What's your go-to movie format?

wearyraven41 said:It’s been a while since you hit up Matrix Video! 😁
They have $3.25 in stock now, and if I bring it back the same day, it’s just $1.75... I guess if you can handle watching three movies in one go and returning them all immediately, the total would be $3.25...

Which video store is that, and where is it located?

As far as I know, the standard price for a new DVD at over 90% of places like Matrix Video is $4.00.

Yeah, even out in the sticks. They’ve been around since $3.25

I’ve got 6 here, but they leave movies sitting in the "New" status for way too long.

Yesterday, The Morning Call ran this piece about the history of VHS. I’m curious—how many of you actually still use tapes? Honestly, I still do. I’m constantly recording stuff off the TV, and we end up watching old movies we taped ourselves all the time. As far as I’m concerned, it isn’t dead yet. 😁

I just watch whatever I can get my hands on, mostly DivX files because let's be real—where am I even supposed to find DVDs for stuff like The Andromeda Strain, The Haunting, or The Day the Earth Stood Still?
(Man, I just rattled off three Robert Wise movies without even realizing it...)

nimblemarlin17 said:From what I know, the standard price for a new DVD at over 90% of video rental stores is $4.00.

At Spider, older DVDs go for 12 bucks, while new ones are mostly 15. Some of those "blockbuster" new releases can even hit $6.00. $6.00, seriously. And you can't just grab one on Saturday and drop it back off Monday—you have to return it by Sunday. Last Wednesday, I paid $6.25 for a movie ticket at AMC, yet they rent movies out for $6.00.👎 Honestly, they're going to business.

Every single fine should be paid directly to the financial authorities, ZAMP, the police, and the government... 😬

Spider is absolute trash. They’re the only video store that ever had the nerve to charge an annual membership fee (do they even still do that?), and their prices were always through the roof. Even at my local Spider, the staff is impossible to deal with. Honestly, I hope they go out of business.

Tyler Taylor552 said:Which video store are you talking about? Where is it located?

Matrix Video, over in the Flu district of Chicago...

Yeah $6.00 for that movie... I wouldn't even drop 12 bucks on it! 🙂

nimblemarlin17 said:Spider is absolute trash. They’re the only video store that used to charge an annual membership fee (do they still do that?), and they were always the most expensive. Plus, the local Spider in my neighborhood was incredibly unfriendly. I hope they go out of business.

I haven't been around here in a while, but I'm pretty sure they still charge that yearly membership fee.
Back when I didn't have high-speed internet, I was a member because, honestly... their selection was unbeatable. Especially the one over in the suburbs; you could find just about anything there. They even carried imports that weren't available in the US—foreign DVDs without any English subtitles. That part was impressive, but $6.00 the price is just insulting for a one-day rental.
Personally, I think $4.00 is way too much. It isn't worth skipping a movie in the theater (if I can help it) just to save those $3.25 bucks. If movies were only 7-$2.75, I'd be renting them constantly.

Ugh, movies... yeah, right. You can't just hit pause and step out for a second. There’s always some guy sitting behind you looming over your shoulder, twisting your neck, or some idiot snickering right next to you. Honestly, I’d much rather enjoy a movie if I could just watch it solo and have a remote in my hand to pause whenever I felt like it. 😁

Since that's the case—and wouldn't you know it—I've realized my absolute favorite way to watch anything is my TV hooked up to my computer, which basically acts as a dedicated media center for DVDs and DivX files. I much prefer using DivX because whenever a new batch of films arrives or I download something from the internet, everything is already sitting there on the hard drive. I can just play it over the network directly from the drive; I don't even have to get off my butt to swap out a disc. It’s just click, click, play, all from the comfort of my couch. Or I can set up a massive playlist for an all-night marathon. No more dealing with crappy, scratched discs or having to flash firmware just to support some new codec like you had to do with those old standalone players back in the day. Everything works perfectly with a wireless mouse... and besides, most of the movies I watch only need stereo sound anyway. All these fancy Dolby Digital setups and "7.1 surround sound" gimmicks don't mean a damn thing to me. Plus, if I cranked the volume up any higher, I'd probably get a visit from the neighbor downstairs who’s on dialysis three times a week, or that crazy lady upstairs who complains that my refrigerator vibrates too loud for her liking (no, I'm serious).

To sum it up: DivX rules.

Zachary Thompson2 said:At Matrix Video, the older DVDs go for 12 bucks, but the newer ones are usually 15—and some of those "blockbuster" hits are even $6.00. $6.00, honestly. And get this—you can't just grab them on Saturday and drop them back on Monday; you have to bring them back by Sunday. Last Wednesday, I paid $6.25 just for a movie ticket at AMC, yet these guys are charging $6.00 just to rent a film.👎 Absolute crooks, the lot of them.

😲
I pay 9.90 for the hits and $1.75
for the classics. Where on earth are you people finding these thieves?🙏

Zachary Thompson2 said:Last Wednesday, I paid $6.25
for my movie ticket at AMC...

😲 just $6.25? Were you catching a matinee at noon or something?

I think it was somewhere around 6 or 7 PM. I can't say for sure. I used my student ID. By the way, Tuesday and Wednesday tickets at AMC are actually cheaper. Last night, instead of paying $15, I only paid $12. It’s not a massive difference, but hey, I'll take it.

I’m always hitting up different film festivals—honestly, I just love getting lost in all those screenings. There’s something about watching movies in that raw, spontaneous way... just soaking it all in. Usually, I’ll head to the local AMC or whatever theater's nearby, but if I miss a run, I’ll just fall back on my Blu-rays or digital copies at home. I can't stand sitting in front of the TV, though—it’s impossible to actually focus when everything is just being broadcasted... it just doesn't grab me the same way.