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Video rentals

(video in box) A lot of video rental shops put their videos into these generic plastic boxes. This is to protect the video while it being rented out to people. I have problems putting the video back into the box correctly. The problem is that the videotape spools look like they are in the middle, but they are slightly closer to one edge than the other. And the box has little round protrusions that go into the spools.

(wrong way) (right way) The left picture shows the video oriented in the box wrong. That's what I frequently do. As a result, the box won't snap shut because the protrusions don't fit into the videotape spools. The right picture shows the tape in correctly.

Design suggestion

Why does the box need those protrusions anyway? If they were removed, the tape could fit into the box four different ways instead of just one. Of course, it would come out of the box four different ways too. That might be problem for the video shop people trying to read the labels on the videotapes.

Here are a few things that might make it easier for people to put the tape into the box the way the video people want it:

  • A line drawing of a videotape in the correct orientation "printed" on the inside of the box
  • A message like "Label this way" printed on the inside of the box


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