DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. plans to put kiosks that can make DVDs of popular movies in drugstore photo departments next year, using a new system that would increase selection while avoiding piracy, according to Reuters.
Recent change in copy-protection rules governing DVDs have freed Walgreens and other retailers to tap this new movie market by letting consumers burn digital copies onto blank discs at stores, industry watchers said.
Walgreen and CVS have tried to attract more customers in recent years by offering improved [image-nocss] digital photo kiosks, in-store health clinics, Caf a W and exclusive merchandise.
For studios, the kiosks add to revenue, particularly from older and more niche content selections, without having to manufacture, ship and store them.
"We hope to launch DVD-burning kiosks in the next few months. We think its a type of solution that will work very well in our stores, giving us the ability to provide a virtual inventory to a diverse customer base," Tiffani Bruce, a spokesperson for Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens, told Rueters.
Walgreens is the nation's largest drugstore chain, with more than 6,000 stores.
Last month, the DVD Copy Control Association, a group of movie studios and hardware makers that oversees the copy protection system for DVDs known as Content Scramble System (CSS), moved to allow its technology to be licensed more broadly, opening the door for DVD-burning kiosks.
Now Walgreens is working with Hollywood studios and consumers will be able to make DVDs in about 15 minutes. "We believe it could right for most stores," Bruce said.
Walgreens and other retailers are working with Sonic Solutions, which released software based on the recently approved industry specifications last month. Sonic said consumers or retailers need special DVD burners and recordable discs to use its Qflix software, which also paves the way for download services from companies such as Amazon, Wal-Mart and Blockbuster's Movielink.
These services and Apple's iTunes now mostly let users watch films on computers or devices such as iPods.
Studios initially will probably use the kiosks more to give older films a "longer tail" of availability, rather than offering new movies, for fear of upsetting existing retail partners and cannibalizing sales, said Kurt Scherf, principal analyst with Parks Associates.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.