Home Entertainment Roundup

An easier way to rent

New York-based ELO Media has added two new machines to its product line: the DVmatic 550 and the DVmatic 330.

Both units are fully automated DVD kiosks for rental and sell-through of DVDs and video games, and both use a 17-inch touchscreen interface. Machines operate on a Web-based Online Manager system designed to consolidate transaction information from various DVmatic machines in the field, enabling operators to manage inventory, produce reports, and operate machines remotely.

Both units offer the following new features:

•An integrated machine network allows customers to rent from one machine and return to another.

•Customers can subscribe to a monthly service through the machine by using their own credit/debit cards. No membership card is required.

•The machines allow customers to accumulate points on every rental and redeem them at the machines.

•The company's database system collects customer e-mails, which will be used for receipts, direct marketing, and special promotions.

•Customers will soon be able to go online, see what's available in stock, and reserve their movies from home before going to the machine to pick them up.

•The 17-inch monitor can display trailers and integrated ads while the machine is idle.

•An optional monitoring camera is available.

For more information call (866) ELO-DVDS or visit www.dvmatic.com.

Small footprint, high capacity

The A55 DVD rental kiosk from Los Gatos, Calif.-based DVDPlay can hold 502 movies—five times the number of titles as the company's original kiosk—and can deliver movies to customers in approximately 16 seconds, according to the company.

All DVDPlay kiosks are connected to a centralized platform, accessed via an Internet connection, that permits real-time remote control and administration of all functions and features, reducing in-person maintenance costs. The platform is scalable, allowing connectivity to thousands of kiosks that can be managed in real-time one to one or one to many, depending on retailers' requirements.

Real-time online diagnostics allow persistent preventive maintenance, inventory load balancing, system optimization, and on-the-fly updates such as price changes, trailer insertions, promotions, and software upgrades. The A55's high capacity permits—along with rental—the sell-through of new and used movies, including the ability to stock popular video games, as well as catalog titles in such genres as independent, art, ethnic, foreign, and documentary films.

DVDPlay customers include grocers such as Safeway and Albertsons, fast-food restaurants, convenience store retailers, and universities. The company currently has over 500 kiosks installed in 33 states and Canada.

For more information call (408) 395-1727, ext. 107 or visit www.dvdplay.net.

DVDs with a time limit

Flexplay is a new technology, developed by the Atlanta-based Convex Group, that enables time-limited, on-demand viewing of movies, games, and other content delivered on a DVD. Flexplay DVDs provide perfect playback within a 48-hour viewing window, which begins when the vacuum-sealed DVD package is opened.

The consumer has complete control: Unopened Flexplay DVDs can be stored and remain "fresh" for approximately one year, according to the company. The disposable DVDs allow consumers to have the same flexibility of a DVD purchase, at a price point aimed at being comparable to a DVD rental, and they don't have to be returned, so there are no late fees.

Flexplay DVDs also work in all standard DVD players, and during the first 48 hours they have the picture quality, Surround Sound, and other features of a regular DVD. No special setup or configuration is required by the customer.

Like regular DVDs, Flexplay DVDs are made from two pieces of plastic—one or both of which have a reflective coating—that are glued together. However, Flexplay technology specifies a proprietary adhesive, as well as a special kind of plastic that gives the disc its red surface color. Removing the Flexplay DVD from its sealed package exposes the disc to oxygen, triggering a chemical reaction with the proprietary adhesive. After 48 hours—but not sooner—the inner surface of the disc turns from red to black, and the Flexplay DVD is no longer readable.

For more information call (404) 760-4346 or visit www.flexplay.com.

Take that to the bank

Each movie vending machine from New York-based MoviebankUSA offers hundreds of titles—classics, family films, and new releases alike—at prices ranging from 99 cents for a six-hour rental to $2.50 for a 24-hour rental.

The unit was designed for the ease of use of an ATM machine, and features a video screen that plays trailers for the latest releases. Consumers use a keypad to make movie selections and complete their rental transaction; once the transaction is completed, the desired movie is dispensed.

The company plans soon to offer online search capability via its Web site, www.moviebankusa.com. The site will allow users to reserve a title for pickup at their nearest MoviebankUSA location, according to the company. Customers will be able to reserve rentals for first-time releases online and be guaranteed availability at the location of their choosing.

While MoviebankUSA rentals can be made using a credit card without obtaining membership, signing up for a MoviebankUSA membership is free and provides consumers with a number of benefits. Members receive preferred rates and promotions throughout the year and can also choose to add monetary value to their membership cards as a way to pay for rentals easily. Signing up for membership also includes a one-time doubling of value added to the membership card on a dollar-for-dollar basis with an initial contribution of $10 or more. For example, a new member loading $100 on his or her card will receive an additional $100 to be used toward future rentals.

Shoppers can enroll for membership in any of three ways: by signing up on MoviebankUSA's Web site, by calling an 800 number, or by registering on-site at a MoviebankUSA location.

MoviebankUSA recently debuted its movie vending machines in five Manhattan Duane Reade stores.

For more information call (877) 586-6060 or visit www.moviebankusa.com.

The hassle-free video department

The new rental kiosk from New York-based DVDXpress is a 100 percent turnkey solution: The vendor installs the kiosks and updates them with new releases weekly, according to managing director Greg Meyer.

There's no cost to the hosting retailer—DVDXpress owns and operates the kiosks, in addition to handling all servicing of the equipment. The hosting retailer receives a monthly share of revenue from the system.

Each ADA-compliant DVDXpress unit has a two-foot-by-three-foot footprint and a 17-inch touchscreen. A unit can hold from 300 to 500 DVDs, which are dispensed in their original cases for maximum value perception to customers. The system uses RFID technology to prevent fraud that can happen with bar codes. "Each DVD contains an RFID tag on the disc itself," explains Meyer. "With bar codes, there's the potential for fraud if a person makes a copy of the bar code or peels it off and sticks it on a blank disc. This risk is eliminated with RFID tags on the DVDs."

DVDs can be reserved over the Internet and picked up at the kiosk by swiping the credit card used in the purchase. Receipts are sent via e-mail.

The system's promotions can be tied into a retailer's loyalty or rewards card program, giving the retailer the ability to cross-promote DVDs with other store items.

The software architecture running the DVDXpress unit is highly scalable and can support tens of thousands of kiosks running transactions simultaneously. 3G wireless connectivity eliminates the need for a physical phone line and jack.

DVDXpress is also offering a subscription service through its units, enabling a retailer's customers to pay a monthly subscription fee and rent an unlimited number of DVDs each month (as long as they have only one DVD out at a time). The DVDs would be rented and returned by physically interacting with the kiosk. An express return feature allows a customer to return a DVD while another customer is browsing for a rental. "The unit is great for supermarkets, as it encourages multiple trips by the customer to the supermarket to rent DVDs," says Meyer.

DVDXpress currently has automated DVD rental machines installed at Pathmark, Bi-Lo/Bruno's, D'Agostino, and Gristedes locations.

For more information call (877) 385-8500 or visit www.dvdxpress.net.