#21
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Not that that would ever happen
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"Never mind him, he's just trying to get laid" --Helena Bonham Carter |
#22
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Uh.....someone pass me the bucket... i'm gonna hurl...
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Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari? |
#23
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And won't some dumbfucks think the machine shouldn't be charging late fees?! |
#24
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I've wondered how much revenue these boxes could possibly bring in, because it seems like the turns would have to be very high just to make a profit on a single title, much less considering the overall picture when you factor in titles that don't turn much or at all, and operating expenses. Maybe I'm missing something. And for the ones that have their own four walls leased, I'm surprised more of them don't incorporate other vending machines for drinks and snacks. Seems like the margin on a pack of popcorn would be worth it. |
#25
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And one must wonder what Redbox does with the DVDs when they're no longer in demand - surely they can't sell them as ex-rentals? I think that Netflix guy was bang on the money when he said the type of person it appeals to is one they are not concerned with. Maybe if these machines can sustain themselves without making a huge loss, it's worth bothering to set up some sort of Blockbuster rival. For all the harm it can do. But the real question is - why are Blockbuster always playing catch-up with these 'new' ideas? Netflix got there first with online. To be fair, Blockbuster HAVE had vending machines for years - so maybe they did get there first - but they obviously decided they weren't really worth it, whilst another company found they can seemingly do something with the area? I just think they should be concentrating on technology a bit more. Things like movie downloads, set top boxes. I wonder if they're even looking into these things. I can't imagine it will be more than about 5 years before it's reasonably commonplace to be downloading movies over high speed Internet connections, direct to your television. No need for vending machines or online rentals when you can do that. And it's people that are into technology are the type of people that will be using these services. IMO, stores will outlive vending machines and online rental services - but Blockbuster need to get in there first on what's coming over the horizon... |
#26
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I knew there was something important about moviebank I was forgetting to mention. The way their location here is set up, they aren't limited to 500 dvds. Basically when you walk in you have two kiosks you can use to select your movie, and then you walk two steps to the back wall of the store front, punch in your card/pin and it's basically a giant vending machine that retrieves your movie from the back. So they could potentially stock a large selection, but of course they would then have to rent out that many more movies. Still, I found it an interesting difference.
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#27
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Source: http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2007/1...-has-more.html Quote:
Blockbuster Inc. expects to begin offering movie downloads to personal computers sometime in the first or second quarter, CEO James W. Keyes recently told Wall St." Source: http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=24479 |
#28
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But what I'm really talking about is the future of downloads. Being able to download a film to your computer is all well and good, but many people still prefer to watch it on their television, as a family unit. Of course, it's possible to download a film and watch it through your television, but it's unlikely that the average person has the technological skills to do this. There are many that don't have the skills to even log onto one of those websites. That's why this area is always going to have its limits. More and more people become confident with using computers and the Internet on a daily basis, but I think a lot more are happy using their televisions and satellite/digital television interfaces. People can already download movies to their games consoles, for example. They can do this over a wireless Internet connection and play it straight back through their television - all in high definition. Right now, the thought of downloading a full HD movie probably makes most us shudder at the thought of our HDDs and Internet connections coping. But, year on year, capabilities in these areas increase and cost comes down. Once it becomes possible to have a television with a built-in function (or a set top box) to browse movies and download them - all using your remote control - THAT is something Blockbuster needs to get in on. Admittedly, I don't know very much about Movielink - so maybe this is what they're looking at already. And I hope so. But the problem with getting in on this side of things is that other companies - who've never even entered the movie rental business before - might get there first. I'm thinking of a company such as Sky or Virgin, who have the expertise on the technology side of things, and creating interfaces designed to be navigated on a television. This isn't exactly Blockbuster's area, so I do have to wonder what their plans for this are. |
#29
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Think about what the costs of these boxes are. Labour is virtually non-existent. You send someone out once a week to restock with new titles. Counting the drive, how long can that take? Probably means labour (counting repair crews) is less than $20 a week per machine. Labour is one of the top three costs at your store (it is usually #2 in video, but it can be as high as 1, if the store is mis-managed). The reason that there are such tight labour constrains is to try to manage that cost. All vending machines take that labour cost out of the equation. (There are a lot of vending machine companies started as a small business, serviced by the owner, so their labour costs are technically zero). Redbox isn't going to do anywhere near the revenue that a BBI will do, but then again they don't have to. I saw my first Redbox the other day. It is OUTSIDE of a McDonalds. Although I can't see it being busy this time of year (the rainy season seems to have finally started here), when it's nice out, I can see people renting from it 24 hours a day. As for downloads, I think Apple is leading that market.
__________________
"Never mind him, he's just trying to get laid" --Helena Bonham Carter |
#30
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