End of an era for movie rentals

[elk]

Rogers has decided to stop renting movies and games in store across Canada.

[bt]

That happened awhile ago.  Most locations closed over a year ago, and the ones that didn't were just riding out their leases before following suit.

[Thunda]

Think with the opening of new companies like the one's that will send movies to your door and others like NetFlix it put a huge hole into the movie rental market.  Downloading and watching online I am sure also has played a roll in the closing of large video chains.  Huge retail locations and the costs that go along with them combined with lower and lower rentals. 

[elk]

what really sucks now is all of us that spent hundreds of dollars on a blueray player is useless unless you buy the movie for 30.00

[holachicka]

what really sucks now is all of us that spent hundreds of dollars on a blueray player is useless unless you buy the movie for 30.00

Never thought of that...yah, that sucks!

[JetJumper]

Unfortunately but that is the way technology goes.  VHS -> Laser Disk -> CD -> DVD -> HD/BluRay -> Internet Streaming -> Neural Implants

[Malyon18]

Neural Implants HAHAHAHA

[Brine]

Neural Implants HAHAHAHA

a US company (PositiveID Corporation) has received preliminary approval from the FDA to market its RFID implants for humans

[shaheed]

and it sucks that major providers charge you to use data -- streaming is a lot more expensive than it used to be...

[ajm1961]

Isn't great that we're now even more dependant on Rogers (or Bell) for streaming video online or rent from the cable/satellite TV offerings?
I'm surprised they didn't try to kill off video rentals more aggressively before - the market is almost exclusive to them now...
No wonder I could buy a BluRay last xmas for $50 - it will be worthless soon.
Well Rogers at least doesn't own the view on my aquariums!!

[JetJumper]

teksavvy   300gb cap and better customer service in my opinion.  thats who I use.  I refuse to use BELL / ROGERS for internet service.

As for throttling, I have my ways around that as well by using VPN connections so they are unable to see what I am downloading.

[washefuzzy]

The libraries in Ottawa have dvds available. For now.

[FocusFin]

Well Rogers at least doesn't own the view on my aquariums!!

Yet 

[Greatwhite]

I'm honestly not surprised to see movie rentals going down the can...  I almost always opt to rent a movie On Demand from Rogers.  They have movies on there the day they are released, and I don't have to leave my house and see the "outside".  I hate getting to the video store and they don't have a copy of whatever movie I want to see too.

Netflix (Canada) is not great.  In Canada, there are restrictions on when movies can be streamed so as not to interfere with revenue that would be made by people buying the DVDs when they are released - and from rentals....  Netflix (US) is significantly better, but you still don't get NEW releases - although there are lots of much NEWER movies there before they appear on TMN.

I've also been known to rent movies on iTunes...  This is handy when I'm flying somewhere with my iPad..

Basically - there are much more convenient ways to watch a movie than renting from a Rogers store.

[elk]

If I was told that Blockbuster and Rogers was closing I wouldnt of spent 400.00 on a Blueray player.

Now im limited to buying movies for up to 30.00 each and what about all those kids who have an xbox or ps3,unless there is a Microplay close by where else can they rent games.

I understand Blockbuster went bankrupt but Rogers can afford to lose a few million on movie rentals,its obvious they dont care about our kids.Alot of parents cant afford to spend 60 on a game so renting was more practical.

[JetJumper]

I hope you didn't spend $400 recently on a bluray player because for the past 2-3 years they have been around $100ish or less for cheaper models.

[brotherluv]

Check the used websites for used games...also there are several pawn shops which have much more affordable games for your kids...as for movie rentals I hope we get "the big red box" like they have in the states.  It costs a buck to rent the dvd.  And as far as rogers being able to afford a loss...that would be the dumbest business decision ever!

[Greatwhite]

See, I have 2 small kids - so I'll be buying Disney movies and other kid-oriented movies still... And if I'm buying a movie, I want it to be the best quality possible, so always buy the blu-ray versions.  My player gets LOTS of use, and I haven't rented a DVD/BR in a loooong time.

BTW - if anyone is in the market for a NEW player, for $100ish you get a wifi network ready one that has Netflix on it, and you're good to go!

[exv152]

I seriously doubt Rogers or Bell care about where kids are going to get their rental games from, if anything it just means they're focusing on their other services that represent their true bread and butter, such as wireless, home phone service, HD tv, cable bundles, on demand, pay per view, home and mobile internet, home monitoring etc etc etc. Compared to these services, game rentals probably represented a tiny losing endeavour.  Although I don't support Rogers or Bell, you have to admit they are business savvy and it makes sense to respond to where your larger profits margins lie. The fact of the matter is wireless services and its devices, like android phones, tablets, smart phones, is where the largest potential for profit exists. The rental-game market was doomed to be an afterthought the minute online gaming was introduced. But, EB games is an excellent place to find cheap second-hand games that your kids can play, you can often find games for less than $10. The one thing I will really miss, with Rogers closing its stores, is the chance to buy recently released blu-ray movies for like $10-$20.  It was almost as cheap as renting, but instead you got to keep the movie and watch it at your leisure. But I'm sure there's someone out there that can respond to this type of demand too.

[bizfromqc]

It was only a matter of time before these rental places closed shop. With the strong moves from the broadcasters, Netflix and the likes pushing video-on-demand at the convenience of a button, it's a no-brainer decisions for the big guys, they're not going to take a loss, they're going to go where the money is period.

Paying 50-60$ for a movie just because it's "blue-ray" in 1080p format is not something we do in my household. My girls are completely happy watching a 720p feed from my TV provider and if they like it, I PVR it and they'll watch it til the end of time (and until it drives us crazy). As for the other movies, we watch them once and call it a day, we're movie watchers, not collectors.

I haven't personally set foot in a rental place like BlockBuster for a good 6-7 years.

I was just hoping La Niche would expand to a mega-huge-out-of-this-world fish room when the BlockBuster besides their store in Gatineau closed but ... it didn't happen LOL

Eric

[JetJumper]

one word "Piratebay"

  1080P all you want.

[ajm1961]

I was just hoping La Niche would expand to a mega-huge-out-of-this-world fish room when the BlockBuster besides their store in Gatineau closed but ... it didn't happen LOL

+1
Actually, I would love to see either a specialty cichlid or aquatic gardening store in the soon-to-be vacant Rogers location in Orleans!
That would be sweet... 

[elk]

I hope you didn't spend $400 recently on a bluray player because for the past 2-3 years they have been around $100ish or less for cheaper models.
[/q

I bought my Panasonic blueray player almost 4 years ago when they were first introduced.Back then 300 was the average price for a player and going up to 1000.

When flat panel hd tvs came onto the market I bought the first Sharp 20 inch lcd720p tv for 2000.00
I still have it and now use it as my laptop monitor.
Its pretty crazy the way prices have come down in 10 years as my 60 inch tv only cost 1700.

[FocusFin]

I bought my first laptop in 2000. I think it was 7gigs, maybe 256mb and had a 13 inch screen all for the low price of $3200. I paid extra for the latest screen technology which meant you didn't have to sit directly in front of the computer to get a proper view 

[bt]

as for movie rentals I hope we get "the big red box" like they have in the states.  It costs a buck to rent the dvd.

Wish granted - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/redbox-bringing-dvd-vending-machines-to-canada/article2331588/

We had an equivalent to those years ago - MovieCube - and it didn't last.  Though the price was a bit more ($2), and the full on collapse of rental stores hadn't really started in Canada yet.  We'll see if RedBox fares any better.

[brotherluv]

Lol hilarious! 

[bt]

Netflix (Canada) is not great.  In Canada, there are restrictions on when movies can be streamed so as not to interfere with revenue that would be made by people buying the DVDs when they are released - and from rentals....  Netflix (US) is significantly better, but you still don't get NEW releases - although there are lots of much NEWER movies there before they appear on TMN.

It's the same as the PPV delays, or the delay for it being on TMN.  And it's all up to the movie studios and what licence they're willing to give out.

NetFlix has managed to sign some deals that they get first crack at some movies before PPV, TMN, etc.  Most notably with Paramount.  Still behind DVD release dates, but before any TV channel or provider will have it.

[Cheebs]

The american netflix has 1000% more content than the candian one... We use the canadian one, but with some trickery you can unblock the US shows and movies, but it runs a lot slower, so most of the time we don't bother. I hope ours gets better soon.

[Greatwhite]

The american netflix has 1000% more content than the candian one... We use the canadian one, but with some trickery you can unblock the US shows and movies, but it runs a lot slower, so most of the time we don't bother. I hope ours gets better soon.

You only need to be "tricky" while loading titles and then for about 30 seconds into the movie while it authorizes.  Then, you can disconnect the VPN and continue with high speed...  I've found that I tend to get disconnected automatically within 2 minutes of a movie start.

[JetJumper]

Or just run a high traffic throughput VPN   BolehVPN for the win!

[FocusFin]

Or just run a high traffic throughput VPN  BolehVPN for the win!

I'm not very "technical" but last month I set up a proxy account through a service in the states and followed instructions for flashing my router etc.. So that now I not only have Netflix and Hulu in the states, I also have access to all of the sites like NBC who say "this video does not stream in your country".  I've watched over 20 episodes of Rockford Files on Netflix lol

[Cheebs]

Alright Alright, so I've got some things to try out this weekend! Sweeet.

[JetJumper]

Oh yeah, VPN is nice for getting around Bell Nexia's traffic shaping   FULL STEAM AHEAD TORRENTS AWAY!  MUAHAHAHHAA

[bt]

Any Bell DSL connection should be throttle-free now.  That was supposed to be done by sometime in March.

[JetJumper]

Any Bell DSL connection should be throttle-free now.  That was supposed to be done by sometime in March.

Should be, but I don't believe it.  I find my connection at specific times is still slow.  When I use my VPN I get full bandwidth no matter what I am doing whether it be torrents or streaming media.

[Hookup]

I've converted to iTunes pretty much exclusively...  It's easy of access has me won over...   TVTORRENTS and PIRATEBAY fill in the blanks nicely and thru TEKKSAVVY it's fast and cheap.

If your on a MAC platform iFlicks is a $19.99 AppStore app that convers videos for iTunes very well and adds metadata...  More seamless than any other I've tried.


I just need to add two apple TV's to my setup and I've got all videos everywhere...   


I wish I could cut the cord from Rogers/bell TV...  But I'm not there yet.   Soon.

[mseguin]

There are zip.ca machines at a few places across Ottawa, I use the one at Food Basics in Kanata, there's another brand of one at the Walmart in Kanata. 1 or 2$ rental, DVD or Blu ray