After 25 years, Netflix’s original business is shutting down. The company has revealed that it will “wind down” DVD rentals (that is. DVD.com), with its last movie discs mailing on September 29th. Simply put, the shrinking demand for physical rentals is making it “increasingly difficult” to offer the quality of service the company wants.
Netflix shipped its first disc (Beetlejuice, if you’re curious) in 1998. It has since mailed over 5.2 billion movies in its signature envelopes (nearly all of them before 2019) to more than 40 million customers. You likely know the story after that. The company began streaming on-demand video in 2007, and that business grew quickly enough that it became Netflix’s most popular offering by 2009. After a premature attempt to spin off the mailed rentals as Qwikster in 2011, Netflix moved them to DVD.com in 2016. By that point, the company was well into producing original streaming shows and had stopped mailing DVDs on Saturdays.
There’s also a financial incentive to drop disc rentals. While Netflix is recovering from a bleak 2022, its profits in the first quarter were still worse than they were a year ago. Subscriber growth was relatively modest, too, at 1.7 million new users. A decision to axe the DVD-by-mail unit could help Netflix trim costs, even if the savings are relatively small. The disc market has been on a sharp and steady decline for years, according to VideoScan/MediaPlayNews data — sales alone dropped 19 percent from 2021 to 2022.
It’s nonetheless a sad moment for home video fans. Netflix played a major role in shaking up the movie rental business. Where retailers like Blockbuster dominated in the 1990s and early 2000s, Netflix helped people stay at home. Blockbuster and other rivals hopped into the market years later but fought to gain traction. While retail rentals are still available through Redbox kiosks and similar options, it’s safe to say Netflix changed expectations for good.
[Built-in App] Mini Projector 2024 Upgraded Dual Control 1980x1080P 4K Support Portable Video Projector WiFi 6 BT5.2 270° Keystone HDMI/TV Stick/Smartphone/USB/PS5/Laptop with HDMI Cable & Mouse
$106.99 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Projector with WiFi and Bluetooth, CWOWDEFU 1080P Full HD Smart Projector, Movie Projector for TV Stick/Phone Casting/HDMI/USB/Home Theater, Support 4K decoding
$119.99 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Canon PG-245 Black Ink-Cartridge Compatible to iP2820, MG2420, MG2924, MG2920, MX492, MG3020, MG2525, TS3120, TS302, TS202, TR4520
$27.58 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
LAIPENG 232XL 232 Ink Cartridges High-Capacity Remanufactured for Epson 232XL T232 Ink to Use with Expression Home XP-4200 XP-4205 Workforce WF-2930 WF-2950 Printer (2 Large Black, 2-Pack)
$26.54 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Epson EcoTank ET-2800 Wireless Color All-in-One Cartridge-Free Supertank Printer with Scan and Copy – The Ideal Basic Home Printer - Black
$249.99 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Compressed Air Duster -Mini Blower Turbo Fan,180000RPM Cordless electric air duster for Keyboard PC Cleaning,No Canned,Jet Dry Blower Air blower for Home and Car
$59.99 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Wireless Presenter, 2.4GHz USB Control Presentation PPT PowerPoint Clicker for Keynote, Laptop, Google Slides - Support Hyperlink and Volume Control(1pcs)
$19.99 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
PG-245XL/CL-246XL Combo Pack High Capacity for Canon Printer Ink 245 246 Compatible for Pixma TS3420 TS3400 MX492 MX490 MG3022 MG2522 TR4520 TS3120 TR4522 TR4500 TR4527 MG2920 Printer
(as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Scotch Thermal Laminator, 2 Roller System for a Professional Finish, Use for Home, Office or School, Suitable for use with Photos (TL901X), Silver/Black, TL901C
$54.99 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Texas Instruments BA II Plus Financial Calculator
$38.99 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
ACEMAGIC Laptop Computer AMD Ryzen 7 5700U Gaming Laptop 16GB DDR4 512GB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD Windows Laptop Office Laptops Home Laptops Windows11 16.1-inch IPS FHD WIFI6 BT5.2 HDMI Type-C USB3.2
$899.99 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Apple 2024 MacBook Air 13-inch Laptop with M3 chip: Built for Apple Intelligence, 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display, 8GB Unified Memory, 256GB SSD Storage; Space Grey, English Backlit Keyboard
$1,449.00 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2024) Gaming Laptop, 16” 16:10 FHD+ 165Hz, GeForce RTX 4060, Intel Core i7-13650HX, 16GB DDR5, 1TB PCIe SSD, Wi-Fi 6E, Windows 11, G614JV-AS71-CA
$1,990.00 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Ruzava 16" Laptop 12+512GB Celeron CPU N5095 (Up to 2.9Ghz) 4-Core Win 11 PC with Cooling Fan 1920 * 1200 2K Screen Dual WiFi BT4.2 Support 2.5" HDD 1TB SSD Expand for Business Study-Purple
$479.95 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R7VH, 15.6" FHD 1920x1080 Laptop, AMD Ryzen 3 7320U, Radeon Graphics, 8GB RAM, 128G SSD, Windows 11 in S Mode
$499.00 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
ASUS TUF Gaming A15 Gaming Laptop, 15.6” 144Hz FHD Display, AMD Ryzen™ 5 7535HS Processor, GeForce RTX 2050, 8GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB PCIe SSD Gen 4, Wi-Fi 6, Windows 11, FA506NF-AS51-CA
$949.00 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Lenovo ThinkPad T490 Laptop, 14 FHD (1920x1080), 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8665U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
$349.00 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
ASUS TUF Gaming F15 (2024) Gaming Laptop, 15.6” FHD 144Hz Display, GeForce RTX 3050, Intel Core i5-12500H, 8GB DDR4, 512GB PCIe SSD, Wi-Fi 6, Windows 11, FX507ZC4-AS51-CA
$1,099.00 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Lenovo 2019 Thinkpad T470 14-inch IPS Full HD FHD (1920x1080) Business Laptop (Intel Core i5-6300U, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD) Thunderbolt, Type-C, HDMI, RJ-45, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
$219.51 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Apple 2022 MacBook Air Laptop with M2 chip: 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, 1080p FaceTime HD Camera. Works with iPhone and iPad; Starlight; English
$1,299.99 (as of September 16, 2024 22:27 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)