Redbox kiosks are cheap and convenient sources for DVD rentals. And, according to a prosecutor in southern Indiana, they’re corrupting our children. Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Stanley Levco has sent letters threatening legal action against retailers providing space to Redbox and MovieCube kiosks. The problem? Automated kiosks don’t have enough safeguards preventing minors from renting material that could theoretically harm them. [More]
dvd’s
This Is Not A Reason Not To Pirate DVDs
By 2.22.10
There is no excuse for downloading or copying DVDs illegally. It’s wrong and could land you in jail. But, as is illustrated in this BSPCN post, studios could learn a thing or two from their swashbuckling, peg-legged counterparts in terms of streamlining. [More]
Redbox Bows To WB's Demand It Wait 4 Weeks To Rent Its DVDs
By 2.17.10
Warner Bros. has already gotten Netflix to wait four weeks before renting the studio’s DVDs, and now it’s worked out a similar deal with Redbox, Deadline Hollywood Daily reports: [More]
Long Queue Waits Sort Of Defeat The Point Of Netflix
By 2.6.10
Jeff is patiently waiting for the recently released movies in his Netflix queue, but his taste in films is evidently working against him. He says that the top ten discs in his queue all have long waits, and he is frustrated. Is he being throttled, a victim of having popular tastes, or both? [More]
How Did This Used Redbox Disc Get Sold As A New DVD?
By 1.27.10
David noticed something strange about the purportedly new, sealed DVD that he bought at closeout chain Marshalls. He writes that when he unsealed and opened the case, the DVD inside formerly belonged to…Redbox?! [More]
Is Blockbuster Sending Out Gimped Versions Of Some Blu-rays?
By 1.11.10
William claims Blockbuster sent him a not-so-special edition of The Hangover on Blu-ray that doesn’t let him access an unrated version of the movie. [More]
Redbox Offers Free Movie Rental Good For Six Whole Hours
By 1.10.10
Several readers in the Oklahoma City area wrote to us about a recent issue with Redbox. Kiosks all over the area were full and unable to accept DVD returns. Redbox made up for the outage by offering area consumers a free rental. Except the free rental code was only good for six hours after the message was sent out. [More]
Redbox Customer Rents Blank Disk
By 1.8.10
Russ says he rented a movie from Redbox and ended up with a blank disc. He also says he can’t get an answer from Redbox on what to do next.
I rented three DVDs for my kids at a San Antonio, TX location, then drove back home with them to Austin. When I took one of them out of its case, I noticed that it was a just a blank CD-R. The previous renter had taken the I.D. label from the original DVD and messily placed it on the CD-R.
If You Want The One On The Left, Cough Up An Extra $100
By 12.28.09
Jesse found identical sets of Six Feet Under on DVD, one for $249.99 and the other for $149.99. The more expensive set was most likely a labeling error that would have been caught at checkout — after all, Best Buy sells it online for the cheaper price — but you’d have to be during to grab the set on the right and take it to the register. [More]
Anchor Bay Trusts Customer, Makes Up For Missing Disc
By 12.20.09
Last Christmas, Steve bought his wife a copy of “Evil Dead,” Ultimate Edition, published by Anchor Bay Entertainment. The set was missing a disc, and Anchor Bay never followed up on his initial e-mail. At the beginning of December, almost a year later, he contacted the company again, and they did a fantastic job making up for the original missed email. [More]
Firmware Update Borks Man's Samsung Blu-ray Player, Samsung Says Too Bad
By 12.18.09
Maybe manufacturers need to rethink how warranties work when it comes to firmware updates. Justin’s Samsung Blu-ray player recently alerted him that there was an update available, so he told it to proceed. What he ended up with was a dead player. Now Samsung says because it’s out of warranty for repairs he has to pay them $90 to get it working again. [More]
Redbox Won't Take Reader's Money, Bans Credit Card Forever
By 12.16.09
What can you do when a company bans not you, but your only credit card? John explains that he returned some Redbox movies before his vacation. Then his vacation got really exciting, and his credit card was briefly and accidentally reported stolen. He straightened things out with the credit card company, but Redbox was not so forgiving. He owes the company $15, but they won’t accept his money. Now he’s unable to borrow from Redbox, and their customer service is no help. [More]
Amazon Handing Out Digital Flicks As Bonuses For Disc Buys
By 12.14.09
In a push to get people buying DVDs and Blu-rays online rather than off shelves, Amazon is tossing in a nice little bonus: a digital copy of the film to rent or keep, HD Digest reports: [More]
Redbox Testing Higher Prices In Some Markets
By 12.4.09
Renting a DVD for $1 per day is a simple, easy-to-understand pricing scheme. But in some markets, Redbox kiosks are testing some new pricing plans. They will charge either $2 or $1.50 for the first night, and $1 for subsequent nights. [More]
Disney Claims "Up" DVD Missing Captions Were A Mistake
By 11.22.09
Many Consumerist readers wrote to Disney about the missing captions in rental editions of the Pixar movie “Up,” either because they were personally affected or they found the omission offensive. In their response, Disney at least acknowledges the unique issue and promises to make up for the mistake of consumers submit proof that they rented “Up.”
Netflix Leaves Me Hanging On 'Dexter'
By 11.19.09
Sarah has been trying to catch up on the Showtime series Dexter over Netflix, but she’s been stuck in the middle since early September because Neftlix won’t get the next disc to her.
Disney Removes Closed Captioning From "Up" Rental Release
By 11.15.09
Imagine you’re deaf or hard of hearing, and put off watching Pixar’s “Up” until the DVD release. You rent the DVD from Netflix, Redbox, or Blockbuster, and the box or Web listing promises captions. But when you settle in to watch the movie, you discover that there are no captions to be found. Not in any language.
Sony Hunts For Morons Willing To Pay $25 To Rent A Movie
By 11.12.09
Has Sony got a deal for you if you’ve got a Sony Bravia HDTV that can connect to the internet: Rent Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 30 days early for the low, low price of $24.95. Movie blogger Colin Boyd gushes about the fantastic offer on his site (citing a ZDNet story), Get the Big Picture:
