The Rice Thresher

Location: http://the.ricethresher.org/news/2004/10/22/automated_dvd_rentals_rmc

October 22, 2004 > News > RMC offers DVD rentals

RMC offers DVD rentals

By Risa Gordon | Thresher Editorial Staff

Forget all those five-minute drives to Blockbuster and Cactus. With the installation of an automated entertainment machine in the Student Center Friday, movie lovers can now rent recently released DVDs on campus. The machine, located by the Coffeehouse near the entrance to Sammy’s, holds up to 102 DVDs that can be rented or purchased with a credit or debit card. Each two-day rental costs $1.99 plus tax. About 45 titles are currently available, including Fahrenheit 9/11, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Van Helsing and Agent Cody Banks II. New titles will be added each week while older titles will be removed or their quantities reduced. The Student Center Advisory Council decided to offer the service in the Student Center after three different movie rental machine companies requested to place machines at Rice. Based on the success of a similar machine at the Graduate Apartments — where the 222 students living in the apartments rented 199 DVDs during the first month they were offered — the council decided to accept the offer made by TX Vend LLC. Rice will receive 10 percent of the machine’s gross sales, according to the one-year contract. ‘Basically, TX Vend pays rent on the space in the building,’ Director of the Student Center Boyd Beckwith said. ‘So it’s a win-win for the Student Center. … If it’s a service we’re not interested in, Rice doesn’t lose anything. If they are, then we actually make a profit based on how much it’s being used.’ TX Vend LLC franchise owner Larry Kestler said the machines have been successful on other college campuses, including Ohio State University. ‘The machines work well when there’s a lot of traffic around, a lot of potential customers,’ Kestler said. Christy Aroopala, a political science graduate student, said the machine is a welcome service. ‘I like it because it’s cheaper … than Blockbuster,’ Aroopala said. ‘I think most people will find it convenient and useful.’ Kestler said 25 DVDs were rented during the first weekend the machine was available. An average of 10 DVDs must be rented per day for the machine to be profitable, he said. A late fee of $1.25 per day will be charged if the movie is not returned on time, up to a maximum of $25. Purchasing a movie using the machine costs $15. Kestler said students can call or send him an e-mail when they purchase a DVD, and he will arrange for the student to trade in the DVD’s diamond case for the original case as well as any extra feature discs.
Brown College senior Jason Artis said he and his roommates might use the machine to purchase DVDs, although probably not to rent them. ‘I’m not sure [if I would use it] — we’ve got a lot of DVDs in our room,’ Artis said. ‘But … we buy DVDs all the time. It depends on the price they sell for and which ones they have available.’ Kestler said students should also contact him if they have any problems with the discs. Students who enter their e-mail addresses into the machine will receive occasional promotional offers and, after renting five DVDs, will receive a promotional code that will allow them to rent a sixth DVD for free. The machine does not accept Tetra Points. Beckwith said there are no plans to implement Tetra Point purchasing, but he will bring up the issue with Finance and Administration if the machine proves to be popular with students. ‘Hopefully it will be successful,’ Beckwith said. ‘Certainly revenue from something like this is what we use to … help us to have that kind of money to keep the Student Center up-to-date.’ Titles available for rental and purchase are listed at http://www.rice.edu/projects/lsc/WebPages/BuildingServices/dvdplay.htm.

End of article

Back to top