Redbox is becoming a preferred way to rent movies, at a mere $1 a pop. The downside, of course, is having to rush back to your local drop-off center the very next day. Now, a new service wants to do away with the returns, as well as the disc.

Flix on Stix plans to put its own brand of kiosks into retail outlets, much like Redbox. However, this service won’t limit you to what’s in stock inside those bright red boxes; everything is stored digitally.

Like Redbox, Flix on Stix allows its customers to browse through a touch-based interface. Choose your movie, TV show, or even a game. Then, pay for your title, plug in a thumb drive, and play a little game while you wait. 

Flix on Stix has yet to announce any formal pricing. However, the demo video below lists 3-day rentals as $1, with $2 for six days, $3 for nine, and a whopping $4 for 12 days’ worth of watching. Other items that the company is a bit fuzzy on include download times and the quality of those downloads. Also, it’s unclear whether or not these flicks will be compatible with anything that has a USB port. The Flix on Stix website says something about computers and a “FlixOnStix set-top-box.” (Not being able to plug the Stix directly into a TV could be a major drawback, in my opinion.)

Whether or not consumers want to deal with USB sticks and downloads remains to be seen. However, the Flix on Stix people are certainly an ambitious bunch. According to Yahoo, the company plans to launch in two or three months, with a goal of 20,000 kiosks installed within the next year.

Rachel Cericola - Contributing Writer

Over the past 15 years, Rachel Cericola has covered entertainment, web and technology trends. Check her out at www.rachelcericola.com.