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YouTube owner Google is giving the video site a high-class makeover, launching up to 20 premium video channels in a bid to boost revenue. But can a site people think of as the home of laughing babies and funny pets become a destination for web surfers seeking video worth paying for?

Walt Disney is increasing the wholesale prices it charges for DVDs to movies-by-mail leader Netflix and movie-rental kiosk operator Redbox. Disney is looking to benefit further from being the only major studio to sell DVDs to the companies for rental the day they go on sale to the public.

Amazon.com on Thursday announced it is buying Lovefilm, a European home-video distributor that some have called the Netflix of Europe. The deal will give the world's largest online retailer a stronger foothold in digital-video distribution. Will it buy Netflix next?

Netflix angered customers this week by removing the option to order DVDs via videostreaming consoles and mobile devices. The news that it was eliminating the "Add to DVD Queue" button in order to focus more on streaming videos has drawn thousands of comments, many critical of the company.

This series explores aspects of America that may soon be just a memory -- some to be missed, some gladly left behind. From the least impactful to the most, here are 25 bits of vanishing America. I've been predicting the death of the movie rental store since 1995, when I was a film critic and...