AfterDawn: Tech news

Blockbuster is saving money but losing subscribers

Written by Rich Fiscus @ 04 Oct 2007 6:06 User comments (65)

Blockbuster is saving money but losing subscribers Blockbuster is expected to announce a loss of subscribers during the third quarter of this year. The drop comes as their chief rival among brick and mortar video rental chains, Movie Gallery, has been faltering and may file for bankruptcy soon.
Over the last few years, online DVD rental pioneer Netflix has been steadily growing at the expense of traditional rental outlets. Last year Blockbuster unveiled a new online rental program of their own, dubbed Total Access, intended to be the first to actually give Netflix some real competition. One of the selling points for Total Access is an option to return movies to brick and mortar stores, allowing faster receipt and shipment of additional movies.

This strategy seemed to be paying off as the program gained momentum last year, and earlier this year even resulted in a net loss of customers for Netflix, the first time that's happened since that company's inception in the late 1990s. However, despite subscriber gains, corporate losses led Blockbuster's recently hired CEO to cut back on in-store returns from the program, only permitting a Limited number, depending on the plan you select. At the same time, Netflix has added Streaming movies and lowered prices.



Although Blockbuster executives assured stockholders that their cost cutting measures wouldn't have an impact on subscriber growth, that doesn't appear to be the case. Perhaps a better question is whether the window for competing with the online giant is closing. Blockbuster should carefully consider their next step unless they want to become just a footnote in the history of Netflix.

Source: Reuters

Previous Next  

65 user comments

14.10.2007 06:22

Get the hell outta here! You mean hiking the prices on a plan that everyone wanted would result in a loss of subscribers? Get out!

I've actually stayed with BB, even with the price hike (24.99).

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 06 Oct 2007 @ 7:07

24.10.2007 08:15

Well i will say this. Both companies cost more then they should for rental's. Its a new movie rental company making good strides right now. They are called the Redbox which they offer $1 movie rentals for new movies. You can get them off line and at local stores. You can rental as many as 3 the first time and 5 ona regular basis. There are not any subscriber fees or subscriptions all you need is a visa check card or visa/msater card. Thats the route im taken.

34.10.2007 08:18

i was a member for over a year with bbuster but dropped recently because they took my in store game rentals away. it was really the only reason i had the scription in the first place.

that and the constant price hikes.

44.10.2007 08:41

Originally posted by spydah:
Well i will say this. Both companies cost more then they should for rental's. Its a new movie rental company making good strides right now. They are called the Redbox which they offer $1 movie rentals for new movies. You can get them off line and at local stores. You can rental as many as 3 the first time and 5 ona regular basis. There are not any subscriber fees or subscriptions all you need is a visa check card or visa/msater card. Thats the route im taken.
That's exactly what I've been doing for 2 months now. No subscriptions or memberships to deal with. No bad customer service either. I've been very satisfied with their service.

54.10.2007 09:02

Originally posted by kaosX:
i was a member for over a year with bbuster but dropped recently because they took my in store game rentals away. it was really the only reason i had the scription in the first place.

that and the constant price hikes.
This is why I jumped ship! That's the only reason I was with BB online! NOW it's Netflix! Better customer service and great prices!
1st Netflix 2004 to 2007
2nd BB Online/Swap Unlimited in store 04/11/2007 to 08/11/2007
NOW Netflix 08/15/07 to present!

64.10.2007 11:22

Quote:
Originally posted by kaosX:
i was a member for over a year with bbuster but dropped recently because they took my in store game rentals away. it was really the only reason i had the scription in the first place.

that and the constant price hikes.
This is why I jumped ship! That's the only reason I was with BB online! NOW it's Netflix! Better customer service and great prices!
1st Netflix 2004 to 2007
2nd BB Online/Swap Unlimited in store 04/11/2007 to 08/11/2007
NOW Netflix 08/15/07 to present!
I didn't have any problems with Netflix until i was black listed. Then, i was receiving only about 10 movies a month. It was time to jump ship. I don't know what some of you are talking about with the great customer service by netflix. They were terrible with me. Maybe it was because I was blacklisted.

74.10.2007 11:47

Originally posted by Mr_Pink:
I didn't have any problems with Netflix until i was black listed. Then, i was receiving only about 10 movies a month. It was time to jump ship. I don't know what some of you are talking about with the great customer service by netflix. They were terrible with me. Maybe it was because I was blacklisted.
The question is, what did you do to get blacklisted? Or, was it an error on their part?

As for the article, that's the way things go. If you piss off your customer base, there goes your profits.

84.10.2007 11:50

I was with Netflix for 1 1/2 years but after the game of throttling towards high volume renters I quit them they are a piece of shit and hatet he games they play. I have a local stop in my hometown on the east coast and they then started to send me release from Alaska which took 4 days to get to me. The same title my neighbor got the next day but he wasn't a high volume user. Blockbuster has a local stope here and I always get the titles in a day. Blockbuster has shut all of the local stores in my area 3 of them the nearst one is about 25 miles away so I have no need to go to one of their stores or the time to get release exchange. People will get the idea if they start renting more then 30 movies a month from Netflix they will see what will happen to them. Netflix eat shit and die!

94.10.2007 11:52

Quote:
Originally posted by Mr_Pink:
I didn't have any problems with Netflix until i was black listed. Then, i was receiving only about 10 movies a month. It was time to jump ship. I don't know what some of you are talking about with the great customer service by netflix. They were terrible with me. Maybe it was because I was blacklisted.
The question is, what did you do to get blacklisted? Or, was it an error on their part?

As for the article, that's the way things go. If you piss off your customer base, there goes your profits.
You were a high volume user and not profitable to Netflix so thats why they were doing the things to you, A class actionsuit was filed against them and then they rewrote their rules to cover the throttling issue. Their customer support sucks big time so if you rent 10 to 15 movies a month you won't see the throttling like we did.

104.10.2007 11:56

Originally posted by spydah:
Well i will say this. Both companies cost more then they should for rental's. Its a new movie rental company making good strides right now. They are called the Redbox which they offer $1 movie rentals for new movies. You can get them off line and at local stores. You can rental as many as 3 the first time and 5 ona regular basis. There are not any subscriber fees or subscriptions all you need is a visa check card or visa/msater card. Thats the route im taken.
Redbox is a great concept but they are limited to current releases. They are trying to get into the rental market and in the past month they have given me 3 free rentals. At $1 a movie on new release that is great. The giant Eagle stores have a large video area but charge alomost $3 per movie on new releases. Some of the Giant Eagle stores are shutting down their video sections and replacing them with Redbox.

114.10.2007 12:25

Yup so far the Redbox has about 120 movies they offer which is cool. Once they really can kick it in high gear im certain that Blockbuster and Netflix will have to counter them. The your $25 subscription fees and so forth will either have to drop or be modified to accommodate the Redbox's strategy.

124.10.2007 12:29

Quote:
Originally posted by spydah:
Well i will say this. Both companies cost more then they should for rental's. Its a new movie rental company making good strides right now. They are called the Redbox which they offer $1 movie rentals for new movies. You can get them off line and at local stores. You can rental as many as 3 the first time and 5 ona regular basis. There are not any subscriber fees or subscriptions all you need is a visa check card or visa/msater card. Thats the route im taken.
Redbox is a great concept but they are limited to current releases. They are trying to get into the rental market and in the past month they have given me 3 free rentals. At $1 a movie on new release that is great. The giant Eagle stores have a large video area but charge alomost $3 per movie on new releases. Some of the Giant Eagle stores are shutting down their video sections and replacing them with Redbox.
Here are codes to get a free rental from redbox breakroom, dvd2 this is a redbox offer and not a hack. expires 10/8/2007

134.10.2007 13:39

blockbuster sucks i have a queue i have not been able to update for over 2 months now they claim they have tech problems for 2 months?!!!! i cancel BB and subscribed to netflix and I m very happy with them BB can suck eggs for all i care and they have the nerve to charge 24.99 a month
they can kiss my %$&@^ass

144.10.2007 14:28

What do you mean by updating your que? When a rental is returned the software ques the next available title? If you can't add or delete titles try clearing your cache in your browser? Clearify what you are trying to do. I have no problems with mu que? I have several friends who use ithem as well with no problems.

154.10.2007 14:30

Originally posted by spydah:
Yup so far the Redbox has about 120 movies they offer which is cool. Once they really can kick it in high gear im certain that Blockbuster and Netflix will have to counter them. The your $25 subscription fees and so forth will either have to drop or be modified to accommodate the Redbox's strategy.
I have the 16.99 per month 3 rentals at a time as Blockbuster shut down 3 stores in my area and I really don't want to go in anyway I like to pick my titles and have them delived to me..

164.10.2007 16:55

Originally posted by duke8888:
I was with Netflix for 1 1/2 years but after the game of throttling towards high volume renters I quit them they are a piece of shit and hatet he games they play. I have a local stop in my hometown on the east coast and they then started to send me release from Alaska which took 4 days to get to me. The same title my neighbor got the next day but he wasn't a high volume user. Blockbuster has a local stope here and I always get the titles in a day. Blockbuster has shut all of the local stores in my area 3 of them the nearst one is about 25 miles away so I have no need to go to one of their stores or the time to get release exchange. People will get the idea if they start renting more then 30 movies a month from Netflix they will see what will happen to them. Netflix eat shit and die!
@ Weirdname, duke here suffered from my same fate with netflix. They were great and all, but after they realized that I was a heavy user, the frequency and shipping times decreased to a snail's pace. This means hot movies were always "Very Long Wait" for me; the movies that I actually received were coming from out of state (instead of NYC, where I am--where there are plenty of shipping centers).

Blockbuster has NOT throttled me (I've been with them for 2 years). The blockbuster store where I trade in my online rentals is only 5 minutes, round trip, from me. Even with the price hike, it's a no-brainer for me.

174.10.2007 17:07

BB did me a favor by limiting in-store movies to 5. There's a BB 5 minutes from me. In I would go with three movies, having seen all the 'good' ones already. But because they were free. I'd walk out of there with three of the lamest, B-movie crap made. Reminds me of the Friends free porn episode.

Now I'm saving a $1 and renting quality films.

And anyone who says it's too expensive is nuts. I've been a member since 4/8/2006. 18 months to date w/505 movie rentals = 28 movies a month for an average cost of $1.55 a movie.

I'm not sure if the 505 movie rentals includes the 6 months of free in-store movies. If not, it's even cheaper.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 04 Oct 2007 @ 5:08

184.10.2007 18:24

@ Mr_Pink and duke8888
Ok then, that's inappropriate on their part. Just because someone uses the service to the full extent should not constitute lower service. They were in the wrong then. That is, if there was nothing wrong on your parts (not implying that there was, just a statement). That could be a good base for a class action lawsuit but it's not like we need more lawsuits going on these days.

194.10.2007 18:59

pfff.. BB still suck my Queue when I try to access it it says An error (500 Internal Server Error) has occured in response to this request.I spoke to customer service they said i was not the only one having this problem they claim any one with more than 900 movies in the Queue is having this problem go figure and it has been 2 months and 3 days and they still cant fix it and I cant switch my movies around I m stuck watching season 1-5 of the shield for another just waiting till the 28 for them to close out acct.

204.10.2007 20:04

I've been with Netflix for over 4 years and I get an average of 64 movies a month. I've never been "throttled" and customer service has been excellent. They even put my account on hold for a month when I moved.

214.10.2007 20:28

Lets see screw around with the service plans to save money=pissing consumers off= loss of money from consuemrs....oy who would have thought it....

224.10.2007 21:28

I've had a love hate relationship with Netflix due to customer service. But now I see they actually have a phone# and I have had to call once and they were great. I've tried BB twice and they don't have nearly the titles of Netflix. I'm close to Memphis TN so most of my movies come from either there or Little Rock. BB takes much to long in my area. Most come from KY. With NF I get 3 movies each week. BB would be almost every other week.

234.10.2007 21:32

BB only wins when you have access to a store if you do not netflix is better and if you want some DVDs (anime) BB is not going to have them.

244.10.2007 21:54

Explain to me how in the hell can you get 64 movies a month.

254.10.2007 21:58

Originally posted by FredBun:
Explain to me how in the hell can you get 64 movies a month.
luck of the draw I'd say sicne they start throttling you if you watch 5 movies every 3-5 days 0-o

264.10.2007 23:04

I have been a Blockbuster customer for several years but because I rented the max number of movies per month they dropped me and several of their customers. When they decided to change the prices I stopped receiving any movies. I e-mailed them after it was taking about 8 days between getting any movies and they e-mailed me stating that I had to resubmit my membership which I did with zero results. Blockbuster doesn't want any high use customers because it doesn't make any money from them. They bugged people to no end every time you went to their stores to rent a movie to join the total access and if you are a heavy renter they drop you and can't renew for the higher rate. I have a better deal renting movies from Red Box at my local Wal-Mart for $1 a day for new release movies.

275.10.2007 04:40

Originally posted by DRGULA:
I've been with Netflix for over 4 years and I get an average of 64 movies a month. I've never been "throttled" and customer service has been excellent. They even put my account on hold for a month when I moved.
I know for a fact if you got 64 movies a month their systems puts you in throttle mode. I rented 40 in a month in my first 6 months and they started the throttle on me. Something doesn't sound right here. There are groups on the web explaining their process and it sounds like you don't get 64 unless you are in the 8 at a time I can see that. If you get that many in a month they have you in system as high volume and throttle takes place automatically. NO way.........I know for a fact!

285.10.2007 04:44

Originally posted by FredBun:
Explain to me how in the hell can you get 64 movies a month.
Its very easy to do Fred with Netflix they have a 8 at a time plan. You get 8 in one day do your copies/backups send them out the next day and the following day you get another 8 so on an average you should be getting anywhere from 24 to 32 a week if you do it right. Netflix has local stops so they get them the next day you mail them and the day you order them you get them the next day as well. Thats why their system is setup to place a customer into their throttling mode there are groups on the web that explain their process. Netflix was sued by an action group due to this then after the suit was settled they rewrote the rules so they can't be sued in the future. They are scum....

295.10.2007 04:46

Quote:
Originally posted by duke8888:
I was with Netflix for 1 1/2 years but after the game of throttling towards high volume renters I quit them they are a piece of shit and hatet he games they play. I have a local stop in my hometown on the east coast and they then started to send me release from Alaska which took 4 days to get to me. The same title my neighbor got the next day but he wasn't a high volume user. Blockbuster has a local stope here and I always get the titles in a day. Blockbuster has shut all of the local stores in my area 3 of them the nearst one is about 25 miles away so I have no need to go to one of their stores or the time to get release exchange. People will get the idea if they start renting more then 30 movies a month from Netflix they will see what will happen to them. Netflix eat shit and die!
@ Weirdname, duke here suffered from my same fate with netflix. They were great and all, but after they realized that I was a heavy user, the frequency and shipping times decreased to a snail's pace. This means hot movies were always "Very Long Wait" for me; the movies that I actually received were coming from out of state (instead of NYC, where I am--where there are plenty of shipping centers).

Blockbuster has NOT throttled me (I've been with them for 2 years). The blockbuster store where I trade in my online rentals is only 5 minutes, round trip, from me. Even with the price hike, it's a no-brainer for me.
Yes they shipped titles from the west coast to me Hawaii Alaska Washington state and yes the newer titles were long wait listed as well. They are scum. They were sued for this but after the suit they rewrote their laws putting it in the fine print..

305.10.2007 04:50

Originally posted by WierdName:
@ Mr_Pink and duke8888
Ok then, that's inappropriate on their part. Just because someone uses the service to the full extent should not constitute lower service. They were in the wrong then. That is, if there was nothing wrong on your parts (not implying that there was, just a statement). That could be a good base for a class action lawsuit but it's not like we need more lawsuits going on these days.
They were sued already in a class action suit they had to give 1 free months service to all the people in the suit. They then rewrote the rules to apply their methods. One fellow here said he has been getting 64 movies a month for the past year and they haven't throttled him which is false. I was getting 40 a month from them and they throttle you if you exceed 30 or more in a 45 day period so don't believe anyone if they tell you Netflix doesn't do this they sure do.

315.10.2007 04:54

Originally posted by gddesha:
I have been a Blockbuster customer for several years but because I rented the max number of movies per month they dropped me and several of their customers. When they decided to change the prices I stopped receiving any movies. I e-mailed them after it was taking about 8 days between getting any movies and they e-mailed me stating that I had to resubmit my membership which I did with zero results. Blockbuster doesn't want any high use customers because it doesn't make any money from them. They bugged people to no end every time you went to their stores to rent a movie to join the total access and if you are a heavy renter they drop you and can't renew for the higher rate. I have a better deal renting movies from Red Box at my local Wal-Mart for $1 a day for new release movies.

I have been with BLockbuster for over 10 months now and get on an average of 48 a month and they do not throttle me. It seems you were using the store method as well. I didn't have that option as they shut down 3 stores in my region so I use strictly the mail. Sounds like you were going hog wild with the store service. I remember when Blockbuster was trying to get customers from Netflix so for a whole month any Netflix customer all they had to do was take the shipping envelope from Netflix and they would give you free movies in exchange no strings. I did this for a month then joined Blockbuster... They then shut the stores down two months later so I use the mail only. Maybe if you did the mail thing they wouldn't shut you down.

325.10.2007 05:02
OhCrap
Inactive

Quote:
Originally posted by FredBun:
Explain to me how in the hell can you get 64 movies a month.
Its very easy to do Fred with Netflix they have a 8 at a time plan. You get 8 in one day do your copies/backups send them out the next day and the following day you get another 8 so on an average you should be getting anywhere from 24 to 32 a week if you do it right. Netflix has local stops so they get them the next day you mail them and the day you order them you get them the next day as well. Thats why their system is setup to place a customer into their throttling mode there are groups on the web that explain their process. Netflix was sued by an action group due to this then after the suit was settled they rewrote the rules so they can't be sued in the future. They are scum....
Now that is hardcore. I thought I was bad with the three at a time.

335.10.2007 05:22

I do have the "8 out at a time" service, and I average 16 a week. Whether you believe me is irrelevant, I just stated the fact. The only times I don't get 16 a week is when a holiday interupts the mail. I have tried other services and have been throttled and refused service by them, but Netflix has never given me a problem.

345.10.2007 05:46

Originally posted by DRGULA:
I do have the "8 out at a time" service, and I average 16 a week. Whether you believe me is irrelevant, I just stated the fact. The only times I don't get 16 a week is when a holiday interupts the mail. I have tried other services and have been throttled and refused service by them, but Netflix has never given me a problem.
That's hard core, dude. Have you tried Movies Anonymous.

355.10.2007 05:50

Originally posted by exxitar:
pfff.. BB still suck my Queue when I try to access it it says An error (500 Internal Server Error) has occured in response to this request.I spoke to customer service they said i was not the only one having this problem they claim any one with more than 900 movies in the Queue is having this problem go figure and it has been 2 months and 3 days and they still cant fix it and I cant switch my movies around I m stuck watching season 1-5 of the shield for another just waiting till the 28 for them to close out acct.
900 movies in a queue! Holy cow. I'm lucky if I have 20 at a time. Do you put the new releases at the top and never get to the other ones?

365.10.2007 06:20

Quote:
Originally posted by DRGULA:
I do have the "8 out at a time" service, and I average 16 a week. Whether you believe me is irrelevant, I just stated the fact. The only times I don't get 16 a week is when a holiday interupts the mail. I have tried other services and have been throttled and refused service by them, but Netflix has never given me a problem.
That's hard core, dude. Have you tried Movies Anonymous.

Not yet, but I'll give them a look.

I've got my own theater room and I wanted to replace all my video tapes with dvd versions. I use Movie Collector to keep track of all my movies. At present I have over 3500 titles, thats including tv series, anime and some old classics. I've got a lot of original japanese titles (they are always better with sub titles), like Zatoichi and Gojira (Godzilla). I've always been a film buff and I've worked in the movie/music industry(IT - MIS)for many years. If you think my movie collection is huge, you should see my music collection.

375.10.2007 07:25

Originally posted by DRGULA:
I do have the "8 out at a time" service, and I average 16 a week. Whether you believe me is irrelevant, I just stated the fact. The only times I don't get 16 a week is when a holiday interupts the mail. I have tried other services and have been throttled and refused service by them, but Netflix has never given me a problem.
They you aqre a lucky bastard or you work for them or know someone within the compaqny and according to Netflix policy if you did rent that many DVD's as you say you did you would be throttled according to their terms as stated to me by them.... I see a nose growing guys LOL>

385.10.2007 07:29

Originally posted by exxitar:
pfff.. BB still suck my Queue when I try to access it it says An error (500 Internal Server Error) has occured in response to this request.I spoke to customer service they said i was not the only one having this problem they claim any one with more than 900 movies in the Queue is having this problem go figure and it has been 2 months and 3 days and they still cant fix it and I cant switch my movies around I m stuck watching season 1-5 of the shield for another just waiting till the 28 for them to close out acct.
HEavens sake why would you have 900 titles in cue, some software systems for rentals only allow 200 max because of the sorting and processing issues and thats what they are having if you have 900. I only have 150 max as that is more then enough and I have a dvd software package that keeps future titles if I want them in my system. Currently I have over 10,000 dvd titles in my collection regular movies and tv shows and over 10,000 adult porn DVD's.

395.10.2007 07:31

Quote:
Quote:
Originally posted by DRGULA:
I do have the "8 out at a time" service, and I average 16 a week. Whether you believe me is irrelevant, I just stated the fact. The only times I don't get 16 a week is when a holiday interupts the mail. I have tried other services and have been throttled and refused service by them, but Netflix has never given me a problem.
That's hard core, dude. Have you tried Movies Anonymous.

Not yet, but I'll give them a look.

I've got my own theater room and I wanted to replace all my video tapes with dvd versions. I use Movie Collector to keep track of all my movies. At present I have over 3500 titles, thats including tv series, anime and some old classics. I've got a lot of original japanese titles (they are always better with sub titles), like Zatoichi and Gojira (Godzilla). I've always been a film buff and I've worked in the movie/music industry(IT - MIS)for many years. If you think my movie collection is huge, you should see my music collection.
I hate subtitles to much work for the brain to process LOL and the subtitles on some of them are so bad.... We have fun and make up our own dialog for those types of movies. LOL. WHere do you get the Jap movies from?

405.10.2007 07:36

Quote:
Originally posted by DRGULA:
I do have the "8 out at a time" service, and I average 16 a week. Whether you believe me is irrelevant, I just stated the fact. The only times I don't get 16 a week is when a holiday interupts the mail. I have tried other services and have been throttled and refused service by them, but Netflix has never given me a problem.
They you aqre a lucky bastard or you work for them or know someone within the compaqny and according to Netflix policy if you did rent that many DVD's as you say you did you would be throttled according to their terms as stated to me by them.... I see a nose growing guys LOL>
Whatever, there is no way to prove either way. I know what I get, I don't work for them so maybe I'm the lucky one. This week I've already had 10 movies and I'm waiting on 1 today and 7 tomorrow. My list of movies I've rented, printed out, fills 33 pages and I keep my Q at 499.

415.10.2007 07:40

Quote:
Not yet, but I'll give them a look.

I've got my own theater room and I wanted to replace all my video tapes with dvd versions. I use Movie Collector to keep track of all my movies. At present I have over 3500 titles, thats including tv series, anime and some old classics. I've got a lot of original japanese titles (they are always better with sub titles), like Zatoichi and Gojira (Godzilla). I've always been a film buff and I've worked in the movie/music industry(IT - MIS)for many years. If you think my movie collection is huge, you should see my music collection.
I hate subtitles to much work for the brain to process LOL and the subtitles on some of them are so bad.... We have fun and make up our own dialog for those types of movies. LOL. WHere do you get the Jap movies from?
Mostly from Netscape but a few I've searched around and found at other site.

I also do the "Mystery Science Theatre" routine, but I'm trying to learn japanese so I can watch all my Gojira movies as they were originally meant to be seen.

425.10.2007 08:53

Quote:
Quote:
Originally posted by DRGULA:
I do have the "8 out at a time" service, and I average 16 a week. Whether you believe me is irrelevant, I just stated the fact. The only times I don't get 16 a week is when a holiday interupts the mail. I have tried other services and have been throttled and refused service by them, but Netflix has never given me a problem.
They you aqre a lucky bastard or you work for them or know someone within the compaqny and according to Netflix policy if you did rent that many DVD's as you say you did you would be throttled according to their terms as stated to me by them.... I see a nose growing guys LOL>
Whatever, there is no way to prove either way. I know what I get, I don't work for them so maybe I'm the lucky one. This week I've already had 10 movies and I'm waiting on 1 today and 7 tomorrow. My list of movies I've rented, printed out, fills 33 pages and I keep my Q at 499.
I was on Netflixs 8 at a time and they throttled me after 4 months the pricks so I canceled after they said they have the rights to handle high volume users in the way they see fit.

435.10.2007 11:01

I'm suprised they're still in business. It's like all the BB around me have closed.

445.10.2007 11:53

It sure sounds like a few people on this thread are openly admitting they are copying rented DVDs. You would have a hard time convincing anyone you watch that many movies in one day.

I would throttle you too if I thought you were copying rentals.

I rent from both and I know BB throttles the in-store returns. I even sent them an email stating so. They were sending out a new DVD shortly after getting yours at the store - now they wait a day or two.

I own over 1,000 DVDs and a bunch of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD (bought over the last 8 years). I know my bank account is suffering because of my hobby. How the heck does anyone own 20,000 DVDs?

455.10.2007 13:56

Originally posted by robtwilk:
It sure sounds like a few people on this thread are openly admitting they are copying rented DVDs. You would have a hard time convincing anyone you watch that many movies in one day.

I would throttle you too if I thought you were copying rentals.

I rent from both and I know BB throttles the in-store returns. I even sent them an email stating so. They were sending out a new DVD shortly after getting yours at the store - now they wait a day or two.

I own over 1,000 DVDs and a bunch of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD (bought over the last 8 years). I know my bank account is suffering because of my hobby. How the heck does anyone own 20,000 DVDs?

I know a guy with over 40,000 in his collection. Remember P2P people get tons of movies without the hasle of rentals or buying them why dou you think hollywood and the feds are hot about the P2P systems?

465.10.2007 14:05

Originally posted by robtwilk:
It sure sounds like a few people on this thread are openly admitting they are copying rented DVDs. You would have a hard time convincing anyone you watch that many movies in one day.

I would throttle you too if I thought you were copying rentals.

I rent from both and I know BB throttles the in-store returns. I even sent them an email stating so. They were sending out a new DVD shortly after getting yours at the store - now they wait a day or two.

I own over 1,000 DVDs and a bunch of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD (bought over the last 8 years). I know my bank account is suffering because of my hobby. How the heck does anyone own 20,000 DVDs?
I don't see where anyone is admitting that, and don't tell me you never copy a dvd in your life otherwise why would you be on this website? Don't say for the articles. LOL>

476.10.2007 20:42

DRGULA, this movie collector sounds intersting, how does it work and where can one get it.

486.10.2007 21:29

Originally posted by FredBun:
DRGULA, this movie collector sounds intersting, how does it work and where can one get it.
www.collectorz.com

You enter the names of the movies and then select which databases to search online and it goes out and downloads all the info and the cover art. It's really nice, you can set it up anyway you want and print out in different formats.

496.10.2007 21:59

thanks

507.10.2007 05:57

Quote:
Originally posted by FredBun:
DRGULA, this movie collector sounds intersting, how does it work and where can one get it.
www.collectorz.com

You enter the names of the movies and then select which databases to search online and it goes out and downloads all the info and the cover art. It's really nice, you can set it up anyway you want and print out in different formats.
Yes I am registered customer for that software it is great....

517.10.2007 06:05

Quote:
Originally posted by FredBun:
DRGULA, this movie collector sounds intersting, how does it work and where can one get it.
www.collectorz.com

You enter the names of the movies and then select which databases to search online and it goes out and downloads all the info and the cover art. It's really nice, you can set it up anyway you want and print out in different formats.
I wish that they would have an option to print out covers that would be neat.

528.10.2007 07:33

just go to ccovers.com, you can print out all the covers you want, its free and a great site.

538.10.2007 07:34

sorry, I mispelled, its cdcovers.com

548.10.2007 07:36

screwed it up again, sorry, its http://www.cdcovers.cc/

558.10.2007 07:52

Originally posted by FredBun:
screwed it up again, sorry, its http://www.cdcovers.cc/


Another site is http://www.dvdempire.com/

568.10.2007 08:04

Originally posted by FredBun:
just go to ccovers.com, you can print out all the covers you want, its free and a great site.
Yes I use them quite often.

579.10.2007 21:22

Quote:
Originally posted by robtwilk:
It sure sounds like a few people on this thread are openly admitting they are copying rented DVDs. You would have a hard time convincing anyone you watch that many movies in one day.

I would throttle you too if I thought you were copying rentals.

I rent from both and I know BB throttles the in-store returns. I even sent them an email stating so. They were sending out a new DVD shortly after getting yours at the store - now they wait a day or two.

I own over 1,000 DVDs and a bunch of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD (bought over the last 8 years). I know my bank account is suffering because of my hobby. How the heck does anyone own 20,000 DVDs?
I don't see where anyone is admitting that, and don't tell me you never copy a dvd in your life otherwise why would you be on this website? Don't say for the articles. LOL>
Actually it's for the humor I get from people's comments. Of course I have copied DVDs in my life. I own several versions of DVDXCopy that I bought at Fry's (legally). I made backups of movies I own, NOT rent.

This thread is about Blockbuster. People are admitting they are copying movies they rent. No-one is renting 8 movies at a timne and returning them the next day, renting 8 more and repeating the process. They are either copying the rentals or testing the U.S. Post Office's efficiency. Which one do you think it is?

I have a home theater and two kids - we watch about 3-4 DVDs a week from BB or Netflix, then return them. When I want a really good movie I BUY it from Amazon.

589.10.2007 21:24

Quote:
Quote:
Originally posted by FredBun:
DRGULA, this movie collector sounds intersting, how does it work and where can one get it.
www.collectorz.com

You enter the names of the movies and then select which databases to search online and it goes out and downloads all the info and the cover art. It's really nice, you can set it up anyway you want and print out in different formats.
I wish that they would have an option to print out covers that would be neat.
I use DVD Profiler and find it the best out there for my DVD collection. It now lets you print DVD cover inserts. The latest version has been really improved.

5910.10.2007 00:34

I subscribe to BOTH, as each has it's own peaks and valleys, mostly due to slow mailings and cracked and broken discs from each. I think

Quote:
BUSTER
is cutting it's own nose by reducing the number of IN-STORE return rentals, yet INCREASING the price for the SAME amount of online rentals. where's the logic in this, other than to gain a BIGGER profit margin? Didn't they realise most subscribers would bring in the discs to maximize the rate of rentals versus bulk mailings(DUH !),which drastically reduces damage from the postal service? And
Quote:
NETTY
is no better, as they claim to have huge disribution centers within proximity of the subscriber, yet I receive some of my movies as far as MINNESOTA, and I live in the DIRTY SOUTH!!!.that 2-3 day turnaround,coupled with the 2 day weekend, means I can only receive 2 rentals on a given week, unless of course I send them back unwatched along with the usual BROKEN or STRATCHEDdiscs I usually get at least once a week! Maybe that's what weve come to expect of them....But the ONE THINGthey do get right is the REMOVAL of the fees from your BANK ACCOUNT each month.

6010.10.2007 05:50

Quote:
Actually it's for the humor I get from people's comments. Of course I have copied DVDs in my life. I own several versions of DVDXCopy that I bought at Fry's (legally). I made backups of movies I own, NOT rent.

This thread is about Blockbuster. People are admitting they are copying movies they rent. No-one is renting 8 movies at a timne and returning them the next day, renting 8 more and repeating the process. They are either copying the rentals or testing the U.S. Post Office's efficiency. Which one do you think it is?

I have a home theater and two kids - we watch about 3-4 DVDs a week from BB or Netflix, then return them. When I want a really good movie I BUY it from Amazon.
I feel that if I own the movie on video, then I own the movie. As for the amount of movies I rent, with the garbage that is on TV what else is there to do?

6110.10.2007 09:47

Quote:
Quote:
Actually it's for the humor I get from people's comments. Of course I have copied DVDs in my life. I own several versions of DVDXCopy that I bought at Fry's (legally). I made backups of movies I own, NOT rent.

This thread is about Blockbuster. People are admitting they are copying movies they rent. No-one is renting 8 movies at a timne and returning them the next day, renting 8 more and repeating the process. They are either copying the rentals or testing the U.S. Post Office's efficiency. Which one do you think it is?

I have a home theater and two kids - we watch about 3-4 DVDs a week from BB or Netflix, then return them. When I want a really good movie I BUY it from Amazon.
I feel that if I own the movie on video, then I own the movie. As for the amount of movies I rent, with the garbage that is on TV what else is there to do?
That is the fundemental arguement - many members of this website and others that support this topic feel that we are buying the movie, not the medium it comes on. The establishment wants to stop it because of pirating, but I don't believe they really care if we make a backup of our own movies. They only care that if they make copying wrong for everyone, then they have protected themselves against pirating.

My kids have ruined more DVDs and Console games than I care to remember. It's not fair the medium is so fragile.

Back on topic: BB and Netflix should at least use stronger packaging - which might reduce the damage to their DVDs. I too have received scratched and broken DVDs that won't play.

6210.10.2007 13:44

ditto robtwilk

6311.10.2007 01:53

If this is the case then the only way they will make a profit is to increase prices.

6411.10.2007 11:15

In response to robtwilk-
Agreed. I feel that whenever I buy any disc/disk with software, music, movie, programs, etc. I own it. I paid for that particular copy of the software that I can copy for my OWN purposes. As long as I don't give out my copies, I have every right copy the software that I paid for. If I was just paying for the medium the software comes on, I would just save myself the money and trouble and just go buy a new blank disc/disk. I'm not because I'm buying the software, not the medium.

6511.10.2007 17:43

Originally posted by borhan9:
If this is the case then the only way they will make a profit is to increase prices.

Don't believe everything the music/movie industries tell you. I worked for many years in the music/movie industry, working for one of the top companies (I won't name them but they have a rabbit for a icon) and they make a lot on each disc. It's the music artist that gets hosed, by the production company.

If you remember (I may be dating myself), but they claimed cassettes would destroy the music industry. Didn't do it, did it. Even Metalica admits to copying their friends cassettes when they were younger, but don't like it when it is done to them ........ Hypocrisy at it's finest!

Comments have been disabled for this article.

News archive