I already have a semi-extensive movie collection of about 100 SD DVDs ripped to a NAS that I can watch on-demand without having to sit through FBI warnings or bothering to get a DVD out.

I recently got a bigger TV (went from 30" 720P to 40" in 1080P) and a PS3. So now I am going to repurchase some movies in BD.

The concern I have is that I might waste money on certain titles that are in the lower "tier" of quality. The problem is that I already own most of the movies I want and each year now there will likely be less than 5 new movies I want.

Also if a new movie is released, I would prefer a SD version that I can rip and have immediate access to for a few dollars cheaper than a BD version if the BD version isnt much better. If its slightly better then I wont bother.

Based on my understanding of the "Tier" level here, I would say that probably excludes anything below Tier 2 for me. But I am even considering skipping anything but tier 0 and tier 1. Double dipping a movie and having the annoyance of physical collection (I personally do not enjoy the "collecting" aspect of DVD collections, I dont want a room with 1000s of DVDs in them, I would prefer a 10 TB NAS with them all ripped.

I havnt even gotten my first BD movie yet (in mail from Amazon) and likely will hit up the local stores today to get one from the higher tiers. But I am looking for thoughts on when its worthwhile to repurchase?

For me teir 1 and above would be my cup.

However a huge issue is HD sound, are you able to play PCM/True HD? Or will you be looking into that at some point? if so that could tip the scale as well.

My method I tend to go for my all time amazing classics that I 100% love and would watch over again. For example I have lord of the rings on DVD but I would rebuy it on blu-ray even if it wasnt a tier 1 or 0.

If I had to shoot in the dark I wouldnt replace your whole collection, stick with your all time favs, and tier 1 and above imo.

I thought about sound as another issue for me. I am still using a fairly low end reciever and that is my next HT upgrade. Probably going to shoot for $500 range.

Depends really on what you're looking for I suppose. If you're really into HD, and you have a good SD DVD copy of the movie in question (of which there aren't really that many), then yes, probably nothing under Tier 2 would merit a double dip in HD.

My personal limit is high Tier 3 for new purchases unless it's a case of a movie that I don't think will ever have a better source. For double dips, it would require at least a high tier 2 rating unless the equivalent SD DVD is simply awful.

For me, it would need to be a considerable difference between the DVD and the BD (not necessarily a certain tier level if the SD has a poor transfer). On the other hand, some recent DVD's have looked amazing and would require a higher level tier to make the BD worthwhile to me.

I've purchased BD/HDDVD upgrades of a few of my DVD's (26 total between BD and HDDVD's) and have to say there are a few that ranked high up on the tier scale but left me unimpressed and a bit disappointed.

I know some people have stated here that "even the slightest increase in quality can justify a re-purchase".

Tier 4. Even the worst BD/HD-DVD's are better than the best SD-DVD upconverted on the best system. Upconversion is the most overrated/overhyped AV entity since Divx. It is perpetuated by our being in denial that all of those SD-DVD's we bought are obsolete.

I replace based on one fact alone.

How much do I watch the movie?

I have a few movies on SD that I've seen maybe 50 to 100 times... they never get old. Those are at the top of my list when they finally come out on BD or HD.

For me, it's not so much about the jump in quality as much as how much I like the film, and whether it's a big, visual movie that benefits from the jump.

tier rating is not the best judge of that. if a film was filmed in a way that doesn't lend itself to image pop or lack of grain then it might be tier 3 and yet it might have much more detail and significantly better image quality the SD.
i would focus more on what you care about having with better sound and image. maybe slightly less often going for tier 3 and below. Traffic is one to avoid though as it seems to be an upconverted SD.


I already have a semi-extensive movie collection of about 100 SD DVDs ripped to a NAS that I can watch on-demand without having to sit through FBI warnings or bothering to get a DVD out.

I recently got a bigger TV (went from 30" 720P to 40" in 1080P) and a PS3. So now I am going to repurchase some movies in BD.

The concern I have is that I might waste money on certain titles that are in the lower "tier" of quality. The problem is that I already own most of the movies I want and each year now there will likely be less than 5 new movies I want.

Also if a new movie is released, I would prefer a SD version that I can rip and have immediate access to for a few dollars cheaper than a BD version if the BD version isnt much better. If its slightly better then I wont bother.

Based on my understanding of the "Tier" level here, I would say that probably excludes anything below Tier 2 for me. But I am even considering skipping anything but tier 0 and tier 1. Double dipping a movie and having the annoyance of physical collection (I personally do not enjoy the "collecting" aspect of DVD collections, I dont want a room with 1000s of DVDs in them, I would prefer a 10 TB NAS with them all ripped.

I havnt even gotten my first BD movie yet (in mail from Amazon) and likely will hit up the local stores today to get one from the higher tiers. But I am looking for thoughts on when its worthwhile to repurchase?

I know some people have stated here that "even the slightest increase in quality can justify a re-purchase".

CE companies just love these people. These companies probably have products and technologies that could offer vast improvements over current lineups, but will dilute it over 5 generations instead cuz they know there are enough people with disposable income and/or obsessive behavior that they can milk.

I'd stick to Tier 0 and Tier 1, unless it is your absolute favorite movie.

I'm reasonably happy with SD DVDs, upconverted with the HD-DVD add on for the 360, or with my Oppo 981 player (unfortunately, not the PS3). Given that you're watching on a 40" TV, you may want to check out the upconverting option.

My policy is that I replace everything. I have yet to see a BD movie that doesnt blow away its SD counterpart. Thats just my opinion I guess.

Sell the SD copies on EBAY. That is what I do.

If I can get it for under $15.

But seriously, you might only notice a slight improvement in PQ with your 40" screen, if you already have a decent upconverting SD DVD player.

I replace based on one fact alone.

How much do I watch the movie?

I have a few movies on SD that I've seen maybe 50 to 100 times... they never get old. Those are at the top of my list when they finally come out on BD or HD.

Tier 4. Even the worst BD/HD-DVD's are better than the best SD-DVD upconverted on the best system. Upconversion is the most overrated/overhyped AV entity since Divx. It is perpetuated by our being in denial that all of those SD-DVD's we bought are obsolete.


I quoted both gentlemen above because they express exactly how I feel. I will not make the same mistake with HD movies that I did with DVD... instead of buying any title I like (or might like), I'll only buy titles that I know I'll watch repeatedly.

Unless it's botched HD transfer, like Traffic, I'll buy it even if it's just a Tier 4. For example, American Psycho is one of my all-time favs, so the modest but noticeable increase in visual clarity was worth the upgrade.

For me it is depending on how good the SD DVD looks and how much I like the movie.

Just forget that the tier thang exists and buy the 5 movies that you want. What kind of a feel for Blu-ray are you gonna even have until you digest some discs. 5 will only be scratching the surface anyway. Get like Hendrix, get experienced.

I quoted both gentlemen above because they express exactly how I feel. I will not make the same mistake with HD movies that I did with DVD... instead of buying any title I like (or might like), I'll only buy titles that I know I'll watch repeatedly.

Unless it's botched HD transfer, like Traffic, I'll buy it even if it's just a Tier 4. For example, American Psycho is one of my all-time favs, so the modest but noticeable increase in visual clarity was worth the upgrade.

My thoughts exactly. Unless it's an absolute turd of a disc/transfer, i'll continue to pick up all of my favourite films on Blu-Ray, regardless of Tier.

As with your American Psycho, titles like Total Recall, Terminator 2 & Lethal Weapon, whilst low ranking in the tier tables, still have a noticeable increase in visual clarity to have made the uprgade worthwhile.

I initially started just buying movies because they were said to be the highest quality. I soon realized that I need to be selective, so I formed some criteria for my purchases. In no particular order:

1. Among the higher ranking video quality.
2. Advanced resolution or lossless audio.
3. Something I will watch over and over.
4. Action/adventure, or a type of movie where the video quality really shows off. (I regretted buying Pursuit of Happyness for this reason).
5. Preferably something I don't have in SD, but this can be adjusted depending on how much I love the movie.

For me, it's not so much about the jump in quality as much as how much I like the film, and whether it's a big, visual movie that benefits from the jump.


i agree 100%. i double dipped on goodfellas becuase its one of my fav movies of all time, but it doesnt blow me away in HD like say king kong, which is a decent movie but looks awesome and is my hd dvd demo disk(i have a ps3 so im not an hd dvd troll)

I haven't bought a single movie that i've owned on DVD on either HDDVD or Blu Ray.I have a nice collection of about 500 SDVDs and they look and sound fine to me when played on a good upconverting player.

Fortunately there's enough new movies and catalogue titles that i want (old titles that for one reason or another haven't bought on DVD) on both next gen formats so i am never out of choices.

I really don't believe that it's worth it paying premium prices for movies you already own on DVD,esp. if the DVD has a nice transfer.This a different situation compared to the VHS-DVD transmission ,IMO.

SD DVD are nasty except on tiny screens. Sold most of my collection...replacing what I can....using DVHS for everything else. 480i is absurd....upscalled it is just fooling yourself. Get the real thing...

For my 48in RPTV, I am still using my old standby Sony NS755V and 400 disc changer, through component progressive scan, and I think it looks really good. Now on my projector, which is only 720P, I now have a hard time watching anything but Blu-Ray. Even some of the movies on BD that did not get good PQ reviews from HighDefDigest, look awesome. I put in a SD DVD, and I wish it was in HD. To me it depends on the size of the screen. On my RPTV, using a upscaling DVD player (Panasonic SP97) did not make much of a difference at 1080i compared to my Sony 755V at 480P. BUT!! when I tried the same 2 players on my PJ, there was a noticable difference with the Panny at 720P compared to the Sony at either 480P or 480I letting the projector do the scaling. Upconversion is good, but HD is Great!!

I cant watch SD anymore. I hate it. I put spiderman in sunday as I wanted to watch the first two before friday and it just looks so bad compared to my BDs.