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Audio Video Plus - 1233 Waugh Dr.


hindesky

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Audio Video Plus had everything. Movies of all sorts, laser disks, the 14 inch size, all sorts of other cool stuff. In the 80's, when I lived in Katy, I would drive in to go see what they had new.

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20 hours ago, Ross said:

Audio Video Plus had everything. Movies of all sorts, laser disks, the 14 inch size, all sorts of other cool stuff. In the 80's, when I lived in Katy, I would drive in to go see what they had new.

 

They supposedly had over 100,000 tapes for rent. In the days when the VCR was king, Audio Video Plus stood head and shoulders above its competitors in the depth and breadth of its offerings. IIRC, someone purchased all or most of their inventory some time after they went out of business with the intent of maintaining it as an archive. I think many folks would be surprised to discover that there are literally thousands of films that have only been released on tape in the home video market. 

 

Those laserdiscs sat there for years gathering dust (like many of the VHS tapes they had for sale as opposed to rental) due to their stubborn refusal to discount them any from full retail. Given the comparatively high prices of laserdiscs and the fact that it was a niche market at best, it was not a viable business model when you could get a standard 20% off discount and excellent customer service from mail order laserdisc shops like Ken Crane's in California. 

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HECK yes back in the day i would regularly drive in from The Woodlands just to get some obscure VHS or DVD that i was hoping to find...and always would have success here! Loved this store and it was so fun to go to (and then head to all the fun record/cd shops in little houses on westheimer and then head to Record Rack to hang out for half the day with Bruce, Chris and Greg! fun times! 

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5 hours ago, gene said:

HECK yes back in the day i would regularly drive in from The Woodlands just to get some obscure VHS or DVD that i was hoping to find...and always would have success here! Loved this store and it was so fun to go to (and then head to all the fun record/cd shops in little houses on westheimer and then head to Record Rack to hang out for half the day with Bruce, Chris and Greg! fun times! 


I vaguely remember there being a Hollywood Video somewhere in the Montrose area. Does anyone remember where?

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4 hours ago, Texasota said:

Unless it was a Blockbuster - I can no longer remember which was which.

The Tower was home of Hollywood Video (remember the mural on the east side of the building?), and Blockbuster was a block east,  in the spaces now occupied by The Mattress Firm and Papa John''s.
My recollection of Audio Video Plus is that they had poor customer service and exorbitant service charges, but a good selection of sci-fi films. 
I preferred Cactus Records, whose art and foreign film selection was (IMO) unmatched.

Edited by dbigtex56
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Cactus Records always had the best free in-store performances (and free beer for my friends!)...

and yes AVP had the best selection of sci-fi and horror which is THE reason i went there! I am a HUGE sci-fi and horror movie buff ever since my parents would take me to the drive-in to see every sci-fi and scary movie ever released haha! i can't thank them enough for messing me up for life! ;)

 

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On 7/14/2020 at 12:10 PM, dbigtex56 said:

My recollection of Audio Video Plus is that they had poor customer service and exorbitant service charges, but a good selection of sci-fi films. 
I preferred Cactus Records, whose art and foreign film selection was (IMO) unmatched.

 

Those are certainly fair criticisms of AVP. 

 

I'm not sure Cactus' selection of arthouse films was bigger than AVP's, but it was close, and it was certainly superior in terms of active curation. The staff at Cactus' video department were huge film buffs and extremely knowledgeable about the films they stocked, something that wasn't necessarily the case at AVP. There was one guy whose name escapes me who worked at Cactus for years, and I would always see him at repertory screenings at the MFAH. That's the mark of a true cinemaniac - not only working at a video store, but spending days off at film screenings. 

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  • The title was changed to Old Audio Video Plus - 1233 Waugh Dr.
  • The title was changed to Audio Video Plus - 1233 Waugh Dr.

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