Redbox to close DVD kiosks. What does that mean for the future of physical media?

For years, we've seen those red kiosks all over, often outside a Kroger or Walgreens. Those Redbox DVD kiosks will soon be going away.

[@History_Coffee]

I still buy everything on DVD and bluray

[@nickdelaney6953]

I'm converting to digital but still collect certain physical Blu Ray collectors sets

[@kamikazekid94]

Why lol

[@KirksCORNER-1983]

For me vhs only

[@RobynHood1021]

I still buy dvd or blu ray as well

[@Mattskilletguy]

@@nickdelaney6953you don't own your digital movies

[@robgordonhotknight63]

I'll never accept that physical media is dying. Where there's a will there is a way.

[@douglasdixon524]

It's sad that all these idiots out there stream videos and rent them on the internet. Owning a DVD or Blu-ray is so much better.

[@robgordonhotknight63]

@@douglasdixon524 The only thing I like about streaming is that if I see a title that I'm not too familiar with I can check it out and then decide if I want it in physical media. Sometimes I'll look at something on stream and say I'm glad I didn't waste the money for the DVD and there are other times I watch a title on stream and say that was good I'll have get it in Physical media. For example when I saw Wanda Vision on Disney Plus I liked it so much I bought the Blu Ray set when it came out.

[@Juan_rivera]

you're fighting a losing battle

[@douglasdixon524]

@@Juan_rivera Only pussies give up.

[@rsolsjo]

I don't think it'll ever fully die out but it'll be more and more niche.

[@KYExtemper]

Libraries still have LOTS of physical media

[@robgordonhotknight63]

@@KYExtemper And if you have a library card you can rent a DVD or Blu Ray for free. At least that's how the public libraries in my city are.

[@Isabelle-nn3yn]

Library are old I buy them from amazon instead

[@CodenameRawTV]

Well duh, there would be no library without it 🤣

[@Josh-yr7gd]

Exactly. I go to the library all the time. I don't want to be forced to pay for live streaming. A lot of people are struggling financially but are oblivious to how much money they're forking over to unecessary subscriptions.

[@bigdadd09able]

Physical media is king

[@nickdelaney6953]

@@bigdadd09able y

[@7531monkey]

For hoarders.

[@josephmayfield945]

@@7531monkey*for people who aren’t easily manipulated by tech fads.

[@juston5454]

⁠@@josephmayfield945tech fad? It’s called convenience, stop using buzz words to try to make yourself sound smart because it’s having the opposite effect.😂

[@douglasdixon524]

​@@josephmayfield945Absolutely, I actually own movies and watch anytime I want.

[@zacharyhildebrandt4634]

In addition to streaming, I think physical media should still exist.

[@Jumpman67]

Lucky for you, it does.

[@ladyanime100]

I will never give up on physical dvd/blu rays because once you have it, its yours forever. Compared to the streaming movies, you have to remember that streaming platforms have contracts that allow them to show the movies and on more than a few times some platforms remove tv shows and movies because they lost permission to show them. Also streaming movies need internet access whereas physical movies just need power. If there is an outrage and no internet I won't be as bothered by it because I have a large collection of dvds/blu rays to watch as long as I have power for my dvd player. I don't really need streaming platforms, its just nice to have. Physical media still rules at my house.

[@amyarnold2097]

Exactly! 100% agree with you! Same here!

[@mattbosley3531]

I watch a movie or TV show occasionally on streaming but the ones I really like I buy on DVD or Bluray. If I can't get it new I'll buy it used. You can still check out media from the library as well.

[@daviejz6698]

A hurricane knocked out my internet service. I could still watch my collection of DVD’s.

[@MyLifeThai371]

And vhs tapes!

[@iheartlofi]

Remember drive-in theaters?

[@stevek8829]

They still exist. We have one two miles away.

[@carlyanderson8542]

@@stevek8829 There used to be almost 8000 drive ins at its peak and now less than 200 left, only 1 left in my state

[@XeonProductions]

I've been buying everything on DVD and blu-ray because its dirt cheap, and they keep removing everything from the streaming services only to try to charge you for a digital copy that doesn't even really belong to you.

[@Dolly-Days]

People will own nothing and be happy........

[@jebelder3075]

I hope Walmart and Barnes & Noble continue to sell DVDs

[@Fingerling2012]

Read that target and Best Buy is going to stop selling them

[@NinjaRunningWild]

@@Fingerling2012 Best Buy already did. You can’t even buy them via the website.

[@Jumpman67]

I also hope they continue but as of right now walmart sucks at it.

[@jasonsimpkins9069]

Walmart keeps getting new stuff. Full television series. I get a lot of those.

[@AprilTeniente-eu1mj]

Wal-Mart already sold the DVDs and other stuff!!

[@MRaadesign]

Good call interviewing the Great Escape! Good people!

[@tom11zz884]

Physical Media is not dead. Lots of companies are still releasing titles on blu rays and 4k. We just have to support them so they don't stop selling.

[@maridaudran]

Sony says they will stop producing their movies on Blu-Ray and shut down their factories

[@carlyanderson8542]

Best Buy and Target no longer sell DVDs and all Media Plays are gone from my state

[@JohnDoe-gj4dv]

People will REGRET not having HARD COPY of each of these Movies when there is NO Streaming Service.......

[@nickdelaney6953]

Huh

[@user-do2ev2hr7h]

Most average people aren't that invested in any one thing. They'll watch what's available and move on to something else when it's not.

[@UmmYeahOk]

Snowmageddon 2021 survivor here. No power means no internet. But if you have a laptop or other portable player with a charge, you can still watch movies. That was a hard week where I envisioned a dystopia where the only forms of entertainment our community had access to was physical media. Thankfully we had rolling blackouts, but that still meant no internet. If you wanted to watch public channels, you needed a digital antenna, something many people here did not have.

[@user-do2ev2hr7h]

@@UmmYeahOk That seems like a frivolous use of limited charge time in that type of situation IMHO.

[@cococinnamon2236]

Unless we go to post apocalypse and yeah but I do also have physical media

[@chrisalley6282]

Streaming services are starting to piss people off, so DVDs are going to come back

[@user-do2ev2hr7h]

Not ever in the numbers they were. If people are mad about paying a few dollars more per month in streaming, they're not going to go back to paying 2-3 times the amount of a month's subscription for EACH piece of media they want.

[@josephmayfield945]

@@user-do2ev2hr7hif you think it’s going to stop at just a few dollars more - you’re in for a frustrating future.

[@Cookieboy70]

@@user-do2ev2hr7h I don't think your math is right, but it's not even a financial thing. I get pissed off when these companies keep switching around licenses and one day I'm in the middle of a season or add things to my list to save when I have time, and all of sudden they remove it or it's on another different subscription with new rights.

[@douglasdixon524]

Owning movies on DVD is so much better. You physically have it and can watch anytime.

[@jasonsimpkins9069]

​@@user-do2ev2hr7h Physical media you own it. It'll never leave. Or get hacked and loose your stuff. No passwords required.

[@KingTechHD]

I loved their deals. For $1, you could rent a movie that debuted in theaters 6 months prior. No subscriptions. Return at ANY location

[@ProtoMario]

I genuinely enjoy dvds, I think a push to remove physical media will hurt people honestly.

[@user-md6qw6qc9r]

I have a DVD collection and I still use DVDs but I also have streaming

[@mintman325]

I go to my local library once a week,they have a dvd bin everything $1. I found Parasite on Blu Ray there, Life of Pi, Lincoln, and even a few Criterion DVDS. These aren’t c and d tier movies that nobody wants these are Oscar winners. Also found the Sam Rami trilogy and other movies that I love.

[@JRPLawyeress1]

The end of an era. I knew it was inevitable. I remember going to Blockbuster’s to borrow a video. When Redbox opened, it seemed ingenious.

[@quinkelly1441]

With dvd and blue Ray's you don't have to deal with advertising getting in the way of enjoying a movie or tv show.

[@hugogarza1051]

I have about 600 to 700 dvd and vhs tapes …i love it..when my internet fails me all i do is go upstairs,get a movie and pop it in my ps4 or my videotape player …i love physical media

[@mark_beastpriest5539]

There will always be a Market for physical Media. Collectors like myself like it. Streaming can be pulled, but when you buy a disc, it's yours.

[@DavidMander-rs4uk]

Streaming sucks!! Physical media for life 👍

[@anchorpoint3631]

Time to bring back Blockbuster video and other independent dvd/video rentals.

[@InspectorCallahan.44]

Physical media will always reign supreme because of ownership. They can never take that away from you.

[@Riky_Jones]

Doesn’t mean anything for physical media. Redbox doesn’t determine that. Real fans collect the disc 💿

[@Skylersteel]

I still use floppy discs

[@joeriveracomedy]

Someone doesn't watch impractical jokers

[@irlmuppetprincess]

Thank God thrift stores have tons of physical media for us to choose from.

[@diegosilang4823]

Thrift shops have loads of old DVD, as old timers move out of their homes, they will dump more VHS and DVD into the market.

[@collegeman1988]

There are companies who provide their customers with DVDs and Blu-Ray discs on demand, and I think this is important. Just as it’s convenient to have electronic copies of books to read on a tablet device, there are still printed copies of books available for sale. The DVDs/Blu-Rays don’t have to be available for sale at stores anymore. Just make it so that a movie or documentary series or TV program can be available online, a customer who wants it can place the order, and a package containing the disc can be manufactured and sent in the mail. One reason customers still want discs is they often have additional features including commentary, deleted scenes and other features not available if the movie is only available on a streaming service.

[@tech-bore8839]

Plus you already have networks dabbling in editing movies to cut out things they deem "problematic".

[@dewaynethompson8095]

Keep CDs and DVDs alive!!!!!

[@tgirl1012]

I still have mine

[@mikegarrens5286]

First of all, where did this word come from physical media? I never heard it. It used to be called home entertainment but like always we have to change the name.

[@saynotop2w]

Man, I'm not surprised. They ran a faulty system. Not a single time in past at least 5 years they had anything I wanted to watch available. There was no holds system, if they didn't have anything left, you were SOL. At least Netflix still offered mail-in DVDs.

[@adamrichter9599]

I prefer physical media too, but you have to understand that it's not as "forever" as some people seem to think. The discs (or tapes) can become unplayable over time due to scratches, disc rot, tape breaking, etc. While it's tempting to think that once you own a physical copy it'll be watchable for a lifetime, that's not always the case. And even if you take great care of your physical media, store it in an optimal temperature/humidity range, etc. and it remains playable, an even bigger problem is that the devices needed to play it can become obsolete. Getting a replacement VCR in 2024 usually means hunting down a decades-old, used machine, and I'm afraid the writing is increasingly on the wall regarding disc players. Yes, physical media will continue as a niche market for awhile at least, but prices will likely be high due to a drastically smaller customer base. Understand that I don't like this trend at all... I really miss the days of browsing huge DVD sections at all the big-box and electronics stores, and the great sales they would run. The unreliable availability of content on streaming (especially how they edit or ban certain content completely because of changing social opinions) is a shame, but as I look at my collection of old VHS tapes that I haven't watched since my last VCR gave out years ago, it's a reminder that you have to be realistic about the fact that physical media isn't a perfect solution either.

[@nederlander9321]

VCRs, VHS tapes, are history. But I believe DVD players are going to be available for a long time.

[@robgordonhotknight63]

@@nederlander9321 Plus the fact that DVDs also play on Blu Ray players. This is another reason I think DVDs will always be available.

[@josephmayfield945]

I have tapes from the 70’s that still play. Your disks are going to out live you man. Also, ever hear of an electronic repair shop? You can also easily find players at goodwill and other second hand spots. You’re not going to run out of players.😂

[@josephmayfield945]

@@nederlander9321I have tapes from the 70’s that play fine. There’s also millions of vcr’s out there still. Physical media is fine.

[@earlineprice9374]

It is so sad that the Mall's closed it is so much fun going shopping at bath and body works and Yankee candle those are my favorite stores. You will be missed ❤

[@MyLifeThai371]

In Asia their malls are thriving. They have an entire food court on a level of each mall. It keeps the mall bustling!

[@raulzavala9061]

I still have DVD's and Blurays for the same reason he mentions, you never know when a streaming platform might remove content unexpectedly. Yeah it sucks that Redboxes are leaving but I hardly see anybody renting movies from them anyway.

[@H2VPROEternal]

DVDs and CDs will go up in price soon. Subscriptions are temporary folks go buy physical copies!!

[@bobkay5088]

Not hard to figure out why. I had DVD-Netflix for a long time, and it was great. No late fees, very convenient, movies delivered to your door, drop return in any mailbox. Redbox did nothing to make it convenient for customers. The nearest kiosk was almost 2 miles from here, their locations few and far between. If the movie was not returned to the kiosk in 24 hours, you got hit with a late charge. If I picked the movie up at the kiosk at Walmart 2 mi away, I'm probably not going there again tomorrow. Not convenient. No mailback options. It was not "physical media" that did it, it was Redbox.

[@turbinatearc7478]

Yep, it seems DVD and Blu-Ray are on the way to becoming obsolete. My local Redbox kiosks haven’t been updated since last year, and I was wondering when they will cease to exist.

[@TheDaidai05]

Owning physical media is great, but if its just a rental, then yeah renting a movie digitally from amazon or vudu is the better option for most people. That way the movie or tv show can watch the rental immediately and don't have to worry about returning it.

[@zechariahzenith8762]

DVD and Blu Ray disks would be expensive in the future not only on its novelty but necessity if any Internet crash.

[@tgirl1012]

I remember getting all my movies from Columbia House

[@abbc2105]

This is so sad! I remember when my mom went shopping at Walgreens, me, her, and my brother would get two or three movies, and when my dad got home we’d watch them. Good memories…

[@AprilTeniente-eu1mj]

I bought kids DVDs all the time. I bought Barney DVDs, Mario Movie, and much more. I like kids stuff, so I had the VCR-DVD combos for all VHS tapes and DVDs!!

[@MyLifeThai371]

I miss Redbox. Our local thrift store still sells lot of vhs tapes for $0.50!

[@gablit-gt8kk]

Physical media has been alive for such a long time that it's by now become manifested towards technology

[@GT47179]

Need a store like this

[@lastpme]

Friday and Saturday night I spent a lot of time at Blockbuster renting movies. I never used Red Box.

[@roberttena5653]

I'll say this again it's better to be an owner than a renter! You can watch the physical copy whenever you want here's the thing with the streaming what if the internet went down let's use an example Microsoft's update that's when the internet went down remember

[@richard1493]

Back in the early 2010s we would use free one-night Redbox rental coupons with $1 visa gift cards to get any DVDs we wanted and we would just keep them. Looking back on it, in our youth we didn’t even consider it stealing, it was just the natural evolution of the quarter-on-a-string trick we used to use in vending machines as children.

[@davidperry4013]

I prefer DVDs and Blu Rays over streaming because streaming services keep pulling good shows and movies. All the streaming services required to get all the shows and movies I wanted would cost the same as cable TV.

[@ChristopherAndersonPirate]

They just said Madison.. there are a few of those! Madison, WI where I live?? If so, I’ve never heard of the great escape before as a store Which is sad because I lived here for my entire life for over 30 years, but it just shows how fast business is come and go inthis city

[@stevek8829]

The Red Box digital buyers got totally screwed. All their purchased disappeared!

[@MikeCee7]

I really didn’t understand in 2011, 2012, 2013, why even Redbox was a big deal Because streaming was already becoming a big time player then and they already had force Blockbuster into bankruptcy and closing all their stores (except one) at who on the way to the supermarket, or Walgreens would rent a DVD when they could just stream it. I haven’t even had a working DVD player my home since 2009.

[@Sean-cz77]

I see no problem with this. Less plastic crap. And physical media will still always exist in some, more valuable "collectable' formats, or to preserve.

[@higurashianduminekoconnect1702]

Why do I feel like media like like streaming services are going to be a thing of the past in the long run because of availability issues

[@RememberThatThing]

I do think VHS is will make a comeback in a similar way like vinyl but not anytime soon. I think someday BHS would be cool for people to collect more into because of the novelty of its greediness in lower quality but purity almost that comes with them that is sort of like cassette also made a slight comeback, but not as huge as vinyl. And like CDS dvd’s will still be there and will probably never be 100% fazed out but it will be harder to find them.

[@daniellongsworth4484]

Physical media forever, I'll never go with streaming.

[@Arische234]

I still buy dvds, I still have cds, I uploaded all of them to my iPod but still collect it all.

[@soshiderek]

What about music CD's? Great times! ♫

[@COOLFAN12]

I don’t think physical media will go away anytime soon but for future generations that are use to streaming might not go for it as hard as the current mix right now. I could be wrong but you never know though.

[@NicolasMiranda2009]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! DVDS AND BLU RAY IS OUT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! WAWAWAWAWAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!

[@gallynuts]

I refused to give Redbox my business since no 4k distribution in my city of 2 million people.

[@bellywitchproductions2183]

Censorship is ruining streaming. Collect all the obscure dvds and vhs you can

[@joeriveracomedy]

I scooped up ren & stimpy. Paramount + destroyed it on streaming.

[@bellywitchproductions2183]

@@joeriveracomedy nice thats a great score!

[@jasoncrandall73]

For a person that bought 400 cassettes & had over 150 CDs. I still have about 30 CDs, 30 VHS tapes, 100 DVDs & 120 cassettes I no longer buy hard copies. The cost is one reason but getting the right subscriptions (Max & KZbin Premium) can give you awesome access to shows, movies & music commercial free. DVDs will become a niche market but it will no longer be a major sales force.

[@gars129]

To be honest, the rental experience had been declining for years. Back in the days of Blockbuster, old Netflix and even early Redbox, you got a normal DVD, and because employees were often indiferent to bonus discs, they let you take it with the rental. Its obvious the industry caught on to this, so they made DVDs that had no bonus features. But what is so truly tragic is that you could rent DVDs for as long as you needed (usually like 2 nights was cool), which is something the industry always hated (self destroying DVDs were a thing) but was necessary by virtue of its physicality. VOD only allows 24 hours of rewatching for a quite bigger price than Redbox, and streaming services often have movies you will only ever watch once.

[@ggavin9934]

Buy and keep physical media or else, you will own nothing and like it.

[@donniecash1737]

I hope he’s right about dvds being around fora while

[@Sunset4Semaphores]

Quite a few modern shows and movies are not available in physical media. That trend is probably going to continue.

[@hvitekristesdod]

I buy a lot of physical but I don’t really rent anymore. If I want to give something a try before I buy I have other options… 😊

[@jasontempleton2445]

People still buy records after all that's happened in formats changing.

[@msnos6245]

Blockbuster feels vindicated

[@joeriveracomedy]

That Kane xforce figure was my 1st xmen fig(among others).

[@JoeLouis-hc7mm]

Streaming sucks dont see why people support it . I want the hard copies of my flicks . Think their will always be people who will.

[@UnitedWeStandFreedom]

Don't mean anything millions are buying physical media and they will loose billions if they ever stopped selling it because i certainly will never buy anything digital!

[@chadweirick]

They still have kiosks?

[@ChristopherAndersonPirate]

Safer bet? Pirate. Get it digitally online but own it permanently that way.

[@javonbrandon]

Dvd might go exstinct like vhs tapes

[@Jumpman67]

VHS isn't even extinct.

[@JustSayN2O]

Love Live 8-Tracks !!!

[@MyLifeThai371]

I see tons of them at our local thrift store along with vhs tapes.

[@Santos-j6f]

Physical media will never die 😂😂😂

[@Jtaylor1]

I don't blame them. Streaming services are jacking up their prices and rebooting old shows to be more woke even removing them. I already got physical manga, DVD and Blu Ray. I'm attending to donate them to anyone who is interested before I pass on into the next world.

[@jasonsimpkins9069]

I still buy dvds and blu-rays. Rather do that and pay small businesses and individuals Rather than pay for streaming services.

[@nesq4104]

Im mad they got rid of redbox in my area

[@TakerMJCSfan]

If it’s closing down and they filed for bankruptcy then why are they charging me shit tons of money I’ve started my account on 1 July this year and so far they’re taking out $137 of my money and I’m trying to find a way to shut my account down that I have with them since they’re gonna be going out of business

[@nickdelaney6953]

@@TakerMJCSfan did u rent and not return that's y they charging you lol

[@TakerMJCSfan]

@@nickdelaney6953 I did rent a movie but I returned it and now I’m being charged out the ass. The total amount now is $137 and I’m not gonna be able to get that back so at some point I’m gonna have to put that amount back with my own money.

[@TakerMJCSfan]

@@nickdelaney6953 We rented it and then returned it on the same day and I’m still being charged and I have to find a way to put that money back since they’re not gonna give it back to me but I also have to find a way to shut down my account that I have with them

[@TakerMJCSfan]

@@nickdelaney6953 Yes I did. I went and returned in the movie on the same day cause I knew I didn’t wanna go back in to return it.

[@TakerMJCSfan]

At this point, I’m just waiting for the website to shut down since the kiosks are shutting down

[@nesq4104]

My home theater system is useless without blue ray and dvd.

[@Jumpman67]

It means nothing for physical media.

[@moogsmiley4157]

Streaming movies is like listening to MP3 F that!

[@brandonsmith1198]

How shocking so you know I will I will be streaming more if I can because that’s why I moved on, but I have a few DVDs and music

[@Lighthouseman34]

Physical meeting is going to be around. Screw streaming and fuck downloading to. The only reason streaming is around is because the younger generation seems to think it’s the greatest thing since pizza and it’s convenient for us cause they don’t have to switch out discs, but in reality it is not it’s shitty. It’s unreliable and the stuff you’re streaming may not be a very good quality of that video streaming is already going down it just won’t go quietly is the problem when people discover you only buy DVD once and that’s it. You don’t have to pay subscription fees or anything to watch it. I guarantee you that’s what’s gonna be the final nail on the coffin for streaming

[@MakeupArtist1710]

Closing of DVD stores... That means you owns nothing yet you pay for that thing just like you go to cinema for watching movies just for entertainment..like living in some place for life on rent permanently..

[@user-tb3ih9lt4f]

Just don’t have a bad ceo run your company that lies to everyone

[@Dolly-Days]

People will own nothing and be happy.........

[@brianm2238]

how often do u think he really pulls out a movie and watches it???

[@cococinnamon2236]

1:18 he’s right that’s why I hate these media apps

[@mikegarrens5286]

Streaming is for the week and lazy

[@SammyxSweetheart.02]

Streaming services1:18 1:31

[@junkboxxxxxx]

I thought he sang "You don't have to watch Dynasty to have a hat or two"

[@TheHarwoodButcher.]

I absolutely adore DVDs and 4k Blu-rays any day than those woke streaming media services, which can be more expensive than DVDs. Streaming movies come and disappear, but buying DVDs and Blu-rays will last forever.