An improved EagleFlicks machine will return to AU by the end of this semester, replacing a previous model that had a reputation for breaking down, according to Anya Arthur, contracts manager for Auxiliary Services.
The DVD rental kiosk was originally set up on the first floor of the Mary Graydon Center during September 2006. It was removed at the end of last semester during the floor's renovation. The replacement machine is a different model that will hopefully be more reliable, said SG President Joe Vidulich.
The new kiosk will be very user-friendly, said Mehdi Assadi, the co-founder and owner of Campus Video Solutions.
"It's just like an ATM machine," he said.
Campus Video Solutions, the company sponsoring EagleFlicks, is a private enterprise and caters only to the college demographic, according to Assadi.
The main difference with the new kiosk will be the technology it uses. The old EagleFlicks machine was Campus Video Solutions' newest model, which had several unresolved problems in the system that caused it to crash frequently.
Randi Fuchs, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said whenever she encountered the old machine, it did not work.
"It was always broken, and I didn't really know how to use the machine anyway," she said.
The new EagleFlicks machine will use an older model created in 1991, which has proved to be more reliable, Assadi said.
"They've had time to work out the bugs," he said.
A committee is still unsure about where to place the new EagleFlicks machine, although the Eagle's Nest and the machine's old location in the MGC lobby are possibilities, Arthur said.
Vidulich said he hopes at least 20 percent of students living on campus will use the new EagleFlicks machine.
The kiosk could also be helpful for students required to watch movies for classes, as Campus Video Solutions attempts to duplicate movies found in the campus library.
Most aspects of EagleFlicks will remain the same. Each movie rental will still cost $2.85 and will be due back the following day by midnight. Late fees will be 79 cents per day, and the machine takes EagleBuck$ and credit cards, Arthur said.
Arthur and the SG are also revamping Eagleflicks.com, the rental system's Web site. Students can use the Web site to request movies they want to see in the machine, Arthur said.
The machine will hold more than 1,000 DVDs, which will be rotated in and out depending on their popularity. Campus Video Solutions holds no contracts with the studios from which it buys movies, leaving Assadi free to purchase only the films he thinks students will enjoy, he said. Campus Video Solutions will primarily choose movies for the EagleFlicks machine based on which selections have been popular in its George Washington University kiosk and on students' online requests. Assadi also plans to spend Friday nights by the machine so he can talk to customers about their movie preferences, he said. GW has had a machine for two years.
Any new releases that were relatively popular in the box office will be available to rent immediately after they are released on DVD. Campus Video Solutions researches each movie to decide how many copies to get, Assadi said.
Campus Video Solutions also gives a percentage of the revenue from rentals back to AU without charging them for the use of the kiosk.
Ari Kozlow, a junior in the School of Public Affairs, said he went to Hollywood Video every few weeks last year but never once used EagleFlicks.
That Hollywood Video franchise store is currently preparing to close, although the store's final day of operation has yet to be determined, The Eagle previously reported.
Vidulich said he believes EagleFlicks will be more convenient than Netflix or the Best Buy in Tenleytown.
