There’s been a series of commercials lately about the latest big money making thing: a vending machine that dispenses DVDs and video games for rental.
Has anyone ever seen one in real life?
Yep, there’s 24 hour video rental shop down the road that has one. It’s been there at least a year. Haven’t used it myself though.
How do they keep people from stealing the DVD’s?
If you have to input your credit card number to get the movie, who the hell would trust such a thing not to be a scam?
There’s one at the Metro station near me, but I’ve never gone up to see how it works. From far, it looks like a computer screen and a bunch of buttons, with a slot at the bottom, which I assume spits out your DVD.
Want me to have a closer look for you?
Sure.
From what I can tell by the commercial, the DVDs/videogames are dispensed in a hard plastic case. There’s apparently another slot to return your rental.
I can think of ways this could be abused (keeping the rental, returning an empty case, or a case with a different selection), but since they have your credit card (I assume), they can charge you for the full amount.
I saw one in Nice, France in March. Looked pretty straight forward to me, like you describe.
What was surprising is that France is a bit higher on the tech curve then the US. They are usually a bit behind the US (or at least that is my perception)
A friend of mine rented from one. He didn’t have a problem.
My wariness comes when I think about this: what if the DVD is damaged and you don’t get to watch the whole thing? Where is your recourse?
I haven’t seen them, but my guess would be that there’s a number on the machine (or DVD case itself) to call if you have a problem. Sorta like when a candy vending machine (or pop machine) eats your money, dispenses the wrong product, or something like that.
I saw that commercial too, haven’t seen the machine yet but it does look like a good idea. I do think the security aspect of it would scare me a little, surely someone has to check all the returned dvd’s before they’re just spit out again to the next customer.
They have one at my local supermarket and it is pretty cool. I have used it a few times.
You slide your ATM/Credit card, pick the DVD and out it pops in a plastic case. They don’t have a huge selection, but they do have all of the newest releases and often are easier to get there than at your local video rental store.
The good thing is, it is 98 cents per day, so if you see it that night and return it the next day, it only cost $1.06 with tax to see the newest release.
However, the same person has to return it as it is necessary to use the same ATM/Credit card to swipe when returning the DVD.
The bad thing is if there is a defect in the disc. You can’t exactly complain when you turn it in…well, I suppose you could scream at the machine, but the nice security people in the supermarket will probably escort you to your car if you do.
There is a website I guess you could write and complain and maybe they would refund the money or give you a credit.
All in all, my experience with The Red Box is positive. And for those quick turn-arounds, you can’t beat a 98 cent rental for new releases!
I’ve seen one… maybe 10 or so years ago. It’s a nice way for a college student to rent porn without having to talk to anybody at a video store
…ahem or so I’ve heard… :dubious:
First one here on the island arrived last week…
I used one today and I have to say it was pretty good…
I haven’t seen one. Regardless, I’d probably never get the nerve to use one, for two reasons. One, I never, ever trust my credit card number to anything that requires absolutely no corroborating data whatsoever. For crying out loud, there are programs that can spit out dozens of credit card numbers in seconds, and anyone who expects to extract such sensitive information from me had damn well better take some measures to PROTECT it. The other reason is that there are simply too many damn things that can go wrong with a console game (especially when you factor in things factors like quirky modchips, unreliable peripheral manufacturers, cheat devices which are designed to mess with the game, and about a 100 different versions and types of every console), and when it happens, I need a living, breathing person to explain it to. And of course a paper trail so I can, y’know, actually get an exchange or refund if I need it.
If there a way for these machines to use membership cards rather than credit cards, I’d probably be willing to rent movies that way. Otherwise, no way.