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As the snowfall increases, many people are finding themselves staying indoors.
For entertainment, people are turning to videos when they do manage to get out on the roads.
"I can say that, because of the snow and time off, we have seen some increase (in video rentals)," said Shannon Timmreck, Blockbuster manager.
"For the season, they went out the door with more than they normally do."
Deb Elkins, manager of Video Connection, Syracuse, said the video rentals have doubled since the snowstorm began. She said this is the first winter in three years and more people are staying home than previous years. And with schools closed, parents are renting more for their children's entertainment.
"They take home six and seven (videos) for the whole family," Elkins said.
Not every video store thinks the video rentals have increased.
Sean Bone, Video Plus manager, said, "Actually, I think it hurts us more than helped us. I'm guessing people don't want to get out in this weather."
When people do make it out to the video store, Bone said, it was mostly parents. And at Video Plus, he said, people were checking out the action movies.
Bill Frazier, owner of Video World, agreed with Bone on the number of rentals he sees going out.
"I would say it's been about a wash. People can't get in. People are just staying home. It's about what I anticipated for this time of the year," Frazier said.
He said people are making it out to the grocery stores, but that was because they needed to go there. It's the parents who are heading out toward the grocery stores who also make it out to Video World, he said.
"There's not as many kids as there would be. Apparently, they're being left at home," he said.
Timmreck said the videos most often rented at Blockbuster are new releases. Regardless of when the movie release date is, many of the people renting the movies at Blockbuster are parents. However, others come in to the store to check out their favorite videos, too.
"We had a lot of college students that came in just in the last week because classes started," she said.
At Video Connection, Elkins said, the type of movie most rented would be comedy or mystery. The most rented movie is "Lethal Weapon 4."
No particular movie seemed to be a favorite at Blockbuster, Timmreck said, but many people have been asking for the release date of "There's Something About Mary." (The date of release is Feb. 2.)
Bone said, "Right now, it's 'Blade' and 'The Truman Show' (being heavily rented)."
"Blade" is also a favorite at Video World, Frazier said, as well as "Six Days and Seven Nights." The general type of movie most rented, he said, is drama.
