When HN users recommended it
1 HN user recommended this in 2017, in one comment.
20072026
Each tall tick is one HN user's first recommendation. A short tick is the same user again. Click a tick to jump to the comment.
Barcode Omnidirectional Hands Free Supermarket Adjustable
Amazon's catalog no longer lists this product (checked 2026-11-02). The name comes from the link HN users posted.
That makes sense. I agree that RFID is probably the way to go. What I was thinking of was closer to what you are describing though, or to a supermarket style in-counter barcode reader. I don't know if there's a minimum barcode-to-reader distance, but I suspect you could hack something up by building a box around one of these types* of readers.
Another downside to the barcode approach is also that it requires correct alignment. Maybe you can get greater convenience from RFID.
On the other hand, the RFID approach means you don't have to modify the boxes at all. Because the code should hold some semantic meaning, you could maybe even set it up to download the requested movie on demand, so that you don't have to build your own database...
Regardless, it's a fun idea!
* https://www.amazon.com/Barcode-Omnidirectional-Hands-Free-Su...