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The 7 - Random - LOTR on VHS Register and log in to post!
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Slestak
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#1 Posted on 12.8.02 0857.04
Reposted on: 12.8.09 0859.03
I picked up LOTR at the video store yesterday. I don't have a DVD player, so I snagged a VHS copy.

I can honestly say I have never seen a poorer quality newly-released tape. The picture was very grainy, and all the shadows had a greenish cast to them. In some scenes, the greenish cast would completely take over the entire picture, and flash in and out.

The sound quality seemed OK. I don't have a fancy home theater-type set-up, so I can't really say with certainty, but it seemed on par with the other new releases I get.

I rent movies fairly often, probably an average of 2-3 a week, and have never seen such a shoddy-looking new release. Has anyone else seen a VHS copy of LOTR? Did I just get a crappy tape, or do they all look like this?

Is this just a shady tactic by the movie industry to shove more VHS users in the direction of DVD? If it is, they may have succeeded with me.
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Net Hack Slasher
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#2 Posted on 12.8.02 1404.10
Reposted on: 12.8.09 1406.22
Hummmm interesting conspiracy theory.

I dropped over my sister's place and she rented it (on VHS) and was watching it, and all I could say is that it sure doesn't play well on the small screen. Maybe it's because I saw it in the theatres in all it's glory. But seeing it on her above average sized TV just didn't play out. Which goes for a lot of huge special effect movies. But LOTR was really noticeable.

(edited by Net Hack Slasher on 12.8.02 1512)
Fuzzy Logic
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#3 Posted on 12.8.02 1710.07
Reposted on: 12.8.09 1716.27
Slestak, you got a crappy tape or your vcr sucks or your tv sucks (or just needs the colours adjusted).

I'm currently a customer service technician (clerk) at a temporary media distrobution center (video rental place), and I got to watch a no-one-else-has-watched-this-tape-yet tape of it. quality was perfect. never saw any green-ness, sound quality was good, not the least bit grainy. I was watching it on a 14 inch tv though.
astrobstrd
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#4 Posted on 12.8.02 1720.32
Reposted on: 12.8.09 1723.42
Is it hooked up through another VCR? Many tapes have security devices that fuck with picture quality if they are hooked through anything. Disney is infamous for doing this. I actually had a woman come into my blockbuster and try to tell me our copy of Big Green was broken, because she couldn't record it.
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#5 Posted on 12.8.02 1830.42
Reposted on: 12.8.09 1834.40
Sounds a lot like Macrovision protection to me. This was either a pirated tape made off of a DVD -> VCR, or you had it playing back through a second VCR like the previous poster mentioned.

Or, your TV is really thrown off by Macrovision encoded tapes.

OR, I'm totally wrong
Zeruel
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#6 Posted on 12.8.02 2002.37
Reposted on: 12.8.09 2003.14
    Originally posted by Fuzzy Logic
    Slestak, you got a crappy tape or your vcr sucks or your tv sucks (or just needs the colours adjusted).

    I'm currently a customer service technician (clerk) at a temporary media distrobution center (video rental place), and I got to watch a no-one-else-has-watched-this-tape-yet tape of it. quality was perfect. never saw any green-ness, sound quality was good, not the least bit grainy. I was watching it on a 14 inch tv though.



ditto, except we use 19" tv's

Guru said: Or, your TV is really thrown off by Macrovision encoded tapes.

that could be it...Macrovision does weird color shifting and grain...

(edited by rikidozan on 12.8.02 2103)
ekedolphin
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#7 Posted on 13.8.02 0100.33
Reposted on: 13.8.09 0102.17
I just hope this means we won't have a bunch of people coming into the store, wanting to do exchange/returns on LotR. I try to help customers out whenever I can, but my boss seems content to simply abide exactly by Blockbuster's policy, and to hell with customer satisfaction.

Makes me so damn angry sometimes.
Zeruel
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#8 Posted on 13.8.02 0210.55
Reposted on: 13.8.09 0220.43

    Originally posted by ekedolphin
    I just hope this means we won't have a bunch of people coming into the store, wanting to do exchange/returns on LotR. I try to help customers out whenever I can, but my boss seems content to simply abide exactly by Blockbuster's policy, and to hell with customer satisfaction.

    Makes me so damn angry sometimes.



nah...i haven't had one return because of "green shadows" but i've had 5 of our 35 vhs's be eaten up...the tape gets wrapped around the spindle thingy...

"Blockbuster's policy"....hmmmm....maybe that's why my mom & pop store has sooo many blockbuster refugee's...if someone has a defective tape, we just put a free rental on their acct that they can use now for anoter copy of the movie if we have one, or any other time, but we never offer refunds...
ekedolphin
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#9 Posted on 13.8.02 0602.32
Reposted on: 13.8.09 0607.32
Well...

To be fair, if the tape was physically damaged, Blockbuster policy would have no problem just doing a simple exchange. Hell, you wouldn't even have to do a credit, just swap the tapes.

But we have had a lot of people who've pre-ordered LotR in one format and have returned it, wanting the other format. And usually it is VHS to DVD, widescreen to fullscreen, or fullscreen to widescreen.

Having said that, I still feel like I have my hands tied behind my back on various things. I can't begin to tell you the number of times I've started to help a customer out with a complicated problem, only to hear from a manager, “You're not supposed to do that!” And it seems they're usually content to simply allow the problem to go unchecked.

Could be just me.
Torchslasher
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#10 Posted on 13.8.02 0842.40
Reposted on: 13.8.09 0850.42
Man do I feel your pain Eke. I used to work at a Blockbuster in San Diego (well technically SD, really Carmel Mountain), and the managers didn't cut customers any break (usually). It really made me upset, and that is why I was content to remain a CSR (customer service representative) for so long.
Of course, it's also because I hate conflict, but either way, this Blockbuster was a stickler. Now that I live in Jersey again, the Blockbuster stores out here seem to be more lenient.
Slestak
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#11 Posted on 13.8.02 0850.52
Reposted on: 13.8.09 0854.02
Thanks for all the feedback.

I have a good TV with a nice picture. I'm only using one VCR, and, though it is an old, crappy VCR, I've never seen a new tape look this bad. Like I said, I rent movies fairly often, so I know what to expect when I pop in a tape.

The cassette didn't look pirated, it looked legit. After reading your responses, I'm thinking it was probably Macrovision screwing with my VCR.

Either that, or I got the copy that Comic Book Guy rented on Tuesday and watched non-stop for five days.

As for Blockbuster, I despise that place. Sorry if this offends anyone who works there, but Blockbuster really sucks. I've since defected to Hollywood Video, who lets you keep your videos for an honest-to-god 5 days (rent on Sunday, due back Friday), gives you $1 credits for returning some movies early, and gives you an option when it comes to paying your late fees.

I have always had problems at Blockbuster (even at different locations) with tape return. My returns would show up as late or not returned at all the next time I went in to rent, even though I did return them on time. The last straw was when I opened my mailbox to discover that, because I hadn't paid my $4 in late fees within 30 days, Blockbuster had conveniently charged them to my credit card. I grabbed my scissors and cut up the card right there on the spot.

It's been my experience that Hollywood, though not, to borrow from Schiavone, THE GREATEST VIDEO STORE IN THE HISTORY OF VIDEO STORES!, is miles ahead of Blockbuster in terms of customer service.

And for an amusing take on customer service that almost everyone who has worked in retail will enjoy, check out Acts of Gord.
byort
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#12 Posted on 13.8.02 1227.47
Reposted on: 13.8.09 1229.12
Hey, all you Blockbuster guys! It could be worse!

Click here!!

(edited by byort on 13.8.02 1229)
Fuzzy Logic
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#13 Posted on 13.8.02 1253.34
Reposted on: 13.8.09 1259.03
that makes me glad that at the mom & pop video rental place where I work at, no one has ever returned a flick covered in goo (we have a very good selection of porn, too. but no porn section. it's in a book, yay!).

But, back when they sold beer (it's also a convenience store), they'd get customers with bodily fluids and solids running down their legs, and money with the stench of ass covering it. But, they dont' sell beer any more after having a dispute with the one company who supplies beer here.

(edit) Sadly, they are selling off their old movies, as they get the boxes up out of the basement. But, I was able to snag their copy of The Princess Bride, and other choice titles.(/edit)

(edit the second) And, while they do have a full compliment of NES games, around 500, they don't rent 'em out. not enough room to store them for rental purposes. But, I will figure out an arrangement for me to become the one who owns all of their rad NES games.(/edit)

(edited by Fuzzy Logic on 13.8.02 2241)

(edited by Fuzzy Logic on 14.8.02 0026)
DMC
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#14 Posted on 13.8.02 1912.55
Reposted on: 13.8.09 1929.03
Ma and pa video stores rule. Total throwbacks to the 80s, I love em. They usually have a much better selection (as far as older movies go) than Blockbuster and Hollywood COMBINED. Smaller chains are also good; here in the central valley we have Video King which is pretty good.

DMC
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#15 Posted on 13.8.02 2207.27
Reposted on: 13.8.09 2229.02

    Originally posted by DMC
    Ma and pa video stores rule. Total throwbacks to the 80s, I love em. They usually have a much better selection (as far as older movies go) than Blockbuster and Hollywood COMBINED. Smaller chains are also good; here in the central valley we have Video King which is pretty good.

    DMC



I agree. Fuck Blockbuster. There's a video store in my home town where you can still rent Contra on NES. Now that's my kind of video store!
Zeruel
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#16 Posted on 14.8.02 0030.21
Reposted on: 14.8.09 0041.50
hollywood went bankrupt, came back, and hopefully they wont bo bankrupt again...the 5 day rents on hot new releases is what killed them. to out mom and pop and the other stores, the 1 or 2 day rental on hot new movies are their bread and butter...

26% of our income is HNR 1day/2 nights 2.99+tax
25% is porno 1/2 3.95+tax
18% is older new releases 4/5 2.99+tax
15% is games 4/5 4.95+tax
10% is older catalogue titles 4/5 2.25;1.50;or 0.99+tax
5% is late fees 2.75;2.95;2.00;1.00;0.75; or 0.50 respectivly a day
1% is candy 0.99+tax

as you can see 51% of our business is high turnover, 2.99 or 3.95 a day rentals...it's what keeps our store open. and in case anyone is wondering, we are surrounded by 6 blockbusters and a hollywood and a potomac video. we used to have a west coast near by, but they went belly up last year. with 8 videostores in a 5 mile radius from the store, we still take in an average of $1800 a day [$666,000 gross last year, divided by 365 days]


edit: mixed up my net and gross numbers

(edited by rikidozan on 14.8.02 0130)
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#17 Posted on 14.8.02 0938.17
Reposted on: 14.8.09 0959.01
People like me will always go to mom and pop video stores instead of Blockbuster, I think, because it's a lot more personal. If you take a tape home and it's messed up, mom and pop will always let you switch out. Blockbuster may not.
I've had bad experiences with Blockbuster -
1. One time I rented Ghost in the Shell. I had always wanted to see it, but didn't want to read a bunch of subtitles and take my eyes off the animation. Well, Blockbuster had one that clearly said on the front "DUBBED IN ENGLISH." I got it home and what did it have? Subtitles! GRRRR
2. I decided to rent the special edition of A New Hope so I could see how well it would fit in with the prequel trilogy. Blockbuster had the nice gold box with SPECIAL EDITION on it. I got it home and what is it? The original, straight-up Star Wars.
I took it back and told the manager, thinking I would look behind the original A New Hope box and find the Special Edition, which had probably been misplaced. But no! Get this - the store had TWO copies of the original Star Wars, one of which allegedly came in a Special Edition box.
3. I rented "When Harry Met Sally" for a night with the wife. I got it home and the DVD wouldn't play; it was all garbled. So I took it back and luckily, they had a second DVD of it. It also was garbled.
All of this happened on three consecutive visits. It led to much frustration and ended my renting with Blockbuster. Not to mention their prices went up from $1.99 on everything to $3.00 for a new release. Ridiculous when the mom and pop down the road has $1.49 on everything.
Slestak
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#18 Posted on 14.8.02 0951.54
Reposted on: 14.8.09 0959.14

    Originally posted by DMC
    Ma and pa video stores rule. Total throwbacks to the 80s, I love em. They usually have a much better selection (as far as older movies go) than Blockbuster and Hollywood COMBINED.
Unfortunately, the nearest mom and pop stores are in LIttle Saigon (Vietnamese neighborhood in OKC) and appear to deal exclusively in Asian videos.
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#19 Posted on 14.8.02 1223.22
Reposted on: 14.8.09 1229.02

    Originally posted by rikidozan
    hollywood went bankrupt, came back, and hopefully they wont bo bankrupt again...the 5 day rents on hot new releases is what killed them. to out mom and pop and the other stores, the 1 or 2 day rental on hot new movies are their bread and butter...

    26% of our income is HNR 1day/2 nights 2.99+tax
    25% is porno 1/2 3.95+tax
    18% is older new releases 4/5 2.99+tax
    15% is games 4/5 4.95+tax
    10% is older catalogue titles 4/5 2.25;1.50;or 0.99+tax
    5% is late fees 2.75;2.95;2.00;1.00;0.75; or 0.50 respectivly a day
    1% is candy 0.99+tax

    as you can see 51% of our business is high turnover, 2.99 or 3.95 a day rentals...it's what keeps our store open. and in case anyone is wondering, we are surrounded by 6 blockbusters and a hollywood and a potomac video. we used to have a west coast near by, but they went belly up last year. with 8 videostores in a 5 mile radius from the store, we still take in an average of $1800 a day [$666,000 gross last year, divided by 365 days]


    edit: mixed up my net and gross numbers

    (edited by rikidozan on 14.8.02 0130)



There're other factors to consider in that, as well. The main reason to do a high turnover on the newest movies is less about profit and more about recouping expenses. The typical, non-sell through vhs movie would have to rent anywhere from twenty to thirty (or more) times before a dime of profit actually came in, thanks to the insane rental-only prices on movies. That was the main reason for Blockbuster's crappy new release policy. The lion's share of the income came from the big new stuff, but the majority of the actual profit tended to come from the older "new releases" and (to a lesser extent) video games...

Now that DVDs are becoming the format of choice, it's actually more economically viable to rent for five days right off the bat. It's too bad that the high prices of tapes already did its part to wipe out most of the smaller stores, they'd have a lot better chance to survive now.
Zeruel
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#20 Posted on 14.8.02 1608.19
Reposted on: 14.8.09 1612.21
no lesser extent on video games at our store

if they rent 20 times it's a miricle...that's why the price is so high ($4.95) Ten rentals will recoup the purchase price. i swear, it's like the custs use them as coasters or something. it doesn't take too long before someone scratches it up...


and yes, it is to recoup expences on the hot new releases, but now we're 50/50 vhs/dvd, the purchase price on vhs's are still in the high $70's but the dvd's are still in the $15-30 range...

we but dvd/vhs's in a 60/40 mix and in about 6 months it will be 80/20

those numbers i listed were for last year...and most of the profit was from the porn. purchased for $18.00 each, and most are rented 50 times before they break.
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