The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. (LAEDC) has announced results of an economic study that it says illustrates the negative impact of low-cost DVD rentals, such as those at redbox, Blockbuster Express and other DVD-rental kiosks, on the Southern California economy.

According to a news release from the LAEDC, "The Economic Implications of Low Cost DVD Rentals" indicates that an estimated $1 billion in lost revenues to the domestic home video industry in the region because of low-cost DVD rentals would lead to an additional $500 million in reduced economic activity. LAEDC's study also says the loss of film production in the Los Angeles area would mean more than 9,290 lost jobs, with annual earnings of nearly $395 million.

LAEDC only specifically names redbox in its news release and says the $1-per-day rental model puts the foundation of the film distribution industry at risk:  

Redbox's low-cost kiosks are challenging the traditional distribution and release model of the industry, which is built upon timed, sequential release into differentiated market segments through a variety of channels (box office, sell-through, rental, pay television and cable). ... Although box office numbers are headlined in industry and popular press, revenues from this income stream account for less than 25 percent of the total revenues earned by distributors. Most movies are not immediate money makers, and companies rely on sequential sales, such as in the home entertainment market, to recoup their production and marketing investment.

Redbox continues to be embroiled in litigation with several Hollywood studios that have imposed new release distribution delays of up to 30 days on the DVD-rental company. According to the Los Angeles Times, redbox even has amended its suits against 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros., alleging that the studios have imposed restrictions on the number of DVDs specific retailers can sell to any one individual. Redbox has made no secret of its "work-around" process — its employees frequent retailers such as Walmart, Target and Best Buy to purchase in bulk the new releases that have been delayed by studios.

Blaine, Minn.-based Mosquito Productions has announced the deployment of its BigBox DVD-rental kiosk in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Mosquito is a provider of digital technology solutions and already operates four BigBox DVD-rental kiosks in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

According to Mosquito, the BigBox kiosks break from the norm by offering movie rentals on a per-hour basis. The kiosk charges six cents an hour for new DVD releases, four cents an hour for DVDs older than one year and nine cents an hour for Blu-ray discs.

Mosquito says BigBox's unique pricing model, along with a selection of movies it says is larger than in competing kiosks, creates a different DVD-rental experience for consumers:

Offering rentals on a per-hour basis gives the customer incentive to bring the movie back in a timely manner in order to save money, and that in turn keeps the inventory fresh in the kiosk. … But combine that theory with kiosk designs that can store up to 15 times the number of discs as some of BigBox DVD's main competitors and you literally end up with a video store in a box, able to serve up classic titles and a wide array of new high-definition Blu-ray Discs, along with the latest new releases.

Customers also can use the BigBox.com Web site to search and view details about more than 100,000 DVD and Blu-ray titles, search for title availability in specific locations and even request to have a certain title added to particular kiosk.

Will Shaw, director of production and marketing for Oblate Media, says the technology will help the organization reach young people more effectively:

We are hoping to plant a seed — the idea that the priesthood may be their calling. (Candidates for priesthood) start thinking about serving the church at a young age. Many teens who visit our centers are in Catholic schools, and some of them are already kicking the idea of entering the priesthood around. The assumption is that these young people are interested in technology. We are trying to cast the bread out as far as we can.

NCR Corp. today announced the deployment of its Blockbuster Express DVD-rental kiosks in 200 Duane Reade drugstore locations in Manhattan. The kiosks offer DVD rentals for $1 per night and will be installed in 200 locations over the next several months, most of them by the end of the year, NCR says. Some of the kiosks already are operating at Duane Reade locations.

Alex Camara, vice president and general manager of NCR Entertainment, says the kiosks' convenience factor is well-suited to Duane Reade's customer experience.

DVD rental kiosks are a great fit in high-traffic urban areas because they take up a very small retail footprint. Paired with a convenience or drug store location, it gives consumers a very convenient way to pick up their favorite entertainment titles while they shop for everyday items. New Yorkers think of Duane Reade for convenience. Our DVD kiosks provide Duane Reade with additional convenience for its customers.

NCR says the Blockbuster Express kiosks offer the largest selection of new-release and classic titles in the DVD-rental kiosk market, with more than 900-disc capacity.

Comark Corp. has announced the release of a multimedia kiosk that allows customers to capture live video or photos in various backdrops using green screen technology and then share the content via e-mail or a printed postcard.

According to a news release from Comark, the kiosk features a built-in proximity sensor and a motion detector equipped camera to attract customers and save power during times of inactivity. The solution includes a 32-inch high-resolution LCD for advertising content, a 19-inch LCD touchscreen and a stainless-steel keyboard with a trackball mouse. Multiple software configurations and payment peripherals are available as well, the company says.

Home Media Magazine reports that MOD Systems will deploy its Retail Digital Content Distribution System, a digital movie-download kiosk, at six Blockbuster and Hollywood Video stores in Dallas, Seattle and Portland, Ore., by Nov. 13. During the trial deployment, the kiosks will offer more than 1,000 new release and catalog titles from Paramount, Warner Bros. and other studios, the report says.

Using the MOD kiosks, customers can download movie content to SD cards and then view the content on devices with SD card slots. The company tells Home Media that rentals will be tested at different prices, and customers will have access to the content for 30 days after purchase. Once a movie is viewed, it will be available for 48 hours before the included digital-rights management technology locks it, preventing further viewing.

DVD-rental kiosk brand redbox today announced two-year distribution agreements with NCircle Entertainment, a children's entertainment distributor, and Summit Entertainment, a full-service, worldwide film studio.
 
Redbox says the deals will allow its customers increased access to NCircle and Summit titles at all of its locations nationwide. NCircle's titles have won Parent's Choice and Emmy awards and include brands such as The Jim Henson Company's ”Sid the Science Kid" and Dr. Seuss' "The Cat in The Hat Knows a Lot About That," among many others. Summit's titles include feature films such as the popular "Twilight" series and the hit film "Knowing."

Unlike some Hollywood movie studios, Summit will make its new release titles available to redbox customers on their street dates, says redbox president Mitch Lowe:

We are very pleased to enter into this agreement with Summit, as it underscores our commitment to creating winning relationships for our customers and studio partners. This agreement ensures that we will continue to deliver engaging and popular Summit movie titles to consumers at our kiosks when they are first released at an affordable price.

Debbie Ries, NCircle's senior vice president and general manager, believes the deal with redbox will help increase DVD sales for the company, a topic that also has been contentious in redbox' dealings with some major movie studios:

We will increase the visibility and reach of our titles nationwide through this two-year distribution agreement with redbox. Redbox rentals allow the consumer to try before they buy. We are confident that the positive rental experience at redbox, coupled with the quality and appeal of our content, will translate into increased DVD sales at retail. This agreement is an exciting opportunity for NCircle, redbox and the consumer.

Redbox did not disclose terms of either deal, but did say the Summit agreement will begin Jan. 1, 2010.

Beyond the fear of losing customers, many retailers worry that cheap redbox rentals will hurt film revenue so much that studios will ultimately have to scale back future movie production. Hollywood trade unions are believed to be prepping a consumer campaign of the own to similarly insists that redbox harms the entertainment business.

Bay said test kiosks should be in stores by Nov. 15, though he wouldn't give many other details. Consumers will be able to visit the kiosks, search and download films to an SD card, the same cards used to store digital photos on digital cameras. The cards can be placed in SD card slots found on some TVs, PCs, DVD players, mobile phone and other devices for movie playback.

YesPay announced this week at KioskCom Europe that HMV, a leading retailer of music, DVDs and video games in the United Kingdom, has introduced kiosks into its stores. The deployment was completed in conjunction with YesPay, a payments-service company, and its partner Neo Products U.K., which specializes in touchscreen kiosks.

Customers can use the kiosks to locate stock, view sample clips and order content for home delivery. They also can download .mp3 files for immediate transfer and storage to media players.

YesPay will integrate its EMBOSS chip-and-PIN service into the kiosks to facilitate payments. The technology accepts all U.K. credit and debit cards, allowing prompt and secure payment.

“With customer demands increasing and people wanting to buy music in new ways, it’s important to ensure that with new shopping methods, payments are met securely,” said Dave Elston, e-commerce manager at HMV.

At Publix, we strive to continuously offer our customers value and service. By partnering with NCR, we are offering our customers the convenience of DVD rentals as part of their traditional shopping experience. The initial feedback we have received from our customers is that they enjoy the wide selection of movies, each of the transaction and the time-saving aspect of one-stop shopping. DVD movie rentals at Publix are just another way we meet the changing needs of our customers.

According to NPD's VideoWatch service, in the coming months both subscription services and traditional video retailers will experience even more competition from kiosks, which are becoming more ubiquitous in grocery stores, mass merchandisers and quick-serve restaurants. Even so, a primary consumer appeal for subscriptions and store rentals is their depth of title selection – a key benefit that might help mitigate the increased competition form kiosks, which offer a more limited list of video titles.

We believe that the redbox model will ultimately expand the business by increasing the number of impulse rentals and by putting packaged-media rentals in places where none existed previously. This agreement gives us tremendous placement for all our films and lowers the impact of low-priced, previously viewed DVDs being sold into the market, which we saw as a growing issue. We believe that this arrangement is a smart opportunity for Lionsgate in the current environment and a win-win for both companies.

Redbox's cornerstone principles include providing customers with a convenient way to rent new release DVDs at an affordable price. At the expense of consumers, 20th Century Fox is attempting to prohibit timely consumer access to its new release DVDs at redbox retail locations nationwide. Despite this attempt, redbox will continue to provide our consumers access to all major new releases, including 20th Century Fox titles, at our more than 15,000 redbox DVD rental locations.

Despite 20th Century Fox's effort to delay consumer access to new release DVDs by 30 days at rental kiosks, redbox reaffirms its commitment to providing consumers new release DVDs. Redbox will protect consumers' rights to access new release DVDs a their preferred retail channel at the price the consumer deems reasonable. Redbox will continue to carry all major new releases, including 20th Century Fox titles, at the more than 17,000 redbox locations nationwide. The first priority at redbox is the customer.

According to an article in the L.A. Times, 20th Century Fox has joined Universal Studios in the fight against redbox. The studio has instructed its DVD distributors not to sell titles to redbox and other DVD-rental kiosk companies until 30 days after their release.

According to the article, Chase Carey, CEO of Fox parent News Corp., alluded to the issue in the company's fourth quarter earnings call Wednesday:  

Having our [movies] rented at $1 in the rental window is grossly undervaluing our products.

In an e-mailed statement to the Times, a Fox spokesperson offered an explanation for the abrupt move:

The basis of this position is to continue to provide the consumer with broad title choice and access to Fox movies while maintaining the quality image and value perception of Fox movies. Our desire is to maintain for Fox movies a thriving network of distribution serving all types of consumer preferences on reasonable business terms for Fox, as well as our distribution partners.

The news comes in stark contrast to the recent positive developments for Coinstar Inc., redbox's parent company. CEO Paul Davis said in the company's second quarter earnings call Tuesday that Coinstar is in discussions with Hollywood studios and hopes to replicate last month's distribution deal with Sony:

We clearly understand the impact of fostering collaborative relationships with the studios. Just two weeks ago we announced a long-term partnership with Sony, and we continue to have positive conversations with other studios along the same lines.

The Times is speculating that redbox may continue to offer Fox titles the day they're released simply by purchasing them at retail, as they have done with Universal titles. A statement issued to KioskMarketplace.com this morning from redbox president Mitch Lowe certainly leaves that possibility open:

We were informed of Fox's position late yesterday. Redbox stands behind our convenience and value that we offer consumers, and we're pleased to make DVDs available the day they are released.

The Associated Press: Since February of this year, prisoners at Indiana’s Rockville Correctional Facility have been able to conduct visits with loved ones using kiosks with videophone capability. Through the system, developed by Florida-based JPay, approved visitors can schedule and pay for visits online from their home. Inmates simply log into the kiosk and use its video camera and phone to speak to their visitors, who they can see on its screen. Prison officials say the virtual visits can be less expensive, less time-consuming and more convenient for prison visitors.
 
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In an entry posted today on his blog, BarryJudge.com, Best Buy’s chief marketing officer announced a test of video game trade-in kiosks in several of the retailer’s Texas locations. Last month, Wal-Mart announced a similar test in 77 of its stores, in partnership with entertainment kiosk company e-Play.

“As we continue to explore new ways to make our customers happy, Best Buy is moving into the used games market. This week, several of our Dallas and Austin stores will test a kiosk-based model that allows customers to insert their used games into a kiosk that will scan it for functionality, and immediately issue a voucher that is instantly redeemable for a Best Buy gift card."

Video Business: According to reports today, several high-profile record labels have signed with digital-download kiosk operator MOD Systems. The labels include EMI Music, Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group. The agreements, in addition to those MOD already has signed with several independent labels, give the company more than 5.2 million DRM-free music tracks to offer later this year on its retail digital-download kiosks. Using the kiosks, customers will have the ability to download content to digital devices, SD memory cards and USB devices. MOD also plans to offer more than 4,000 movies for purchase and download.
 
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Irish Independent: Movie Booth, a British DVD-rental kiosk maker, has signed a deal with U.K. retail giant Tesco to trial its machines in three of the chain’s Irish stores. Movie Booth, which is understood to have previously trialed one of its kiosks in one Tesco store, is expanding the trial to include one of Tesco's largest stores, at Clare Hall in Dublin, while another outlet in the capital will also have one of the machines installed. The third kiosk will be in Tesco's store in Wexford town.

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SAN FRANCISCO — Ecast, a leader in place-based media, has launched “Touch Points,” a series of weekly podcast interviews exploring real-life deployments of customer-centric solutions in various industries. The current series, delivered in partnership with the KioskCom Self Service Expo and The Digital Signage Show, took place on the show’s floor in Las Vegas last month and brought together thought leaders from the retail, healthcare, consumer electronics and financial industries to discuss emerging trends, technologies and best practices for impacting the consumer experience.
 
The first podcast features Kari Blankenship, retail systems manager of major outdoor sporting-goods retailer Cabela’s, who discusses the company’s nationwide interactive kiosk deployment, designed to enhance the customer experience by extending the store’s online presence into its brick-and-mortar locations.
 
“From USPS veteran and leading retail consultant Margot Myers to Virgin Entertainment Group CIO Robert Fort, each speaker brings a wealth of knowledge and experience about the technology, ROI considerations and customer needs informing successful digital signage and self service implementations,” said Bob Cooney, VP of business development and manufacturing for Ecast. Cooney co-hosts the interview series with digital signage veteran Dan Hagen.
 
Ecast’s interview line-up is as follows:
 
Kari Blankenship, Cabela’s
Margot Myers, Platt Retail Institute
Laura Davis-Taylor, Retail Media Consulting 
Nikki Baird, Retail Systems Research  
Bart Foster, SoloHealth 
Robert Fort, CIO, Virgin Entertainment Group
Ron Potesky, Ricoh
David Cohen, Firestone Financial 
Jenny McGinley, Southern Cross Communications 
Frank Olea, Olea Systems/Displays Inc.  
Kirk Nelson, ArcaTech Systems 
Jason Dennis, Walsh Wireless
David Allen Moss, Boondock Walker
David Drain, Self-Service and Kiosk Association, Digital Signage Association

MONTREAL — X2O Media, a provider of digital signage technology, network management and content services, has introduced the Xpresenter vClips video kiosk, a complete interactive video application that allows users to browse and play back video clips using a simple touchscreen interface. Designed for any application requiring on-demand video playback, the Xpresenter vClips combines the highest quality HD video and graphics output with simple and flexible content management tools.

X2O's Xpresenter vClips is a solution that features unlimited categories and expandable video storage, support for popular video formats, and the ability to customize category and pop-up messages tied to the video timeline. vClips allows full-screen or windowed playback, with a graphical look and feel that can be customized by X2O's award-winning graphic artists.

Installed as a stand-alone application or as part of a multiple-location, networked solution with X2O's Xpresenter Server, the solution gives customers the choice of managing vClips' video content themselves via an easy-to-use Web control page or having X2O manage and remotely monitor content from its network operations center.

"We're excited to offer vClips to our customers as an ideal solution for a number of applications, including corporate training, retail product showcases, information kiosks, movie theatres, music stores, video jukeboxes, and more," said David Wilkins, X2O Media's president and CEO. "The Xpresenter vClips is simple to configure yet extremely powerful. In addition to the broadcast-quality video and graphics that our customers have come to expect from X2O, multiple vClips kiosks can be networked, enabling interesting configurations that could include both one-way and interactive screens, all with one platform."

The Xpresenter vClips joins X2O's new Software Plus Services strategy, the Xpresenter 2.5 platform, X2O's Data Services, a variety of monitoring services offered from X2O's network operations center, and award-winning content and design services to give customers everything they need to run a state-of-the-art digital signage network.

The Daily Toreador (Texas Tech Univ.): GameFly, an online video game rental service, recently launched its G-Box Kiosk, the first of its kind at colleges and universities across the nation.

"The kiosk program is a way to extend the GameFly universe into the physical world," said Sean Spector, co-founder and senior vice president of business development and content for GameFly.

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Singapore and New York, NY —  muvee, the pioneer and leader in Instant Personal Video, has announced a deal with Sakar International to bundle an OEM version of its consumer-friendly muvee autoProducer movie-making software with Sakar's digital cameras.

Raleigh, NC, March 14, 2006— Microspace Communications Corporation (Microspace), the leading provider of point-to-multipoint satellite services, today announced that it has signed a non-exclusive, non-binding letter of intent to partner with Paramount Pictures for satellite delivery of digital cinema. Since 2004, Microspace has delivered several films from Paramount's Dreamworks SKG via its VELOCITY service to select digitally-equipped theatres in North America, including Shrek 2, Collateral and Shark Tale.

Raleigh, NC, March 10, 2006— Microspace Communications Corporation (Microspace), the leading provider of point-to-multipoint satellite services, today announced that it has delivered the first JPEG 2000 feature via satellite for Walt Disney's The Shaggy Dog, opening today in theaters nationwide. The delivery is a key milestone in reaching Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) compliance. Microspace delivered the feature via its VELOCITY satellite service in conjunction with Kodak Digital Cinema to the Cinemark Tinseltown Theater in Rochester, New York.

Singapore and New York, NY (February 23, 2006)— muvee, the pioneer and leader in Instant Personal Video, launches its muveeKiosk software at the 2006 Photo Marketing Association (PMA) Convention in Orlando, Florida. When integrated, the muveeKiosk plug-in works seamlessly within an existing photo kiosk's software setup, extending the kiosk's product offering beyond standard music compilation, photo touch—up, photo printing and CD/DVD-burning. muveeKiosk does this by enabling consumers to automatically turn scores of pictures — and even video clips from all popular digital cameras — into emotionally engaging music video productions. With support for various output formats, consumers can choose to share their finished 'muvees' online on blogs or video-sharing websites, or burn them to CD/DVD.