Has The Downfall Of The Video Store Finally Arrived

Since the dawn of the VCR, the video store has been a staple for family entertainment. In the past thirty or so years, it has been a common practice for families to visit their local video store to pick out the latest releases that came out on video to take home and view at their leisure for a day or two. This was something entirely different than going to the theater because just like other television programming, you could watch it whenever you wanted to in the comfort of your house in your pajamas if you liked. It brought a new dimension to the television and made home entertainment even more flexible and enjoyable.

Of course, since the dawn of the video store there were also all of those pesky and sometimes expensive late fees that most video stores charged you when you were late returning the movies. You could take your time at the store picking out the videos that you wanted to take home, but when the time came to take them back, families would often forget they were due back and end up being one, two, or even more days late. Back then the video stores did not necessarily have a hundred copies of the latest releases and they would lose money when the rentals were not returned on time. This meant that if you kept it out late, you had to pay for it.

Then, along came the technology that allowed cable and satellite television to air these same video releases and customers began paying for them that way. This meant not going down to the video store and no late fees. You simply ordered by phone and later on you could even use your own home computer to order them too. This was much easier and more economical in the long run than renting at the video store. It was not that great for those that did not have cable, but also during the 1980's when satellite television slowly became more and more available, even those in very rural areas could enjoy the same television channels and movie ordering capabilities as those with cable in the urban areas. It is possible to watch movies now through your home computer, laptop or even your cell phone if you have the right services!

Today families use their pay per view options regularly and many have given up going to video stores all together. Another reason that this is more convenient is because the format of video tapes has gone by the wayside for the most part and have been replaced by DVDs. This meant that in order to still get the newest movie releases from the video stores, they had to invest in a new kind of player for their home.

New movie releases used to sell for a lot higher price than they do today. Now you can visit any local department store and they will have DVDs for sale anywhere from ten dollars to around thirty dollars. Home DVD collections are growing leaps and bounds. With so many other options available to get new movies from, the video stores, even the large chains, have had a difficult time staying in business. Of course, you can still find video stores here and there even now, but they are not nearly as many as there was just ten years ago. They have almost become like the old drive-in theaters. Before long, you might be as lucky to see a video store still in operation as you would a drive-in theater.