote in hand after the movie ends with the rewind button pressed? I know it's not good for the DVD player head but I ain't that stupid you know, I got me a cheap $60 player for the rewinding job. I am sure a company the size of Blockbuster knows a lot more than you guys anyhow and I ain't falling for your false propoganda. Also to those of you who have not been rewinding your DVDs, shame on you, you should have a little more courtesy for those who might rent the disc after you. There, I said my piece and I don't care what you guys say.

Sanjay
 

Jon Strong

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Dec 8, 2000
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I work at Hollywood Video and EVERYONE who works there think people at Blockbuster are dumbasses.

(BTW, I always advocate widescreen to customers and pummel them if they disagree. Works Every Time.)
 

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