Posted by Jaszmin on 10/18/05 08:45

Really, all movie viewing from any source is falling
into the crapper. As a result, theaters and video
parlors are being squeezed and giving great value.
And making copies is easier than ever despite
obstacles. I've got netflix and I rent too. What I
don't have is cable because its worse than the other
crap. And I used to own the local cable system.
Everyone wants to be rich in America which is why
everything really discretionary like entertainment is
priced too high. Cable is too high, phone is too
high, the internet is too high. But renting videos
and making your own copies on a mass scale while
enormous numbers of films are being created, is a
CHEAP alternative to cable. I don't spend what it
costs for a vanilla cable subscription on video each
month, and I have more movies than I can watch.
The rest I tape off rabbit ears and watch it when I
can. I bring home up to ten dvds every Tuesday
at $1.57 each and tape them. I can't keep up with
watching them. I also go to one or more theater
films a week. Those are a ripoff too, but I don't
consider them part of my television budget.

Mike Rice

On Wed, 31 Aug 2005 20:04:04 -0500, Dale Houstman <dmh7@skypoint.com>
wrote:

>
>
>Diane wrote:
>> In article <bl2112-AEDBA8.18340531082005@news.uswest.net>,
>> Black Locust <bl2112@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>You can make moronic
>>>complaints about the little $1.25 restocking fee or the fact that they
>>>auto-sale the DVD to your account, but the fact is, if you know how to
>>>milk their system effeciently, you can basically rent a DVD from them
>>>for about 40 days and only pay a total of $6.50 for it! Netflix(or any
>>>of blockbuster's other competitors) can't even begin to touch a bargain
>>>like that.
>>
>>
>> What about the complaint that someone mentioned and I noticed when I
>> went there -- they carry about a zillion copies of 5 movies that weren't
>> that great when they came out and nothing else? I combed the store for
>> an hour and couldn't find anything worth renting (and watching on
>> computer, since I've not gotten a DVD player yet).
>
>Blaming Netflix is akin to the recording industry blaming home copying
>for their failures: it's vastly more complex. Certainly part of it is
>the miserable selection with over-emphasis on - heh - blockbusters, and
>a lack of education of the public on other options in viewing. For some,
>the remembering to get the videos back on time (especially if the store
>is a little driving distance away) is an issue also. What is partly
>happening - from what I've read - is that more people are buying DVDs
>outright, and also cable and satellite stations provide a wider
>selection of entertainments than was possible a little while back. Also
>- in general (despite government rah-rah to the contrary) people are
>simply running out of money and jobs. Discretionary spending is becoming
>a big problem, what with criminally low wages and higher gas prices. And
>so on...
>
>I always avoided Blockbuster for aesthetic reasons: I would rather not
>watch films than have to drive to the cinematic equivalent of a Wal-Mart
>store.
>
>dmh

[Back to original message]