Inside Edition: Inside One of the Last VHS Rental Stores in America

Has anyone visited this place?

If you’re local, it might be worth a trip to see if there’s any rarities that need a preservation…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7FFMZUywt0

Really enjoyed watching that - nice one and cheers for posting.

Here’s to all the video stores still out there - and please remember… be kind, please rewind 😉
 

Have I ever mentioned I once rented LD’s from Blockbuster that had those be kind rewind stickers on them? 😛

LOL!

I had no idea Blockbuster ever carried LD. would’ve figured that was too niche for rental markets.

It might have been a short lived experiment just in California. And the selection was fairly small. There were a few dedicated LD shops in the Los Angeles area back then. (New York had at least one LD shop I had a catalog from.) Dave’s Video The Laser Place in Studio City near Universal Studios had quite the rental library. I borrowed my Dad’s credit card just to rent the Japanese import of Star Wars so I could finally watch it in widescreen at home. 😉

oojason said:

Really enjoyed watching that - nice one and cheers for posting.

Here’s to all the video stores still out there - and please remember… be kind, please rewind 😉
 

😃 You’ll love this one in that case, speaking of Blockbuster…

What the last Blockbuster has that Netflix doesn’t

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi8BwUh3XOk

Probably TLDR:

I remember when Blockbuster opened their first UK store 30 years ago and now, there’s only one left in existence on the entire planet. Renting videos lost my interest when the cost of purchasing them became identical or in many cases, cheaper than hiring them. I’d have a legal copy that I could watch as much as I wanted, whenever I wanted. (This is why, for me, VOD streaming represents another form of renting because there are similar problems in terms of owning a permanent copy.)

Nonetheless, it’s still good to see that video stores - especially independent ones, at that, are still operating and here’s a rental store in my local area that has remarkably succeeded in surviving the market changes. (They haven’t even bothered to update their phone number! 😄)

^ very ‘of it’s day’ mate - love it 😃 (enjoyed watching the video too - thanks)

and 3 films for £6? Not bad…
 

This article is 5 years old now…

‘The last video shop in Bristol makes an indie stand against the age of Netflix’…

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/oct/07/last-video-shop-bristol-20th-century-flicks-netflix-vhs
 

And they’re still going strong - https://www.20thcenturyflicks.co.uk ✊
 

3,000 VHS tapes? 😮 Wow, there must be quite a few titles in their collection that deserve a preservation.

For years, Star Video was my “local”:

They had a banner outside that proudly declared their store to be the biggest video library in the country, that unlike the nearby Blockbuster, possessed every UK home video release. This boast was only slightly inaccurate. 😃 I really regret that when they closed down during the mid 2000s, I didn’t visit them and buy up the rarer VHS tapes but I wasn’t aware at the time about the extent to which home video is afflicted by alternate versions and out of print titles.

Did they ever carry the infamous video nasties?

😄 I actually remember the newscasts with footage of retailers throwing those objects of moral panic into the trash. I’m not sure if they did carry them - I never asked.

However, I was informed that another local video library definitely did have them and the advice was to become a member, rent a few “ordinary” titles and then, once established as a regular patron, request to view “the book”, within which they were listed.

The hoops we had to jump through before the rise of widespread internet shopping. 😃

‘Owner of UK’s only surviving DVD rental store says shop is booming 40 years later | SWNS’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoV-9eKrW_M - a 3 minute video at the SWNS youtube channel.
 

The blurb: 'The owner of the UK’s longest surviving DVD rental store is surprised that business is thriving - 40 years after they opened.

Colin Richards, 71, opened TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill, Suffolk, UK in 1984 and it originally started as a company that leased video tapes to other shops.

He then decided to start renting films and the store now has around 8,500 DVDs including Forrest Gump - which has been borrowed at least 2,000 times.’
 

‘VHS Rental Stores Making a big Return…’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SAlc8Qhtrc - a 5 minute video at the Obsolete Video youtube channel.
 

'The Dvd Movie Rental Comeback Right Here in Arizona:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIqv1MV3Evs - a 3 minute video at the Obsolete Video youtube video.
 

1989: Will People BUY Movies on VHS? | Film 89 | Retro Tech | BBC Archive:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4g48YKs9RI - a 4 minute video from the official BBC Archive youtube channel.
 

The blurb: ‘"The market for sell-through video will be at least as big as the market for compact discs in two years’ time."

Would you want to own a physical copy of a movie? The popularity of The Video Collection - a range of classic movies released to buy on VHS - suggests that, if the price is right, the answer is a resounding yes.

Now, the major Hollywood studios are beginning to release their latest movies for sale, directly to the public, sometimes only months after their theatrical release. The Oscar-winning drama Rain Man will hit the shops and the rental stores simultaneously, and will be available for purchase at a fraction of the price of a typical new release. Will the public snap it up? Barry Norman chats to retailers, video distributors, video rental stores and the general public to find out.

Clip taken from Film 89, originally broadcast on BBC One, 24 October, 1989.’
 

oojason said:

‘Owner of UK’s only surviving DVD rental store says shop is booming 40 years later | SWNS’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoV-9eKrW_M - a 3 minute video at the SWNS youtube channel.
 

The blurb: 'The owner of the UK’s longest surviving DVD rental store is surprised that business is thriving - 40 years after they opened.

Colin Richards, 71, opened TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill, Suffolk, UK in 1984 and it originally started as a company that leased video tapes to other shops.

He then decided to start renting films and the store now has around 8,500 DVDs including Forrest Gump - which has been borrowed at least 2,000 times.’
 

Thanks for sharing this oojason. 😃

The availability of physical media remains an important resource on many fronts, despite the rise of VOD services. Just last month, Ofcom published a report detailing that four and a half million Brits lack Internet access and another 400,000 have broadband accounts but don’t (know how to?) use them.

Imagine how many of them have become cut off from new releases with the disappearance of DVDs and Blu-rays from supermarkets etc?

oojason said:

Now, the major Hollywood studios are beginning to release their latest movies for sale, directly to the public, sometimes only months after their theatrical release. The Oscar-winning drama Rain Man will hit the shops and the rental stores simultaneously, and will be available for purchase at a fraction of the price of a typical new release. Will the public snap it up? Barry Norman chats to retailers, video distributors, video rental stores and the general public to find out.

Ahhhhh Rain Man! My English teacher had that on VHS and offered to lend it to me as a reward if I completed and submitted my homework. I never did… Oh well. 😄

That’s a very interesting context as to why she owned what was presumably the sell-through release as that would’ve been the landmark period when home video releases became affordable in the UK. Prior to that, I remember the prices hovering around £70 and it’s incredible to reminisce that people actually forked out that amount of money for a film!

JadedSkywalker said:

If we could get a repair shop that knows how to fix VCR’s we could keep the retro VHS era in continuance.

Likewise with Beta, LD and the others.

An abandoned Blockbuster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL5yOZ2BWYo

JayArgonaut said:

oojason said:

‘Owner of UK’s only surviving DVD rental store says shop is booming 40 years later | SWNS’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoV-9eKrW_M - a 3 minute video at the SWNS youtube channel.
 

The blurb: 'The owner of the UK’s longest surviving DVD rental store is surprised that business is thriving - 40 years after they opened.

Colin Richards, 71, opened TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill, Suffolk, UK in 1984 and it originally started as a company that leased video tapes to other shops.

He then decided to start renting films and the store now has around 8,500 DVDs including Forrest Gump - which has been borrowed at least 2,000 times.’
 

Thanks for sharing this oojason. 😃

The availability of physical media remains an important resource on many fronts, despite the rise of VOD services. Just last month, Ofcom published a report detailing that four and a half million Brits lack Internet access and another 400,000 have broadband accounts but don’t (know how to?) use them.

Imagine how many of them have become cut off from new releases with the disappearance of DVDs and Blu-rays from supermarkets etc?

Spot on, mate - and also likely explains the mini-resurgence of DVDs and blu-rays (especially in pawn and charity shops).

Brings a warm feeling and some welcome nostalgia when I see those type of videos online too. 👍
 

From lockdown times…

Liverpool video shop delivers classic VHS tapes to the elderly | 5 News - a 2 minute youtube video from 2020.

^ the blurb: ‘In Liverpool, one of the UK’s last video shops delivering free packs full of classic tapes, to elderly people, for a welcome fix of nostalgia.’

oojason said:

Now, the major Hollywood studios are beginning to release their latest movies for sale, directly to the public, sometimes only months after their theatrical release. The Oscar-winning drama Rain Man will hit the shops and the rental stores simultaneously, and will be available for purchase at a fraction of the price of a typical new release. Will the public snap it up? Barry Norman chats to retailers, video distributors, video rental stores and the general public to find out.

Ahhhhh Rain Man! My English teacher had that on VHS and offered to lend it to me as a reward if I completed and submitted my homework. I never did… Oh well. 😄

That’s a very interesting context as to why she owned what was presumably the sell-through release as that would’ve been the landmark period when home video releases became affordable in the UK. Prior to that, I remember the prices hovering around £70 and it’s incredible to reminisce that people actually forked out that amount of money for a film!

Yeah, my nephews and nieces look at me like like I’m mad when I tell them how much videos used to cost in the early 80’s (likely to also boost the blossoming rental market at the time). Then I explain there were multiple video rental stores on the high streets were also quite prevalent - even the petrol stations used to try and muscle in on the rental tape market. That we’d spend 20-30 minutes deciding which film to hire out (if in a large group trying to agree on renting something) from whole walls filled with video tapes - and they look at me like I’ve lost my marbles!

Kudos to your English teacher - I wish mine was like that (though I’d have never got the tape either!) 😃
 

Vultural said:

An abandoned Blockbuster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL5yOZ2BWYo

Love those kind of videos - thanks for posting it up, Vultural. 👍

I used to really enjoy Adam The Woo’s content back when he did ‘travelling videos’ through quiet / deserted / abandoned streets and ‘backwater’ type towns in the US (he’s also throw in some US history for each street or town, too).

Some of the video and gaming stores occasionally had some leftover stock in them (no good titles of course - though fun to see).
 

Another blast from the past…

1982: The BOOM in PIRATE VIDEO | The Money Programme | Retro Tech | BBC Archive

www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9pL9Kug9Ms - a 10 minute video from BBC Archive
 

The blurb: 'This is the film E.T. … it’s not even released in this country yet."

Luke Casey reports on the booming UK video industry. Despite British people being the most avid video watchers in the world, video distribution here is in chaos because of the huge increase in the number of outlets and the rise of video pirating. Luke speaks to retailers and video distributors about the state of affairs.

Brian Widlake introduces.

Clip taken from The Money Programme, originally broadcast on BBC Two, 17 October, 1982.'.