For years, Redbox kiosks were a familiar sight outside grocery stores and gas stations, offering DVD and Blu-ray rentals at the push of a button. However, with the rise of streaming services, Redbox struggled to stay relevant. In June 2024, its parent company, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, filed for bankruptcy, leaving thousands of these kiosks abandoned.
Many Redbox kiosks have already been scrapped, but a small group of enthusiasts, including myself, have stepped in to preserve and repurpose them. If you’re curious how to obtain a Redbox for home use or are curious about Redbox mods, hacks, and reverse engineering, this post will walk you through my experience of acquiring one and my plans for bringing it back to life.
How to Obtain a Redbox for Home
With many kiosks being decommissioned, several have been some scrapped. Some are available from private sellers, or direct negotiations with store/property managers. If you’re interested in how to obtain a Redbox for home use, we’ll post an article with more tips later. However, be prepared—these machines are heavy, often requiring a truck and at least two people to move them. Some have even been able to get a kiosk into a minivan.
I purchased a fully intact Redbox kiosk, complete with a 6-card topper and a digital Videri TV screen topper through a Craigslist ad. The plan? To get it functional for personal use and explore Redbox reverse engineering to unlock its full potential.
Redbox Mods & Hacks: What’s Possible?
The ultimate challenge with Redbox mods is figuring out how to bypass the proprietary software and hardware restrictions. While Redbox operated on a closed system, there are several potential ways to repurpose these kiosks:
- Reverse engineer the software
- Repurpose the kiosk into something entirely different
- Restomod the kiosk – I was considering getting a UI to stream to a television and possibly other entertainment controls (sticking to reverse engineering now though)
Redbox Resources
Two of the best resources on Redbox kiosks I’ve found are Redbox.wiki and the Redbox Tinkering Discord Channel.
The Future of Redbox Kiosks
While these kiosks might not be considered nostalgic just yet, in 10–20 years, they could become sought-after collector’s items—much like vintage Coke machines, Jukeboxes, etc. Since most kiosks are being scrapped, those that remain will only become rarer over time.
If you’re interested in Redbox hacks or have experience working with these kiosks, be sure to comment below! Stay tuned as I document my journey into repurposing this piece of movie rental history. Next steps for me are to try and get the software loaded to load and dispense movies and get the Videri display functional. Since I have the kiosk at our cabin, it will be a bit of a slow project.
