people are already taking the machines from wall greens so that wont stop em (can't don't mean people ain't) they are being removed at a rapid rate by modders
I have several, actually. I had been buying BR discs from RedBox for years, and I've moved most of my discs into books to reduce storage space, so I still have a handful of RedBox cases that I haven't recycled yet.
I went digital for movies about 10 or so years ago, but I'm going back to physical media because the quality of streaming has significantly decreased over the years.
@@zeroturn7091 i have DVDs that are 20+ years old and still work, so either you are not taking care of your discs or your copies are poorly manufactured.
The reason people are buying less physical media is that there's less media coming out that people want to buy. Also, many people will wait until a current series has run its course before buying the full set instead of one season at a time. There's also fewer old titles coming out on modern formats, so people who want, say, _Cheers_ already have it on the best format they're going to get. That's a big chunk of your billion-dollar drop.
@@sirducksworthythe3rd842, I didn't say streaming was increasing. I'm sure people aren't subscribing to as many services as they were 4+ years ago. And as he points out in the video, there is a growing niche for physical, but most people just pick up a Gomer Pyle or Supernatural DVD collection at Walmart and are happy with that.
The funny thing is that certain Anime titles are more collectable on VHS than on DVD. I don't know specifically but I'd venture it's a combination of 1: VHS titles came out when there was less attention on anime, and so there would have been far less interest in editing/censoring them, and 2: some of the DVD titles were mastered from VHS copies, not the master print, so the VHS ends up being *better* quality.
@@SenileOtaku, I have zero interest in VHS. Any DVD pressed from VHS is almost certainly a bootleg, but even so, a VHS tape will gradually lose quality with time, as well as wear and tear. With the exception of relatively rare disc rot, DVDs are a far more robust and reliable format. As long as the disc is kept in its case, almost every DVD will long outlast almost every VHS tape. And if something is only available through VHS, I would immediately have a digital copy made.
@@charlesdoesmore5488 but you can spend $10 - $20 per month? which in the long run is more expensive if say you don't watch that much streaming , and your movie or tv show gets inevitably removed due to licensing reasons or other - it makes more financial sense to just spend the money and buy a copy and you can find it cheaper if you look.
The problem is that you down own digital media! It can disappear any time because it has happened to me so I no longer purchase it. I buy my blue rays and DVDs on the secondary market. This works well for me since I love old movies. I'm convinced I'm not the only one.
It makes sense that 4K etc. physical media has a market. Another thing that might drive sales in the future - streaming becoming a hopeless nightmare of ever increasing prices with questionable content.
A lot of my digital movie collection is from Redbox. I would pick up a movie on my way to work, take it home, rip it and drop it off the next morning and then pick up another movie. I think it only cost me $1 per movie since I returned the movies so quickly.
If you want a NAS to play your movies on then it is either physical media - whether second hand for around £1 each or less likely new (too expensive) - or sailing the seven seas with more questionable souces.
I literally cannot remember the last time I bought physical media of any kind. It's also been many years since I've had anything that would even be able to play any of it. Each to their own I guess. Never could wrap my head around owning a movie knowing after I've watched it I'll never touch it again. It's strange how some people like to live the same experiences over and over again, even though they know exactly what's going to take place. I'm always looking for new experiences and don't have time to waste repeating previous ones.
As someone that is attempting to make a jellyfin server? I love digital media. I just happen to recognize getting digital copies is very convenient since it lets you then put the physical media away and not risk it getting torn up.
hard disks can crash, SSDs can degrade data can also degrade on hard disks unless you have multiple copies , and if you sourced your media from a reputable source - chances are it is highly locked down. so are you really better off on digital ?
@@breadmoth6443 Hence keeping the actual DVDs in storage in a climate controlled place. On long enough time scales. Everything decays. Possibly even protons.
@@breadmoth6443 Physically and functionally yes. You have access to all your media at once without dealing with swapping out discs, you can stream to multiple devices in/out of your home, and you can store your physical copies in the attic/basement/somewhere out of the way. Digital rips are definitely the way to go. As far as hard drives dying and all that, you should always 3-2-1 backup any data you don't want to loose. The physical disk is a single point of failure unless you're making duplicate disks.
Redbox stripped their DVDs of a lot of their value. They typically bought the disc without the case and insert. It's the same issue people used to have when they put their CDs in a binder. No one really wants the disc without the case and insert, because it makes finding the movie difficult.
Honestly physical media kind of is worthless these days, however having your own physical media files on a hard drive is still the best way. Especially since platforms where this content streams will take it off and sometimes forever remove it without notice etc. The truth is the short version is always have your own copy of any media you want forever because you can't rely on streaming platforms to have the thing you want to see unless you actually have a copy of the thing you want to see. Get a few giant drives, build your own media server, then you'll always enjoy the media you want on your terms. You streaming platforms to supplement what you enjoy viewing, not to be the only way you enjoy things you view because those platforms are and will always be incomplete.
We used to have a machine which was owned and operated by Video Easy here in Australia there was one at our local shopping centre I used to use It was taken away about 4 years ago
My local RedBox is gone & still had many movies I could not return. I was charged for late fees & the DVD's. I called my credit card holder & they refunded me & did a charge back as they knew the company is gone. I kept the DVD's & sold them online & locally just had to remove their labels.
Digital is for the common man now that a large majority of people have high speed internet. The trade off on quality and having a physical copy are outweighed by the convenience of quick and easy streaming. Also I'm sure people are also happy that they don't have to have a chunk of space in their house dedicated to storing movies. Most of my movies are now in a cd binder. Removing the Blu Ray drive from the PS5 is a reaction to what has become the norm, they're not trying to pressure people to change because they already have. So why waste money on including a disc drive for a small percentage of people?
In my eyes, the DVD format is a big reason for the low value of Redbox's physical inventory. I am very much a fan of owning physical media (I've been running a Plex server for several years), but I have ZERO interest in buying anything below Blu-Ray quality. In fact, I was really bummed about RedBox's bankruptcy mainly because they were my main source for REALLY inexpensive BR discs. The only time of the year that I could hope to beat spending ~$4 for a used first-run BR movie was during Black Friday sales, and that is a changing landscape, too. I'm not sure if having more BR content would've made enough of a difference to offset the other expenses with removing the machines though. I did encounter a RedBox machine in my area that was still powered on yesterday. I didn't see any BR movies for sale that I wanted, but maybe I should head back over there and see what happens when I try to RENT a title that I want to add to my collection. Thanks for doing this video, Lon.
Physical media will always have its place, looking at the value of Steelbooks alone. I actually import from Italy cheaper than buying in the UK. I've got the Twister and Twisters on order for £17 cheaper than in the UK. There's a website which displays the language information on all movies including the source region. The problem is I was collecting the Marvel phase editions (volumes) of the marvel movies but they got so far and stopped them for some reason. I'm not buying anymore Marvel releases in the hope to start releasing collections again. Collectors editions of games though the prices are now insane, £250 for Sonic Generations 2 and £190 for Indiana Jones for consoles. I used to get collectors editions for £90-£130 now I don't bother.
Most of the boxes in my area were removed already but I tried one at Walgreen's this week - it failed to dispense the disc and the 4K's were all gone, so no such luck
As long as there are movies that, for whatever reason, are apparently not on ANY streaming service, I would say physical media is not completely worthless. I know of one 1980's movie that is in that situation. There are probably many others like that.
While we do stream things, especially tv shows, I still buy physical discs for my media. And TV shows that we really like and offer discs, we will get those too. Though usually later on, like a set after the show ends or something. But in general, we’re a physical house.
Can't they convert those machines into vending machines for snacks? Maybe disposable phones? It's quite convenient to be able to buy a burner without witnesses around... 😏
I’ve noticed over the years quite a few friends and family members not know that their Xbox one/series or ps3/4/5 can even play blu rays, and in regards to Xbox I don’t blame them for not knowing as I’ve noticed the blu ray player app isn’t even pre installed, it has to be downloaded from the Microsoft store the first time you pop in a blu ray. I did also just notice last week that Walmart has started selling Series X’s without a disc drive :(
The value of that asset; costing more to liquidate than it is worth, shows not that it is worthless, rather it is a sign of an inefficient economy. To cut to the chase here, the root cause is free trade among unequal parties. "Stuff" is comparatively inexpensive because the bulk of it is manufactured by overseas workers getting paid a livable wage in that economy. We can not compete with their prices, and since that is all we care about, we have lost manufacturing and all those jobs. And now we can't afford nothing and wonder why.
On a wide scale there are literally hundreds of thousands of titles on DVD - shout out to Ralph Tribbey of the DVD & Blu-Ray Release Report - and many of those are of very little value. As I am interested in stereoscopic films, I have many 3D Blu-ray titles. Most are now out of print and as such over time the value increases to collectors, but even still many of those are nearly worthless because the film itself sucks.
I don't understand why anyone would get a DVD from a Redbox machine placed outside. I predict a huge Big Lots influx of DVDs previously made for Redbox.
I have a library that I don't intend to end. I still got a DVD burner in my workstation. Streaming might be more convenient for some and I could understand that argument but I just still prefer physical media for many reasons. But above all it's a copy that's mine, I can read the liners, I can hold the disk in my hand and I can watch it as many times as I want without the threat of some online vender threatening to throw me off their platform.
The old classic movies are being released in the 4k format. I bought blu ray versions of the movie that I wanted and than randomly a week or anything month later, the 4k version of the movie that I wanted came out. I originally wanted 4k of the blu ray discs that I bought but 4k was not available so I settled for the blu ray disc versions. The 4k discs sometimes comes with a 4k disc and a blu ray disc in the same packaging. It's not always the case with all 4k titles but only certain titles. I bought some blu ray movies in the blu ray version version that I really want in 4k and than out of nowhere the 4k version comes out randomly because the blu ray version was already being released and sold and than later I found out the 4k version is already coming out. Unfortunately, not every title comes out in 4k, so I ended up settling for a blu ray version and if there is no 4k or blu ray version than I would settle for the dvd version as the last resort. I have the george lucas star wars movies on dvd with the high fidelity thx audio but there is no 4k movies with thx audio even though certain movies were originally mixed and mastered with thx level of high fidelity audio like the original george lucas star wars series and even indiana jones series of movies. I mention thx for audio because thx is about the high fidelity audio standard and certification that george lucas implement in theaters because of the audio engineer tomlinson holman that george lucas partnered to set a high quality standard and certification for high fidelity audio in movie theaters. However, since razer acquired thx, razer ruined thx since thx is being used to market razer products with the thx logo. Nowadays, dolby atmos are being used heavily for marketing similar to thx audio. There are android phones, headphones and speakers that says that they have dolby atmos or some type of spatial audio being used to sell there products.
the numbers your showing my not pain a full picture, because I don't think they cover the Collectors Market like Arrow video, Shout Factory, vinegar syndrome to name a few. last year we head numbers and company's saying sales where up by 20% to 30% from 2022... and with some of the newer titles it could climb even higher this year. maybe worth chatting with them and seeing how physical working out for them can be a cool eye opener for the viewers.
I really wish we would change the conversation from the end of physical media to the end of movies on DVD and games on disc. I think that we have been on those formats way too long and there are better technologies available for both.
I’m buying a blu-ray every month as I’m not confident that I will be able to access my digital purchases into the future and not confident that I will be able to see my favourites on the same streaming platform in the future.
or also can you be sure your favorite tv show or movie on streaming won't be altered in some way for "modern audiences", because it might be deemed offensive? nobody can edit your physical media; but they sure can modify digital.
lower res? sorry? is there something I don't know about 4k discs? is that lower res than 4k streaming? i get a consistent 4k resolution from start to finish on physical 4k discs, not so with streaming due to a variable bitrate due to latency and server use.
ive gotten some movies from one of thelcoal red box that havent been removed if i was to run into a scapper i would ask if they choudl jsut remove the computer from it for me as alot of scrap yard s will not tke computers
sure that is the pro of not owning copies, now the cons of digital , it can be taken away from you ( see the sony situation and people who "bought" their shows/movies)
Much better quality… but for how long? Maybe 5-10 years and the difference will be negligible The thing is, in order to enjoy a blu-ray release you first have to own a Blu-ray player… and I don’t think anybody under 30 owns one.
The simple fact that I actually own the movie without having to rent it from a streaming service, is reason enough for me to keep physical media alive. And with all the censoring and editing these companies are doing to our beloved old classics, physical is the only way to go.
@@onemanshow4116 Both. I'm paying for Crunchyroll. And they still offer physical media. I used to pay for Netflix. But now aside from Crunchyroll, it's all free streaming services such as UA-cam and Pluto TV, and physical blu rays.
@@onemanshow4116 Some media isn't available in physical form so depending on what you watch streaming is the only option (outside of sailing the high seas).
I have a feeling that more and more people will seek out physical media every time one of those things happen with these DRM distrubutors when they just pull the stuff people buy for various reasons (servers shutting down, some scandals, etc, etc). Then people research just a little and realize they actually own nothing and just have a license. That leaves a bad taste in peoples mouths.
I own over 1000 movies and have taken the time to digitize them to my own personal server, and I can stream them both at home and away anywhere that there is internet or cell service. Fortunately most, if not all of the movies that have come out in the last few years have been so bad and worthless that I stopped going to Redbox or buying new movies. or TV. So, it's not that I don't want physical media, nothing coming out is worth buying. When yo have streaming or even "own" a digital version, you "own" nothing and can have access to nothing if they decide you don't or simply go out of business. That goes for games as well. I want to OWN my games, not be at the mercy of the company.
My steel book for season 1 of arcane arrived this week. I prefer to own my media. But I am apparently in the minority. Drop Box tried to do video games for a bit too right? I'll have to see if one of these machines still exists nearby.
digital storage can be an issue eventually, hard disks can fail , SSDs can degrade - so venture to guess you don't have your digital media backed up on multiple mediums do you?
The RB at the Walgreens that I used to go to it recently disappeared but the other walgreens down the street it's still there surprisingly. The past several months prior to the shut down, RB was offering to let you buy the movie and not return it for about the same price or just a nominal increase. I never did that beause I didn't want to be stuck with the disc. But as for the concept of physical media dying because it's inconvenient, why then do people schlep bottles of water from the store and the bottled water industry is doing great when they can just get it out of their faucet? Isn't walking over the faucet more convenient? For me, renting a dvd was more for the nostalgic experience and returning it the next day, I mean, that's just how we did it. Bee kind, rewind.
I do on occasion purchase bottled water, but only to refill the bottles from my reverse osmosis water filter. I also purchase physical media, and put things on my Plex server since I don't have a 4k (or blu-ray) player for the television. Rip it once, put it back in the case and store them in large boxes.
@@john_in_phoenix Yreah I do that also to some extent but my point was we do things that are inconvenient. Physical media is inconvenient but that doesn't mean people wouldn't do it. People don't do it because it's cheaper in most cases to rent/stream when you not going to watch it again more than likely. Even if you have it on your own server.
I sill have DVDs that I have been too lazy to diigitize. I bought them,they are mine. Barring theft or damage,they cannot be withdrawn by the issuer. That's how purchasing is supposed to work.
Redbox has been a net negative business for a while, well before Chicken Soup for the Soul bought them. The sad part is that if Redbox had been managed properly, even the shrinking company could have been profitable. There are areas of the country where DVDs are still popular due to not having high speed internet. Redbox would never have been what it once was, but it could have at lease been. The company I used to work for had a contract to service these machines at one point. The ones kept outside had air conditioners in them. The machine itself and the internal machinery aren't really useful for other applications. However there are aspects of these that can be parted out. The brain is a standard desktop PC. They have cellular modems. Also the credit card readers could be sold. If the air conditioner is not proprietary it can probably be sold as well. While companies may lose money on scrapping these, it wouldn't be as bad as letting the eyesores sit on their sidewalks
I was thinking that too, but for the one glaring exception that now exists, Starlink. You can now be in the middle of nowhere and still have internet access sufficient enough to stream a movie. They're doing it now in western NC, where the grid is down and roads are even not passable. A generator or solar power setup and Starlink keeps you online through anything.
@@sbrazenor2 Yes, but the issue with Starlink is cost. Many of the places where Redbox does well are places where the residents cannot afford to spend $100 more than they are currently spending to get internet. I agree, as Starlink proliferates this will be less of a concern, but the idea is still valid for the moment. Either way, redbox is gone. Physical media is going to continue to go down as well. I hate that.
I think digital as an option is good, but i hate the push towards digital only. There are times when digital is unavailable, and physical will always be superior
Seems Red Box could have sold these machines to help finance things. Could likely move these with a furniture/appliance dolly. Are they just heavy or are they anchored from the inside, if so probably only 4 🔩 to remove. Sad watching physical media die, because without legislation you'll never actually own digital media.
Couple ditties. 4k discs are in a very weird spot. Defects being huge for 1. I'm on my 4th Jaws 4k for example. I've never had a bad DVD, but have numerous blu-rays and 4ks. 2. The video isn't necessarily better. Take Disney+ having the expanded aspect ratio of it's movies. Or stream Dolby vision, but only put hdr10 on disc. Or Aliens. The so called 'directors intent' was to use AI to scrub all the grain away. Most people have complained hard about it. To where you're arguably getting a better version, streaming it. Back in the DVD days, you had so much more choice. Wanna watch the Matrix in an expanded aspect ratio? You can! Wanna see it as it was in theaters? You can do that too!
I’ll remove the boxes around me for free with the proper authorization. Vantiva must’ve looked for a retailer to take them in bulk instead of selling them direct.
i dont get the point of vinyl, if you want a pure "rich" sound, then talk to me when you get a reel-to-reel deck ( and im not talking about that quarter inch tape reel, but pure studio quality tapes used for recording.) Vinyl aint it.
My $89 16mp digicam is now worth $200 and the SD card is worth $300. Valueless? No. Got a Slot Radio? Goldmine, still can't afford a Taylor Swift concert with it though.
Even though I still buy physical media for most people physical media is dead. There may be a niche market for people that still like to buy physical and hopefully that market is big enough that companies continue to put out content. But as a whole physical media will continue to decline. Even sales of vinyl records which had been rising in the past few years dropped 33% in 2024.
@@austinwillcut4919 To say nothing has changed is not true. A lot of retailers like Best Buy have stopped carrying physical media. Sales of physical media will continue to decline. There will be a market for collectors but most people will be consuming movies and music on digital. That's just reality.
@@austinwillcut4919 It's simply not true that nothing has changed. Retailers like Best Buy have stopped carrying physical media. Physical media will still be popular with collectors but the reality is that most consumers will consume content digitally.
I haven't seen a Redbox kiosk in years. The last one was at my regular grocery store but it got removed and the store installed shelving and coolers for their internet shopping service. My local public library has a 'used book & media section' where you can buy DVDs for 50 cents each (very few blu-rays). The shelf space is not large, but it turns over quickly. Most of the DVDs appear to have been rarely used, I suspect watched only once or twice, so they're in great shape. And yes, the quality of the picture from a DVD is noticeably better than watching it on a streaming service.
There's a redbox kiosk at a grocery store a town over from me and it's unplugged and out of service. I'm curious if the store even wants it anymore and want's it gone. I'd like to see how good the PC is that is inside if it will play games.
In my opinion digital versions have absolutely no value. It cannot be resold and it is stuck with the user's account which can be banned or closed at the will of the company anytime. Digital purchase is just a fancy way of saying you are renting at full price.
Resellable digital licenses are a perfect use case for a blockchain technology. There's even a mechanism with NFTs for the developer to get a royalty on those re-sales but sadly none of the publishing houses will ever support it.
Streaming is convenient if all you care about is 90th percentile Hollywood lowest common denominator but if you want to watch anything remotely out of the mainstream good luck. That combined with the constant titles moving, or disappearing completely all make streaming a pretty shit experience in my opinion. The draconian licensing all the major streamers employ make it literally impossible to own a title despite the fact you can "purchase" it. This in my view is the biggest benefit of physical media and people finally get sick of juggling streaming subscriptions and coming to bleach realizing they actually don't "own" anything.
Physical media is decline for the same reason Movie Theatres are, these big studios are making boring AF films that push a particular political agenda rather than provide something the marketplace is asking for. And then when people don't buy/watch, they have the arrogance to call people 'haters' or 'toxic', simply because the general public want to be entertained rather than piously lectured by multi millionaire hypocrites.
Of course it's Worthless, it's literally just a file an ISO. Disks decay over time. If you don't have the file copied to multiple different servers you don't own it one day that disk will quit working. Streaming is also worthless if you don't make a drm free copy of it lol
i have 20+ year old DVDs that still work though, no disc rot - perhaps maybe in another 20 years it might rot? i venture to guess nope. we aren't talking about laserdiscs here are we?
Physical media being worthless is pretty clickbaity. The crappy movies in an abandoned Redbox from 8 months ago are probably near worthless. There will always be media for good movies. It's just been a decade since Hollywood put out a movie worthy of keeping. Nothing replaces physical media entirely.
if i can watch the movies i like at physical media quality without the actual physical media itself, then im not going to purchase the physical media, since there is no reason to
@@GravitatisIf you just want to rent the movie, sure. But I’m not going to pay $20 for a digital file that doesn’t even come with any special features like you get on disc and whose license could be revoked overnight which happened to a few videos I bought on the PlayStation network years ago
@@mikeg2491 well i only buy digital media from steam, so i dont really have that problem if i want a particular movie or series i will usually just pirate it or watch it on youtube
If anyone has an extra Redbox case I'd love to add it to my shelf behind me! Let me know, happy to toss a few bucks to cover postage.
There are tons on ebay.
people are already taking the machines from wall greens so that wont stop em (can't don't mean people ain't) they are being removed at a rapid rate by modders
I have several, actually. I had been buying BR discs from RedBox for years, and I've moved most of my discs into books to reduce storage space, so I still have a handful of RedBox cases that I haven't recycled yet.
I went digital for movies about 10 or so years ago, but I'm going back to physical media because the quality of streaming has significantly decreased over the years.
Objectively not true, but I’d rather have physical media.
Aside from disc rot, my only issue is that the hardware is usually the first casualty.
@@eliporter3980 give examples? 2014 4khdr wasnt a thing.
Why? UA-cams free. I'm not paying if I'm not owning. Hey Bob look what film I got. SKIBADY DO DAH SKOBADY DAY DISNEY IS NOW GAY AND LAME.
@@zeroturn7091 i have DVDs that are 20+ years old and still work, so either you are not taking care of your discs or your copies are poorly manufactured.
I'm in western NC no 😮power or Internet for 4 days but have a generator and DVDs I love physical media
The reason people are buying less physical media is that there's less media coming out that people want to buy. Also, many people will wait until a current series has run its course before buying the full set instead of one season at a time. There's also fewer old titles coming out on modern formats, so people who want, say, _Cheers_ already have it on the best format they're going to get.
That's a big chunk of your billion-dollar drop.
Acutely people are buying more physically then streaming the past year now
@@sirducksworthythe3rd842, I didn't say streaming was increasing. I'm sure people aren't subscribing to as many services as they were 4+ years ago. And as he points out in the video, there is a growing niche for physical, but most people just pick up a Gomer Pyle or Supernatural DVD collection at Walmart and are happy with that.
Also 10 million people have no jobs. Ah were heading towards hell. Enjoy the view boya.
The funny thing is that certain Anime titles are more collectable on VHS than on DVD. I don't know specifically but I'd venture it's a combination of 1: VHS titles came out when there was less attention on anime, and so there would have been far less interest in editing/censoring them, and 2: some of the DVD titles were mastered from VHS copies, not the master print, so the VHS ends up being *better* quality.
@@SenileOtaku, I have zero interest in VHS. Any DVD pressed from VHS is almost certainly a bootleg, but even so, a VHS tape will gradually lose quality with time, as well as wear and tear. With the exception of relatively rare disc rot, DVDs are a far more robust and reliable format. As long as the disc is kept in its case, almost every DVD will long outlast almost every VHS tape. And if something is only available through VHS, I would immediately have a digital copy made.
No, streaming media is worthless, just a digital phantom
@@RandallStevenson my thoughts exactly
Yet, not all can spend $50 on just one movie
No, but more people have meet that demon.
@@charlesdoesmore5488 who's spending $50 on one movie?
@@charlesdoesmore5488 but you can spend $10 - $20 per month? which in the long run is more expensive if say you don't watch that much streaming , and your movie or tv show gets inevitably removed due to licensing reasons or other - it makes more financial sense to just spend the money and buy a copy and you can find it cheaper if you look.
The problem is that you down own digital media! It can disappear any time because it has happened to me so I no longer purchase it. I buy my blue rays and DVDs on the secondary market. This works well for me since I love old movies. I'm convinced I'm not the only one.
Interesting, Walgreens announced today that they will be closing 1,200 stores across the country.
Honestly if RiteAid and CVS were to be the only two pharmacies next year, no one will mind.
It makes sense that 4K etc. physical media has a market. Another thing that might drive sales in the future - streaming becoming a hopeless nightmare of ever increasing prices with questionable content.
That’s already come to pass.
A lot of my digital movie collection is from Redbox. I would pick up a movie on my way to work, take it home, rip it and drop it off the next morning and then pick up another movie. I think it only cost me $1 per movie since I returned the movies so quickly.
and thats why they are filing for bankruptcy lmao
@@magog6852 no its actually streaming services thqt ruined them
LOL bro just admitted to committing a number of felonies.... on the internet.... using a platform owned by Google.
@@LilaHikesnot really if it’s for private use like streaming services is a huge scam
@@LilaHikessomeone doesn’t know what the word felony means
If you want a NAS to play your movies on then it is either physical media - whether second hand for around £1 each or less likely new (too expensive) - or sailing the seven seas with more questionable souces.
I literally cannot remember the last time I bought physical media of any kind. It's also been many years since I've had anything that would even be able to play any of it. Each to their own I guess. Never could wrap my head around owning a movie knowing after I've watched it I'll never touch it again. It's strange how some people like to live the same experiences over and over again, even though they know exactly what's going to take place. I'm always looking for new experiences and don't have time to waste repeating previous ones.
I buy used dvds and rip to my home plex media server for personal use. Best way for me for all the old movies I loved
As someone that is attempting to make a jellyfin server?
I love digital media. I just happen to recognize getting digital copies is very convenient since it lets you then put the physical media away and not risk it getting torn up.
hard disks can crash, SSDs can degrade data can also degrade on hard disks unless you have multiple copies , and if you sourced your media from a reputable source - chances are it is highly locked down. so are you really better off on digital ?
@@breadmoth6443 Hence keeping the actual DVDs in storage in a climate controlled place.
On long enough time scales. Everything decays. Possibly even protons.
@@breadmoth6443 Physically and functionally yes. You have access to all your media at once without dealing with swapping out discs, you can stream to multiple devices in/out of your home, and you can store your physical copies in the attic/basement/somewhere out of the way. Digital rips are definitely the way to go.
As far as hard drives dying and all that, you should always 3-2-1 backup any data you don't want to loose. The physical disk is a single point of failure unless you're making duplicate disks.
Used to work for the company that manufactured those boxes. Now I need to go lie down.
Redbox dvds would be significantly less than normal value of a regular dvd. Since they are likely scratched up, no box and no inserts.
Redbox stripped their DVDs of a lot of their value. They typically bought the disc without the case and insert. It's the same issue people used to have when they put their CDs in a binder. No one really wants the disc without the case and insert, because it makes finding the movie difficult.
One issue is that a lot of hit titles went away as the company was going under and much of what remains in the machines is direct-to-video fare.
Honestly physical media kind of is worthless these days, however having your own physical media files on a hard drive is still the best way. Especially since platforms where this content streams will take it off and sometimes forever remove it without notice etc.
The truth is the short version is always have your own copy of any media you want forever because you can't rely on streaming platforms to have the thing you want to see unless you actually have a copy of the thing you want to see. Get a few giant drives, build your own media server, then you'll always enjoy the media you want on your terms. You streaming platforms to supplement what you enjoy viewing, not to be the only way you enjoy things you view because those platforms are and will always be incomplete.
We used to have a machine which was owned and operated by Video Easy here in Australia there was one at our local shopping centre I used to use
It was taken away about 4 years ago
My local RedBox is gone & still had many movies I could not return. I was charged for late fees & the DVD's. I called my credit card holder & they refunded me & did a charge back as they knew the company is gone. I kept the DVD's & sold them online & locally just had to remove their labels.
I suspect wallgreens is leaving the boxes on because legally 'we get more money if we show we made every effort to allow them to keep making money.'
Digital is for the common man now that a large majority of people have high speed internet. The trade off on quality and having a physical copy are outweighed by the convenience of quick and easy streaming. Also I'm sure people are also happy that they don't have to have a chunk of space in their house dedicated to storing movies. Most of my movies are now in a cd binder. Removing the Blu Ray drive from the PS5 is a reaction to what has become the norm, they're not trying to pressure people to change because they already have. So why waste money on including a disc drive for a small percentage of people?
Yoo I want to buy some discs. Anyone got the hook up? lol Where will they be selling them?
Loud and clear, LON! Time to loot them REDBOX machines! 😝
In my eyes, the DVD format is a big reason for the low value of Redbox's physical inventory. I am very much a fan of owning physical media (I've been running a Plex server for several years), but I have ZERO interest in buying anything below Blu-Ray quality. In fact, I was really bummed about RedBox's bankruptcy mainly because they were my main source for REALLY inexpensive BR discs. The only time of the year that I could hope to beat spending ~$4 for a used first-run BR movie was during Black Friday sales, and that is a changing landscape, too. I'm not sure if having more BR content would've made enough of a difference to offset the other expenses with removing the machines though.
I did encounter a RedBox machine in my area that was still powered on yesterday. I didn't see any BR movies for sale that I wanted, but maybe I should head back over there and see what happens when I try to RENT a title that I want to add to my collection. Thanks for doing this video, Lon.
Physical media will always have its place, looking at the value of Steelbooks alone. I actually import from Italy cheaper than buying in the UK. I've got the Twister and Twisters on order for £17 cheaper than in the UK. There's a website which displays the language information on all movies including the source region.
The problem is I was collecting the Marvel phase editions (volumes) of the marvel movies but they got so far and stopped them for some reason. I'm not buying anymore Marvel releases in the hope to start releasing collections again.
Collectors editions of games though the prices are now insane, £250 for Sonic Generations 2 and £190 for Indiana Jones for consoles. I used to get collectors editions for £90-£130 now I don't bother.
Most of the boxes in my area were removed already but I tried one at Walgreen's this week - it failed to dispense the disc and the 4K's were all gone, so no such luck
As long as there are movies that, for whatever reason, are apparently not on ANY streaming service, I would say physical media is not completely worthless. I know of one 1980's movie that is in that situation. There are probably many others like that.
While we do stream things, especially tv shows, I still buy physical discs for my media. And TV shows that we really like and offer discs, we will get those too. Though usually later on, like a set after the show ends or something. But in general, we’re a physical house.
Can't they convert those machines into vending machines for snacks? Maybe disposable phones? It's quite convenient to be able to buy a burner without witnesses around... 😏
I have absolutely no way to watch physical media anymore. Most people I know no longer own a DVD or Bluray player. DEAD.
Walgreens is closing 1200 stores over the next 3 years. My Rite Aid has closed and I would hate to lose Walgreens.
In my Manhattan life I have never seen a Redbox , so I’m obvious to this .
I’ve noticed over the years quite a few friends and family members not know that their Xbox one/series or ps3/4/5 can even play blu rays, and in regards to Xbox I don’t blame them for not knowing as I’ve noticed the blu ray player app isn’t even pre installed, it has to be downloaded from the Microsoft store the first time you pop in a blu ray.
I did also just notice last week that Walmart has started selling Series X’s without a disc drive :(
The value of that asset; costing more to liquidate than it is worth, shows not that it is worthless, rather it is a sign of an inefficient economy. To cut to the chase here, the root cause is free trade among unequal parties. "Stuff" is comparatively inexpensive because the bulk of it is manufactured by overseas workers getting paid a livable wage in that economy. We can not compete with their prices, and since that is all we care about, we have lost manufacturing and all those jobs. And now we can't afford nothing and wonder why.
On a wide scale there are literally hundreds of thousands of titles on DVD - shout out to Ralph Tribbey of the DVD & Blu-Ray Release Report - and many of those are of very little value. As I am interested in stereoscopic films, I have many 3D Blu-ray titles. Most are now out of print and as such over time the value increases to collectors, but even still many of those are nearly worthless because the film itself sucks.
I don't understand why anyone would get a DVD from a Redbox machine placed outside.
I predict a huge Big Lots influx of DVDs previously made for Redbox.
I have a library that I don't intend to end. I still got a DVD burner in my workstation. Streaming might be more convenient for some and I could understand that argument but I just still prefer physical media for many reasons. But above all it's a copy that's mine, I can read the liners, I can hold the disk in my hand and I can watch it as many times as I want without the threat of some online vender threatening to throw me off their platform.
The old classic movies are being released in the 4k format. I bought blu ray versions of the movie that I wanted and than randomly a week or anything month later, the 4k version of the movie that I wanted came out. I originally wanted 4k of the blu ray discs that I bought but 4k was not available so I settled for the blu ray disc versions. The 4k discs sometimes comes with a 4k disc and a blu ray disc in the same packaging. It's not always the case with all 4k titles but only certain titles. I bought some blu ray movies in the blu ray version version that I really want in 4k and than out of nowhere the 4k version comes out randomly because the blu ray version was already being released and sold and than later I found out the 4k version is already coming out. Unfortunately, not every title comes out in 4k, so I ended up settling for a blu ray version and if there is no 4k or blu ray version than I would settle for the dvd version as the last resort. I have the george lucas star wars movies on dvd with the high fidelity thx audio but there is no 4k movies with thx audio even though certain movies were originally mixed and mastered with thx level of high fidelity audio like the original george lucas star wars series and even indiana jones series of movies. I mention thx for audio because thx is about the high fidelity audio standard and certification that george lucas implement in theaters because of the audio engineer tomlinson holman that george lucas partnered to set a high quality standard and certification for high fidelity audio in movie theaters. However, since razer acquired thx, razer ruined thx since thx is being used to market razer products with the thx logo. Nowadays, dolby atmos are being used heavily for marketing similar to thx audio. There are android phones, headphones and speakers that says that they have dolby atmos or some type of spatial audio being used to sell there products.
the numbers your showing my not pain a full picture, because I don't think they cover the Collectors Market like Arrow video, Shout Factory, vinegar syndrome to name a few. last year we head numbers and company's saying sales where up by 20% to 30% from 2022... and with some of the newer titles it could climb even higher this year. maybe worth chatting with them and seeing how physical working out for them can be a cool eye opener for the viewers.
I am sad to see Redbox go... I used to buy used 4k blu-ray discs for around $4. I have a nice collection now on my Plex server.
I really wish we would change the conversation from the end of physical media to the end of movies on DVD and games on disc. I think that we have been on those formats way too long and there are better technologies available for both.
I’m buying a blu-ray every month as I’m not confident that I will be able to access my digital purchases into the future and not confident that I will be able to see my favourites on the same streaming platform in the future.
or also can you be sure your favorite tv show or movie on streaming won't be altered in some way for "modern audiences", because it might be deemed offensive? nobody can edit your physical media; but they sure can modify digital.
Physical media has value, but only to either collectors or people who don’t mind lower resolution versions.
lower res? sorry? is there something I don't know about 4k discs? is that lower res than 4k streaming? i get a consistent 4k resolution from start to finish on physical 4k discs, not so with streaming due to a variable bitrate due to latency and server use.
Walgreens is also in trouble. They are closing a lot of stores across the country.
Damn, if only I had the space I would yoink one.
ive gotten some movies from one of thelcoal red box that havent been removed if i was to run into a scapper i would ask if they choudl jsut remove the computer from it for me as alot of scrap yard s will not tke computers
Try moving and downsizing and you will soon wonder why you are saving all this stuff.
sure that is the pro of not owning copies, now the cons of digital , it can be taken away from you ( see the sony situation and people who "bought" their shows/movies)
Much better quality… but for how long? Maybe 5-10 years and the difference will be negligible
The thing is, in order to enjoy a blu-ray release you first have to own a Blu-ray player… and I don’t think anybody under 30 owns one.
The simple fact that I actually own the movie without having to rent it from a streaming service, is reason enough for me to keep physical media alive.
And with all the censoring and editing these companies are doing to our beloved old classics, physical is the only way to go.
@@MrDonCoyote let me ask you though: are you still paying for streaming, or are you 100% physical media?
@@onemanshow4116 Both. I'm paying for Crunchyroll. And they still offer physical media. I used to pay for Netflix. But now aside from Crunchyroll, it's all free streaming services such as UA-cam and Pluto TV, and physical blu rays.
@@onemanshow4116both
@@onemanshow4116 Some media isn't available in physical form so depending on what you watch streaming is the only option (outside of sailing the high seas).
I have a feeling that more and more people will seek out physical media every time one of those things happen with these DRM distrubutors when they just pull the stuff people buy for various reasons (servers shutting down, some scandals, etc, etc). Then people research just a little and realize they actually own nothing and just have a license. That leaves a bad taste in peoples mouths.
I own over 1000 movies and have taken the time to digitize them to my own personal server, and I can stream them both at home and away anywhere that there is internet or cell service. Fortunately most, if not all of the movies that have come out in the last few years have been so bad and worthless that I stopped going to Redbox or buying new movies. or TV. So, it's not that I don't want physical media, nothing coming out is worth buying. When yo have streaming or even "own" a digital version, you "own" nothing and can have access to nothing if they decide you don't or simply go out of business. That goes for games as well. I want to OWN my games, not be at the mercy of the company.
I love buying switch games, beating them, and selling them for roughly the same money
My steel book for season 1 of arcane arrived this week. I prefer to own my media. But I am apparently in the minority. Drop Box tried to do video games for a bit too right? I'll have to see if one of these machines still exists nearby.
05:18 - I'll be glad to buy them.
I enjoy the convenience of streaming. If storage weren't an issue I'd still be buying physical media.
digital storage can be an issue eventually, hard disks can fail , SSDs can degrade - so venture to guess you don't have your digital media backed up on multiple mediums do you?
Well, people have stopped buying DVDs of Karate Dog, at least.
The RB at the Walgreens that I used to go to it recently disappeared but the other walgreens down the street it's still there surprisingly. The past several months prior to the shut down, RB was offering to let you buy the movie and not return it for about the same price or just a nominal increase. I never did that beause I didn't want to be stuck with the disc. But as for the concept of physical media dying because it's inconvenient, why then do people schlep bottles of water from the store and the bottled water industry is doing great when they can just get it out of their faucet? Isn't walking over the faucet more convenient? For me, renting a dvd was more for the nostalgic experience and returning it the next day, I mean, that's just how we did it. Bee kind, rewind.
I do on occasion purchase bottled water, but only to refill the bottles from my reverse osmosis water filter. I also purchase physical media, and put things on my Plex server since I don't have a 4k (or blu-ray) player for the television. Rip it once, put it back in the case and store them in large boxes.
@@john_in_phoenix Yreah I do that also to some extent but my point was we do things that are inconvenient. Physical media is inconvenient but that doesn't mean people wouldn't do it. People don't do it because it's cheaper in most cases to rent/stream when you not going to watch it again more than likely. Even if you have it on your own server.
You could buy Redbox disc for less than $5.
Good times
I sill have DVDs that I have been too lazy to diigitize. I bought them,they are mine. Barring theft or damage,they cannot be withdrawn by the issuer. That's how purchasing is supposed to work.
Why yes, let me ask the store manager or store owner or landlord to rob the redbox machine using a rental truck. The hardest part is the first one.
are they too scared to auction them off?
Redbox has been a net negative business for a while, well before Chicken Soup for the Soul bought them. The sad part is that if Redbox had been managed properly, even the shrinking company could have been profitable. There are areas of the country where DVDs are still popular due to not having high speed internet. Redbox would never have been what it once was, but it could have at lease been.
The company I used to work for had a contract to service these machines at one point. The ones kept outside had air conditioners in them. The machine itself and the internal machinery aren't really useful for other applications. However there are aspects of these that can be parted out. The brain is a standard desktop PC. They have cellular modems. Also the credit card readers could be sold. If the air conditioner is not proprietary it can probably be sold as well. While companies may lose money on scrapping these, it wouldn't be as bad as letting the eyesores sit on their sidewalks
I was thinking that too, but for the one glaring exception that now exists, Starlink. You can now be in the middle of nowhere and still have internet access sufficient enough to stream a movie. They're doing it now in western NC, where the grid is down and roads are even not passable. A generator or solar power setup and Starlink keeps you online through anything.
@@sbrazenor2 Yes, but the issue with Starlink is cost. Many of the places where Redbox does well are places where the residents cannot afford to spend $100 more than they are currently spending to get internet. I agree, as Starlink proliferates this will be less of a concern, but the idea is still valid for the moment.
Either way, redbox is gone. Physical media is going to continue to go down as well. I hate that.
I bought GhostBusters After Life from a redbox machine
I think digital as an option is good, but i hate the push towards digital only. There are times when digital is unavailable, and physical will always be superior
Call me old fashioned, but I will always buy physical media. I scour shops for used movies and cd's which often yields unique finds along the way.
Seems Red Box could have sold these machines to help finance things. Could likely move these with a furniture/appliance dolly. Are they just heavy or are they anchored from the inside, if so probably only 4 🔩 to remove. Sad watching physical media die, because without legislation you'll never actually own digital media.
The people dont understand that nothing you buy in digital is yours, in many site changed the botton buy to rent o something like that.
Couple ditties.
4k discs are in a very weird spot.
Defects being huge for 1. I'm on my 4th Jaws 4k for example. I've never had a bad DVD, but have numerous blu-rays and 4ks.
2. The video isn't necessarily better. Take Disney+ having the expanded aspect ratio of it's movies. Or stream Dolby vision, but only put hdr10 on disc.
Or Aliens. The so called 'directors intent' was to use AI to scrub all the grain away. Most people have complained hard about it. To where you're arguably getting a better version, streaming it.
Back in the DVD days, you had so much more choice. Wanna watch the Matrix in an expanded aspect ratio? You can! Wanna see it as it was in theaters? You can do that too!
I haven't had any defects with 4K discs.
I prefer physical media. Streaming is not always reliable, other disadvantages.
I’ll remove the boxes around me for free with the proper authorization.
Vantiva must’ve looked for a retailer to take them in bulk instead of selling them direct.
A bit like Vinyl. Dying for most, but a few enthusiasts at the top end
i dont get the point of vinyl, if you want a pure "rich" sound, then talk to me when you get a reel-to-reel deck ( and im not talking about that quarter inch tape reel, but pure studio quality tapes used for recording.) Vinyl aint it.
Why would these machines need coolant?!?
My $89 16mp digicam is now worth $200 and the SD card is worth $300. Valueless? No. Got a Slot Radio? Goldmine, still can't afford a Taylor Swift concert with it though.
Red Box is gone now here in my area of the world 🌍
Even though I still buy physical media for most people physical media is dead. There may be a niche market for people that still like to buy physical and hopefully that market is big enough that companies continue to put out content. But as a whole physical media will continue to decline. Even sales of vinyl records which had been rising in the past few years dropped 33% in 2024.
I keep hearing that every 10 years and nothing has changed, home video is still here.
@@austinwillcut4919 To say nothing has changed is not true. A lot of retailers like Best Buy have stopped carrying physical media. Sales of physical media will continue to decline. There will be a market for collectors but most people will be consuming movies and music on digital. That's just reality.
@@austinwillcut4919 It's simply not true that nothing has changed. Retailers like Best Buy have stopped carrying physical media. Physical media will still be popular with collectors but the reality is that most consumers will consume content digitally.
I haven't seen a Redbox kiosk in years. The last one was at my regular grocery store but it got removed and the store installed shelving and coolers for their internet shopping service. My local public library has a 'used book & media section' where you can buy DVDs for 50 cents each (very few blu-rays). The shelf space is not large, but it turns over quickly. Most of the DVDs appear to have been rarely used, I suspect watched only once or twice, so they're in great shape. And yes, the quality of the picture from a DVD is noticeably better than watching it on a streaming service.
My library loans out blu-ray and DVD disks. Goodwill is another good source.
There's a redbox kiosk at a grocery store a town over from me and it's unplugged and out of service. I'm curious if the store even wants it anymore and want's it gone. I'd like to see how good the PC is that is inside if it will play games.
In my opinion digital versions have absolutely no value. It cannot be resold and it is stuck with the user's account which can be banned or closed at the will of the company anytime. Digital purchase is just a fancy way of saying you are renting at full price.
Resellable digital licenses are a perfect use case for a blockchain technology. There's even a mechanism with NFTs for the developer to get a royalty on those re-sales but sadly none of the publishing houses will ever support it.
@@LonSeidman that would work indeed but i highly suspect that is not what the executives want
Streaming is convenient if all you care about is 90th percentile Hollywood lowest common denominator but if you want to watch anything remotely out of the mainstream good luck. That combined with the constant titles moving, or disappearing completely all make streaming a pretty shit experience in my opinion. The draconian licensing all the major streamers employ make it literally impossible to own a title despite the fact you can "purchase" it. This in my view is the biggest benefit of physical media and people finally get sick of juggling streaming subscriptions and coming to bleach realizing they actually don't "own" anything.
Physical media is decline for the same reason Movie Theatres are, these big studios are making boring AF films that push a particular political agenda rather than provide something the marketplace is asking for.
And then when people don't buy/watch, they have the arrogance to call people 'haters' or 'toxic', simply because the general public want to be entertained rather than piously lectured by multi millionaire hypocrites.
Physical media will always beat streaming. Just not convenience lol. Get a better picture and sounds with physical than you do digital
i'll stick with physical media , i like having my media and owning a copy.
The last movie I rented on Redbox was Terminator Genisys, wrost movie ever
Of course it's Worthless, it's literally just a file an ISO. Disks decay over time. If you don't have the file copied to multiple different servers you don't own it one day that disk will quit working. Streaming is also worthless if you don't make a drm free copy of it lol
i have 20+ year old DVDs that still work though, no disc rot - perhaps maybe in another 20 years it might rot? i venture to guess nope. we aren't talking about laserdiscs here are we?
Don't worry big business is gonna start pushing vhs back on the consumer. Similar to vinyl. Anyway to make a buck!
Physical media being worthless is pretty clickbaity. The crappy movies in an abandoned Redbox from 8 months ago are probably near worthless. There will always be media for good movies. It's just been a decade since Hollywood put out a movie worthy of keeping. Nothing replaces physical media entirely.
if i can watch the movies i like at physical media quality without the actual physical media itself, then im not going to purchase the physical media, since there is no reason to
@@GravitatisIf you just want to rent the movie, sure. But I’m not going to pay $20 for a digital file that doesn’t even come with any special features like you get on disc and whose license could be revoked overnight which happened to a few videos I bought on the PlayStation network years ago
@@mikeg2491
well i only buy digital media from steam, so i dont really have that problem
if i want a particular movie or series i will usually just pirate it or watch it on youtube
@@mikeg2491
i typed a response to you but youtube deleted it for some reason
ive been streaming and been getting fuzzy pictures on a tv i spent 3,000 on. so i went back to cd’s
sounds like theft
keep on buying, Arrrrr 🦜