Video Rental Stores
- Thread starter Miss Chicken
- Start date
This one is still going strong in my old San Francisco neighborhood of Noe Valley: https://www.yelp.com/biz/video-wave-of-noe-valley-san-francisco
I see Redboxes around town.
To be fair, I was never a huge rental guy, but did a little in the VHS age.
Nowadays, if I like a movie or TV series, or even think I'll like it, I buy it on DVD or BD. I like having the physical collection.
Nowadays, if I like a movie or TV series, or even think I'll like it, I buy it on DVD or BD. I like having the physical collection.
When we got our first video recorder back in the late 70s there were no video rental stores in Hobart at all. Back then a video recorder cost about $500 to buy (about $2300 in today’s money). We could not afford to buy one at that price so we rented one. As part of the video rental agreement we were able to borrow one VHS movie each week. When we started there was a collection of about 50 movies to choose from. The main use for video recorders back then was to record shows off the TV.
Sometimes in the 1980s, the first Video City store opened. I remember being overwhelmed at having so many movies to choose from. Back then they had a VHS section and a smaller Betamax section. I think at first there was a limit of three movies at a time.
I was a good girl and I always rewound the tapes before returning them.
Sometimes in the 1980s, the first Video City store opened. I remember being overwhelmed at having so many movies to choose from. Back then they had a VHS section and a smaller Betamax section. I think at first there was a limit of three movies at a time.
I was a good girl and I always rewound the tapes before returning them.
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I think "Curtis Mathis" (a seller of higher end "cabinet" TVs) sponsored the first rental store in my town. Like Miss Chicken, it offered primarily VHS with a smaller selection of Betamax. This was in the mid 1980s. It had items like a re-edited version of two "Space: 1999" episodes into a "movie" called "Space Princess" or "Princess of Space". It was a splicing of the 2nd season's "Metamorph" that introduced Maya and another 2nd season episode.
The "Video Warehouse" I mentioned earlier offered a selection of Anime which was labeled as "Japanimation" at the time. It even offered some of the more "mature" titles like "Wicked City" and some "edited" versions of "Urotsukidoji", the anime that introduced Westerners to the theme of "naughty tentacles:. (Okay, they were far more than just "naughty", but I'm trying to be at least a tad discreet.) It's just the irony this material was readily accessible in a "sleepy southern Georgia" town in the buckle of the "Bible Belt".
The "Video Warehouse" I mentioned earlier offered a selection of Anime which was labeled as "Japanimation" at the time. It even offered some of the more "mature" titles like "Wicked City" and some "edited" versions of "Urotsukidoji", the anime that introduced Westerners to the theme of "naughty tentacles:. (Okay, they were far more than just "naughty", but I'm trying to be at least a tad discreet.) It's just the irony this material was readily accessible in a "sleepy southern Georgia" town in the buckle of the "Bible Belt".
i think the last time I rented a DVD was in 2010.
That's generally me as well, whenever I can go that route. I generally rent stuff first though to see if they're worth getting though, either movie or game wise.
That's funny. When I was a kid we had a Curtis Mathis that rented out videos and they had a different Space: 1999 video that had 2 other episodes. One was "The Black Sun" but I can't remember the other one.
I do remember that I had an enormous crush on the girl that worked behind the counter.
There's a Family Video on my wife's way to work. It is the only one I know of in my area. Parking lot is always empty, pretty sure they are selling Meth out the back to stay afloat.
A decade at least.
We have Red Box and the public libraries.
I can’t remember when the last time I was in one. We liked Hollywood Video. I don’t know what came of that one on Fremont Ave when we lived in California. The one here in Georgia became a Vitamin Shop after it closed.
Our local Kroger used to have video rentals. Then they closed it and the area became a wine section and now it’s the Organic/GF/Vegan section of the store.
And then there was Blockbuster, I think it closed in ‘08 or something. Then it was one of those Spirit of Halloween stores for a few seasons. Then it sat abandoned and now it’s a Workout Anytime.
Kiel has a population of >200 K and there is one place left in the city - this one used to be a local chain with 8 stores total throughout Kiel
as of last year, there were 23 rental stores left in the state of Schleswig-Holstein (pop. ~2.9 million)
10 years ago, that number was 139
DVD, probably 8 years or so? Blu-ray, at least 3 to 4 years
but even back then those instances were super rare/unusual
My son and I were just talking about this the other day.
The local Blockbuster went under years ago. But it was one of our favorite little things to do when he was young. Walk the aisles, picking up actual boxes and reading them. Hoping there's are some discs left behind the empty case. Going through the return bin to see if the movie you want is there. My son loved those tubs of popcorn you could buy there.
Good times...
Now there's a Redbox in the grocery store but I never use it. I have rented discs through Netflix when something wasn't available by streaming. Last time was probably a year ago.
I still use Netflix DVD. When you try to see obscure art and foreign films now and then you can’t rely on streaming, they just mostly aren’t there.
I have no idea where the Blockbusters were around here. I've seen a Borders sign by the shopping area down the road on Google street view from years ago though.
The Blockbuster I used when I lived in Maryland over ten years ago is now a liquor store. The one we used while I was growing up is a cell phone place.
I haven't rented in ages. There are redboxes all over the place here in Austin, at HEB or CVS and other places like that. I haven't done the Netflix disc thing in ages as well.
The Blockbuster I used when I lived in Maryland over ten years ago is now a liquor store. The one we used while I was growing up is a cell phone place.
I haven't rented in ages. There are redboxes all over the place here in Austin, at HEB or CVS and other places like that. I haven't done the Netflix disc thing in ages as well.
I see Redboxes around and haven't used them yet. I don't bother renting from the library either, as the discs are in horrible shape. I appreciate having a rental place around since (apart from some cases), the stuff is in better condition.
Two here within 3 miles of the house in the middle-ish of Michigan. Rented one last weekend. It’s fun in a retro way to pop it into the player and sit down wih popcorn and watch together. It makes it more of an event.
None in my city, but there are a couple in the larger city about 30 minutes away.
I don't think I've rented a physical movie at a video store since 2007 at the latest. I have used Redbox maybe twice since then, but even that was several years ago. I find that I rarely watch movies at all anyway. There is just so much good television content, where you get much more time with the characters and stories, that movies don't hold the same appeal for me anymore.
I did used to love going to the video stores with my mom though. When I was in my teens she would rent movies every weekend for the family to watch together. Our family couldn't really afford to go to a movie theater because there were a lot of us, so renting movies became our main source of entertainment. I enjoyed perusing the aisles, asking for candy and popcorn that she would never buy, and seeing what was new. After they closed down, my mom still rented Redbox movies for years for the family. Only last year did they finally switch to streaming most of their content.
I can vividly remember the layout of the various Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos I've been in. I miss browsing those places more than I liked actually watching the movies. I know things change, and mostly for the better in this regard, but it's definitely something I look fondly on. All good things...
I don't think I've rented a physical movie at a video store since 2007 at the latest. I have used Redbox maybe twice since then, but even that was several years ago. I find that I rarely watch movies at all anyway. There is just so much good television content, where you get much more time with the characters and stories, that movies don't hold the same appeal for me anymore.
I did used to love going to the video stores with my mom though. When I was in my teens she would rent movies every weekend for the family to watch together. Our family couldn't really afford to go to a movie theater because there were a lot of us, so renting movies became our main source of entertainment. I enjoyed perusing the aisles, asking for candy and popcorn that she would never buy, and seeing what was new. After they closed down, my mom still rented Redbox movies for years for the family. Only last year did they finally switch to streaming most of their content.
I can vividly remember the layout of the various Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos I've been in. I miss browsing those places more than I liked actually watching the movies. I know things change, and mostly for the better in this regard, but it's definitely something I look fondly on. All good things...
