Netflix to end DVD-by-mail service that changed video rental industry

[bing101]

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/netflix-to-end-dvd-by-mail-service-that-changed-video-rental-industry
Here is the end of an era that peaked in the 2000's the DVD rental service.

[Rothman]

Thought they already had.

[jp the roadgeek]

I'm surprised that Redbox is still around.

[ZLoth]

Another nail in the physical media coffin.

Wait until the streaming services stop carrying the extremely niche films because they aren't commercially viable.

[LilianaUwU]

What do you mean, they're stopping DVD by mail service in 2023? I thought they stopped by the time their streaming service got popular.

[SectorZ]

I'm surprised that Redbox is still around.

I'm seeing a lot of them disappear that used to be outside various convenience stores.

[triplemultiplex]

Redbox will be around as long as there are rural places with shitty internet.

[mgk920]

What do you mean, they're stopping DVD by mail service in 2023? I thought they stopped by the time their streaming service got popular.

Fall 2023.

Mike

[abefroman329]

Another nail in the physical media coffin.

Wait until the streaming services stop carrying the extremely niche films because they aren't commercially viable.

Capitalism sure sucks when it doesn't directly benefit you, doesn't it?

[ErmineNotyours]

Another nail in the physical media coffin.

Wait until the streaming services stop carrying the extremely niche films because they aren't commercially viable.

Althouse theaters have already been decimated by streaming.  The beat goes on.

[vdeane]

Meanwhile, I heard on a podcast today that companies like Disney are starting to bring back DVD/BluRay releases of their titles, at least on a limited basis, as they realized that there is still a market for it, albeit not as big as it used to be.

[bing101]

Today's Netflix see itself as a Streaming TV Network going after Hulu, Amazon Prime and HBO Max for viewers. When Netflix was a DVD rental service it was more about them going after Blockbuster and Tower Records.

[kkt]

If I'd known Netflix was still in the discs by mail business, I might have subscribed.

[hbelkins]

I'd rather buy a disc and have it for eternity than to pay $4.99 and only be able to watch it once.

Oh, for the days when I would rent a video, copy it onto another video, and watch it as often as I wanted. Now I can't even get a movie off my DirecTV DVR to watch elsewhere.

[kphoger]

I'd rather buy a disc and have it for eternity than to pay $4.99 and only be able to watch it once.

Netflix didn't restrict you to only watching the DVD once.  You could watch it as many times as you wanted before having to return it.   

[mgk920]

Interestingly, there is still an operating Redbox in front of the downtown Appleton, WI Walgreen's.



Mike

[Road Hog]

Hang on to all those DVDs. By 2045 or so there will be a move that makes them trendy again, like vinyl.

[hotdogPi]

Hang on to all those DVDs. By 2045 or so there will be a move that makes them trendy again, like vinyl.

CD sales went up 1% last year after years of going down. It might not even take until 2045

[SectorZ]

Hang on to all those DVDs. By 2045 or so there will be a move that makes them trendy again, like vinyl.

CD sales went up 1% last year after years of going down. It might not even take until 2045

You sure about that one? I found they went from 47 million in units sold to 34 million, with an 18% revenue drop.

[hotdogPi]

Hang on to all those DVDs. By 2045 or so there will be a move that makes them trendy again, like vinyl.

CD sales went up 1% last year after years of going down. It might not even take until 2045

You sure about that one? I found they went from 47 million in units sold to 34 million, with an 18% revenue drop.

https://pitchfork.com/news/cd-sales-have-increased-for-the-first-time-in-17-years/

[SectorZ]

Hang on to all those DVDs. By 2045 or so there will be a move that makes them trendy again, like vinyl.

CD sales went up 1% last year after years of going down. It might not even take until 2045

You sure about that one? I found they went from 47 million in units sold to 34 million, with an 18% revenue drop.

https://pitchfork.com/news/cd-sales-have-increased-for-the-first-time-in-17-years/

2021, there are new 2022 numbers. It's a bloodbath.

https://www.riaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2022-Year-End-Music-Industry-Revenue-Report.pdf
https://www.ecoustics.com/news/vinyl-record-sales-pass-cd-2022/

The second link is funny in that it says why vinyl is selling, and 4 of the 6 reasons apply to CDs anyways.

[ErmineNotyours]

Hang on to all those DVDs. By 2045 or so there will be a move that makes them trendy again, like vinyl.

Not long ago I was going through my DVD boxed set of the first series of The Power Puff Girls to check something on a specific episode.  I noticed one disc would not load up at all.  In the past Universal Pictures discs would usually fail on the second layer, but this is the first time a major studio, pressed DVD has failed to load up entirely.  Vinyl is simple.  Petroleum plastic is not likely to spontaneously melt down in our lifetime, but DVDs don't last forever.

[mgk920]

Hang on to all those DVDs. By 2045 or so there will be a move that makes them trendy again, like vinyl.

Not long ago I was going through my DVD boxed set of the first series of The Power Puff Girls to check something on a specific episode.  I noticed one disc would not load up at all.  In the past Universal Pictures discs would usually fail on the second layer, but this is the first time a major studio, pressed DVD has failed to load up entirely.  Vinyl is simple.  Petroleum plastic is not likely to spontaneously melt down in our lifetime, but DVDs don't last forever.

Prerecorded CDs and DVDs have a very limited shelf life and are not at all a good medium on which to archive things like dong and video files.  'Burned' disks are even worse.

Mike

[hotdogPi]

I put several 1980s CDs on my computer about two weeks ago (in addition to some from the 1990s and early 2000s), and over 90% of them worked perfectly.

[WillWeaverRVA]

Hang on to all those DVDs. By 2045 or so there will be a move that makes them trendy again, like vinyl.

Except unlike vinyl, CDs and DVDs can degrade significantly after a few years, especially if stored improperly or in a humid environment.