When the time comes, I'll buy all new DVDs in HD (of course), but I have no plans to do anything like replace my existing library with HD versions.

Nope, still buying. Too early to stop!

I have no problem with SD videos. Mankind has "survived" just fine with SD.

HD is not a requirement in my book.

>>I know(?) they will all be available In some HD form in a year or two...

Personally, I doubt it. The US was also supposed to be going to the metric system "very soon." This was back in the 1970's. The only metric unit to catch on in the US seems to be the "2 liter" bottle of soda pop.

Wow! Sounds like I am getting older... :)

I haven't stopped, but I have cut back somewhat. I love movies, though, and for me, I'd rather drop $10 on a DVD than see most things in the theatre for $50 a night. Sure - I do it knowing that eventually, there are movies I will "rebuy" in HD, but those are few and far between - so I'm not going to quit buying for two years while the format wars rage.

After all, I now own 3 versions of the Star Wars movies and while I curse George Lucas every time, paying 3x hasn't killed me and I've certainly gotten my money's worth with reviewing.

never have bought them,, I am a renter, however if I did want, have a library I would not wait for HD before adding to my pretend collection

Netflix.

A few dollars a month ($5.99 and up) gives you access to 55,000+ titles, including even on HD-DVD and Blu-Ray.

Why buy?

Netflix has really quick turnaround thanks to distribution centers across the U.S., and it couldn't be more convenient.

You build a mile-long list of movies you want to see, they send a couple of them to you, starting from the top of your list (that you can reorder at any time).

After you watch each movie, you put it in the postage-paid envelope it came with, and drop it in the mailbox. Two days later you have the next movie on your list.

No late fees, no stress, and a much bigger selection than Blockbuster.

Easy to find movies you know, as well as movies you don't know (great recommendations based on what you like).

Why own?

I have a few movies that I want to own, the rest are perfect for rental.

For different reasons (and not to hijack the thread), I stopped in 2002 after having bought about 100 through the years. Now, I should say that a lot of my business is, in fact, repurposing content for DVD, and I should also say that I get a lot for nothing since most of my friends (and my girlfriend) work in the business in Hollywood. So I haven't stopped acquiring, just buying. I stopped because it occurred to me, after careful analysis, that I was likely to watch any single movie on DVD a maximum of 2-3 more times in my life going forward. Anything more than $7-$10 to buy a DVD just doesn't make sense for me. I came to that conclusion after also having taken into consideration that I almost never watched any of the DVDs I had acquired up until the point when I stopped. I suspect a lot of people have made the same decision. One more thing. I do work for a VAM company. These are the people who do extra content for DVD - special features, commentary, etc - so I DO have a stake in people buying this stuff, I'm not just being a naysayer. BUT, there are studies out there that show appallingly low numbers in terms of whether anyone is actually WATCHING the extra content, and the bottom line is that "bloopers" and some "making of" content is quite popular, almost nothing for the rest. I mention this because, while Blu-Ray & HD offer a lot more space on the disc for extras, the content owners have little interest in filling it up because it costs lots of money to come up with that content. With Netflix and $1.99 itunes downloads, a lot of people are re-assessing their need to actually own a copy of the product.

Reid C

> Is anyone else having this problem?

No. Why on earth would you stop buying DVD’s? Do you have a $3000 HDTV to watch HD on? Cuz’ if you do, I can’t see how a $15 DVD is going to break the bank after spending $3000 on an HDTV. And if you don’t then why bother worrying about HD anyway ‘cuz you don’t have anything to watch it on. Sorry but I just don’t get it. This is not like buying a car and worrying about a gas crisis or anything. It’s a DVD!

Live for today! Just go buy the darn DVD and enjoy the movie. Buy some microwave popcorn too. Have a glass if wine. (may I suggest a fine Pinot Grigio with white popcorn) The movie doesn’t get any better just because it’s HD but some do get better with wine. ;-)

~jr

"The movie doesn’t get any better just because it’s HD but some do get better with wine. ;-)"

Ah, sound advice - though I'm more of a beer man myself :)

It's not the money that's the issue really, DVD's are a screaming deal considering you are getting, what, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of entertainment for $15 to $20 bucks. It's more the knowledge that there is something better, something lurking just on the horizon.... I'm still renting DVD's and I check out the DVD section at Costco, but I just can't seem to put em' in the shopping cart.

I still buy because most of the movies I want are unlikely to be released in high definition, or at least not for several years. I don't get the latest greatest movies, I get classics and, well, just plain *old* movies. The 1992 version of "Last of the Mohicans" will probably be available in HD by the end of next year, but how long will it be before I'll be able to upgrade my 1920 version to HD? The same goes for Disney's "Peter Pan" vs. the 1924 version with Betty Bronson.

So for me, waiting will only make me miss the chance to get some of these films in *any* form-- I already have a LOT of out of print DVDs. In fact, I was originally opposed to DVDs because I felt they weren't enough of an improvement over Laser and I was angry about that (most of the problems were just poor compression). But I bought a copy of "The Lost World" (1925) back then because I figured it was unlikely to stay in print, and that if I ended up jumping on the DVD bandwagon I'd regret missing out on it. That disc is one of the ones that is now out of print, so I'm glad I thought it out.

I even still have some VHS and Laser discs that haven't made it to DVD yet.

One other thing to consider: The price of most DVDs today is about what it costs for a meal at a fast food restaurant, but it's something you get much longer enjoyment out of. I can spend $10 at McDonalds and be done wtih it in 10 minutes (other than that fat that lasts forever :-) ), but a $10 movie I can get hours and hours of use/enjoyment out of, then even sell it if I want to, and even if I only get a couple of bucks that makes it worth it. Another thing that highlights the value of a $10-$15 DVD is that it often costs that much money just to park for a little while here in LA. So the continued use I get out of a DVD is a much better value.

Fred

You're way over-reacting.

1. DVD was the hottest consumer introduction ever, and it took over five years from first shipment until there were more DVD players being sold than VCRs. It took even longer before more titles were available. With the competing formats and confusion, plus the much smaller list of reasons to upgrade, HD discs of both types will certainly not be faster to penetrate than DVD, and could very well take longer. Are you going to wait five years until you have a supply of movies that is 50% (and that will be five years from now), at best, of what you can get on DVD?

2. The picture quality is better, for sure, but will it be stunningly different? A LOT will depend on your setup. The stuff I have seen in showrooms, including a demo at Frys two weeks ago that I posted, actually looked worse than a DVD played on my 1989 TV set, with a simple DVD player hooked up via S-video. Earlier that same day I watched Hi-Def satellite feed on my friend's HiDef Sharp Aquos TV. I was underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, good HD, properly delivered is great stuff, but most of it being delivered so far is a much smaller step from DVD than DVD was from VHS. Much, much smaller step.

I still watch VHS movies from time to time, when I can't get it on DVD. I also have several hundred laserdiscs, in fact far more than I have DVDs. So, I know about your fear of having something that isn't the latest and greatest. However, the picture is still great and very enjoyable.

I even still have some VHS and Laser discs that haven't made it to DVD yet.

Have you been able to find a link to a list that shows all of these? I have quite a few laserdiscs, mostly music performances, that are not available on DVD and I'm trying to decide whether there are similar things that I might still be able to find on eBay.

There are certain "Classic" movies that I will always buy, like Shane, Wizard Of Oz, Sound of Music, Naked Prey, Kelley's Hereos, Star Wars, Saving Private Ryan, Siege of Fire Base Gloria, Patton, Captain Kronos, Vampire Lovers, Yogi & Cindy Bear & Mugger, Men in Black, Andromada , Sweet Charity, Sierra Madre, Once Upon a Time Out West, Apollo 13, American Graffiti, Magnifcent Seven,
JJK

Have you been able to find a link to a list that shows all of these? I have quite a few laserdiscs, mostly music performances, that are not available on DVD and I'm trying to decide whether there are similar things that I might still be able to find on eBay.

No, most of these are silent films. And then there's some that are available on DVD (Harry Langdon, for example) where I like the score on the Laser better than the one on the DVD.

One example of something I have on VHS and Laser is "Buster Keaton: A Hard Act To Follow," which I've only just noticed was released in February in R2. (I have the Hollywood series in both formats too, and it's finally coming out in R2 next month.)

I stopped buying almost everything except from the $5.99 bin, and only a precious few of that price, mostly for my 6 year old daughter. Most things my wife and I want are there soon enough.

I had bought a few higher priced units, things my wife called her favorite movies. A few for me, too. But, I stopped when it became obvious, after 4 or 5 years, that the shrink wrap was still unbroken and we were never going to go out of our way to watch them, probably ever again.

IMO, now is probably the best time to buy DVD's. Since the new formats are coming out, they will likely want to dump the 'old' format DVD's to make room for the extremely overpriced hd-dvd/blu-ray. I've found not to wait for the next greatest thing as there will always be another and another and another...

I'm also only buying sale priced or bargain bin movies. It would cost me a small fortune, like most people here, to keep replacing my media library just because of some tech change. Also, FWIW, Steppenwolf or Three Dog Night is not the same on CD; they must be played with a needle and have the obligatory pops, hiss and 'party favors'.

Just my pair-o-dimes.

>>studies out there that show appallingly low numbers in terms of whether anyone is actually WATCHING the extra content.

I, for two(!), almost never watch the extras, and when we do they're generally repetitive and relatively information free. I'd much prefer less compression (along the lines of Superbit).

I've built up a collection of classics (of all periods) that we believe worthy of purchase. This leaves out a lot of stuff that's come out of Hollywood of "recent" times (ie stuff manufactured for the "youth market"). Good films need to be watched several times to get everything out they have to offer, and revisits are enjoyable even (or perhaps particularly) when you know it well. Anyway, rental around here specialises in the stuff I don't wish to see, not even once.

Looking forward to HD and will really appreciate reduced artifacts and better image quality, but don't see this as a reason to stop acquiring current DVDs. However I do refuse pirated movies (unlike Bill Gates) and yet might still need to build more storage.

My thoughts...

I still have more than a few hundred VHS movies that I almost gave away. I decided to keep them because one night, I pulled out Tequila Sunrise, with Michelle Pfeiffer, Mel Gibson and Kurt Russel. 15 minutes into the movie, I forget I'm watching a VHS cause I'm so into the actual movie itself. It's one of many I watch over and over. ( Mel is just so dreamy...)

VHS has also helped with a lot of my own personal collection of TV shows back when I used to watch TV. There's times when people tell me about those stupid reality tv shows that I'm glad I'm missing and think back to my VHS collection. I'd gladly trade what they watch for such gems I've collected as a Carol Burnett and Friends Reunion Special, an eight hour WKRP marathon, the last episode of the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, all my favorite episodes of Mad About You, Cheers, Friends, Seinfeld, Quantam Leap, Wonder Years and boxes full of others.

And yes I also own several copies of Star Wars and will indeed buy the new "Classic" versions ( ...new classic ? ) coming out this Sept. Again, a movie I watch over and over and enjoy everytime. I watch movies over and over, guess I'm one of those lucky people that can get into it...hey, how can ya only watch JAWS once ???? And when I have company over and ask if they wanna watch a movie, they really don't care if it's a VHS or DVD just as long as we can watch a movie together and have a good time. ( The 500+ movie collection really impresses the chicks )

HD-DVD may be the next big thing, but you're right, unless you've got the set up to fully appreciate it, it's kind of wasted disk space to me. I watched a SuperBit version of The Fifth Element on my friends home theatre and I really can't wonder why you need more than that ?

So if I'm not smiling at a classic copy of one of my favorite tv shows, and in the mood for a good movie, just give me a really good, sharp, well compressed DVD and I'm happy. And if that can be bought for under 10 bucks, all the better....

Stan

Hollywood video used DVDs are $5 for $20. Blockbuster (although I boycott them now for screwing customers when they had a monopoly) offer similar deals.

Walmart sells new releases for $13.95 the first week they come out.

Then again there is the war over Blue Ray vs. HD DVD. Not sure what will happen there, but took a chance on a Toshiba HD-A1 DVD player. Very few titles right now, but Phantom of the Opera is a knockout. Still buying regular DVDs because the HD-A1 upscales regular DVDs to incredible looking levels.

John

I have not yet bought an HD-DVD player, but came across the fact that some HD titles have both the HD and SD version of the movie.
(flip the disc over).

So, the question is... we have a new release on sale for $15.95 or do you buy this Combo HD/SD version for $24.95.

Chad

Generally, I'm making them. Time-shifting (vhs-like) with my set-top DVD recorder hooked up to my satellite dish.

I'm paying $113 per month for satellite-almost-everything. I'm not there to watch much, so I create DVDs to watch later.

I wonder how much of my $113 per month goes to the content creators?

Otherwise, I find I'm buying more music DVDs than music CDs. CD-$19.99. DVD-$15.99. go figure.

I own about 200 DVD's. I still buy them (but not at $20 per - more like WalMart sales at 2/$10 or as much as $10 each, a bit more if I really need that movie).

I don't anticipate moving to HD until the price comes down big time (like a 40 inch set that won't burn out for ten years at no more than $300-400). I currently own a sub $200 31 inch (mono - not stereo) TV which I bought almost four years ago and don't plan on replacing it anytime soon.

I would rather spend my $$$ on a better camera (a three chip version - maybe a VX2100), better computer/peripherals, software and audio/video assets. I really think most folks are in my position and won't be spending $3000 or more to move to HD anytime in the next couple of years.

Now I may buy a BluRay burner and discs to create HD content but I'll play them on the slew of HD monitors we have at work. Just not in the cards for home for a while.

Maybe on black Friday around 2010 or so.......