That four thousand number has to be for streaming - numbers I’ve seen for the DVD service is more like 90K discs although that’s not all movies. And they’re never going to have as large a selection on streaming as they do for DVDs, for much the same reason that Netflix DVD had a bigger selection than neighborhood video stores or even Blockbuster. The Netflix DVD model makes it worthwhile to have a single copy of lots of somewhat obscure movies. It doesn’t make sense to get a streaming license for a movie that only 100 people in the US watch a year. It doesn’t make sense for my local Captain Video or Blockbuster to buy a copy if only 100 people a year rent it nationwide - it may be that no one in my area ever rents it. I don’t don’t recall even big chains allowing you to order a movie from another location because your local Blockbuster didn’t own a copy of “Godzilla vs Mothra” but one in Chicago did. Netflix, however can buy one single copy and send it to any of their members that want that movie, whether they live in LA or NY. Yes, you’ll have to wait for that one copy to be available and you’ll have to wait for shipping. But that’s why it makes sense for them to have a larger selection.
The last DVD rental store in our area closed about a year ago.
You could buy used DVDs there. Now, aside from Best Buy and the latest things at places like Target or Wal-Mart, the only places to get things are Newbury Comics and the dwindling number of FYE stores, and both of those have severely cut back their DVD collections. (Too bad, too. I could usually count on finding some good rare gem at FYE) Beyond that, there’s flea markets, antique stores, and the Internet.
My problem, of course, is that I’m looking for obscure items that no one is likely to have. I found Harryhausen’s colorized version of Merian c. Cooper’s She and Murnau’s version of Die Niebelung at FYE. Our library has a pretty decent collection with some great odd stuff - I found the complete Fractured Flickers there, along with the silent version of Faust.
Boy, that brings back memories.
Toronto’s venerable Suspect Video has closed (the entire block including Honest Ed’s and The Beguiling got razed) but offbeat movies for rent and sale are still available at Eyesore Cinema at Bloor & Danforth, along with cult film screenings in the back room (I’m doing one on Saturday)!
and before you freak out, the Beguiling moved to College St.
There’s a show on FX called “You’re the Worst” and the season premiere a couple of weeks ago portrayed a 1990s era video store, with the stereotypical movie geek store clerk, who knew everything about every movie and could advise you what to watch. Note that this scene had nothing to do with the actual content of the show, but it made sense in context. Also note that Quentin Tarantino supposedly was that stereotypical movie geek video store clerk before he made movies of his own.
Anyhow, the episode made me nostalgic for those days. Sure today, prediction engines like the one Netflix uses can recommend movies to you, based on what you’ve watched and liked. But the personal touch and human interaction was nice.
I think part of the problem is copyrights can be so conflicted that it doesn’t pay to put the product out there unless you’re absolutely sure of who owns what.
With digital or a stream, if you get hit with a claim, you can pull it but when you’ve mass produced huge numbers you’d have to recall them or pay up on a claim.
Also hard drives are becoming larger and much cheaper, I recently saw a 14tb on sale for a little over $500.00 on Newegg.
Based on my own cheap gut feeling. At that price point I wouldn’t worry about the cost. Anything more I might as well watch whatever crap Netflix or Hulu has.
The copyright issues for a videotape vs DVD vs streaming are identical. There can be problems, but not usually based on format.
What can be a problem are payments to the various people involved. Writers, actors, etc.
Old standard contracts didn’t deal with home media. Once home media came along, they still didn’t usually deal with stuff like streaming. So you got to track down old contracts, find out who inherited the estate of the dead folk, try to figure out what SAG-AFTRA or other union rules apply, etc.
Star Trek Discovery streams on Netflix, though. So what’s the issue?
I was just getting over the closing of The World’s Biggest Bookstore and now you tell me this.
I just use Amazon Prime. Many movies, especially in my preferred genre “horror”, are included with my membership. And anything that isn’t included, like most new releases, I just rent a la carte.
Agree! Online browsing sucks, browsing shelves of real objects is vastly better, allows for serendipitous discoveries.
I also want more audiobooks available on cd. I don’t want to subscribe to Audiophile – I don’t want more subscriptions, dammit! I don’t want MP3’s. I just want to listen to good book on cd when I’m on a long road trip.
Not in the US it doesn’t. It’s a CBS property, available only on their own paid streaming service. Netflix paid for the rest-of-the-world streaming rights, which is fine by me.
I don’t get the nostalgia for video stores. I’m glad some people had the experience of a cook funky independent store staffed by movie buffs, but my experience was having to deal with apathetic teens. And, of course, they could see what you were renting.
I do agree the fragmentation of online streaming is getting quite annoying. I also don’t like the increased focus on original content. These days, I very rarely want to invest the time into a new tv show, I’ve just got two hours for a film.
I do like having a Redbox nearby. They’re always sending discount codes and the picture and sound quality of a Blu Ray is better than a stream.
I am really trying to avoid buying physical DVDs and Blu Rays unless I am absolutely sure I’m going to watch it over again. My apartment is small and I just don’t have room for storing lots of physical media of DVDs, CDs, and books. Plus, I know I’ll eventually have to move and make a purge of a lot of physical media.
the last good video store closed about 10-15 years ago……… But to me the video stores weren’t better or worse than pay cable 4 or 5 good movies a month 10 or 15 corman soft core thrillers types no budget slashers and a few classics here and there …… what they were great for were obscure video games I played so many off the beaten path games ……
and Netflix isn’t much better than either stores or cable but what saved Netflix then and still saves them now is realizing people wanted to watch seasons of old tv shows with out discs and tapes and the high prices I mean you could do it in the vhs days if you wanted a tape with 4 eps for 15.99 every month or so then on dvd you could get whole seasons for 40 and up
why pay that when I could watch 80 percent of the tv shows ever made for days on end for 15.99 a month?
Funny thing is these days most of what id go to a video store for is on tcm or movies! type of channels
Drove by the Chili location last year. I was stunned to see a video rental store still open.
Powers &8^]
I’m not sure I’m nostalgic for video stores, but I certainly do like buying and watching DVDs. I have no interest in streaming. Watch a movie on a screen I can hold in my hand? Or a 17-inch monitor? No thanks. I’ve got over 800 DVDs on my shelf, and Netflix sends me DVDs every month to watch. On my surround-sound home theater system.
My Netflix queue stays at about 150 discs, as I watch and add stuff all the time. A couple of years ago, for shits and giggles, I tested to see how much of my queue was available for streaming. Less than 20 discs. Why on earth would I want to convert from a system where 150 movies are at my beck and call, to one with maybe 10% of that availability?
For foreign, cult, classic, and esoteric fare, I don’t think you can beat Netflix DVDs.
I stream everything and watch it on my 55" hi-def surround sound system.
I *could *do that. But to what benefit?
Option A: Stream from a restricted catalog through my system.
Option B: Play DVDs from a much (MUCH) wider selection on my system.
It seems to me that one of the benefits I see touted for streaming is “portability.” Which I don’t care for one whit.
All told, there is no benefit to Option A, for me. At least none that I see.
And here’s an honest question…one of the main reasons I enjoy DVDs are all the bonus features. Behind the scenes, commentaries, deleted takes, etc. A great many of the DVDs I own (and quite a few of the ones I rent) are chock full of these features. Many have separate discs dedicated to these features. Does streaming allow access to these? I’m guessing not, but I honestly don’t know for sure, never having done it.
I believe there are three video rental stores still open in the area. (None in Rochester itself; they’re all in the suburbs.) Family Video in North Chili, Video Classic in East Rochester, and Village Mall Video in Webster.