LOS ANGELES - After the advent of high-definition plasma and LCD displays brought ads for televisions back to TV, a second front in the high-def wars has developed between HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs. The marketing battle is shifting business alliances and influencing the advertising of consumer electronics and the movie releases that drive their sales in both formats.
“It’s now a real format war,” said Steve Martin, president of WPP Group’s SicolaMartin, Austin, Texas, the agency that handled the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) trade group—backed by Hitachi, LG Electronics, Matsushita Electric (Panasonic), Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Thomson—until last summer when the BDA jumped to movie-advertising specialty shop Trailer Park, Hollywood, Calif., signaling the marketing emphasis to come. “My feeling is that the power of the studios is so strong in the Blu-ray camp - it may be the decisive factor,” Martin said. “In any case, I would expect a significant increase in marketing. [HD-DVD promoter] Toshiba won’t go down without a fight. Once you’re all-in, you have to go all the way.”
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My buddy Mike from DumbDistraction.com owns a lot of DVDs. By “a lot” I mean well over 700. Yes, over 700. He’s got several gigantic bookshelves packed with them. If one of these bookshelves were to fall over, the weight of falling DVDs could easily crush a small child into pulp. And, of course, they are all alphabetized and categorized in a computer database by genre. If you’re going to be insane enough to buy 700 DVDs you’d better be insane enough to maintain a strict inventory of your obsession, I always say. I’m the same with toenail clippings. I have several years worth all cataloged by length and date in my kitchen pantry. Haha! Just kidding! I keep them in the attic.
I don’t really know what Mike does with all of his DVDs. I assume he watches them when he gets them in, usually from DVD Empire, and then just crams them into one of the bookshelves. His is a fairly varied collection. He’s got a ton of great flicks in there, of course, but then if you look closely you’ll also find a bunch of weird stuff that was only in theaters for about a week sometime in the late 80’s. Stuff like Weekend at Bernies 12: Bernie’s Gettin’ Leathery and Gary Coleman’s Ninja Death Army.
Personally, I think Mike should rent his DVDs out to make a few extra bucks, but I know he would never do this. He’s a little protective of them. I was late getting a DVD back to him that I borrowed a few months ago and he put a lien on my house.
If you’re a movie nut with a huge collection of DVDs and you want to make a few extra bucks renting them out - or if you don’t own enough DVDs but are interested in the biz - here’s a few places that can help you out:
I Let You
Zone 3 Turnkey Rental Franchise
DVD Rental System
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If you don’t have one of these within a 10 mile radius of your house, then you need to move. These DVD rental kiosks are popping up all over the place and for good reason: they are the greatest invention ever! I remember the first time I heard about these things. A buddy mentioned renting a DVD from a vending machine for a buck. I almost didn’t catch what he had just said. He had said it so nonchalantly, as if this wasn’t the single most outstanding thing created by man since the cure for polio, that it took a second to register in my brain. “Wait, wait, wait! Are you telling me there is a machine that allows me to insert a credit card and rent a DVD?” I said. He said, “Yep.” And my head almost exploded.
One of the many wonderful things about these is that they can fit anywhere - restaurants, convenience stores, airports, restrooms, cemeteries - which means you can get your hands on a DVD virtually anywhere! Even though I also use an online service to rent DVDs, I use these kiosks on a regular basis. If a movie pops into my head while I’m in the Quick-E-Mart buying beer and gum, odds are I can get it right there from the DVD kiosk! Whereas, normally I would completely forget about it and never add it to my online rental cue…some of this blame on the beer.
Another thing I love about these things is that there is no human contact. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m no xenophobe or people hater, but if I can go an entire day without interacting with another human being that is a good day for me. Thanks to the DVD kiosk you no longer have to deal with some smart ass movie know-it-all behind a check out counter.
I’m seriously considering buying one of these on some sort of franchise deal…maybe 2 of them. I could put one in a convenience store and just set the other one up in my living room!
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