Xtra Vision to be placed into Receivership

TrustedApple · 27-01-2016 03:08PM

http://www.independent.ie/business/jobs/bulk-of-580-xtravision-jobs-to-be-lost-as-provisional-liquidator-appointed-high-court-hears-34401533.html

And there gone.

Loughc · 27-01-2016 03:09PM

It looks like the final nail in the coffin is almost here. Will be sad to finally see Xtra Vision go but it could never compete against streaming.

http://m.rte.ie/news/business/2016/0127/763350-xtra-vision

Chip Whitley · 27-01-2016 04:06PM

Such a shame. My love of movies didn't come from going to the cinema, it came from trawling my local Xtra Visions shelves as a kid and being amazed looking at all the genres and reading the backs of boxes. In my later teen and college years I used to go there and buy 3 for €20 DVDs pretty much once a week. I only used my local once a month the last year or so for brand new releases that I would have missed in the cinema.

Sad to see the jobs go too, but on a personal note I'll miss it as a piece of my childhood has gone with it.

Arghus · 27-01-2016 04:51PM

I don't have much sympathy for them as a company - their carry on around the time of the Xbox One release showed how desperate and dickish they'd become. The writing has been on the wall for years; how many times have they received last-minute corporate CPR? We're going to amaze the grand kids with stories from yesteryear, when you used to have to rent physical copies of films from an actual bricks and mortar shop. They won't believe us.

I do feel sorry for the staff, it's rotten to lose your job. And I'd have to second what the previous poster has said - Xtra-Vision will, despite itself, always have a tiny part of my heart. I used to spend hours there as a kid and a teenager. Back in the day before movies were on tap it was a great resource, especially for getting a rake of older movies for a week for under a tenner. Largely the only way I could seek them out back then was through Xtra-Vision, so I'll always appreciate that.

Agent Coulson · 27-01-2016 07:08PM

They came in and took over the marketplace from the independent retailers and forced them out of business and now bigger more modern companies are taking over from them and 10/20 years some new company will take over from Netflix, Amazon etc etc.

Sad to see so many people lose there jobs but that is the way of the world sadly.

Agent Coulson · 27-01-2016 07:08PM

They came in and took over the marketplace from the independent retailers and forced them out of business and now bigger more modern companies are taking over from them and 10/20 years some new company will take over from Netflix, Amazon etc etc.

Sad to see so many people lose there jobs but that is the way of the world sadly.

Technocentral · 28-01-2016 10:20PM

Agent Coulson wrote: »

They came in and took over the marketplace from the independent retailers and forced them out of business and now bigger more modern companies are taking over from them and 10/20 years some new company will take over from Netflix, Amazon etc etc.

Sad to see so many people lose there jobs but that is the way of the world sadly.

Yeah we're all to blame, Netflix, downloading etc, many happy memories of trawling the shelves of Dvd and VHS rental shops for some weekend viewing. (50p fine for non rewound tapes etc!)

Banjaxed82 · 29-01-2016 04:57PM

Agent Coulson wrote: »

They came in and took over the marketplace from the independent retailers and forced them out of business and now bigger more modern companies are taking over from them and 10/20 years some new company will take over from Netflix, Amazon etc etc.

Sad to see so many people lose there jobs but that is the way of the world sadly.

If somebody with foresight had been in Xtravision, they would have had a great foundation for a streaming service, using the Xtravison brand name. Another case of people thinking things will always be like this.

Right Turn Clyde · 30-01-2016 10:10AM

Banjaxed82 wrote: »

If somebody with foresight had been in Xtravision, they would have had a great foundation for a streaming service, using the Xtravison brand name. Another case of people thinking things will always be like this.

That's a very simplistic analysis. They might have been a big player in Ireland but we're a very small country. We're also joined at the hip with the UK in terms of distribution rights. If Xtra-Vision had backed streaming early on and then something like Netflix arrived it could have buried them even sooner.

There's hardly any streaming services in the UK offering mainstream content. It's only really Amazon and Netflix. The likes of MUBI and BFI+ cater for the independent, arthouse crowd which doesn't apply here. Streaming is obviously taking off now but it's taken so long. Netflix weren't able to enter the market in the UK and Ireland until 2012 and I suspect by then Xtra-Vision was already starting to go under. You just couldn't expect a company of Xtra-Vision's size try to pre-empt the likes of Netflix.

arrianalexander · 30-01-2016 10:15AM

Banjaxed82 wrote: »

If somebody with foresight had been in Xtravision, they would have had a great foundation for a streaming service, using the Xtravison brand name. Another case of people thinking things will always be like this.

They did look into it and were close to launch it but margin was minimal and you still had netflix etc having exclusive over certain titles

Sad Professor · 30-01-2016 12:32PM

I'm not sure streaming had anything to do with Xtravision's demise. The streaming options in this country are pathetic. The decline of the film rental business surely began with DVD, which was cheap compared to VHS and people were more inclined to buy than to rent. Then everyone started torrenting which threatened to kill the buying market as well. Xtravision was already walking dead at that point.

I don't even think streaming was a realistic opportunity for Xtravision to save their business. Streaming services are more like broadcast television companies than physical media rental businesses, especially in this part of the world where the likes of Sky have a stranglehold on content rights. And not only can you not compete with their buying power, but in the long-term there's no point. Because content licensing is a dead end. There's no business in it because eventually the studios will tell you get fcuked. They'd rather have a piracy free-for-all than have another iTunes Music Store monopoly.

This is why Netflix, Amazon and anyone who wants to get into this business are becoming content creators. It's cheaper to make your own movies and tv shows then buy the rights to someone else's.

Corholio · 30-01-2016 02:59PM

While Xtravision still would have eventually sunk anyway, the failure on pricing rentals in there was astounding. In my store the rentals were the same price the day they closed as they were 6-7 years ago when streaming first was starting to come in. Back then there was still a market for people renting but they shrunk that market even further themselves by charging what they did, they didn't react in any way at all.

Right Turn Clyde · 31-01-2016 12:04AM

While we're on the subject of streaming...

I was in the iTunes movie section for the first time in about 18 months earlier. I'm surprised by how much it's come on in terms of content. All of the latest mainstream releases are there for rent. €4.99 for HD. That's pricey when you consider the price of Netflix but these are take it or leave it releases as it will be a while before they're available via subscription (in fact most of them probably won't make it to Netflix at all). There's also plenty of independent and foreign releases along with some surprising classics like the BFI release of Herzog's Fitzcarraldo and Criterion's release of Orson Welles' F For Fake, both in HD and only €3.99.

Out of interest, what streaming services do you all use? I completely quit with illegal downloads so I'm always looking for new options. I'm currently subscribed to Netflix and MUBI. I also use Curzon Home Cinema (which can be extremely pricey for stuff currently in the cinema) which has a very good library of independent/world cinema. Along with those I use the Wuaki.tv app on my Smart TV which is good for the odd release (99 Homes was my most recent rental). I also used Sky Store for the first time tonight. €1.80 for Yorgos Lanthimos' Dogtooth which is a bargain in anyone's money. Jeff Nichols' (Take Shelter, Mud) fantastic Shotgun Stories is also there for €1.80 if anyone's interested.

Stephen15 · 31-01-2016 01:46AM

Could clarify is hmv also closing or is it just xtra vision

McLoughlin · 31-01-2016 12:03PM

Stephen15 wrote: »

Could clarify is hmv also closing or is it just xtra vision

Just Xtra Vision at the moment but there isn't many HMV open in Ireland are they ?

squonk · 01-02-2016 01:24PM

Sad to see them go. It's also a horrible time for staff right at the end of January when we're all trying to get back on our feet financially after Christmas.

I think the writing was on the wall for a long time. For me, it became eaier to sign up to a mail order DVD rental option around 2007 or 2008 than getting my ass down to the local XtraVision to browse titles and rent out. Dropping stuff back was the biggest pain! The advent of streaming movies via the iTunes store, Netflix or Amazon was always going to kill their model. Busy people with a few hours will find it much handier to just browse a device for a rental rather than the effort of going to a store to rent physical media. Blu Ray hasn't caught on like it should and the days of physical media are coming to an end I think.

Somewhere in between the mail order DVD rentals and legitimate streaming services, torrents came along and they have been the biggest disruption to the movie and rental industry in a long time I'd reckon. I think it would have been very difficult indeed for any business to compete with free torrents. Sadly while TV studios and distributors need to deal with licencing to disincentivise illegal streaming and downloads, they don't seem too pushed right now and, when and if they do anything, it certainly won't be in their interest to do something to benefit the XtraVisions of this world and it'll be far too late when anything happens in any case.

I loved my time as an XtraVision client. It was fun to head in, browse some videos, later DVDs and picking up new releases was always exciting. It was certainly more exciting than flicking through an online catalogue these days. There was also the 5 for €10 offer for a number of nights which was great as well. Overall I enjoyed that particular phase of my movie viewing life. Things have changed so much and, on balance, I have a different relationship with movies nowadays and couldn't swap the on-demand scenario for the shop based scenario Xtra-Vision provided. It's sad to see them go however it's not unexpected.

Why Do We Fall · 01-02-2016 06:58PM

Always sad to see something like Xtravision go even though I understand it's the way of the world.

I'm young and tech savvy but I always enjoyed actually going into somewhere like Xtravision and HMV to have a browse. For me, anything that is an interest of mine that gets me away from the computer is worth doing.

Back when I worked smack bang in the middle of the city In 2011, I always looked forward to stopping off in HMV on Henry Street on a Friday evening.

That is obviously not how someone wants to sustain a business however so this was inevitable. Hmv will likely go the same way (again...)

Technocentral · 01-02-2016 09:09PM

Stephen15 wrote: »

Could clarify is hmv also closing or is it just xtra vision

I thought HMV Grafton Street had a "relocation sale" before christmas is that closed down?

MilesMorales1 · 01-02-2016 09:15PM

Technocentral wrote: »

I thought HMV Grafton Street had a "relocation sale" before christmas is that closed down?

Also gone.

Technocentral · 01-02-2016 09:28PM

MilesMorales1 wrote: »

Also gone.

Yeah know its gone from Grafton but is it relocated? Odd if it was closing down that they called it a "relocation " sale.

MilesMorales1 · 01-02-2016 09:35PM

Technocentral wrote: »

Yeah know its gone from Grafton but is it relocated? Odd if it was closing down that they called it a "relocation " sale.

No, they've only got the henry street store in city centre now.

Wedwood · 01-02-2016 09:51PM

Going to miss browsing through the shelves. Scrolling through an online streaming catalogue is sterile in comparison. They said streaming would eventually overtake discs, I didn't expect it to happen this quickly though.

One thing I don't like is this online purchase model like iTunes etc where you pay virtually the same price as a disc, but no physical copy. Sky's version is you buy the HD version, but you only get a standard DVD in the post.

In 30 years time, I'll still have my DVDs and BluRays sitting on their shelves, will all these online purchases on iTunes, Sky etc still be accessible ?

topmanamillion · 01-02-2016 09:58PM

Wedwood wrote: »

Going to miss browsing through the shelves. Scrolling through an online streaming catalogue is sterile in comparison. They said streaming would eventually overtake discs, I didn't expect it to happen this quickly though.

One thing I don't like is this online purchase model like iTunes etc where you pay virtually the same price as a disc, but no physical copy. Sky's version is you buy the HD version, but you only get a standard DVD in the post.

In 30 years time, I'll still have my DVDs and BluRays sitting on their shelves, will all these online purchases on iTunes, Sky etc still be accessible ?

Considering how delicate DVDS are I would say the chances of any of your DVDS/DVD player working in 30 years is slim to none.

Loughc · 01-02-2016 10:08PM

Technocentral wrote: »

Yeah know its gone from Grafton but is it relocated? Odd if it was closing down that they called it a "relocation " sale.

It's still on grafton street it's just moved to a smaller unit on it.

MilesMorales1 · 01-02-2016 10:08PM

Loughc wrote: »

It's still on grafton street it's just moved to a smaller unit on it.

Has that one not closed?

Loughc · 01-02-2016 10:15PM

MilesMorales1 wrote: »

Has that one not closed?

Was opened last week. Is it meant to be closing down?

MilesMorales1 · 01-02-2016 10:17PM

Loughc wrote: »

Was opened last week. Is it meant to be closing down?

I thought it was definitely closed down, guess I was wrong.

Patty O Furniture · 02-02-2016 12:57AM

MilesMorales1 wrote: »

I hope they keep the online store. They do real cheap blu rays, its magic.

Was just checking Xtravision Marketplace & got this notice on front page:

Feb 01 2016

Thank you for visiting XV Marketplace.

The site is currently down for maintenance and performance upgrades.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Please come back later.

Is this another way of saying, we're closed, considering they told some staff, they're jobs were safe, a month before!

Technocentral · 02-02-2016 01:07AM

topmanamillion wrote:

Considering how delicate DVDS are I would say the chances of any of your DVDS/DVD player working in 30 years is slim to none.

Plus you could be dead.

Atlantic Dawn · 02-02-2016 01:15AM

MilesMorales1 wrote: »

I thought it was definitely closed down, guess I was wrong.

The original one that was open for about 20-30 years or more closed down, then after a couple of years when Hilco took over they opened one up further north on the opposite side of Grafton Street, then about a year a go they closed this and opened another one on the other side of the street...as far as I know the recently moved one is still open but I could be wrong.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/hmv-on-the-move-on-dublin-s-grafton-street-1.2162422

Xtra Vision to be placed into Receivership

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