Who rents movies these days?

Do any of my friends actually rent DVDs anymore? Why would you bother if there’s so many online options?

So, who actually goes to a store these days to rent movies & shows on DVD? We used to do it all the time with VCR tapes and then DVDs but I’ve not been in such a place for years! I think the last couple of times I went in was to look for ex-rentals to purchase for a “cheap n trashy” night hanging out at home.

Sure, you’ve got Blockbuster, Video Ezy, Network’s chain and a few independents but are they anything like they were in the past? There used to be lots of places to rent and people would even pre-register their interest in getting the latest movies as soon as they were out to rent.

Now with torrents, ripped copies of screeners (no one seriously goes for Telecines, let alone handycam rip-offs anymore) and legal sites like NetFlix & QuickFlix, why bother going to rent a DVD when the odds are you’ve probably already watched the movie at home before it’s even officially available for rent. Of course, NetFlix isn’t available in Australia (and Quickflix would like to keep it that way) but that’s not a major issue if you have some geek skills and can follow instructions.

So, who’s still renting DVDs? Are any of the people I know doing it?