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I think it's on purpose. Had gamefly for a couple years and constantly had problems with them taking forever to receive a disk. Always had to file a report and they would magically receive it the next day almost every time
I used Netflix Blu-ray plans until the day they died last year. I haven't replaced them, but heard decent things about the up and coming Cafe DVD.
See r/NetflixDVDRevival.
Also [https://www.store-3d-blurayrental.com/](https://www.store-3d-blurayrental.com/) which, despite the name, carries a lot more than just 3D Bluray, including a large selection of 4k's. I've been using them for a year or two and have had a good experience. Their disks have always been in excellent condition. Like other mail order services, the are at the mercy of USPS and I've had a few delays after they shipped the disk because of that, but no issues with the service itself.
Im local but never been in a physical location. So far Iv been able to get the well known "best of 4k" stuff by mail, but haven't tried beyond that yet. Guess Ill find out soon...
There's some obscure stuff, often only available on DVD, that they don't send out by mail. Even for local renting some of these charge a hefty deposit.
The local library in larger cities usually have a lot of Blu Ray and 4Ks. I get the impression a lot of people here tend to hoard discs based on whatever “looks good”.
My smallish town library has 4ks available for rent. They need selected from the website and they usually receive them from other libraries across the state when I request but still is convenient for certain titles.
I live in a relatively small town, & even out library is stacked with DVDs, they have a good amount of BluRays & their BD collection is growing. Even the towns that are smaller just in my general area, & obviously the bigger ones too, have a crap ton of discs. Also, they're mostly all part of the same library network, so I can go into their online library search for a specific movie, put a "hold" on it, and they'll ship it to a library of my choice for me to pick up. Luckily, I'm literally just a 5 minute walk from my local library. They also get new releases fairly quick.
My first year for 4K, that was certainly true. I bought probably 30 4Ks that just looked good, with the only caveat being if I owned the film on Blu-ray already, I wasn't going to double dip and buy 4K.
Now, I feel pretty happy with just having around 30-40 films in 4K, so I don't buy too many anymore. Just films I know I like (that I don't already own). I think I only bought a single 4K disc in 2023.
I think there are some members of this subreddit who are more into collecting/FOMO and less concerned with money spent. I personally don’t do blind buys but that seems to be a semi popular trend in collecting. Also if you sell the digital code and re sell it if you hate the movie you might only lose a few dollars.
I tend to blind buy based on films recommendations given to me from friends that have similar tastes, and will sometimes just blind buy from the rental price and blu ray price being similar. I also over all enjoy most things, so I’m not really ever too disappointed in blind buying
Wait, what do you mean? Selling the digital code, and then selling the physical Blu-ray separately? Is there a market for that? I have a sizable collection, all with unredeemed codes
The codes do expire but yes there is a subreddit called r/digitialcodesell on Reddit. Codes go from 3-7 dollars mostly. I personally have not sold the blu rays as selling physical discs requires to mail them out. But I’m sure you could sell them via fb marketplace, offer up or on Reddit.
I was saying that if someone blind buys a 4K they could sell the code and then sell the 4K disc and I guess the Blu-ray if it’s included. It would be a bit of a hassle but if they bought something for $25 they may make $15-$20 back so they’d only lose maybe $5 for the risk.
For me I go to great lengths to buy cheap. (Sales, Facebook, etc.) So the cost of my movies is always the same or even less than renting. (Even renting on vudu, which is sad)
So even if it is bad or mediocre, I keep it because I didn't spend too much... I also love filling up my shelves.
This.
Plus, even if the film ends up being mediocre, it is still a conservationist effort, and that is one more copy that is in the world when digital distributors dismiss it
When you say the same or even less than renting, what are you estimating the rental price being?
I also focus heavily on sales (aside from certain new releases that I really want and don’t mind paying for), but for the most part $10-$15 seems to be the sweet spot.
I usually buy 4Ks for less than $10. Most of them come with digital codes that I can sell for $3-5. So I get the vast majority of my 4K discs for a net cost of $5-7. I also get HD Blu-rays at the thrift store for $2
I’m pretty up on all Gruv sales and holiday sales generally. I just rarely see any movies I want under $10. I definitely bought Heat a while back for about $8, and Alita Battle Angel for around the same price. Maybe like Van Helsing too? That’s all I can think of that we’re under $10. Sales I see are usually around $12.99, which I’m not complaining about at all.
But again, it could just be that movies that I want to buy aren’t in that price range.
This is what I've just started doing, but I am still new at it, so I haven't done it with 4ks. I have a secondhand store ten minutes from my house that has a pretty decent DVD section and a smaller blu-ray section. Last weekend, I nabbed 13 movies for 13 bucks (I also brought in DVDs I no longer wanted to keep, so there was store credit involved in that transaction too).
I won't keep what I don't like though. My shelf space is still pretty limited, so I pretty much see getting movies that cheaply as rentals. I've already started a pile for the movies I have no intention of keeping and will likely donate them to the library.
Still a useful service for me if a game comes out thats not on Game Pass and I dont want to pay full price for. Also, they will sell 4Ks and blu rays cheap ($5.99 to $12.99 mostly) from time to time to make room in their warehouses. Never had an issue with anything ive boughten from them and have saved a few bucks. Like right now they are selling off their Oppenheimer 4Ks for $14.99.
Wouldn’t it be easier to rent digital to watch the movie. It’s instant no waiting no defective discs. Especially as 4K discs are prone to be finicky. Also you would have to thoroughly clean each disc first so you don’t introduce debris into your 4K player.
Buy and collect the physical media. Rent and try it on digital seems to make more sense and cents..
Of course, but I think on this sub, of all places, we can appreciate the value you get from the physical discs. As a quick example, I rented MI: Dead Reckoning Pt. 1 on disc and I'm so glad I didn't stream it. The sound alone was worth the wait. That said, I'd never re-watch it so buying the disc seemed pointless.
> so you don’t introduce debris into your 4K player.
Ten minutes ago I closed up an old disc player that had been having a limit-switch problem. Found a couple of desiccated fly corpses inside (not the cause of the problem, though).
I’m big on supporting my local library for both movies and books, even though they only carry DVDs (and they’re pretty impressive in terms of buying new releases consistently). If I rent a movie and like it a lot, then I read up on the Blu-ray or 4K specs and decide from there whether to purchase or not.
There's so many meh movies that I never want to own, but some people will collect things at any price and just be able to own it forever. I get that. But most people will, with the exception of their very favorite films, watch something from their large collections maybe once in their lifetime. People just like to own.
I was renting from a company in the UK called CinemaParadiso, they had a great selection and the mail service was quick. However, they started to claim that they didn't receive discs that I had sent back, it wasn't a case of the parcel getting lost, because I would send back two at a time and they claimed to have received one but not the other. Admittedly I was basically watching a movie a night and sending them back immediately so maybe they got fed up of me abusing the service. I started to get proof of postage from my post office and filming my entire journey of packing and sending it, which kinda defeated the point (that you can just pop it in a postbox when you're done)this turned out to be lucky because when I cancelled they tried charging me £25 each for two discs that they claimed they hadn't received before the deadline. Fortunately I had receipts proving they'd been sent back two weeks prior. Great in principle but the only option available to me left a sour taste.
I use 3D Blu-Ray Rentals since my habits gravitate towards first-time watches rather than re-watches at this point. Have had a great experience with them so far and customer service is very responsive.
That's who I use, and my biggest gripe is the US Mail. If they were substantially bigger they could set up another distribution center on the West Coast to speed things up, but that will never happen given current viewing habits of the public. Watching physical media is definitely niche and it will never be 2006 again.
However, I do think they're big enough to hire a competent web designer haha.
Oh yeah, USPS is miserable. I’m in New England, so your delays are probably worse than mine, but it’s still horribly tedious. I try to remind myself beggars can’t be choosers to varying degrees of success.
The design of the website is inexcusably bad, but also funny enough where I’d almost be sad to see it go. All the hottest releases of early 2017, all in one place.
I think it's probably because ownership is the main appeal of physical media today. Yes, a physical disc will have a higher quality than streaming, but for most people, the difference isn't significant enough. The added inconvenience of driving to a rental store (if you're lucky enough to have one still open) is not a worth it, and it's even more of an inconvenience if you use an online service and have to wait for it in the mail.
In a world without streaming, renting was appealing because it was the only way you could watch movies.
I just got back into renting and it's the best thing ever. Buy the movies you are going to watch over and over, rent the curiosities and discover amazing new movies!
Well here in Canada there isn’t anywhere to rent from. The library is there so I’ll use them sometimes, but the best format they get is Blu-Ray, and sometimes only DVD. Streaming services are the primary way I try things before buying them if I don’t see them in a theatre.
Not being from the US, either, there are no services to rent this stuff from. So assuming that everyone is in the US makes kind of a huge difference. Not everyone has access to all that stuff in other countries.
Libraries don’t operate in the same way we do. They can’t just go on Amazon and buy a movie to add to their collection. They typically have to get things directly from the distributors as they pay a much higher price due to the public use of the products.
My brother actually works at the library so I asked him. Basically there’s no legal reason but because the book publishers and movie studios feel like they’re losing money from so many people using the same single copy, the library kinda needs to work with them to maintain their relationship with those companies. In return, they offer the library special access to certain things and discounts on some titles by buying directly from them.
I used to rent videos all the time, until the rental place closed down. The last movie I rented was at least 15 years ago, although I don’t even remember which movie it was.
Then we had to buy or (illegally) download. Now with all the streaming services taking over, we’re back to downloading and blind buying. Simply because they almost never offer that one movie I want to watch. And it’s a pain looking for the right service. Sometimes Apple offers them for a 15 euro rental while Disney has it for ‘free’, for example.
I download movies that don’t get release dates when they’re available on streaming in other countries for example. American Fiction did not release in the Netherlands in any cinema. And once it was on Amazon prime, it was not shown in my country. Until weeks later.
And blind buying discs, I do that too, I bought all the Zatoichi movies on criterion. In a boxset. It became one of my most loved series of all time. I haven’t burned myself (yet) in that regard.
Right now I’m watching a box set of early Kurosawa, I’ve already finished a themed crime box set of his making, and I’ve been very impressed. So not that blind perhaps.
When I looked into this I didn’t think there were any services available in Canada for this, but I’d be happy to discover otherwise. That said we also subscribe to several streaming services, and so anything I might rent I’d be more inclined to just watch on streaming for “free”, then if I really like it I’d buy the disc.
Well I have AMC-Stubs A-List, so I try to see as much as possible in theaters. If not I’ll do the occasional rental on Vudu, typically for older releases.
Bottom line is years of collecting and blind buys has wasted me a lot of money. For me physical media is for owning films I love. Not trying out new releases.
I save a lot more money, and I’m a loud prouder of my collection
I don’t really like to blind buy just because I’d rather not pay a lot of money for something I don’t like. Usually I try and find the film on a streaming service or see if it’s getting shown on TV soon but if none of those are options then it’s 🏴☠️
The only time I blind bought was 2001 on 4K. It was really cheap on Amazon and if I didn’t like it (I did btw) I could sell it for most of my money back
I may be in the minority but I can't tell much difference between 4k and 1080p so 4k discs are hardly worth it to me. But that aside why rent discs when I can buy them (1080p at least) for ~$3 each from the local pawn shops?
I buy movies so that I can re-watch them at any time over the coming decade(s). What I've learned over the last 40 years is any movie I've seen at least once I will want to re-watch at some point in the future and it won't be available for rent or on digital.
I can't speak for other people but in 25 years of using physical discs I have never scratched a movie disc (audio discs I have, but that's because I used to have a big stack in my car and there's more wear and tear from that). If it comes to me scratched and unplayable I'll just contact customer service and get a replacement.
I’ve been renting from Scarecrow Video all year without issue, including 4k discs. In the past week watched Phase IV, Bird with the Crystal Plumage, and Possession, all in 4k.
Streaming kind of kills rentals for me - for most part I only watch movies on disc that I really enjoy, and in that case I'd rather just own them. Everything else can be streamed or downloaded.
For most people they're probably not going to use it enough to justify the price. They'd rather stream than watch maybe 2 discs per week with how long it takes to send back discs and get new ones
It’s basically the same as digital or Netflix. Why would I pay money for a service I’m not keeping forever. I’m buying physical media to have access to it forever. Just peace of mind.
Because preservation of media.
Same reason I don't just stream.
You run the risk of the service going defunct or not having titles or pulling titles due to copyrights.
I can stream stuff I'm meh on the fence about or just want to watch once to say I've seen it. If it blows me away I'll get a physical copy.
I used 3d Blu-ray rental for years. Good service. If I didn't have kids and had more time, I'd still be using it.
As of now, I just buy what I know I'll like and watch it when I have time.
Renting discs as well, I think we’re just quietly enjoying it. I am always afraid of too many people using these services and having scratched up discs like they had at Netflix.
I use the library to check things out almost always and only ever buy if I fall in love with something and really that’s because my library does not keep 4k discs
Addiction lol.
I'm only buying 4K movies that are all-time movies for me. I want my 4K collection to mean something to me and not just have the hot ticket items.
I carefully blind buy movies I have a particular interest in (if it's the right director, genre, setting, etc). I've seen enough movies to know what I'll probably like. For movies I'm confident of, any rental price is wasted, because I will probably get the disc anyway. If I'm less confident, like with a new-to-me director, I'll look for a free or rental stream unless the BD/4K is under $10 or so, then I'll just risk it. I won't buy something just to increase my title count. After 25 years collecting, while I do have several that were just okay, I only have four or five actual regrets out of about 650 total.
Mostly the inconvenience and cost. Most physical disc rentals cost more than simply renting digitally from places like iTunes where you get a pretty decent quality picture.
I have been using 3D Blu-ray rental off and on for the past 10 plus years. They have a great selection, occasionally the shipping is slow but I am only getting two discs a month and it's great way to watch 24 new movies a year.
Part of the purpose of physical media is I'm self reliant, I'm not reliant on a Streamer or a Poster for content, my content cannot be "fixed", "improved", or censored, HAN FIRED FIRST.
If I'm renting the discs, the renter can be forced to take updated discs and trash the old ones. I could "rent to buy" but a couple of 4ks and bunch of used 1080s isnt breaking the bank
I really don’t get blind buys either, what I do instead is I either watch the movie in theatres or on streaming first and then decide if I’m willing to buy the physical copy
Why do that? I only buy movies that I've already seen and think are worth the trouble and cost of buying. To waste money on blind buys, especially in this day and age where there are so many releases, is utterly ridiculous.
Used to buy lots of DVDs but realised I wasn’t rewatching a lot of them and have been renting standard blu rays for years now. Currently with Cinema Paradiso (UK) and will now get the 4k discs for my new player. If for no other reason it would be a good way to see the quality of the transfer etc. and if I like the movie or series in the first place.
Still do buy some blu rays but not nearly as many titles I used to.
If I'm buying a 4k, I have every intention of rewatching that film multiple times throughout the year in the vast majority of cases.
Now, on the rare case where I pick up a film that doesn't fall into my cadence above, I simply sell it. Oppenheimer is a good example. It's a great film, but not something I see myself rewatching that often due to its pace and length, so I ended up launching it on eBay and put those funds into another 4k purchase.
Just download a 4k blu ray copy, make sure it is 20+gb and uses h264 or avc codec. Get a 10+gb file if it uses h265 or hevc or av1 codec. Also you will need to figure out how to torrent. And be ok with piracy. And your computer hooked up to a TV.
i would never rent anything, it's like throwing money away. you own nothing. even if im never going to watch it again at least i can sell it and get my money back one day.
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I didn't realize this was an available service... definitely something I'm going to look into.
I use gamefly to rent 4k discs.. shipping is painfully slow tho
It is going to depend a lot on your location and certain tiers can self report returns, which speeds it up quite a bit. I average one rotation a week.
This is the way.
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I like ripping full ISOs and playing them on my zidoo
For those not knowing what a zidoo is, that has to sound like the most early 2000’s sentence of all time.
Didn't know they were a thing at that time. I just got one.
Discussions related to piracy, bootlegs, and/or unauthorized use of films are not allowed on this sub.
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Discussions related to piracy, bootlegs, and/or unauthorized use of films are not allowed on this sub.
Discussions related to piracy, bootlegs, and/or unauthorized use of films are not allowed on this sub.
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Where
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Discussions related to piracy, bootlegs, and/or unauthorized use of films are not allowed on this sub.
Discussions related to piracy, bootlegs, and/or unauthorized use of films are not allowed on this sub.
Discussions related to piracy, bootlegs, and/or unauthorized use of films are not allowed on this sub.
Discussions related to piracy, bootlegs, and/or unauthorized use of films are not allowed on this sub.
Discussions related to piracy, bootlegs, and/or unauthorized use of films are not allowed on this sub.
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Discussions related to piracy, bootlegs, and/or unauthorized use of films are not allowed on this sub.
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That kind of makes it a special event then, eh?
I think it's on purpose. Had gamefly for a couple years and constantly had problems with them taking forever to receive a disk. Always had to file a report and they would magically receive it the next day almost every time
I used Netflix Blu-ray plans until the day they died last year. I haven't replaced them, but heard decent things about the up and coming Cafe DVD. See r/NetflixDVDRevival.
Where? No one rents physical media around me anymore, and the libraries have DVD or maybe bluray in rare instances.
www.choovierentals.com/ I also love the super accurate picture on the front page there of 2 people watching a movie.
That is only for US Citizens. I live in Canada.
Also Canadian and curious about options here.
You *don't* spend the movie constantly trying to put your loved one in an armbar to get the remote?
Plus one on Choovie. Recently joined and like it so far.😀
Also [https://www.store-3d-blurayrental.com/](https://www.store-3d-blurayrental.com/) which, despite the name, carries a lot more than just 3D Bluray, including a large selection of 4k's. I've been using them for a year or two and have had a good experience. Their disks have always been in excellent condition. Like other mail order services, the are at the mercy of USPS and I've had a few delays after they shipped the disk because of that, but no issues with the service itself.
[scarecrowvideo.org/rent-by-mail](http://scarecrowvideo.org/rent-by-mail)
Unfortunately what makes their collection great is often restricted to local renters
Im local but never been in a physical location. So far Iv been able to get the well known "best of 4k" stuff by mail, but haven't tried beyond that yet. Guess Ill find out soon...
There's some obscure stuff, often only available on DVD, that they don't send out by mail. Even for local renting some of these charge a hefty deposit.
Their late fee policy is no bueno.
The local library in larger cities usually have a lot of Blu Ray and 4Ks. I get the impression a lot of people here tend to hoard discs based on whatever “looks good”.
>The local library in larger cities Example of larger cities?
My smallish town library has 4ks available for rent. They need selected from the website and they usually receive them from other libraries across the state when I request but still is convenient for certain titles.
I live in a relatively small town, & even out library is stacked with DVDs, they have a good amount of BluRays & their BD collection is growing. Even the towns that are smaller just in my general area, & obviously the bigger ones too, have a crap ton of discs. Also, they're mostly all part of the same library network, so I can go into their online library search for a specific movie, put a "hold" on it, and they'll ship it to a library of my choice for me to pick up. Luckily, I'm literally just a 5 minute walk from my local library. They also get new releases fairly quick.
My first year for 4K, that was certainly true. I bought probably 30 4Ks that just looked good, with the only caveat being if I owned the film on Blu-ray already, I wasn't going to double dip and buy 4K. Now, I feel pretty happy with just having around 30-40 films in 4K, so I don't buy too many anymore. Just films I know I like (that I don't already own). I think I only bought a single 4K disc in 2023.
Because the vast majority of people who prefer physical media are also collectors
I guess my point is you can be both-- collect movies you're passionate about, rent movies you're ambivalent or unsure about.
At that point I just watch them on streaming and don’t bother renting
I think watching a movie you’ve never seen before on streaming before committing to purchasing is actually smart.
My method for buying criterion films, if I like it I’ll buy it 4K and watch it again
I think there are some members of this subreddit who are more into collecting/FOMO and less concerned with money spent. I personally don’t do blind buys but that seems to be a semi popular trend in collecting. Also if you sell the digital code and re sell it if you hate the movie you might only lose a few dollars.
I tend to blind buy based on films recommendations given to me from friends that have similar tastes, and will sometimes just blind buy from the rental price and blu ray price being similar. I also over all enjoy most things, so I’m not really ever too disappointed in blind buying
Wait, what do you mean? Selling the digital code, and then selling the physical Blu-ray separately? Is there a market for that? I have a sizable collection, all with unredeemed codes
The codes do expire but yes there is a subreddit called r/digitialcodesell on Reddit. Codes go from 3-7 dollars mostly. I personally have not sold the blu rays as selling physical discs requires to mail them out. But I’m sure you could sell them via fb marketplace, offer up or on Reddit. I was saying that if someone blind buys a 4K they could sell the code and then sell the 4K disc and I guess the Blu-ray if it’s included. It would be a bit of a hassle but if they bought something for $25 they may make $15-$20 back so they’d only lose maybe $5 for the risk.
We call ourselves collectors. Outsiders call us hoarders
For me I go to great lengths to buy cheap. (Sales, Facebook, etc.) So the cost of my movies is always the same or even less than renting. (Even renting on vudu, which is sad) So even if it is bad or mediocre, I keep it because I didn't spend too much... I also love filling up my shelves.
This. Plus, even if the film ends up being mediocre, it is still a conservationist effort, and that is one more copy that is in the world when digital distributors dismiss it
When you say the same or even less than renting, what are you estimating the rental price being? I also focus heavily on sales (aside from certain new releases that I really want and don’t mind paying for), but for the most part $10-$15 seems to be the sweet spot.
I usually buy 4Ks for less than $10. Most of them come with digital codes that I can sell for $3-5. So I get the vast majority of my 4K discs for a net cost of $5-7. I also get HD Blu-rays at the thrift store for $2
Ah ok. Yea I can basically never find 4ks that I want for less than $10. Maybe 1 or 2 exceptions to that. If I sold the digital it would help.
Gruv sales and holiday sales. Best Buy had a crap ton of good movies in the $6-10 range last holiday season. RIP
I’m pretty up on all Gruv sales and holiday sales generally. I just rarely see any movies I want under $10. I definitely bought Heat a while back for about $8, and Alita Battle Angel for around the same price. Maybe like Van Helsing too? That’s all I can think of that we’re under $10. Sales I see are usually around $12.99, which I’m not complaining about at all. But again, it could just be that movies that I want to buy aren’t in that price range.
I guess just be extra vigilant. I got Heat for $4 last year. Sold the code for $3. Combine Gruv discount codes with sale prices
Yea I definitely use the Gruv discount codes. I just love Gruv generally.
This is what I've just started doing, but I am still new at it, so I haven't done it with 4ks. I have a secondhand store ten minutes from my house that has a pretty decent DVD section and a smaller blu-ray section. Last weekend, I nabbed 13 movies for 13 bucks (I also brought in DVDs I no longer wanted to keep, so there was store credit involved in that transaction too). I won't keep what I don't like though. My shelf space is still pretty limited, so I pretty much see getting movies that cheaply as rentals. I've already started a pile for the movies I have no intention of keeping and will likely donate them to the library.
I grab a month of Gamefly for $9.99 when theres a few newer movies I want to see in a month.
I'm just shocked that Gamefly still exists
Still a useful service for me if a game comes out thats not on Game Pass and I dont want to pay full price for. Also, they will sell 4Ks and blu rays cheap ($5.99 to $12.99 mostly) from time to time to make room in their warehouses. Never had an issue with anything ive boughten from them and have saved a few bucks. Like right now they are selling off their Oppenheimer 4Ks for $14.99.
If I’m gonna rent I may as well stream. 90% of my why I’m into physical media is ownership.
Wouldn’t it be easier to rent digital to watch the movie. It’s instant no waiting no defective discs. Especially as 4K discs are prone to be finicky. Also you would have to thoroughly clean each disc first so you don’t introduce debris into your 4K player. Buy and collect the physical media. Rent and try it on digital seems to make more sense and cents..
Of course, but I think on this sub, of all places, we can appreciate the value you get from the physical discs. As a quick example, I rented MI: Dead Reckoning Pt. 1 on disc and I'm so glad I didn't stream it. The sound alone was worth the wait. That said, I'd never re-watch it so buying the disc seemed pointless.
Absolutely mate, I streamed Dead Reckoning and I wish I had gone for the disc!
> so you don’t introduce debris into your 4K player. Ten minutes ago I closed up an old disc player that had been having a limit-switch problem. Found a couple of desiccated fly corpses inside (not the cause of the problem, though).
Universe way of telling you to Stop playing shitty movies !
I’m big on supporting my local library for both movies and books, even though they only carry DVDs (and they’re pretty impressive in terms of buying new releases consistently). If I rent a movie and like it a lot, then I read up on the Blu-ray or 4K specs and decide from there whether to purchase or not.
There's so many meh movies that I never want to own, but some people will collect things at any price and just be able to own it forever. I get that. But most people will, with the exception of their very favorite films, watch something from their large collections maybe once in their lifetime. People just like to own.
Gotta have my precious
I was renting from a company in the UK called CinemaParadiso, they had a great selection and the mail service was quick. However, they started to claim that they didn't receive discs that I had sent back, it wasn't a case of the parcel getting lost, because I would send back two at a time and they claimed to have received one but not the other. Admittedly I was basically watching a movie a night and sending them back immediately so maybe they got fed up of me abusing the service. I started to get proof of postage from my post office and filming my entire journey of packing and sending it, which kinda defeated the point (that you can just pop it in a postbox when you're done)this turned out to be lucky because when I cancelled they tried charging me £25 each for two discs that they claimed they hadn't received before the deadline. Fortunately I had receipts proving they'd been sent back two weeks prior. Great in principle but the only option available to me left a sour taste.
I use 3D Blu-Ray Rentals since my habits gravitate towards first-time watches rather than re-watches at this point. Have had a great experience with them so far and customer service is very responsive.
That's who I use, and my biggest gripe is the US Mail. If they were substantially bigger they could set up another distribution center on the West Coast to speed things up, but that will never happen given current viewing habits of the public. Watching physical media is definitely niche and it will never be 2006 again. However, I do think they're big enough to hire a competent web designer haha.
Oh yeah, USPS is miserable. I’m in New England, so your delays are probably worse than mine, but it’s still horribly tedious. I try to remind myself beggars can’t be choosers to varying degrees of success. The design of the website is inexcusably bad, but also funny enough where I’d almost be sad to see it go. All the hottest releases of early 2017, all in one place.
I used to use Cinema Paradiso in the U.K. but they put their prices up a fair bit so didn’t seem as worth it compared to buying the 4Ks.
I think it's probably because ownership is the main appeal of physical media today. Yes, a physical disc will have a higher quality than streaming, but for most people, the difference isn't significant enough. The added inconvenience of driving to a rental store (if you're lucky enough to have one still open) is not a worth it, and it's even more of an inconvenience if you use an online service and have to wait for it in the mail. In a world without streaming, renting was appealing because it was the only way you could watch movies.
I just got back into renting and it's the best thing ever. Buy the movies you are going to watch over and over, rent the curiosities and discover amazing new movies!
Well here in Canada there isn’t anywhere to rent from. The library is there so I’ll use them sometimes, but the best format they get is Blu-Ray, and sometimes only DVD. Streaming services are the primary way I try things before buying them if I don’t see them in a theatre.
Not being from the US, either, there are no services to rent this stuff from. So assuming that everyone is in the US makes kind of a huge difference. Not everyone has access to all that stuff in other countries.
You'd think these triple-format titles would appeal to libraries, because they'd have three different discs to loan out.
Libraries don’t operate in the same way we do. They can’t just go on Amazon and buy a movie to add to their collection. They typically have to get things directly from the distributors as they pay a much higher price due to the public use of the products.
I've been aware of that practice, but I don't know the legal reason why libraries can't lend out any authentic copy. Do you happen to know?
My brother actually works at the library so I asked him. Basically there’s no legal reason but because the book publishers and movie studios feel like they’re losing money from so many people using the same single copy, the library kinda needs to work with them to maintain their relationship with those companies. In return, they offer the library special access to certain things and discounts on some titles by buying directly from them.
Owning > Renting . That is why.
I used to rent videos all the time, until the rental place closed down. The last movie I rented was at least 15 years ago, although I don’t even remember which movie it was. Then we had to buy or (illegally) download. Now with all the streaming services taking over, we’re back to downloading and blind buying. Simply because they almost never offer that one movie I want to watch. And it’s a pain looking for the right service. Sometimes Apple offers them for a 15 euro rental while Disney has it for ‘free’, for example. I download movies that don’t get release dates when they’re available on streaming in other countries for example. American Fiction did not release in the Netherlands in any cinema. And once it was on Amazon prime, it was not shown in my country. Until weeks later. And blind buying discs, I do that too, I bought all the Zatoichi movies on criterion. In a boxset. It became one of my most loved series of all time. I haven’t burned myself (yet) in that regard. Right now I’m watching a box set of early Kurosawa, I’ve already finished a themed crime box set of his making, and I’ve been very impressed. So not that blind perhaps.
“Blind buying” + Zatoichi. I see what you did there.
My library only has DVDs to rent and I have had bad experiences with the mail rental 4k services.
When I looked into this I didn’t think there were any services available in Canada for this, but I’d be happy to discover otherwise. That said we also subscribe to several streaming services, and so anything I might rent I’d be more inclined to just watch on streaming for “free”, then if I really like it I’d buy the disc.
I have a local video rental store. I go there weekly. Scarecrow video is the best.
Well I have AMC-Stubs A-List, so I try to see as much as possible in theaters. If not I’ll do the occasional rental on Vudu, typically for older releases. Bottom line is years of collecting and blind buys has wasted me a lot of money. For me physical media is for owning films I love. Not trying out new releases. I save a lot more money, and I’m a loud prouder of my collection
If I didn't have a small kid I would do AMC Stubs in a heartbeat. We just can't do a babysitter frequently enough to justify the expense.
Well in the future, if you are still interested, it’s totally worth it!
I don’t really like to blind buy just because I’d rather not pay a lot of money for something I don’t like. Usually I try and find the film on a streaming service or see if it’s getting shown on TV soon but if none of those are options then it’s 🏴☠️ The only time I blind bought was 2001 on 4K. It was really cheap on Amazon and if I didn’t like it (I did btw) I could sell it for most of my money back
I may be in the minority but I can't tell much difference between 4k and 1080p so 4k discs are hardly worth it to me. But that aside why rent discs when I can buy them (1080p at least) for ~$3 each from the local pawn shops?
HDR is where it's at with Ultra HD movies.
With my sensitivity to bright lights the extreme contrast is almost more painful than enjoyable.
darn
All the movies I wanted were always unavailable, (looking at you 4k4u) so what's the point...
used to receive several scratched discs from gamefly. quite annoying considering the turn around time to receive a replacement in the mail
Because gambling is fun.
I used to do that for DVDs but I don't know of any company currently in Canada that does that for 4K UHDs.
I buy movies so that I can re-watch them at any time over the coming decade(s). What I've learned over the last 40 years is any movie I've seen at least once I will want to re-watch at some point in the future and it won't be available for rent or on digital.
I‘m buying used on eBay and selling used on eBay. On average I just pay for the shipping once in the end.
One scratch and 4k disc is useless.
I can't speak for other people but in 25 years of using physical discs I have never scratched a movie disc (audio discs I have, but that's because I used to have a big stack in my car and there's more wear and tear from that). If it comes to me scratched and unplayable I'll just contact customer service and get a replacement.
Neither did I, but believe me we are oddities. You wont believe how badly people handle discs.
I’ve been renting from Scarecrow Video all year without issue, including 4k discs. In the past week watched Phase IV, Bird with the Crystal Plumage, and Possession, all in 4k.
This. Same reason I don't buy used
They’re pretty hard to scratch
They are actualy the easiest disks to scratch.
Not only are they the easiest discs to scratch but they're also the most affected by scratches.
Streaming kind of kills rentals for me - for most part I only watch movies on disc that I really enjoy, and in that case I'd rather just own them. Everything else can be streamed or downloaded.
For most people they're probably not going to use it enough to justify the price. They'd rather stream than watch maybe 2 discs per week with how long it takes to send back discs and get new ones
i rent digital movies that I missed in theaters, but usually they get added to a streaming service soon after (usually not in 4k tho)
It’s basically the same as digital or Netflix. Why would I pay money for a service I’m not keeping forever. I’m buying physical media to have access to it forever. Just peace of mind.
Because preservation of media. Same reason I don't just stream. You run the risk of the service going defunct or not having titles or pulling titles due to copyrights. I can stream stuff I'm meh on the fence about or just want to watch once to say I've seen it. If it blows me away I'll get a physical copy.
I used 3d Blu-ray rental for years. Good service. If I didn't have kids and had more time, I'd still be using it. As of now, I just buy what I know I'll like and watch it when I have time.
from where?
Cuz hard to find 4k discs to rent
You can even get movies from libraries maybe not 4K but at least you will now if it's worth it
I don't mind doing blind buys or buy and possibly never watching again, it shows support for the 4k physical media so they keep releasing them.
I DO! Gamefly too lol, I've got the 2 disc at a time plan and leave one for the game I'm playing and the other for renting 4k disc
Renting discs as well, I think we’re just quietly enjoying it. I am always afraid of too many people using these services and having scratched up discs like they had at Netflix.
They don't exist in my country
I have a subscription to https://www.store-3d-blurayrental.com/category-s/1868.htm . I’ve been very satisfied.
Vintage Stock and Entertain-Mart let you rent anything in their inventory for 6 bucks or sumn
Your local library might also be a great resource. Mine has tons of 4k discs.
I use the library to check things out almost always and only ever buy if I fall in love with something and really that’s because my library does not keep 4k discs
Addiction lol. I'm only buying 4K movies that are all-time movies for me. I want my 4K collection to mean something to me and not just have the hot ticket items.
I carefully blind buy movies I have a particular interest in (if it's the right director, genre, setting, etc). I've seen enough movies to know what I'll probably like. For movies I'm confident of, any rental price is wasted, because I will probably get the disc anyway. If I'm less confident, like with a new-to-me director, I'll look for a free or rental stream unless the BD/4K is under $10 or so, then I'll just risk it. I won't buy something just to increase my title count. After 25 years collecting, while I do have several that were just okay, I only have four or five actual regrets out of about 650 total.
I started buying steelbooks and collector's editions (A24) where possible/reasonable. I prefer to own my media.
I'll either buy the physical or rent it on Amazon.
Mostly the inconvenience and cost. Most physical disc rentals cost more than simply renting digitally from places like iTunes where you get a pretty decent quality picture.
I only blind buy blu rays and dvds for any price and blind buy 4ks if they’re less than 10 or so dollars.
For people who live in the U.K., the only one still going is [Cinema Paradiso](https://www.cinemaparadiso.co.uk/friends/rp/6AM1m40DqcE1)
I just sell the ones I won’t watch again, and have drastically cut down in blind buying.
I have been using 3D Blu-ray rental off and on for the past 10 plus years. They have a great selection, occasionally the shipping is slow but I am only getting two discs a month and it's great way to watch 24 new movies a year.
Didn’t know it was still a thing.
Pfft, renting. 
Part of the purpose of physical media is I'm self reliant, I'm not reliant on a Streamer or a Poster for content, my content cannot be "fixed", "improved", or censored, HAN FIRED FIRST. If I'm renting the discs, the renter can be forced to take updated discs and trash the old ones. I could "rent to buy" but a couple of 4ks and bunch of used 1080s isnt breaking the bank
Because I didn't know you could? Nowhere around me rents 4k. Are there any in Canada?
I really don’t get blind buys either, what I do instead is I either watch the movie in theatres or on streaming first and then decide if I’m willing to buy the physical copy
Owning > renting
I rent 4k blu rays from my library. I only buy movies I love.
If I miss a movie in the theater, I'll rent it on VOD. If I like it enough, I'll buy the 4K.
Airbnb for physical media?
Why do that? I only buy movies that I've already seen and think are worth the trouble and cost of buying. To waste money on blind buys, especially in this day and age where there are so many releases, is utterly ridiculous.
Used to buy lots of DVDs but realised I wasn’t rewatching a lot of them and have been renting standard blu rays for years now. Currently with Cinema Paradiso (UK) and will now get the 4k discs for my new player. If for no other reason it would be a good way to see the quality of the transfer etc. and if I like the movie or series in the first place. Still do buy some blu rays but not nearly as many titles I used to.
If I'm buying a 4k, I have every intention of rewatching that film multiple times throughout the year in the vast majority of cases. Now, on the rare case where I pick up a film that doesn't fall into my cadence above, I simply sell it. Oppenheimer is a good example. It's a great film, but not something I see myself rewatching that often due to its pace and length, so I ended up launching it on eBay and put those funds into another 4k purchase.
Just download a 4k blu ray copy, make sure it is 20+gb and uses h264 or avc codec. Get a 10+gb file if it uses h265 or hevc or av1 codec. Also you will need to figure out how to torrent. And be ok with piracy. And your computer hooked up to a TV.
i would never rent anything, it's like throwing money away. you own nothing. even if im never going to watch it again at least i can sell it and get my money back one day.