Correct -- and studios decided to go direct-to-consumer in the late 1990s, realizing they could sell way more discs for $14.99 (often sold for $9.99) to the gen

Correct -- and studios decided to go direct-to-consumer in the late 1990s, realizing they could sell way more discs for $14.99 (often sold for $9.99) to the general public than they could sell $50 discs to rental shops. Plus, the technology allowed studios to digitize their back catalogs that had never had home video releases, opening up a new revenue stream that would last another decade until over-saturation and the recession stopped growth (the HD-DVD vs Blu-ray battle didn't help) and consumers transitioned very quickly from VOD/digital purchases to streaming. When direct-to-consumer happened, there was typically not any difference between when a large rental chain got a disc and when I could pick mine up on Tuesday morning at Best Buy (or get it in the mail, sometimes arriving the day before) or wherever. Some chains like Blockbuster did sign rental agreements with studios both because of the bulk orders they needed and because for a few years, Blockbuster had to stock VHS tapes AND DVDs and the studios would basically make them sign those agreements if they still wanted to get VHS tapes -- but nothing stopped them from carrying the home release versions from retail if a rental copy was not available. And as you say, nothing stopped the indie shops from buying Tuesday morning at 10am and then immediately putting them out to rent.