DVD kiosks make movie rentals easy as pressing button
Self-service kiosks have brought a new level of convenience and lower prices to the experience of renting movies.
DALLAS - Self-service kiosks have brought a new level of convenience and lower prices to the experience of renting movies.
Despite the variety of brands, the machines are similar in operation, selection, location and cost. And unlike traditional video stores, none requires a membership.
Using the kiosks is easy. Walk up and browse by release date, by genre or alphabetically, or just type in the title you want. Make your selection, swipe a debit or credit card, and walk away with entertainment in hand.
Redbox kiosks can be found at convenience, grocery and drugstores. DVDPlay kiosks are located at Tom Thumb supermarkets, the New Release kiosks are in Krogers, and Blockbuster Inc.'s first few local kiosks (thousands more are planned nationally) are at the company's downtown Dallas headquarters and at Circle K convenience stores in outlying cities.
Some kiosks are even outdoors, where they can be used 24 hours a day.
Movies rent for $1 plus tax and must be returned by the following evening to any same-branded kiosk. An additional $1 plus tax is charged for each day a movie is late until you, in effect, have bought the disc, after 14 to 25 days, depending on the kiosk.
One downside to the kiosks is their limited selection. Expect to find the latest releases, popular titles, classics and plenty of children's movies. For an obscure independent or foreign film, you'll probably need to look elsewhere.
With their limited space, the kiosks can run out of popular titles, especially during peak rental times. Redbox tries to combat that problem by letting customers reserve movies online before picking them up at a kiosk.
Another drawback is that just one person at a time can use a kiosk. What should be a quick and pleasant movie return or pickup can become an ordeal if the person ahead of you is reading every movie synopsis or a couple is arguing over whether to rent "Transformers" or "P.S. I Love You."
But if you can check your impatience at the door or plan ahead, the benefits of self-service DVD kiosks far outweigh the irritations. Convenience, ease of use and the growing availability of kiosks usually make the rental process less a chore than a side errand.
(c) 2009, The Dallas Morning News.
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