Will Physical Media Completely Disappear?

The ways in which customers can rent and watch movies in the last few years has changed dramatically, and is getting kind of confusing now with all of the options. I am used to the one option of going to the video store and walking around aimlessly for hours trying to pick out a movie, but definitely not getting my movies in the mail or on my computer. Of course most consumers of these products are well past that stage at this point and will be more welcoming to this addition from Blockbuster.

Blockbuster is now introducing a set-box top, compaired to the Apple TV, and will be available for competative prices overall. This set-box top will "allow video content to be streamed directly to a television," says The Hollywood Reporter. "The service would take advantage of video-on-demand technology from Movielink that allows movie downloads from Universal Studios, Paramount, Sony Pictures, MGM, and Warner Brothers," THR also noted.

No report has been released about how much this service will cost or how it will work, except that it would be simple to make it competitively affordable with other similar services. On top of that, Blockbuster has one more advantage because of its strong relationship with the studios, a vast selection, greater than other services may be able to offer.

Overall, it leaves the business of movie rentals in a wobbly spot once again, especially for those customers like me, who may actually prefere the whole experience of going to rent a movie and not just staying at home and having it appear when I want. If newer additions are continuous there may not be any such stores in the future, and although that may not be realistic for now, it will leave many customers in the dust.