High Street Administration Woes - Blockbuster enters Administration.

[martin2345uk]

I really miss my local blockbuster. All this "streaming" and "Netflix". I loved going to BB and just browsing the aisles. Sad times

 

[jon0844]

I hated going to Blockbuster... I could never decide what to watch on my own, and with other people - well, forget it.. Or ending up hiring loads of films and then having no time to watch them and paying extra fees!

The postal service was a great idea (but it was cheaper to use the Tesco branded service) but streaming is heaven in comparison. And in the case of Sky, a shed load of films are downloaded overnight so the hard drive likely has a lot of new titles ready to view without any waiting at all.

Well, there was ONE advantage of going to Blockbuster - getting the nibbles. Sky, Netflix etc haven't figured that one out yet!!

 

[Butts]

Real Cinema is the only way to see a New Film..all other methods are pale substitutes

 

[jon0844]

Yes, the cinema is still king - but very expensive (even with Orange Wednesday) and films come to TV so quick now anyway.

We don't have a 3D TV or even an awesome surround sound system, but we still get plenty of enjoyment watching films at home and having access to Sky store, Netflix, LoveFilm and more (well, I do write about Smart TVs!) offers a pretty good choice.

But, even then, it can still take ages to decide what to watch. Whatever happened to the days when you had just 4 TV channels and watched whatever film was on that night?

 

[Butts]

Yes, the cinema is still king - but very expensive (even with Orange Wednesday) and films come to TV so quick now anyway.

We don't have a 3D TV or even an awesome surround sound system, but we still get plenty of enjoyment watching films at home and having access to Sky store, Netflix, LoveFilm and more (well, I do write about Smart TVs!) offers a pretty good choice.

But, even then, it can still take ages to decide what to watch. Whatever happened to the days when you had just 4 TV channels and watched whatever film was on that night?

Luckily I live close to a Cineworld and have an Unlimited Pass which has just gone up to £15.90 per month. However as admission after 5pm is £9 it represents excellent value.

3D TV - sounds like a gimmick - I hate 3D at the Cinema.

When there were just 4 Channels programmes were generally of a higher quality in my opinion. I only watch BBC 1.2.3.4. plus ITV and C4. Does anyone watch C5???

The Output of The BBC is worth more than the rest put together

 

[jon0844]

There are times that ITV2, 3 or 4 will show a film I've already seen but I end up staying up until 2am watching it even though;

a) They repeat it every few days
b) I've seen it a billion times anyway
c) I could record it and watch at a time to suit me, but no, I have to watch it 'live'!

 

[Butts]

There are times that ITV2, 3 or 4 will show a film I've already seen but I end up staying up until 2am watching it even though;

a) They repeat it every few days
b) I've seen it a billion times anyway
c) I could record it and watch at a time to suit me, but no, I have to watch it 'live'!

Perhaps the real truth of the matter is that there is to much choice but not enough quality

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Blockbuster and other such companies were set up to fulfill a need that existed when there was not anything remotely like the number of available film offerings on television in those days.

 

[Clip]

Blockbuster and other such companies were set up to fulfill a need that existed when there was not anything remotely like the number of available film offerings on television in those days.

Good point. Blockbuster came over with the backing of the studios so they could have 10-20 copies of the newest releases for a friday or saturday night and pushed out the many many independants each town and city had. No tears for them I remember.

They shouldve been ahead of everyone with the streaming given they pioneered the postal dvd thing, but they failed and as such deserved to fail as a business.

Hope they crash and burn very quickly too.

 

[jon0844]

Nobody cares about the independents that usually help build a market. I was lucky when I sold mobile phones as I was already doing another job as a journalist, so when it got to around 2000 and the operators really wanted us to die* so they could sell direct, off I went.

Gradually the remaining independents have struggled and died (the wise ones closing down having realised there is no way it will go back to those 'glory' days). I can't see how Blockbuster can ever revive itself on the high street.

Even moving into renting and selling video games won't work as most consoles now (or will) also be moving towards downloading games to a hard drive, or playing them in the cloud.

I am not suggesting it's a great thing that people tomorrow will have nothing to show for their purchases - just a load of digital data that is on their hard drive (and might be lost) or in the cloud for as long as you keep paying a subscription - but that's the way it is going and the people providing the content would quite like it to be this way.

Even Microsoft has worked out that it can sell Office (and soon Windows) on a subscription basis, with Adobe also making a lot of money renting its suite of software.

* This didn't happen by merely opening stores next door to small dealers; it was things like cutting commissions, withholding payments for great lengths of time, restricting stock, contacting customers come upgrade time to steal them from the dealer, offering promotions not available to the small dealer etc. Oh, and even telling customers that they should only deal direct with the network as dealers wouldn't offer them the same warranties, thus making customers feel too scared to buy from the local shop that has provided them with loads of impartial advice for years instead of high pressure selling tactics.

 

[Phil6219]

A thing to consider with all of this streaming (which a fair proportion of the public are probably blissfully unaware) is that it uses up their internet bandwidth allowance quite easily, not to mention will cause their internet to slow down when using such a service. Granted there are so many "unlimited" providers but most if not all have some "fair use policy" in there.

I don't download X-box games, I buy the physical product, the same for my films as with both I like knowing I have them right there and while the discs may get damaged they can be replaced at little to no cost (depending on what it is and who the supplier is). I also like watching my DVD's on my computer whilst in bed, but can take them downstairs and watch them on those televisions - I could not do that any other way as I don't have streaming services - mainly because our internet is fairly rubbish by today's broadband standards, that and I only manage to begrudgingly pay sky the minimum subscription fee and not a penny more

BTW - Did wan't Netflix when it first became available on the Xbox but decided against it on the grounds of bad internet...

Phil

 

[Darandio]

Even moving into renting and selling video games won't work as most consoles now (or will) also be moving towards downloading games to a hard drive, or playing them in the cloud.

But they* had been doing that for many years anyway, quite often I found them overpriced, even for pre-owned.

*I presume you meant Blockbuster, given it followed from a previous paragraph about them.

 

[Bungle73]

A thing to consider with all of this streaming (which a fair proportion of the public are probably blissfully unaware) is that it uses up their internet bandwidth allowance quite easily, not to mention will cause their internet to slow down when using such a service. Granted there are so many "unlimited" providers but most if not all have some "fair use policy" in there.

I don't download X-box games, I buy the physical product, the same for my films as with both I like knowing I have them right there and while the discs may get damaged they can be replaced at little to no cost (depending on what it is and who the supplier is).

You'd have them "right there" if they were on a HDD. And I'm pretty sure in most cases you'd have to pay again if a disc was damaged. With a HDD version all you need to do is get it from your back up.....which you should be making anyway. In fact I'm sure some (all) services let you download stuff again anytime once you've bought it.

 

[SS4]

You'd have them "right there" if they were on a HDD. And I'm pretty sure in most cases you'd have to pay again if a disc was damaged. With a HDD version all you need to do is get it from your back up.....which you should be making anyway. In fact I'm sure some (all) services let you download stuff again anytime once you've bought it.

You don't buy it though, you buy a licence to play it - something explicitly stated in the small print of all the T&Cs. You can make a backup of your optical media anyway and, as I alluded to earlier in this thread, it's far from difficult.

Read the T&Cs you'd not use any of these streaming services since they demand far too much. Netflix for example reserve the right to terminate or restrict your use of our service, without notice, for any or no reason whatsoever (italics being quoting their text verbatim) and, if you've been wronged, you cannot take them to court!

 

[Bungle73]

You don't buy it though, you buy a licence to play it - something explicitly stated in the small print of all the T&Cs. You can make a backup of your optical media anyway and, as I alluded to earlier in this thread, it's far from difficult.

Read the T&Cs you'd not use any of these streaming services since they demand far too much. Netflix for example reserve the right to terminate or restrict your use of our service, without notice, for any or no reason whatsoever (italics being quoting their text verbatim) and, if you've been wronged, you cannot take them to court!

I'm quite sure what you're getting at. You're only buying the licence to play it whatever medium it comes on.

And backing up discs is difficult because you can't just copy the disc because of all the copy protection they put on it. With a downloaded version it's as simple as copying from one place to another.

 

[455driver]

You'd have them "right there" if they were on a HDD. And I'm pretty sure in most cases you'd have to pay again if a disc was damaged.

I have managed to "fix" every disc that has ever been damaged, the lads xbox does like scratching discs, the longest it has ever taken me was 5 minutes (literally)!

 

[SS4]

I'm quite sure what you're getting at. You're only buying the licence to play it whatever medium it comes on.

And backing up discs is difficult because you can't just copy the disc because of all the copy protection they put on it. With a downloaded version it's as simple as copying from one place to another.

Only blu-rays.DVDs and CDs are not that well protected. DRM on a downloaded version may prevent copying from one place to another or may use the DRM to mean it cannot be converted or played anywhere.

I was getting at that whilst you're only buying the licence for physical media there isn't really all that they can do since you'll always have the physical copy whereas on a server the file can be removed at any time or the service could be offline and you'd have no recourse.

 

[Bungle73]

Only blu-rays.DVDs and CDs are not that well protected. DRM on a downloaded version may prevent copying from one place to another or may use the DRM to mean it cannot be converted or played anywhere.

I was getting at that whilst you're only buying the licence for physical media there isn't really all that they can do since you'll always have the physical copy whereas on a server the file can be removed at any time or the service could be offline and you'd have no recourse.

How can it be removed if its on your hard drive? If is a file it can be copied.
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I have managed to "fix" every disc that has ever been damaged, the lads xbox does like scratching discs, the longest it has ever taken me was 5 minutes (literally)!

And? That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about disc irreparably damaged.

 

[SS4]

How can it be removed if its on your hard drive? If is a file it can be copied.

My apologies, I was referring to a file on the server. This can be anything from the file itself to the "key" that unlocks content or authorises your account to play the file. By removing I must have been thinking about content streams like Spotify

You can also back up physical media of course, the key difference when compared to downloading a file from online is that your backup is a quality of your choosing. There is a market for both but I'll be sticking with physical media since I know it'll always be mine

But of course we're getting off topic