Xtravision liquidation

NIMAN

I'm surprised they lasted this long to be honest.

Its so easy now to see all the latest blockbusters online well in advance of rental shops getting them.

Sad for the workers though.

Maximus Alexander

shocksy wrote: »

No offence but it seems you are out of touch with technology.

I don't think you need to worry about causing offence - he or she did open by calling you stupid.

shocksy

AMKC wrote: »

Very sad about Xtra Vision. They will be missed. Stupid people think they are clever watching films online or downloading them but how long before your computer gets a virus or you lose the usb stick or drive that you stored the film on or you get a new computer because your old one becomes obsolete and not supported any more like windows XP and find it your new computer that is will not work with the usb drive or harddrive maybe not compatible and there is no new software for it. At least with a blu-ray or a DVD you have it there and don,t need to worry about things like that and films on tv are so much better than on a computer any screen smaller is just silly no point you can,t enjoy a film properly on any of them other silly yokes eg tablet computer or mobiles. That is just silly thinking that you are getting a proper good experience watching a film on a phone.

Todays online prices on a random new PS4 game.

Xtra Vision - Fifa 16 - €75
Amazon - Fifa 16 - £32.85 = €45 at most on the exchange + Free Delivery

And that is where the difference lies and that's not even bringing digital entertainment into it. Thats physical items with a huge price difference and that is why they no longer exist. You would be crazy to pay Xtra Vision an extra €30 for the same item.

Unfortunately that is the harsh reality they were up against, they didn't make it easy on themselves the majority of the time and with people being savvy with their money these days, they will go where they can get the best price.

Maximus Alexander

Indeed. For the sake of the convenience of getting it right now you might pay an extra fiver. But not 30 quid.

prinzeugen

shocksy wrote: »

No offence but it seems you are out of touch with technology.

For starters, for people who download films whether it be legally or illegally they can stream them to their tvs now with stuff like Google Chromecast and Amazon Fire TV stick, not too mention nearly all smart tvs have the netflix app built into them so people can start watching stuff on their netflix account immediately.

Also anyone that has movies on a usb or hard drive, if they care a lot about their movies I'm sure they will have back ups, and USB's and Hard Drives won't become obsolete, and even if sometime in the future new technology comes along there will be the option to move your files to the new ''next big thing''.

Xtra Vision was a dying business model for a very long time, and ultimately they only have themselves to blame at the end of the day.

Plus a lot of people enjoy watching films on tablets, laptops, and even decent sized screens on their phones because it's handy and portable.

I think you need to move with the times as well or you'll be left in the dark ages along with Xtra Vision.

Edit: People are clever watching them online or downloading them, because they are getting the same product for a fraction of what Xtra Vision were charging. Their prices were so out of touch with reality in regards to online competitors that I'm really surprised they lasted this long, but I suppose people like yourself kept them going a bit longer.

What do you watch when your internet is down?

I like DVDs and will keep buying them. Sure internet technology is great but it does not mean you must use it for everything you do in life.

Book shops will be next. But the downloading books thing never caught on as it would mean the lazy tech generation would still need to read..

Why read a book when you can just Netflix the film?

Azalea

AMKC wrote: »

Stupid people think they are clever watching films online or downloading them

How are they stupid and thinking they're clever? Because you don't do it? The only person I heard say something similar to that recently is my 70-year-old dad. And it is purely because he is intimidated by up-to-date technology and feels left out and overwhelmed at having to learn it.

but how long before your computer gets a virus or you lose the usb stick or drive that you stored the film on or you get a new computer because your old one becomes obsolete and not supported any more like windows XP and find it your new computer that is will not work with the usb drive or harddrive maybe not compatible and there is no new software for it.

And what if they are prepared for such eventualities?

At least with a blu-ray or a DVD you have it there and don,t need to worry about things like that and films on tv are so much better than on a computer any screen smaller is just silly no point you can,t enjoy a film properly on any of them other silly yokes eg tablet computer or mobiles. That is just silly thinking that you are getting a proper good experience watching a film on a phone.

This is how you feel about it, other people are fine with it - don't worry about them. People can still stream through their TV anyway, and surely the only really decent way to enjoy a film is in the cinema if it's only about screen size?

MilesMorales1

AMKC wrote: »

Very sad about Xtra Vision. They will be missed. Stupid people think they are clever watching films online or downloading them but how long before your computer gets a virus or you lose the usb stick or drive that you stored the film on or you get a new computer because your old one becomes obsolete and not supported any more like windows XP and find it your new computer that is will not work with the usb drive or harddrive maybe not compatible and there is no new software for it. At least with a blu-ray or a DVD you have it there and don,t need to worry about things like that and films on tv are so much better than on a computer any screen smaller is just silly no point you can,t enjoy a film properly on any of them other silly yokes eg tablet computer or mobiles. That is just silly thinking that you are getting a proper good experience watching a film on a phone.

I agree with you in principle since I'm all about physical media and blu rays, but most people don't seem to care about that, that seem to care about free stuff. Movies online are free, whereas a blu ray/movie ticket costs cash. Sucks that people don't appreciate it more, but what can you do.

murpho999

AMKC wrote: »

Very sad about Xtra Vision. They will be missed. Stupid people think they are clever watching films online or downloading them but how long before your computer gets a virus or you lose the usb stick or drive that you stored the film on or you get a new computer because your old one becomes obsolete and not supported any more like windows XP and find it your new computer that is will not work with the usb drive or harddrive maybe not compatible and there is no new software for it. At least with a blu-ray or a DVD you have it there and don,t need to worry about things like that and films on tv are so much better than on a computer any screen smaller is just silly no point you can,t enjoy a film properly on any of them other silly yokes eg tablet computer or mobiles. That is just silly thinking that you are getting a proper good experience watching a film on a phone.

Oh dear,you don't get it all do you?

You can still get files off a hard disk even if you have viruses or your operating system is not supported.

Also, cloud storage is the future so all those things you worry about are resolved. I even find USB sticks old fashioned now because of that.

You do also know that you can connect your computer to your TV and sound system very easily.

People are even casting films from their silly phones to their modern TV so they get the best experience.
Also means you don''t have loads of boxes and discs on shelves all over the place.
Finally, your DVDs can break, scratch, melt or get lost or stolen. So I don't see how it's any better than a computer that you claim.

C.K Dexter Haven

I wouldn't consider myself an "ahead of the times" consumer but back in 2004 my local Xtravision had about 2 small sections devoted to DVDs and the rest of the shop devoted to VHS- I found that very unusual at the time- seems they always had an issue with change.

shocksy

prinzeugen wrote: »

What do you watch when your internet is down?

Thankfully my internet is never down, but if it was I wouldn't run out of stuff to watch as I have two 1TB drives packed with stuff that doesn't require internet. I also have a lot of DVD's as well.

I like DVDs and will keep buying them. Sure internet technology is great but it does not mean you must use it for everything you do in life.

I also like DVDs and the physical media, but I only tend to buy my favourite films or favourite tv shows, but I definitely don't buy from HMV or Xtra Vision, there prices are crazy and rarely if ever do they beat Amazon on price.

Book shops will be next. But the downloading books thing never caught on as it would mean the lazy tech generation would still need to read..

Why read a book when you can just Netflix the film?

I don't use E books, I stick with the real thing when it comes to reading.

This

Azalea

MilesMorales1 wrote: »

I agree with you in principle since I'm all about physical media and blu rays, but most people don't seem to care about that, that seem to care about free stuff. Movies online are free, whereas a blu ray/movie ticket costs cash. Sucks that people don't appreciate it more, but what can you do.

It's hardly so awful for people to be simply saving themselves some cash.

Plenty of people (like myself) avail of both the physical media and the digital too. Doesn't have to be just one or the other.

People still buy the physical items, but online, since it saves money - ecommerce was another nail in Xtra Vision's coffin.

Azalea

prinzeugen wrote: »

What do you watch when your internet is down?

I like DVDs and will keep buying them. Sure internet technology is great but it does not mean you must use it for everything you do in life.

Book shops will be next. But the downloading books thing never caught on as it would mean the lazy tech generation would still need to read..

Why read a book when you can just Netflix the film?

Why are they lazy and not bothered with reading just because they don't do what you do?

Films of books have been around for decades too - people still read the books though.

I guess people watch DVDs and the television and stored material on their computers on the rare occasions that the internet is down.

murpho999

Azalea wrote: »

Why are they lazy and not bothered with reading just because they don't do what you do?

Films of books have been around for decades too - people still read the books though.

I guess people watch DVDs and the television when their internet is down, on the rare occasions that that happens.

I also buy transcripts of the screenplay so that my family can stage re-enactments of the film just in case we have no electricity due to a power cut.

Maximus Alexander

Azalea wrote: »

Why are they lazy and not bothered with reading just because they don't do what you do?

Films of books have been around for decades too - people still read the books though.

I guess people watch DVDs and the television when their internet is down, on the rare occasions that that happens.

Also, what's all this 'Internet is down' stuff. It's like asking 'How do people watch DVDs when the electricity is down'.

shocksy

murpho999 wrote: »

I also buy transcripts of the screenplay so that my family can stage re-enactments of the film just in case we have no electricity due to a power cut.

This made me laugh out loud :pac::pac::D:D

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Also, what's all this 'Internet is down' stuff. It's like asking 'How do people watch DVDs when the electricity is down'.

Exactly, I don't know why he/she is using that as an excuse.

If the electricity or internet is down, watching netflix is the least of my worries :pac:

warpdrive

AMKC wrote: »

Very sad about Xtra Vision. They will be missed. Stupid people think they are clever watching films online or downloading them but how long before your computer gets a virus or you lose the usb stick or drive that you stored the film on or you get a new computer because your old one becomes obsolete and not supported any more like windows XP and find it your new computer that is will not work with the usb drive or harddrive maybe not compatible and there is no new software for it. At least with a blu-ray or a DVD you have it there and don,t need to worry about things like that and films on tv are so much better than on a computer any screen smaller is just silly no point you can,t enjoy a film properly on any of them other silly yokes eg tablet computer or mobiles. That is just silly thinking that you are getting a proper good experience watching a film on a phone.

Netflix streams direct to TV/Bluray player. If someone wants to stream a movie online they could connect their PC or laptop to the TV with a HDMI cable or else they could download it to a USB drive and plug it either directly into TV or Bluray player.

The only people who'd watch a movie on the PC rather than putting it on the TV are either unaware, lazy or just don't care.

fin12

bcklschaps wrote: »

What is a CEX ? is it a Cash Exchange shop where you can buy stuff but more importantly they may offer you a knock down price for something you are trading in as well ?

Fair play if you caught them out on something I'd say that's rare. There's a couple of them in my locality and they don't seem to offer particularly good value to buyers at least.

I don't think CEX prices are great. I've seen a DVDs that I want to get in there second hand selling for like 6 euro and you can buy it in golden discs brand new for 7 I also saw them selling the phone that I have which I bought for 50 Euro new and they are charging more for a second hand one, I don't know what that's about? I used to buy DVDs in xtra vision the used new releases, think they were pretty good value..

PucaMama

AMKC wrote: »

Very sad about Xtra Vision. They will be missed. Stupid people think they are clever watching films online or downloading them but how long before your computer gets a virus or you lose the usb stick or drive that you stored the film on or you get a new computer because your old one becomes obsolete and not supported any more like windows XP and find it your new computer that is will not work with the usb drive or harddrive maybe not compatible and there is no new software for it. At least with a blu-ray or a DVD you have it there and don,t need to worry about things like that and films on tv are so much better than on a computer any screen smaller is just silly no point you can,t enjoy a film properly on any of them other silly yokes eg tablet computer or mobiles. That is just silly thinking that you are getting a proper good experience watching a film on a phone.

You seem very out of touch with tech and with reality. Computers are protected (have you not heard of antivirus? Do you have a computer?) also it's pretty hard to lose a 2tb hard drive their not exactly tiny! How do you imagine laptops will not work with the external usb drives, when they use the same kind of memory inside them? Maybe when you haven't a clue what your talking about you shouldn't insult the people who do? Generally older people are intimidated by new things. Maybe work on it?

PucaMama

prinzeugen wrote: »

What do you watch when your internet is down?

I like DVDs and will keep buying them. Sure internet technology is great but it does not mean you must use it for everything you do in life.

Book shops will be next. But the downloading books thing never caught on as it would mean the lazy tech generation would still need to read..

Why read a book when you can just Netflix the film?

Oh dear. Once again we are lazy. Maybe you are just too lazy to learn how to use the new "tech"?

civis_liberalis

In other news, it's 2016 and Xtravision was still trading.

riclad

I think the average user has switched over to satelite tv,sky movies ,or netflix,online video streaming .
Going to a shop to rent 1 film seems quaint like buying music on cassette .
all the video stores i used to go have closed since 2014 .
i,m suprised they lasted so long .
I think many young people have stopped buying cds, or dvds , except as presents a xmas .
most film fans have either cable tv or high speed broadband .
Theres new 4k tvs on the way and ultra hd blueray ,new video .
I wonder will people bother buying a new hd video standard disc .
No one bought the hd audio discs when they came out .
How could it compete with shops like cex selling dvds so cheap .
people watch films or monitors or large screen tvs,
why would i watch star wars or mad max on a phone ?

FutureGuy

AMKC wrote: »

Very sad about Xtra Vision. They will be missed. Stupid people think they are clever watching films online or downloading them but how long before your computer gets a virus or you lose the usb stick or drive that you stored the film on or you get a new computer because your old one becomes obsolete and not supported any more like windows XP and find it your new computer that is will not work with the usb drive or harddrive maybe not compatible and there is no new software for it. At least with a blu-ray or a DVD you have it there and don,t need to worry about things like that and films on tv are so much better than on a computer any screen smaller is just silly no point you can,t enjoy a film properly on any of them other silly yokes eg tablet computer or mobiles. That is just silly thinking that you are getting a proper good experience watching a film on a phone.

I mean no offence when I say this but the reason they are going out of business, in my opinion is they relied on people like you to stay open when the vast majority of consumers now get their stuff elsewhere.

I have never illegally downloaded a film or show in my life. I have Netflix and I have a selection of movies on Xbox One and Sky Store that I can rent in HD, watch and not worry about returning. I watch them on my 50 inch TV and when a new movie comes out, I watch it in the cinema. Like you, I'm in a minority that might seem to be behind the times but even I have moved away from Xtravision. There is no point to their business model. I found many of their staff to be either rude or disinterested. Their prices for games are mindboggling.

Wouldn't be surprised if HMV followed suit.

seamus

MilesMorales1 wrote: »

I agree with you in principle since I'm all about physical media and blu rays, but most people don't seem to care about that, that seem to care about free stuff. Movies online are free, whereas a blu ray/movie ticket costs cash. Sucks that people don't appreciate it more, but what can you do.

It's not really about getting stuff for free, it's about convenience. Downloading of content is not what's been eating away at Xtravision.
Netflix is not "free" movies. And there are a host of other services run by other companies that do the same thing. What they offer is a convenience that Xtravision didn't. The ability to just sit down and start watching a movie without having to do 30 minutes of prep where you went down to the video shop.

The vast majority of people still have no clue how or where to get free movies. And while we're laughing at AMKC's post above, this level of technical cluelessness is typical of the vast majority of people. Services like Netflix bridge this gap, by making it simple to understand and something that even your granny can do. This is what has killed Xtravision's rentals.

Some people like having the box and the physical media. Most people don't give a ****. I've come to realise that physical media just gathers dust and takes up space.

It's the same as people who will step over their own mother to get a leather-bound hardback, lavishly illustrated early edition of their favourite book. Most people just want to consume the content and will be happy with a straight floppy paperback that'll go into this year's sale-of-work after it's been read.

It's not "sad that they don't appreciate it". They appreciate the content, they just don't consider the packaging to be of any importance.

prinzeugen wrote: »

What do you watch when your internet is down?

I like DVDs and will keep buying them. Sure internet technology is great but it does not mean you must use it for everything you do in life.

Book shops will be next. But the downloading books thing never caught on as it would mean the lazy tech generation would still need to read..

Why read a book when you can just Netflix the film?

I love how you could see this statement being made when radio was invented, and then when TV was invented, and then when VHS was invented.

And funnily enough all the way through people were lamenting that reading books would become a thing of the past, that "the current lazy generation" would rely on radio/TV/VHS/Internet for all of their entertainment and forget how to read.

Azalea

PucaMama wrote: »

You seem very out of touch with tech and with reality. Computers are protected (have you not heard of antivirus? Do you have a computer?) also it's pretty hard to lose a 2tb hard drive their not exactly tiny! How do you imagine laptops will not work with the external usb drives, when they use the same kind of memory inside them? Maybe when you haven't a clue what your talking about you shouldn't insult the people who do? Generally older people are intimidated by new things. Maybe work on it?

PucaMama wrote: »

Oh dear. Once again we are lazy. Maybe you are just too lazy to learn how to use the new "tech"?

This is exactly it. I'm similar to Futureguy - I don't tend to download movies (I just stream) and I use the physical media often but I hate when people post insulting, projecting stuff like those two posts, which just amount to "Waaaaaa, you're not doing things the way I do them; this makes me uncomfortable so you're stupid!!!"

mansize

I watched one DVD in the last 6 months. Then I ripped it to my external HDD.

mansize

AMKC wrote: »

Very sad about Xtra Vision. They will be missed. Stupid people think they are clever watching films online or downloading them but how long before your computer gets a virus or you lose the usb stick or drive that you stored the film on or you get a new computer because your old one becomes obsolete and not supported any more like windows XP and find it your new computer that is will not work with the usb drive or harddrive maybe not compatible and there is no new software for it. At least with a blu-ray or a DVD you have it there and don,t need to worry about things like that and films on tv are so much better than on a computer any screen smaller is just silly no point you can,t enjoy a film properly on any of them other silly yokes eg tablet computer or mobiles. That is just silly thinking that you are getting a proper good experience watching a film on a phone.

DVD's and Blu Rays arn't that Robust, they scratch etc, more protection on a USB but streaming ftw.

mansize

When was the internet down????

murpho999

TrustedApple wrote: »

Its all down to the Bit rates of the streaming and whats on the disc.

A proper 1080P blu ray upscaled to a 4K TV will look better then a 4K stream from Netflix as the bit rate is higher on the Blu ray as a 50GB Film is a lot more then maybe 15GB on a stream. I have watched both and i will say the Blu ray looks better. You also need a good 4K TV to tell the difference.

I rather have a disk for films as there is something about having 200 + boxes looking at you on the shelf of all kinds of films as its quite cool to look at.

But 4K Blu rays are out very soon with a 4K blu ray players and i was reading the picture is what proper 4K is post to look at and really will be something else as the early reviews are fantastic.

Why are you constantly comparing stuff to Netflix as if it's the only digital source.
Films can be downloaded illegally in blu-ray format or also purchased legally in high definition as well.no doubt it will be the same with 4k blu ray.

You talk as if Blu ray was something special that would only work on one type of disc.

So I don't see your point really.

Also, your shelf thing of DVDs just means nothing to me. A load of clutter. Prefer to have eveything in a digital library and play it in an instant, no searching, taking discs out ,old disc back etc.

Baron Kurtz

Have all Lazer DVD shops gone to the wall as well? One particularly odious staff member in their Ranelagh branch surely did their customer service reputation no favours. He salivated at the prospect of an argument with customers.

Azalea

I've Spotify and I have records. Spotify for stuff I like but don't need the physical album; vinyl and CDs for albums I cherish.

I have the Kindle app and crammed bookshelfs - same principle as above.

I think digital media actually makes the experience of buying the book, CD, record or DVD more thrilling now, like when I was a kid and saved up for an album.