Blockbuster BD rental discussion thread - Page 117

But RedBox charges $1.50 plus tax for a BD rental. Although it's due back by 9PM? the next day. And Blockbuster wants $4.99 plus tax for 7 days rental, plus you have to wait for it to arrive? The RedBox rental sounds much better.

Now when I first got Netflix in 1999 I paid per rental. And I didn't switch over the newer all you can rent model that came out later that year until they forced me to switch. But now I wouldn't want to go back to the per disc rental by mail with those higher prices. At least with the digital streaming you get instant satisfaction for that higher price. And with RedBox the price is much lower.

Well my closest Redbox is 2.7 miles away so:

2.7 x 4 = 10.8 miles x .596¢ = $6.44 transportation + (1.50 + .12) = $1.62 for a total of $8.06 for a one day rental. The last time I averaged my subscription by mail it was ≈ $1.92 per Blu-ray disc. I have been using disc by mail for many years and have no need for B&M or kiosk, but that’s just me.

I've been using disc rentals by mail for almost 14 years now from Netflix(with a few years of BB too) and digital rentals for five with Vudu and Amazon. I think there is a place for both of them. Some titles I want to rent the disc, some titles I will rent the digital stream, and some titles I will purchase the disc. It really all depends on the title.
And I still use RedBox occasionally to rent discs as well. They all compliment each other. Especially since no one source has all the content available.

I like to have a wide variety of options available since I never know what I will be in the mood to watch. It can change in a couple of hours which is where the digital rentals really come in handy. I could have a disc title I rented but I'm not in the mood to watch it. If I haven't watched a disc within three days, it goes back in the mail whether I watched it or not. In the old days I would sometimes keep the rental discs around for months, never having watched them since I was never in the mood to watch it. So sending them back in two to three days has worked well for me.

90% of US Households with a computer have a Broadband connection .. and I'm not talking about RedBox here .. I'm talking about $5 bucks a pop for a by mail single rental ..

Personally, I don't think the BB $5 bucks a pop by mail rental is a viable model .. it's really like taking a step back .. people want either cheap or convienient .. and this method is neither ..

The by mail single rental has ZERO appeal for me but there may be a audience this model will appeal too. Here in western NC there is a grocery chain that seems to dominate. Each one that I have been in has a maned video rental section and they seem to do quite well. Once again this has no appeal for me but obviously it does for many. And these rentals are not cheap, info here. You may find this hard to believe but there are people that exist beyond the Walmart & Netflix mentality.

Vudu's HDX comes pretty close, and I'd be willing to bet that for most non-AVSers, the two would be indistinguishable. I'll take Blu-ray over the Vudu download, but occasionally, I'll rent one of their $1 movies with some of the credits I've accumulated, and the quality is pretty impressive.

I do wish that their HDX rentals would come down in price, though.

One of the neat features of Vudu on the PS3 is that you can download the movie to it's HD overnight (or however long it takes), making HDX available to almost anyone with even a meager broadband connection. I wish it was available on more devices, as I've migrated from the PS3 to my Oppo.

Scott

There were some test done in the past and IIRC Consumer Reports was one of the testers. Anyway, a majority of the panelist could easily tell the difference between the two. Its old news and really doesn’t matter. You will see (and/or hear) a difference or you will not, for those of us that can, we get tired of those that can’t telling us there is no difference.

I have Amazon Prime, Netflix and Vudu (with 10 UV titles in HDX). Also have two radios with SiriusXM and I am here to tell you that it does not sound as good as 128K MP3s, BUT it has many channels, on 24/7/365 and can be received CONUS (except in tunnels). And yes, I still have my SiriusXM stock.

Added The Watch to my queue and Blockbuster only has the DVD version. Wth?

Yes, that is the way it is with some titles, have Werewolf: The Beast Among Us and The Dawn Rider in my queue and both are DVD only. No matter, I can tell if these titles would be worthy of a purchase.

Netflix has both Werewolf: The Beast Among Us and The Dawn Rider (Christian Slater version)on BD.

And both are also available in HD via their streaming option. (Of course, WEREWOLF is the R-Rated version, and not the unrated edition, unfortunately).

Rented expendables 2 on tuesday. No HD audio

The same with my Netflix rental. And I hear also with RedBox. Not having HD audio is not going to get me to purchase the title. Well maybe if it was $9 or $10 I would.

The good news is BB has sent me The Watch... even if it's only the DVD.

They had about 20 copies of The Watch (dvd)also at my store. I guess I should be grateful that there's still a bb where I'm at.

Anyone have any clue as to why the new Pixar release "Brave" is not currently available on Blu-ray (or DVD) via Blockbuster rental by mail service? It was released on November 13th. It is now 8 days later and Blockbuster says it has ZERO copies. Are they holding back new releases like Netflix does?

Title RatingRatingFormatDate Available Discs in this section are currently unavailable to rent by mail. Once we know the date a disc will be available to rent by mail, it will display the date in this column.



Brave [Blu-ray] (2012) PGBlu-rayDVDUnknown

Netflix had Brave when it was first released last week. It was not held back.

Must be these stupid games being played by the studios and rental companies:

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/07/entertainment/la-et-ct-disney-netflix-20120607

It really sux renting new releases anymore. All kinds of hoops. Was so much easier back in 2005. I definitely use my theater less , rent less and buy way less. The studios are messing everything up. Streaming is not the answer till the sound quality equals that of 7.1 blu rays. Ugh. This whole thing is a pain These days.

Anyone?

What did they say when you contacted Blockbuster .. ??

Hah. Think I would get a legit answer from some CSR? No thx. Would be a waste of time.

If Blockbuster themselves don't know, then I doubt if anyone here can give you a definitive answer ..

Maybe Blockbuster pissed off Disney.

I guess the only other reason would be that Disney delayed it 28 days at Blockbuster. But for some reason did not delay it at Netflix or Redbox. I thought this past Summer Disney had said they were going to delay the release of select titles to the rental companies.

Or maybe BB has a new agreement with Disney which includes the delays while RedBox and Netflix are still working under an old agreement which does not include the 28 day delay yet?

You may be right on that ..

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/07/entertainment/la-et-ct-disney-netflix-20120607

ParaNorman was in the Not Available section of my queue last night with an availability date of 11/27. Tonight, it's listed as unavailable.

Brave is still listed as unavailable, but it has moved from the Not Available section to the bottom of my queue.

The disc my wife mailed back on Saturday hasn't been received yet. Typically, they disappear from the At Home section of my queue sometime on Sunday.

I don't think I like what's going on here.

ParaNorman is in the 'Not Available' section for me too. Says date available: unknown.

Well, now The Dark Knight Returns is still shown in the Not Available section, with an available date of 12/4. ParaNorman is still listed with an unknown available date. Brave is in my queue, but it's status is still Unavailable.

This is disappointing.

That's why a prefer Netflix, no funny business.






I called them and they said it would be updated to my Que by Monday, but I'm not holding my breath.




Ian

Netflix shows the Dark Knight Rises as being available on 12/24, not 12/4.
I wonder why it's only a twenty day delay?

Redbox also shows the 24th.