And now its Blockbusters turn

Illegal downloading is killing the distribution networks, not the creativity. 😉

Blockbuster is still going?

I don’t think I’ve ever been in one. Once I think(?). I used to use indies for rental all the time. When I moved and the local one closed down I simply stopped hiring ‘the latest films’.

The Cinema is getting more and more expensive – Have only seen Goldeneye and Bourne in the past 3yrs.

Illegal downloading is killing the distribution networks, not the creativity

Piracy seems to be in steady decline over the last few years, judging by torrent numbers.

Blockbuster is on attack from several fronts as identified above.

What amazes me about them – and also HMV – is that they didn’t embrace downloads/streaming at an early stage. Sure, it would have been expensive to invest in the technology and direct relationships with the studios and record labels, but so is running at a loss and going bust.

As it is, our lives can pretty much be summed up in three words:

Apple
Amazon
Tesco

Papa_Lazarou +1. Absolutely.

I don’t think society has become satisfied with what they have, it’s just that the high street is no longer the only place to get these things. I do think you grow out of traditional shopping though. I used to love browsing record shops looking for the next big thing, but I have neither the time nor inclination to do it nowadays. Besides, Spotify, iTunes, Amazon etc have meant I get personalised recommendations so I don’t need to go into a shop any more.

I can’t see Wetherspoon going under although there are very few of them I’d go into on a Friday or Saturday night as they generally seem to be full of idiots.

Having said that there are a couple of decent ones – if there are a few of us out it’s almost a race to get the round in at Wetherspoons as it will be guaranteed to be the cheapest of the night by miles. They could easily put the price up a bit and still do OK. They charge less than half the price of other nearby pubs for some really good real ales.

[quoteAs it is, our lives can pretty much be summed up in three words:

Apple
Amazon
Tesco[/quote]

Sad but very true..

Physical media is dead/dying.

If you can buy a digital copy over the internet, it’s cheerio to that business on the high street.

Downloading 25GB of a full Blu-Ray is still a bit of an ask though!

Apple
Amazon
Tesco.

None of the above.
Samsung
Alot of indies
Sainsburys

Most Bluray films are only 7Gb though, can download in a couple of hours as a torrent.

I’m amazed it’s taken this long – they didn’t even adapt to pay-per-view or the movies-by-post model, let alone the internet. “Hi blockbuster, it’s the 90s on the phone…. they want their business model back”

A failure to evolve, pure and simple.

Travel agents have been hanging on for longer than I thought. Here’s hoping that estate agents are soon to be a thing of the past.

my mate summed it up quite well i thought.

“oh no where will i rent my movies on the highstreet now? said no one – ever ”

price aside apple tv does a sterling job of letting you have reasonably modern movies on a whim.

lovefilm does a good job of letting you have new movies cheaply via post – if you use it reguarly

do i have distant memories of blockbuster trying to start up one of those postal DVD services and selling it to someone else or is that complete fiction

Lovefilm here. Movies for me and Mrs Labsey and games for me. Problem I found with games is that it’s rare I can complete them in 3 days. At least with Lovefilm you can keep them as long as you want.

Surprised Blockbuster lasted this long.

How long for WH Smiths? Magazines, books, cards, DVDs, stationary.. all easy to get online.

Or in Tesco’s.

Good example. Over Christmas I had the misfortune to go ‘into town.’ The car park was pay and display, I had to walk to shops in the rain and when I went into WH Smiths it was untidy, cramped and cluttered. The book I wanted to buy was £18! Ignored that but picked up a cycling magazine, only to be offered by a mardy till person a brick of a chocolate bar for £1.

Still needed the book so drove down the road into the huge (free) tesco car park, went into store and picked up the book for £10. Why would I ever choose to go back to WH Smiths?

Incidently, I noticed the WH Smith street vendor in Ripper Street was pretty mardy as well. Seems their customer services training hasn’t moved on.

+1 Papa Lazarou

And Thorntons really remind me of Rover, trying to be a premium brand but actually a bit crap. And I know all too well how that ended.

Reading through this thread, the only thing I use the High St for these days(Co-Op aside) is the Post Office, and not very often.

All we’re seeing is outdated business models falling. It’s pig-headedness by the management. Everyone could see where it was going but they carried on. We’ve all worked for companies with the attitude “we do it this way” and they’re rarely successful. Things change. Evolve or become extinct.

Downloading 25GB of a full Blu-Ray is still a bit of an ask though!

You missed the “if” in my post? And given time, 25Gb downloads will become viable. Just not yet.

Currently “HD” films on download services are around 3 or 4Gb.

Things change. Evolve or become extinct.

The appropriate term for a push bike forum would be “Innovate or die”

People seem to forget human nature. We like ‘having and owning films’. Storing them all on a hard drive (like treasured photos)- isn’t the same. What happens when you upgrade/change your device?

Will the majority of people be happy with cloud-based storage? There will always be a place for music/films on the high st IMO.

People seem to forget human nature. We like ‘having and owning films’.

Personally I’m the other way round – I hate the waste of space taken up by DVDs, CDs and VHS etc. I’ve given all mine away and just have ripped copies of everything now.

Although I so still have all my LPs, there’s something about them that’s warm and pleasant unlike horrible cheap plastic DVD cases.

People seem to forget human nature. We like ‘having and owning films’.

I’ve got an absolute mountain of CD’s and DVD’s. They’re all in the loft, having been put on a hard drive. In their physical form, they might as well be in the bin. They just take up space

Its all downloads from now on. And I really never thought I’d say that

I use Blockbuster all the time as I live away from home when at work and don’t have the bandwidth available in my accommodation. The one in Fareham always seems to have people in it and the nice lady at the counter (they always seem pretty cheery) said they had been assured that their jobs were safe.
Admit this is probably a distinct situation and that downloads will inevitably take over.

People seem to forget human nature. We like ‘having and owning films’

No, not really.

Power tools on the other hand.

I used to like owning films, records and CDs but I’m now more than happy with Spotify, Netflix, iTunes etc. “Owning” a BluRay disc will probably go the way of vinyl; only of interest to a small percentage who appreciate the difference in quality and therefore prices will rocket.

yes piemonster, tools have functional purpose. i like tools for all sorts. as long as i have a job for em.

media – as long as i can watch it i dont care how i have it … i have 3TB of movies i take with me working abroad.

Illegal downloading is killing the distribution networks, not the creativity.

Unfortunately those distribution networks were frequently paying for the creativity.

They have already said that blockbusters as a core business is still profitable, so the business model of us renting games/dvds still works, not just a 90’s thing!

The problem is when they separated from Gamestation they tried to keep doing trade-ins but they expanded to dvd’s etc and tbh who really wants to buy someone else dvd’s?? That was there failure and they have said if a buyer comes along they could still be saved.

Was Blockbuster a franchise?

PC World aren’t all bad. If you want to buy a computer from a shop – and many people do – it’s really your only choice. Most of the independent stores (certainly round here anyway) seem more interested in mobile phone unlocking, overseas calling cards and cheap flight deals to the Indian subcontinent than they do in selling computers.

Funnily enough, I’m in the market for all of those things except a computer from a shop!

They have already said that blockbusters as a core business is still profitable

They would say that though, wouldn’t they? As they’re after a buyer. I can stand here and say that I’m the messiah. In fact, I frequently do. It doesn’t make it true though. Lets be honest.. there’s only one direction of travel for a business of that nature. Same with HMV

People seem to forget human nature. We like ‘having and owning films’. Storing them all on a hard drive (like treasured photos)- isn’t the same. What happens when you upgrade/change your device?

Will the majority of people be happy with cloud-based storage? There will always be a place for music/films on the high st IMO.

whats changing is that physical media could become rare – books go out of print, albums get deleted or even if they don’t, shops stop stocking them. So the hoard instinct comes from having had to hunt stuff down to get it and look after it incase it ceases to be available. If you are old enough to have needed to do that then that hoarding instinct might persist. Digital media seems infinitely available – theres no need to hoard stuff because once its available online there seems no likelihood it will ever become unavailable. So theres no real need to ‘store’ your music or your films either on your PC or in some distant cloud, all you’d really need is a licence to consume it any time you like.

Even the idea of hoarding stuff on a hard drive is a bit old fashioned now.

Even the idea of hoarding stuff on a hard drive is a bit old fashioned now.

Agreed. I used to back up my iTunes collection but now I use Spotify, I don’t need any of the files on my machine.

“Even the idea of hoarding stuff on a hard drive is a bit old fashioned now. “

unless you travel regular to places without internetz (you know they still exist)

unless you travel regular to places without internetz (you know they still exist)

People in Norfolk can’t use keyboards / touch pads – the webbing gets in the way….