Good news, DVDPlay addicts. That little movie kiosk that you can't seem to ever avoid as you exit your local food mart is about to become less of a drain on your wallet. Reportedly, the company has decided to lower its per-movie rental fee from $1.49 to $1.00, with president Charlie Piper stating that in "an economy of rising prices, our customers are looking for value for their entertainment dollars." The price change went into effect on October 1st, and it seems that Blu-ray rentals will also be ratcheted down to a buck. Not bad, if we should say so ourselves.

[Image courtesy of SelfServiceWorld]

DVDPlay already announced its intentions to start stuffing Blu-ray Discs into its movie rental kiosks earlier this year, and we've been waiting ever since to hear a similar announcement from rival Red Box. Today, we're still waiting for said announcement, but we've received a report from the wonderfully named Aloha, Oregon that at least one Red Box movie rental kiosk has a Coming Soon flyer for Speed Racer on BD. When our tipster contacted Red Box concerning the discovery, the representative did affirm that if Blu-ray was shown, Blu-ray was on the way, though we aren't sure if they'll cost more than the $1 DVD rentals. Keep an eye out at your local kiosk and let us know if you see the same.

[Image courtesy of CashCrater, thanks Mike]

After reading a somewhat shocking survey here recently which found that most Americans saw in-store renting as a fading habit, we began to wonder if those sentiments were reflected by the actions of our readers. Of course, even Blockbuster is making moves to protect itself should people resort to by-mail / online rentals en masse, so it's not like folks aren't already going to the store less often. How do you get your rentals the majority of the time? By walking to your mailbox? By utilizing that broadband internet you pay so dearly for? Or do you still enjoy taking the family out to your local rental store at ~$4.00 / gallon?

[Image courtesy of Boston]

This week's installment of How Would You Change over on Engadget Classic involves the first dedicated set-top-box to enable Netflix streaming right to your TV. Did you pony up $99 for one of these things? If so, head on over and let the world know if that was a good move.

[Via Slashdot]

Many of you Netflix users may have never heard of Profiles. For those that have, you'll probably be quite disappointed to hear that it'll soon be vanishing. Put simply, Profiles enables users to "set up separate DVD Queues under one account," and for any couples in the house, they can attest to the usefulness of said feature. Netflix is planning to eliminate Profiles on September 1, 2008, and its only explanation is that "the change will help it to continue to improve the Netflix website for all customers." Anyone perturbed about the change? Does it not bother you at all?

[Thanks, Kris]

Well, would you look at that? After a mildly uncomfortable wait, the very first Netflix set-top-box has landed (the Xbox 360 with plug-ins notwithstanding). Thanks to Roku, users can finally tap into (a portion of) the Netflix library without having to wait for physical discs to arrive -- and for just $99.99, no less (though unlimited access to online films still requires an $8.95 or higher monthly fee for the traditional service). Better still, the HDD-less Netflix Player can even utilize a wireless signal to pull in streams, though your miles may vary on actual performance. As for ports, you'll find HDMI, component, composite, Ethernet, S-Video and a Toslink optical audio jack. Initial reports are looking pretty positive from here (save for the glaring lack of HD support), but feel free to dig into the reviews below to get a better feel of what this box really has to offer.

Read - Roku Netflix Player officially introduced
Read - PCMag review (4 out of 5)
Read - CNET review (7.7 out of 10)
Read - Wired review ("...just shy of totally amazing.")

Buy a new HDTV / projector for the big game(s)? Pssh. Why do that when you can just rent your way to impressing those fair-weather friends of yours? Hot on the heels of Selection Sunday comes fresh PR from Projector123, which is hopping on the rental bandwagon in hopes that jazzed up fans will want something more than they've got right now in order to enjoy the upcoming March Madness. Best of all, the bulk of these games will be broadcast in HD over the air, so picking up an HDTV with a built-in tuner or a projector with a standalone tuner would enable you to catch most of the action without forking out for HD service (or going into debt for a swank new display). 'Course, we'd suggest putting the cash you'd spend on a rental into an entirely new set -- after all, how will you honestly ever look at that 19-inch CRT after watching the Final Four on an 82-inch projection screen?

Granted, Netflix did warn us that renting HD DVDs from it would become a lesson in futility in due time, but we're receiving multiple reports that the company has already began switching queued HD DVD titles to vanilla DVDs. If this is going on en masse, that's a pretty quick changeover, to say the least. So, dear readers, have any of your HD DVDs mysteriously morphed into regular DVDs overnight? Sound off below!

[Thanks, Chris and Aaron]