USB Drive Movie Kiosk: Dig it?

With Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy, and Netflix moving more and more into streaming video, it seems a dangerous time to enter the movie rental market, but Flix on Stix thinks they can fill a gap between existing options.

If you can't wait for the next red envelope to arrive and don't like your options on Hulu try a USB kiosk. The idea is in the name, Flix on Stix: You stick in your USB drive and they give you a flick. It's a lot likeRedbox kiosks, but it won't ever be out of a given DVD.

The USB 3.0 drive, called a "passport," comes from the company, likely with proprietary anti-piracy software embedded on it. Kiosks will resemble an ATM, only instead of a money dispenser you have a USB port. You can select how many days you want to rent the movie and pay by the day, or purchase a movie or game on the spot.

The innovation here is that the file will self-delete after the days you've paid for, letting you rent a first-run film without the fuss of returning a DVD. In fact, this eliminates the need for a DVD player. The files will play on your computer without any extra hardware, and on your TV if you purchase a proprietary player, the FlixOnStix set-top-box, cost currently unknown. Why is this better than pay per view or on-demand? Not sure, but presumably the selection will be better and you can watch it on any computer you want.

Flix on Stix will launch soon, check here for locations as they roll out.