For various reason I recently found myself in asmall town far uostate from where I live. Much to my surprise, I actually stumbled on an honest to goodness mom & pop video rental store. For those that don't know, you used to be able to rent physical media from places like this instead of having to use a vending machine or stream your movies on Netflix.
This store was very obviously in rough part of town, and i was getting a lot of looks from the locals, who for some reason could that I was not from their town. That may have been enough to deter most normal people, but not this retro gamer. I decided to brave the icy stares and take a look inside.
The first thing that caught my eye before I even walked in the door were these carts of videos outside that were being sold for $1 each. It didn't look like many of them were being bought (or stolen) so it appears that even at these prices people are clearly opting for digital. if you needed any more evidence that the digital revolution is in full swing, this is it.
The main entrance has these nicely organized shelves and a groovy marquee displaying the latest releases. Its been many years since I browsed a video store, but i certainly do miss seeing all of the cool covers and being able to pick up & read about the latest movies/video games.
Ah, the new release wall. Looks like there are some DVDs. I cant remember the last time I even saw a consumer player. This makes want to break out my SDI modded DVD player.
I think this may have been an adult section at one time. Now it simply houses whatever surplus videos cant be crammed onto the shelves.
This store was actually quite large, almost Blockbuster large. Its a small wonder they are able to even afford the rent on this place, considering how empty it was on a Friday night. I was worried i may have wandered into a drug front or something. I was considering running for the exit but something off in the distance caught my eye.
Yep, its a CRT all right. A roundie too, by the looks of it. None of that modern flat screen nonsense. Sadly, this did not appear to be turned on, although it was plugged in. Maybe it was broken? Back in the day I can remember my local video store would always have a VHS movie playing on one of these things with the volume jacked up all the way up.
More marquees. Be it 1991 or 2017, Beauty And The Beast is sure to bring the crowds I guess.
A disappointingly small horror section. Perhaps it is not a popular genre with the locals?
Fitness anyone?
Sadly, there were no video games to speak of. This is most likely a sign of the times I suppose. I can remember being very familiar with my local video stores game inventory back in the NES/SNES days, as they used to be one of the few places you could try a lot of games on the cheap before the advent of roms and the internet.
Unfortunately I didn't get to take many pictures or chat with the staff due to the fact that I was in a bit of a rush for personal safety reasons.