The time for rental windows is near (1 Viewer)

[alan-g]

Hi,

what seems to be forgotten is that only a small percentage of movies are blockbusters which the mainstream are inclined to buy.

You take things made for the straight to video market (anything with Eric Roberts or Ice T)which will never generate sufficient revenue at retail level. The only way the makers of such films will generate revenue is by rental pricing.

All the talk about BB changing to retail is futile because all the mass merchants are using leading DVD titles as loss leaders and thus stores like Dave's Laser place (as reported on the bits) suffer and have to close down because they can't sell DVD's at a lost.

BB will push like hell for a rental window this year because they got slamdunked last 4th Qtr and it will happen again this year (who will rent the hulk, matrix or T3).

The talk in the past about rental windows has been speculation but the difference now is that the numbers are serious.

When the CEA numbers numbers on the digital bits were 8-15mil we could um and ah about rental windows but now the numbers are a touch under 45mil. Crunch time is fast approaching because I predict conservatively that the numbers will be 65mil by years end.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

So, all of the studios are going to go for this just so BB doesn't fold up? I don't get it.

Glenn

 

[Jeff Kleist]

BB will push like hell for a rental window this year because they got slamdunked last 4th Qtr and it will happen again this year (who will rent the hulk, matrix or T3).

Here's the thing: The studios, especially Warner are sick of being bullied by Ballbuster. VOD is easier for them, more profitable, and people are buying more and more.

BB will whine as the ship sinks, it's the beginning of the end

 

[Michael Lee]

I spoke to an exec at MGM while on vacation in December about this exact topic. She assured me that this particular studio was not interested in going the rental model ever again. They were making too much money in the DVD sales. I think the order was the opening weekend creates the most revenue for them, followed by the DVD sales. She said they make so much money with DVD because the production costs were dirt cheap...I think it was somewhere around $1.02 or something like that. Anyway it was implied that the video rental giants wielded very little control in the industry these days.

 

[Kwang Suh]

Is copying a dual-layer DVD onto one DVD possible without loss of quality? Why would I even bother, seeing as how I can buy DVDs now for about $15CAD?

As for BB, they've never had control of the DVD market. What makes you think they will now?

Rental windows will never happen. Period. If it happens, I'll eat my HD-DVD player.

 

[EricCr]

If they go to rental windows I think that DVD sales will drop overall. Many people are now buying titles because they are still "fresh" when they come out but add an extra year of waiting from theatrical to sell-thru and the impulse purchase is gone. I can think of several titles that I own that given more time I would not have been as interested in owning. The biggest titles will still sell but medium to small films will get lost. That is why so many titles on VHS never came out for sale. Rentals for them did not meet expectations so it was assumed that they would not sell.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

Warner, New Line and now MGM also seem to have dropped rental pricing for VHS new releases too, most of them are priced around $25. I even checked the VHS price for Igby Goes Down (which I bought on DVD) and it lists for $30 while the DVD retails for $27- still not too consumer-friendly but at least doable if you just had to buy it on VHS.
I have seen computer software that can make a perfect copy of a single-layer DVD; the only thing stopping this from being a huge threat is that DVDs are reasonably priced (my friend used this to copy side 2 of my out-of-print Little Shop of Horrors though).
I've completely gotten out of the rental mode now since discs have been affordable. I would have bought a lot more laserdiscs if they had been $15-20 instead of $35-40.

 

[Scott Leopold]

One thing to consider in regards to a rental window is, Who are the studios going to listen to more: Blockbuster and Hollywood Video--who are in favor of the rental window, or Best Buy, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Circuit City, etc.--who are not. I'd suspect that the retail chains would have a bit more influence on the issue than the rental chains.

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Scott - Exactly. Thats why if Blockbuster wants to survive, they need to embrace retail sales. They've already tarnished their image with high retail prices. they need to make a concerted effort to convince the public that they are the place to BUY DVDs. And when the renters come in, they will be given a compelling reason to buy vs rent.

I personally don't want to see Blockbuster go under. I like the idea of a convenient branch system rather than having to go into behemoths like Best Buy - which I try to avoid at any cost.

 

[James Reader]

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Does it really matter if you can't own a movie you want as soon as possible?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Hell yes!

At least I would think it should to people who are into home theater enough that they actually spend time talking about it on an internet forum.

So does that mean you don't want theratrical releases at all? You would prefer everything to go straight-to-video just so you could buy it AS SOON AS POSSIBLE? What does it matter when you buy something as long as you have a steady stream of new releases each week. Buying DareDevil as soon as it's available on DVD won't make it a different film than if you had to wait an extra 3-5 months due to a rental window. If a title looses appeal to you over time, then perhaps its a title you should be buying in the first place?

Look, I'm not supporting the rental window system, but I being as I'm somebody who (sort of) lives with it in the UK, I don't think it would be the big disaster or hardship they most people on this board seem to think it would be.

 

[Tom_Bechet]

James I understand what u mean. The thing for me is very simple. I don't see why I should wait longer for it than the Americans or Australians.
I also understand the

but in the meantime you had lots of other DVDs being released every week - plenty of 'new' DVDs to choose from.

The problem I had after I went multiregion was that due to that gap I bought twice as much then b4 and that buying is still going on:frowning: (about 20titles this year alone ) all due to the fact that I'm now buying those R1s that I would have bought in about 3-5 months on R2.
Plus add to that that while I'm not in the UK (where I can only buy R1s over the net) at home in Luxembourg I can buy R1 in any shop that sells DVDs. There are more R1 shops than R2 ones. So it would be stupid not to buy them.
So to each i his own. But at least I have the choice now (R1 or wait for R2)

 

[alan-g]

If the rental window comes it won't be so bad because you can just go and buy ex_rentals of new release titles.

 

[WillG]

If a Rental window does become a reality, Good Luck finding DVDs in OAR for the 1st 6 months after their release (at least from Blockbuster).

 

[Jesse Skeen]

"If the rental window comes it won't be so bad because you can just go and buy ex_rentals of new release titles."

Yeah, for the same price as a NEW copy!

 

[Tom_Bechet]

Yeah, for the same price as a NEW copy!

And lests not forget that the disc will be soo scratched that your player will thank youé Plus u'll have to wash'em good to get rid of all grease and stuff

 

[James Reader]

"If the rental window comes it won't be so bad because you can just go and buy ex_rentals of new release titles."

Well, in the UK most rental titles are supplement free, meaning you'll be buying a barebones disc if this pattern is replicated in the United States.

 

[Blu]

I hate the rental window and hope it doesn't happen.

You would think that movie companies would realize that they are making a fortune off of buys every single week.

I don't rent and haven't in a very long time and I don't plan on it either.
It would be like going backwards to me and I don't think they would want to do that.
Whaa, BB can cry all it wants about its profits so they should develop a new business model.

 

[Douglas_H]

I'm bumping this up because I just stormed out of
Blockbuster after cancelling my membership.
Fed up with the P&S shit they shovel.
My own fault for putting up with their warped version
of a business model.
You're wrong again alan-g, rental window is dead,dead,dead.
One article signifies nothing, most of the movie studios
are also involved in the music industry, which is tanking
because they've forgotten how to sign real talent instead
of who makes spicy stories on Entertainment Tonight.
They are simply making too much money from DVD sales to
give a rat's ass about what Blockbuster Video wants.
When home video(VHS & Beta) was a new technology, they could get away with the idiocy of rental windows.
Home video is not new anymore and DVD has had the fastest adoption rate of any new technology, including cell phones.
Rental windows are not going to happen.
BlockBuster is grasping at straws.

 

[Tom_Price]

How funny this all is. I remember waaaay back in '97 i went into a local blockbuster and I had recently just gotten my first DVD player....I believe it was the Panasonic A100. Anyway, i asked one of the sales clerks if they had any intention of renting DVDs in the future. His response was this, "No. Definately not anytime soon. We think the format will be a flop like Laserdisc".

I laughed in his face and I laugh now just thinking that Blockbuster is so reliant on "the format that would fail"

I wish they'd all just blow up or something.

 

[Dwayne]

I agree with Jeff. Block Buster could possibly pull out of this is they focused on going retail. With such an installed base of stores, they would probably be able to move alot of inventory. Of course, that's if they could competively price with stores like Best Buy. But, then again, how could they compete with Best Buy's loss leader sale prices? A store can price like that if they sell more than just videos.