Slate reports on a new trend in the video-rental industry: widescreen. I’ve watched widescreen videos and DVDs for years, but I never thought that it would catch on with the general public. I really thought that Joe Moviewatcher would remain forever oblivious to the portions of his videos that simply weren’t there.
Apparently, widescreen is now the preferred format for DVDs at Blockbuster these days. The way Slate phrases it, “the chain was conceding what cinephiles had argued for years: that widescreen was the superior way to watch a movie at home, even if it left black bars at the top and bottom of your television screen.” They mention the black bars like it’s a bad thing ;).
I gotta say that I’m completely surprised by this — I figured that Blockbuster was simply content in stocking the film industry’s lowest common denominator. All the same, I don’t think I’ll be renting from Blockbuster anytime soon; I’m boycotting them for their anticompetitive business practices.
They set up revenue sharing agreements with the major movie studios which gave Blockbuster discounts on videos and DVDs in exchange for sending a share of the profits back to the studios. Normally, I’d wouldn’t have much problem with this, but these were exclusive contracts and the smaller mom-n-pop video stores had no choice but to pay the higher prices.
Well, hold on a moment… After doing some research, it appears that Blockbuster has cancelled its revenue sharing agreements. The guy at FilmJerk (from the previous link) isn’t too pleased about this, but I see it as another pleasant surprise in Blockbuster’s favor. First this widescreen news and then the revenue sharing cancellation — perhaps I should stop by Blockbuster more often <g>.
I can happily report that Hollywood Video (semi-natl chain on east cost [I think]) stocks plenty of widescreen DVDs. Been a long time since we wanted to see a movie and had to settle for pan-and-scan.
Do you have a widescreen television?
The rural mom and pop rental shops around here in rural VA seem to prefer pan-and-scan. I can’t understand why. It’s frustrating. I’d rather support them than the big guys…
I’ve met a few people that have told me they feel like they’re getting ripped off with the widescreen bars. :-P