Where the Heck Have All the New Releases Gone?

[SRW1000]

Over the past month, it looks like some of the new titles are not available for rent. This includes Brave, ParaNorman, and The Dark Knight Rises.

Has Dish/Blockbuster negotiated new terms with the studios to delay new release titles, putting them in line with Netflix and RedBox? If so, why don't any of these movies have availability dates? What's going on?

 

[TheKrell]

FWIW, I exchange older DVDs for brand new releases at my store, to get around this problem. Just got MIB3 last night; they had lots of copies, including BD variant, still on the shelves.

 

[garys]

Yes, it does seem that new releases go to the store first and when the initial demand dies down, they get moved to the mail service. Any new release movie I have seen over the last several months have been picked up in the store.

 

[356B]

FWIW, I exchange older DVDs for brand new releases at my store, to get around this problem. Just got MIB3 last night; they had lots of copies, including BD variant, still on the shelves.

Yea that works for urban dwellers but if you're from the sticks forget about it....I live 200 miles from the nearest BB store, the service by it's mere existence has an implied product delivery....until you read the fine print. A "Short Wait" could be several weeks or longer. The company's advice is to have a long queue. In my case my queue is usually about 12 movies long, this week I was sent a movie from the bottom third. There are movies in that queue that have been in release for months and still show a long or short wait.
A Dish rep who contacted me admitted the problem but implied blame on customers who are tardy in returning DVDs....? leaving Dish short on copies.....?
Regardless of the DVD issue Dish still has the latest and greatest available on VDO or Movies for a mere $6.99 a shot anytime...Clearly the BB customer who pays the $10.00 or $15.00 a month for this service is getting stiffed on the DVD side. Sure you get extra channels which are niche at best, but the customers who signed on primarily for the DVD in mail service are in my opinion getting screwed...!
In full disclosure I got this service free for various reasons, regardless it still sucks!

 

[jerryez]

In full disclosure I got this service free for various reasons, regardless it still sucks!

You can't say that you aren't getting your moneys worth, if its free.

 

[Claude Greiner]

When Dish took over blockbuster, I thought it was a move in the right direction. Sadly enough, the service has gone to crap lately.

Not just saying it because I hate Dish, it really has.

 

[356B]

You can't say that you aren't getting your moneys worth, if its free.

So because I'm getting it free and others are paying I have no right to complain? What system is that from?
Hell at this rate I have a paper trail of reasons to get another freebee...like I said free or not the DVD in the mail system sucks!
And back to the free business, I'm paying, just not for that add on, the freebee is to make me feel better about paying what I'm paying for the "Everything" I'm getting. Make no mistake Dish is getting their pound of flesh out of me....

 

[ohioankev]

I know the Dark Knight Rises is a Warners Bros. release but I'm not sure about the other two titles. If so they might be on a 28 day delay like NetFlix has agreed too in the past for "cheaper" rental DVDs.

 

[glubfish]

I couldn't agree more that Blockbuster is now even worse than when they first took over. Now movies that I chose when they were in the theater still are not even available to rent when they say they should be. They won't or can't fix it either. I've called many times and now am giving up.

 

[garys]

Blockbuster is not a high priority for Dish, they are using stores to sell Dish as a way to keep them open.

 

[356B]

I just looked at my queue, this movie "The Brave" animated feature, shows a release date of unknown. Looking at "Releasing this week" in the menu... shows the same movie listed as "Releasing this week"...! You can't make this stuff up......Wow..!

 

[TheKrell]

That is nuts since Brave released on Nov 11th, IIRC. I have ParaNorman in my queue, listed as "Not Available" even though it released back in August. There are 5 copies at my nearby BB.

 

[garys]

That is nuts since Brave released on Nov 11th, IIRC. I have ParaNorman in my queue, listed as "Not Available" even though it released back in August. There are 5 copies at my nearby BB.

ParaNorman was released on 11/27/12 not last August.

 

[TheKrell]

Right you are. I mistakenly looked up the date for the theatrical release. Nevertheless it's erroneously reported in my queue as "Not Available", even though it is.

 

[jerryez]

The Bourne Legacy is susposed to be released on dvd on 12/11/12, but is still showing as Not Available on Disc in my Queue, but I checked it out from my local store and it is showing in both Disc at Home and Not Available on Disc in my Queue. Beat That!

 

[Mochuf]

Well it's pretty obvious that BB has contracts in place that delay new releases from the mail order service but allow on-time releases in their stores. We can get mad, but we shouldn't be surprised. I guess it doesn't bother me that much because I live within walking distance of a BBV store and don't even bother putting new releases in my queue and just do the in-store trade-in to get them. Thanks to trade-ins, I've been getting 2 discs per week for months now. For me, BB@Home is well worth the $10 price.

 

[gadgtfreek]

My turn around has not been too bad, def a slower than Netflix but its a good deal coupled with a Dish account. Two days ago Matt G changed me to 3 out at a time, and I have two "NOW" movies in my queue, but they have yet to ship me my "3rd".

30 day delays are common across all rental formats now, and they have even considered 90 days delays from release to rental availability.

What I hate is Lionsgate removing lossless audio from their big rentals.

 

[garys]

When I upped the number of Discs at a time, it took about 3 days for it to start. I'm assuming it had to do with processing, but they do come regularly after not counting Thanksgiving week (it seems no one worked on Wed or Fri that week).

 

[TheKrell]

Well it's pretty obvious that BB has contracts in place that delay new releases from the mail order service but allow on-time releases in their stores.

In my experience this is right. I've now watched 4 or 5 recent releases that I exchanged. They showed "Unavailable" in my queue nowadays. But earlier they showed the in-store availability date, yet they never shipped. They went from available "Now", to "short wait", and still they did not ship.

IMHO Dish should just put the true availability date for mailed DVDs on our queue entries, rather than the store availability date, or "unavailable".

 

[356B]

Interestingly enough, every time I've posted or have ranted about the incompetence and second rate service I have seen my queue issues corrected and the movie from the top sent....it's only happened twice so I suppose it could be interpreted as coincidence...or it could be the squeaky wheel syndrome, who knows if there is a solid connection between accounts, posters and BB/DishTV...?