"Free Blockbuster" founder talks about capturing the nostalgia of physical media
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- čas přidán 28. 04. 2024
- Hundreds of free movie libraries have popped up all over Southern California and around the country. Alys Martinez talks to the founder of "Free Blockbuster."
Physical media isn't about nostalgia... It's about preservation.
books, music, movies/TV, video games all being taken away for monthly subscription payment moodels.
you will own nothing and you will learn to be happy about it
Other way around digital media is for preservation physical stuff gets lost or like they said in the video stolen
It’s about multiple things
@@MyCatTookOverMyChannel And all physical media forms degrade over a few decades, and need to be continually restored and re-archived. It really brings up questions about the nature of reality. What is more permanent: Physical objects that will rot away, or a digital subscription service that has zero physical existence, but can be conjured up continuously in the same form with energy, money, and effort?
@@TrueSeed-ft1jn Exporting a video file to a back up drive really takes little effort VS hunting down a physical copy that may already be scratched to death on delivery.
I'll put games in there too. Because it wouldn't truly be Blockbuster without those
I put old game cartridges in there like N64 and Sega Genesis, there's another guy I know who put in old PlayStation 1 discs
Eh...I'd be a little hesitant with video games since video games are usually sought after, specially older games with popular fanbases. You would need to be VERY trusting of your neighbors or hope no random person comes and steals them/resell. I think VHS and dvd is better since unless you put up like an old horror classic vhs, not too many people will be upset if there movie is gone or missing. Though I get the idea of throwing in games is cool and fun, but I wouldn't risk it.
Damn, send ps2 game my way if you have any!
Movies and games would be good idk wut Blockbuster was back then
@@monkeystuff661 ok
Imagine all the lost media that could be found with these. This is awesome.
And then lost again, destroyed, or never returned.
@@DG-nk7jo Or worse, in some collector's shelf.
Imagine the creepypastas.
Ohhh. if I find one I will put some good stuff in there. And some rare titles to.
There are also a ton of old used movie, music & tv media at Goodwill... vinyl albums, cassette tapes, CD, DVD, BRay. And books, of course. Maybe even an 8-track tape once in awhile. There are also blank recordable media too you can find & buy, sometimes even floppy disks, camera film & R2R tap. But this is a good idea with the street corner free media renting ... as long as people are honest. I was a Blockbuster fan & I still have my Blockbuster ID card.
05/05/24
Netflix: “You done?”
Blockbuster: “I didn’t hear any bells.”
haha cute
netflix produces there own content ,so they good!
Blockbuster:I helped paved the way put some respect on my name 😂
Your local library is the closest you will find and it’s awesome!
Physical media will never die in my heart. PRESERVATION NEEDS TO BE OUR NUMBER ONE CONCERN!!! Saving things from becoming future lost media.
I like physical media, but DVDs will eventually expire, maybe 10 years, possibly up to 100 years if stored perfectly. Long term media preservation means storing on a computer with ECC memory, asynchronous offsite backups, cloud storage, etc. The digital files could be rewritten to a disc at any time. There are many advantages of digitization. I protect my physical media collection by ripping all the discs to my computer, that way I don't need to grab the disc out of storage every time I want to watch a movie. I love looking at DVD cases and have a big collection
@@EhurtAfy Oh I know all about disc rot. I do the same thing with my DVDs, rip them. As WELL as my VHS tapes. I archive absolutely everything I can find because you never know what could become lost one day
Imagine if someone trying to make it in the entertainment industry made a movie, and not only put it online, but also put a physical copy in one of these, and word of mouth does the rest.
Killer idea man 👌
And now imagine how much faster word of mouth would do the trick for a great film if they put it online
.............................................you have seven days...................................😅
I started going to my local library last year. They are basically like a Blockbuster. My library has thousands of DVDS and hundreds of Video Games. They even have CDS and everything else you can think of. They let you borrow up to 13 movies and 2 games at a time. I really had no idea how much stuff they had now i go all the time.
Yea it’s been a thing since early 2010 , thanks to my local library I have seen classic / new movies in my childhood
My town has a mini book library near the lake in Fót, Hungary where you can take away used books, vhs casettes and dvds for free. I got some VHS cassettes there and I watched them on my Grandfather's Samsung VCR. I also bought VHS tapes and a DVD at a thrift market in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county.
I live in Pest county and my Grandparents and relatives are living in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county and Komárom-Esztergom county in Hungary.
I also enjoy playing retro video games on my soft modded PS2 and PS3 and also on Retroarch which has an AI translator for visual novels.
They're probably not too far off towards where we're all headed.
Physical media is making a gradual comeback, for several reasons:
1. Nostalgia factor. (Pleasure principle, if you will.)
2. It's cheaper to own a copy forever than to continually "rent" it with subscriptions (which we're all fatigued of doing).
3. They just created a new disc that'll hold 1.6 petabytes and will increasingly hold even more, meaning that discs will soon offer more storage for less cost than cloud storage can offer, due to limited server space and bandwidth issues.
4. Physical media reduces our carbon footprint than overrelying upon massive amounts of electronic storage for everything.
5. Security, privacy, and DRM issues are big issues with people nowadays.
6. People like physical ownership. It's something that'll never truly leave our human instincts. We love ownership over tangible items. We love sharing physical things. Goes back to our ancient communal, bartering ways.
(It's why, even in an age of digital currency, where we don't even need physical debit cards anymore, we still prefer them over just virtualizing the entire consumer experience.)
Many people are also getting sick of the hurdles that they have to jump through to watch a show. They could be paying for multiple streaming services only for it to be on a different service, or worse, none of them.
Bloody Hell there is a disc that holds 1.6 PETABYTES?!!! That's amazing! That's 1000TB!!! I could store my entire 4K, Bluray, and DVD collection on 1 or 2 of those!!!
lol Literally nothing suggests that, when was the last time you visted any brick and motor store. All dying and empty
@@KnucklesWTD Physical media is making a comeback but in the realm of collectors. The main stream normal person is still very much into streaming. Physical movie sales are still a 2 billion USD market per year. There is money to be made still.
@@moonlambo5229 it never fully died just not the dominant way anymore
I certainly want physical media
Blockbuster Needs to Comeback, Where Are You Physical Media King!
Right now the last remaining store is in Oregon.
Doubt u would drive to and frequent a brick and mortar blockbuster. Easy to type a comment
@@anon2414blockbuster died for a reason
@@KnucklesWTD exactly these nostalgia sheep cry about blockbuster and malls closing down. And they don’t even go to malls
@@anon2414 Speak for your lazyself, buddy
That's really cool. Little libraries for video and game media are a freat expansion of the idea as streaming services get crappier and more expensive.
Yes also my family and relatives also have a lot of dvds too and I enjoy watching them. Even at my grandparents house there are VHS tapes and a VCR too!
My town has a mini book library near the lake in Fót, Hungary where you can take away used books, vhs casettes and dvds for free. I got some VHS cassettes there and I watched them on my Grandfather's Samsung VCR. I also bought VHS tapes and a DVD at a thrift market in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county.
My relatives live in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county by the way.
I live in Pest county and my grandparents and relatives are living in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county and Komárom-Esztergom county.
I also enjoy playing retro video games on my soft modded PS2 and PS3 with an USB HDD and also on Retroarch emulator that has an AI translator for visual novels too.
Your fursona is cool by the way!
The more that prices rise on the the streaming platforms and costs 25 dollars to rent a movie on streaming service, I could see something like blockbuster come back.
Netflix DVD by mail went away, Redboxes are full of old movies now. I don’t see physical media rental coming back. People don’t like the late fees and driving back and forth and discs of new movies running out of stock.
@@jeremyf9124 But ... What about that blockbuster smell?
Super cool idea. Physical media is so important in the age of streaming
No, it’s not. Move on. The digital future is here.
@@AnimeBronx no
@@AnimeBronx Conformity isn't cool. I bet you support funding the current wars too. Don't you? Conform and consume like the news told you to. :)
@@AnimeBronxyes it is. Move on with your overpriced digital future life that involves buffering, Internet usage only, lower quality, ect.
@@AnimeBronx You’re just upset you can’t fit a physical movie collection inside your tiny overpriced cardboard box dwelling.
Who would have thought when we were in blockbuster in 2005 that this would be a thing today.
Bring it back dvd and vhs tapes and bring back blockbusters
Seeing these kinds of stories; restores my faith in humanity 💖
Going to a blockbuster was a highlight of my week growing up, grabbing a VHS and a PS1 game
I miss video stores like Blockbuster and Hollywood Videos. Did streaming sites really had to put them to extinction?
That is why I do not like streaming services among other reasons, but why did they half to end dvds or blu rays? My feeling is, they should have kept them, put the new movies out on dvd or blu ray as a way to promote them instead of removing them when they flop. I mean, all I see is if they did that, it would have been a win, win situation for everybody!
And digital gaming too. I remember when a commercial predicted this. It had a very lukewarm and uncertain vibe, but it clearly knew what was to be
@@knuclear200x
What commercial was that?
You got me wondering to see it.
@@onetwo6039 All I have memory of is a short line of people in a video store, then some guy in a costume comes in and protests with the concept of "on demand video" against the inconveniences of leaving your house, long lines, limited selection and late fees. The store clerk responds lithlessly "you can't do that."
"Just watch me". He retorts in his entirely undramatic fashion. It may have been a cable company ad, but I still can't find it neither
Just go to an la county public library. They got DVDs for days. You can borrow up to 50 at a time
Im getting more and more in need of physical again
Been feeling nostalgic and think im not the only one.
Time to bring back the old ways
Those movie theaters are expensive, when's the first Blockbuster movie theater?
Do you know anyone who would donate a space?
That would be AWESOME,but I think it would:
A. Have to be legit,owned by Blockbuster themselves
B. Show nothing but 80s and 90s to early 2000s Hollywood hits,basically anything around those times that would have been big enough names for theatres…. NO made-for-TV or straight-to-video movies.
C. Free door entry,but still pay for food/snacks and drinks
And D: Door entry is free,and you can just hang out in the lobby as long has you are respectful but you do have to pay to actually go in a movie room to see a movie .
In my area, AMC charges $5 for those 80s movies. But they only show 1 old movie a month. That’s only 12 old movies a year.
@@freeblockbuster❤
I love it!! Blockbuster came back bro!! Physical media isn't about nostalgia!!
In the late 1980s we had a private vhs store a few blocks away. In the 1990s, blockbuster moved in same plaza, and the private store closed.
We had went to both places to rent movies.
IF a LA Location, how long before someone takes all the media for themselves.
🙄
It happens regularly!
that is the point
@@freeblockbusterlol
Resellers can just drive up and restock.. kinda sad.
When our last video store went out of business, a family video, the owner was there when I stopped in. I asked him if I could have the 2 for $1.00 rental sign as that's what I usually rented. He gave it to me along with a poster. I also got many rental cases they where giving them away for free
Blockbuster was one of my favorite childhood memories. My parents will take us the Blockbuster we get spoiled with snacks and candies we stay all night watching movies. Family night was the best!
How do you know someone won’t just steal all the DVDs/VHS’?
Exactly
That's what exactly gonna happen 😂
We still have a lot of blockbuster dvds and maybe even vhs tapes; my dad always went there to get us dvds and at redbox too.
Neighborhoods have already done this with books for years. I like all of it.
We technically don't own the digital media... But we pay quite a bit for it.
Physical media is about preservation, and ownership. Digital can be ripped away at any time, even though companies say "no, trust us, we won't do that..."
I enjoy games, and I much rather have a physical copy of a game than a digital download.
There should be a sticker showing everyone how to clean a disk properly. Its common, many people unknowingly try to clean it but damage it.
Putting VHS tapes on direct sunlight. Such a brilliant idea. Heat can warp the cassette housing and damage the tape. You need to store tapes away from direct sunlight and other sources of heat. Moreover, sunlight can fade the labels and covers.
I'm in SMALL town Iowa and there is one right down the road. I don't think it was originally a Free Blockbuster, but they reached out and joined together
The televisions are so different these days I haven't saw the video cassette store in ages but Blockbuster was wonderful and absolutely good.
That's a wonderful and nice Blockbuster box I'll totally would like that someday! ❤️
This was so wholesome, I needed this quirky spot of sun today ❤
They need to bring blockbuster back. App or no app, the physical act of the family getting a pizza and picking out a family night or even date night movie from the store is something that can not be replaced. With apps it doesn't make it an event to look forward to and it's increasingly difficult to actually get people to sit down and be together.
So we went from Free Britney to Free Blockbuster...ok! 🎉 FREE BLOCKBUSTER! 🥳
Blockbuster had the old movies. I probably still go to that place if it was still around man.
PlutoTV and Tubi are free streaming services with a ton of old movies.
Kind of sad people only think of Blockbuster when they think of video rental stores. The best video rental stores were independently owned and carefully curated, and a lot of them still exist (Videodrome in Atlanta, for instance). Blockbuster was just another corporate giant that ruined an industry.
Family video for my area
Huh, imagine that. People have more memories of the store with the most locations, that was the most ubiquitous. Crazy!!
@@zachariah7114 huh, imagine that, you missed the point entirely
Yep me and my family would mostly visit a local rental store around us instead, Blockbuster was bad when it came to late fees and prices.
@@zachariah7114Doesn’t make it any less sad.
I have about 200 vhs movies still and around 500 dvds and im still buying them
Nothing can beat Physical Media👍❤
There was book one near my area but it was vandalized
🥺😭
cool and nostalgic. It's actually just like the free libraries that are around some cities and towns and theres one in my town where its just like a mailbox with a see through compartment and people take books or leave books for free
I love this story, and I think it’s great what these people are doing.
I've seen those little houses (not Blockbuster) that has books in them.
Boring
@@cre8iveone699 - Those little libraries are pretty cool. I found a Goosebumps book once. That was definitely an awesome find.
Those are usually mini libraries. Take a book, leave a book.
@@Pluralofvinylisvinyls - I love those libraries so much. I found a Goosebumps book in one once. That was fun.
@@ZacharyRodriguezVlogs ‘Welcome to dead house’ was the first book I ever read when I was 9 or 10!
Just makes me think of the heat in the box that may wear down on the media
I still have old dvds
Man I love this ..miss u blockbuster
I support their movement! The preservation of nostalgia 💯
I still have my Jason vs Freddy vhs 😁
Amazing dude - thanks
I got a blockbuster tattoo to remind me of the good old times and then I got Waldo sticking out of the logo 😁
Its good but I wouldn't bother doing it. Scratches, damage, losing, and keeping the movies. Its just like the "Little Free Libraries" you see in parks. If you want to borrow VHS or DVDs just go to your library. I think its better.
Blockbusters was the best. I was so sad to see it go. It was a weekly experience for me and my sister even in the late 00s and early 10s.
IT'S BACK BABY!!!
(I mean Bend in Oregon always had one)
Physical Media is Premier Merchandise, Digital is just ease of use , but there’s been so much less bonus content on digital , dvd and blu rays came with bonus and stuff, well what I remember, Pokemon movies included shorts of Pikachus adventures.
Great story and idea . We still have all our vhs and dvds ,it’s finding the devices to play them on that’s the problem . No one out there who fixes old ones either. 😢
Yes, I hope we can keep this going even just for a bit.. such a cool idea.
These are awesome, I have been using our local free blockbuster for the past couple of week and I love it. I had to stop because someone taped over Maid in Manhattan with there sextape.
We have one of those here in my town. It’s called the library. It has books too.
2:14 who ever donated office spave on DVD....
I salute you
Id still go to a video store if there were any, i loved going to the original ones in my area and blockbuster when they opened
I have an extensive anime collection on DVD and nothing beats the tactile sensations of physical media. You can't appreciate the inserts on a streaming service.
I just scored a bunch of VHS is at a yard sale a couple days ago for $.50 each. Now I gotta get a VCR.
They also have free DVD rentals at places called "public libraries"
What’s a library?
I’m glad dvds are still around 😁 it’s a movie called “ naked in New York “ starring Ralph macchio and I couldn’t find it on any movie apps but I was able to order the dvd off Amazon. Those dvds are definitely more reliable than Netflix.
I haven't seen Blockbuster in years I loved getting those movies and gospel song videos and CD places.
“Still has value “ 💯
Blockbuster was serene I remember this serene store at times when I was live in Vancouver :)
블록버스터는 고요한 가게가 있었습니다. 가끔은 고요한 가게를 기억합니다. :)
Nostalgia; wayy to go u guys, my respect and admiration is due!!!
Streaming and smart phones have ruined so much. We must find our way back to healthy entertainment.
I miss Blockbuster video. 😢
More than that...I miss that particular moment in time (the 1980s and 90s). Ugh...such good times. 👍
Damn I miss going to blockbuster on a Friday night and searching for a movie and/or a game!!!
Bring back videos stores please!
I was just thinking about those cute little free libraries and now CZcams shows me this😳
I think people in Cambridge, Boston, Arlington, Watertown, Lexington, Concord, and Waltham should have free video lending libraries in memory of the rental video stores. 😊
I put CDs and DVDs in the "Little Free Libraries" in my town, and occasionally find some there that I've been looking for...
Free movies and all that stuff was goated and amazing at Blockbuster when I was a kid. 🐐❤
Blockbuster is cooking something up because on their website it says we are working on rewinding your movie, so I hope a comeback happens and if they bring back. The stores and they do an online streaming service to watch movies it would be epic one can still dream, and it could come true!
Blockbuster may be gone, however it will never die.
Dang theres even a free blockbuster in my area. Heck im into physical media too so i wouldnt mind setting-up a second location in my area. I should get in contact with them, this is my kind of 'free' post
I wish we had this where I live in Oregon! The library is now my dvd rental place, but it's better than blockbuster was because it's free.
I think this is awesome. I’m not knocking it. But I think in places you’ll have people robbing the stuff and not returning it. Sadly. But this is awesome.
At least you don't get pop-up reminders asking if you are still watching with DVD/VHS!
Uhh you dont have second h and DVD stores anymore? In Japan there are still so many used DVD blu ray stores?
Yes, the USA has second hand disc sales, and new sales. People can still get discs through Redbox vending machines, through the mail with GameFly, or through libraries. People may say they want discs, but they sales & rental numbers say different.
This is great. I have utilized the free library, and i think this is a wonderful offset of it😊
"These are not dead trademarks."
They're not dead because of the fans of Blockbuster. If it werent for the fans the company would be completely forgotten about.
I believe this is REALLY awesome, HOWEVER the problems with increasing digital media would mean that both the movie and television industry would probably sue passion projects like this since they want to milk out the profits from legacy media. Video game companies are already slowly moving toward that unforgivable point FYI.
I will have to visit one of these... maybe find a way to make one myself. (:
We have these all over our town but only books (not movies)
They should make a Netflix stand too they were DVDs originally before they became Streaming services, I remember going to rent a New DVD or bluray at the Netflix machine was awesome!
kcuf netflix and all streamers
Netflix didn’t have vending machines, they rented by mail. Redbox still has movie disc vending machines, I use them once in a while but I never see anyone else use them. The one nearest me disappeared.
Awesome idea. Media preservation is important.
Its a shame gen z never got to experience the delayed gratification of walking to blockbuster, renting a movie, feeling like you had to watch it because you paid for it. Streaming = low attention span
People only did that because there was no choice.
The oldest Gen Z did get to experience video rental stores, they just slowly died out over the years. By the time we were in our tweens they were gone, and all we had left for a good while was Family Video. Until thoes died out.
im technically gen z, and almost every Friday we'd go to blockbuster and pick out a movie and candy with the family. i was probably 12 when our block buster was gone and replaced by a dollar tree, which will soon probably be gone too. i dont subscribe to streaming media, expect music even though i have tons of physical music. most services are a big waste of money for subpar content. And the content i like is paywalled behind multiple services. so i just watch youtube and old movies for the few bucks here and there on youtube as well.
I did a bit, born in 2003. There was a Blockbuster just a couple blocks from our apartment. Then when they were closing, they were selling their movies for like $1. Then they eventually just started throwing them away in the dumpster so we would go and pick some of them out. We still have quite a bit of films with the blockbuster cases. I remember thinking RedBox was the future of media renting.
At least having physical media is something I can OWN.
I love this idea!
As a kid i looked forward to our Friday night trips to blockbuster .. only thing better was if I was aloud to rent a game too 🥳😁
Take what you want, leave what you don't
It's a nice way to keep the spirit alive, however, do stores still sell DVDs? Or is everything online now? If so then the amount of library one can create with DVDs is limited.
You can still buy discs new in stores, but stores are cutting back on their selection, because sales are falling off. You can find much better selection of discs through websites.
There was a book one (which also included VHS and DVDs) in an adjacent neighborhood but their HOA had it moved to a location that is inconvenient and largely inaccessible.
yeah how many people can you trust these days to return them or replace them with other titles? most of these are just gonna be taken advantage and the rest will be down to the most common titles. the "rare" ones gonna be taken permanently mostly by collectors and resellers.
Exactly
Good times. You weren’t sure whether to get a movie or rent a video game.