Audio Video News

Will Blockbuster Inc. be the next new face on the bankruptcy soup line?

Blockbuster is taking aggressive steps to push Blu-ray and download services. While known as a DVD rental giant, Blockbuster is busting out of the mold. The stores are pushing Blu-ray with software and hardware displays and kiosks in a joint...

Chalk up another one for the big guys. A San Antonio, TX judge has dismissed price-fixing <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?1318">charges</A> brought by independent video dealers against video retail giant Blockbuster, Inc. and several Hollywood studios.

The great thing about a video store is being able to walk right in, see what's available on the shelf, and then grab what you like for some instant home theater gratification. The bad thing about video stores is that getting your rental back on time can be a hassle, not to mention the late fees the stores count on to bolster their profits.

Where to begin with all the great Blockbuster Inc. news? First, the hard-copy rental chain may be about to take the great leap into home downloads. Second, it will also cater more conscientiously to Blu-ray fans with increased selection and in-store displays.

Troubled Blockbuster Inc. has recently been in bankruptcy court and on the block. Now it has a new owner, the Dish Network. The satellite TV operator won the video rental chain with a bid of $320 million including $228 million in cash.

Dish takes over what remains the country's largest brick-and-mortar video rental chain, though it has shut down thousands of stores to reach the current total of 1700. One factor in its downfall was the huge debt load it took on when Viacom spun off the company in 2004. As recently as 2009, Blockbuster was confident (if not actually robust) enough to bid a cool billion for Circuit City. Now its share price has dropped so low, it's been delisted from the NYSE.

If you want to rent Warner Bros. movies from Netflix or Redbox, you'll have to wait till they've been available for sell-through for 28 days. Unless, that is, you rent at Blockbuster, which has cut a unique deal with the studio.