Your Blu-ray replacement strategy

[Big Bri]

I wanted to see how everyone is approaching the shift to Blu-ray, as far as replacing your standard DVDs goes. I'm sure I have a modest number of DVDs compared to many on this site. I don't plan on replacing all my DVDs. My intention is to replace all the staples, the Pixar, the SciFi, the action stuff, and any of the other visually impressive. I have no real need to replace some of the other stuff. Comedies, drama, TV series.

My point is, I'm going to have some criteria that needs to be met before something gets the $$-upgrade. I'd like to hear how the rest of you are approaching this. By the way, I happen to be someone who has limited disposable income.

[Evan_H]

I'm not replacing most of the action movies I own, especially those with "shaky cam" action sequences.

For me, movies worth upgrading include time-period movies with detailed costumes, and movies with gorgeous scenery. This includes some action movies like Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings, but not most "present-day" action movies.

But primarily I want to replace my animation. Both 2D and 3D animation.

[Big J]

I've got somewhere around 1300 DVDs, and I really don't plan on replacing very many of them. I'll take it on a movie-by-movie basis. The truth is, that the bulk of my collection will probably never make it too BD.
J

[wormraper]

Here's my replacement strategy. If it's on blu ray I buy it.... DVD's don't cut the mustard any more.

[J4yDubs]

New releases only, except children's movies (sorry Disney). The exception might be Starwars and LOTR. I think I'm destined to own 20 copies of each of those.

The double dipping wore off with VHS to DVD.

John

[seggers]

As much new stuff on BD (where it can be had).

When I happen across a film that I have on DVD that I think would look good on BD (I've just got both Underworld films - Kate Beckinsale in HD - yummy).

I might swap out other stuff if I get a BB card as a gift. Also, I take in the old DVDs to one of those FYE type stores and get store credit for the old stuff. Then I look in the 2nd hand section.

For a moment, I thought this thread was about what comes after BD and how we were going to swap out to that!

Seggers

[jvillain]

I haven't bought any DVDs for a couple of years as I knew what was coming so I don't have a large collection to swap out. But what I do have is getting swapped out as fast as possible. With the exception of two DVDs that I gave away and will not bother replacing at all.

[BuckNaked]

Here is an exercise I recently went through, which I found very helpful:

1. I imported my collection from DVDSpot into an Excel spreadsheet.

2. I then deleted all the 4x3 TV on DVD, documentaries, and music video collections. This left me with 484 titles.

3. I then went through the list, and highlighted my current Blu-ray titles in Blue (42), and HD DVD titles in red (48). This left 394 SD titles remaining.

4. I then went through the list of 394, and made an honest assessment of each remaining SD title as to whether or not it was worth it to me to upgrade. For each "yes", I highlighted the title in yellow.

5. The final result yielded 77 additional titles, (including trilogies, etc.), I have to have in Blu-ray once they are available. The remaining 317 titles will remain in my collection in all their SD glory, and will be just fine for me.

[Phantom Stranger]

I intend to replace all my dvds eventually with the equivalent BDs. The only ones I won't be replacing are movies I bought blind and ended up not liking.

[MRMOTA]

Originally Posted by Phantom Stranger

I intend to replace all my dvds eventually with the equivalent BDs. The only ones I won't be replacing are movies I bought blind and ended up not liking.

Exactly thanks for saving me the typing...

[Elementalism]

I dont really have one. Right now we will rent from NetFlix. But I have no interest in replacing what I already own.

[IKONtheKannibal]

i had a yardsale and sold the dvds....7 bucks a piece or 2 for 12.....made enough money to buy 12 blu ray titles and 6 ps3 games....the only movies i havnt been able to replace that i didnt want to part with were the disney animated classics, but those will happen as the are released on blu ray

[Neo1965]

1. Make a list.
2. As disks are released from the list, check each one off.
3. Sometimes, things not on the list, if cheap enough, are bought.
4. New titles, pretty much buy anything that remotely looks interesting. Pretty much like the old DVD pattern.

[bull3964]

They will be evaluated on a movie by movie basis. If they didn't pull out all the stops and offer a top notch restored transfer, I'm not going to bother until they do.

My buying habits have pretty much dropped for movies as is though. I've gotten a lot more discriminating about my purchases (I used to buy anything that had a passing interest.) Now, I only buy things that really really enjoy. I can't probably count on one hand the number of movies released in the past 12 months that I'm going to be interested in owning. Otherwise, it's just rental and movie networks for me to see most of the crap out there I only have an interest in seeing once.

5 years ago:
"Hmm, that seemed like a neat movie. Purchased on release day"

Today:
"I saw this movie in the theaters/OnDemand/Rental/Movie Network and really liked it. If the disc proves to be of good quality and value I will likely purchase."

[nightowl]

I'll replace all Disney and Pixar films, the must-haves from my collection, and anything new that I purchase will be Blu, otherwise, I'm fine with the SD's that I have. It's actually about time I went through my SD DVDs again and see what's there to ebay that I don't have a need to keep any more.

[Calamus]

My must have in BD format movies are usually pre-ordered.
My liked movies I look for on AVS or Amazon marketplace and buy them used.
All the movies my wife must have and like fall here
I don't mind skipping a title (in any format) that was just so-so IMO.

I will still buy DVD, but only TVonDVD, my wife and I enjoy some of the old content, but it IS hard to watch since it is not great quality (not restored) very often.

[ChrisW6ATV]

Originally Posted by Phantom Stranger

I intend to replace all my dvds eventually with the equivalent BDs. The only ones I won't be replacing are movies I bought blind and ended up not liking.

Same here, plus some movies I have only on Laser Disc if they ever make it onto Blu-ray.

[Faceless Rebel]

Originally Posted by Evan_H

But primarily I want to replace my animation. Both 2D and 3D animation.

So it turns out they are now releasing both Code Geass and R2 on Blu-ray in Japan.

The first disc has ONE EPISODE ON IT and costs the Japanese yen equivalent of $45.
The second disc has 3 episodes and costs the Japanese yen equivalent of $70.

In case you don't believe me:
http://www.yesasia.com/us/code-geass...0-en/info.html
http://www.yesasia.com/us/code-geass...0-en/info.html

Even the Japanese are turning to anime piracy now, and that's saying something, because the douchebags who are in charge of anime studios actually think they can charge this kind of money for their product.

As much as I want to replace my animation, it's just not going to happen when the anime studio cartel thinks they can rape the customer like this and we'll just tolerate that kind of utter garbage and enjoy it.

[tcfiero]

I am looking for the Original Star Wars Trilogy. I currently have the theatrical on VHS and DVD. I have the special editions on VHS, VCD, and DVD

[Battletoad]

I sold almost all of my 600+ DVDs when I went purple. Only things I kept were a few TV boxed sets, like Arrested Development, Mr. Show, Seinfeld,ect.
A good deal of it was pruning out poor blind buys, but several hundred will be replaced with their Blu counterparts in time.

Overboard? Perhaps, but once I saw my first HD image I couldn't go back to watching mere DVDs anymore.

[ca1ore]

Same as when DVD replaced LaserDisc:

1. Buy all new movies in BR (except certain kids movies/cartoons that still need to play in the car).
2. Replace certain 'cornerstone' DVDs where the picture quality advantages are clear and obvious or it is a Top 10 favorite.
3. Live with the rest!

[eganov]

Simple.

1. Rent everything first.
2. Only (re)buy classics.

Double dipping cost is insignificant as I have very few classics.

[Nosferax]

Originally Posted by Everdog

Here is my "Blu-ray replacement strategy"....

As HD digital downloads become more prevalent, I will add them to my media server and get rid of the pain-in-the-rear BDs. There is nothing better than not having to worry about misplacing discs, losing discs, the kids putting discs in the wrong box, scratching discs, having to store disc boxes that are different sizes, etc.
Also, it is great when a server remembers where you left off 6 months ago, or pops up a description to read as well as a rating. And being able to flip between movies in seconds rather than having to wait for those long load times and being forced to watch trailers, is priceless. I can live with a few macro-blocks, but being force to watch Disney logos, BD ads, and FBI warning for 10 minutes is a real pain.

Maybe some day Sony will say it is OK to backup BDs to a media server, but until then I will have to settle for 1080p downloads.

Sony isn't the only member of the BDA, so it's not their decision alone. And good luck restoring those movie when you have a HD crash. And oh yes those do happens once in a while.

[ack_bk]

I have been very selective which DVD's I upgrade to Blu-Ray. I watch the sales, and have been slowly selling off my DVD collection. I had a number of DVD's that were blind buys that I only watched once and did not plan on watching again.

I would say I have double dipped on about 30 titles so far on Blu-Ray/HD DVD. I do not double dip on comedies and chick flicks.

[cobolisdead]

I plan on replacing my DVDs if it's a title that I really like. Otherwise, I'll just wait a bit longer until I can get it in a clearance bin.

[avsucky]

I have been gone a long time.... nothing's changed here. The same ol' broken record being played over and over.

Write off, BD. Counter: Write off, DL. Both are strong enough to be viable delivery options.


I am more concerned with the DRM issues and replacement issues surrounding DLs, but agree managed copy still should be an option for BD users.

I see DLs eventually replacing the rental market, but not until their offerings can compete quality wise.

Storage and file integrity is a huge issue for purchased DLs. If the DL industry wants to go that route, then they have a lot of issues that need addressing. We have already seen "unlimited use" services fail and the subscribers were left high and dry with useless data files.

[eddy_winds]

Rent everything first.

[ack_bk]

Originally Posted by Everdog

Guess you haven't ever heard of RAID or noticed that a 1 TB drive can be had for $99. By the way a media server allows you watch movies in multiple places...with out having to have the discs in every room!

Yes and I am sure the masses will be flocking to complex HTPC's with RAID arrrays. Better hope your HTPC never gets hit with a virus either..

You can't skip the FBI warning, and you can't skip the disc load time, and you can't skip the time it takes to find the disc box, etc...and yes it can take up to 10 minutes for everything (especially if your disc is a BD-J one). Nice try though.

I have a PS3. Most movies load very quickly. Yes you cannot skip the FBI warning, but it is not that painful. And it is not 10 minutes. You seem to be trying way too hard here..

Next time try timing how long it takes you to get up and walk over to where the discs are, find the box you want, open it and carry it over to the Blu-ray player, insert the disc, wait for it to load, go sit back down, wait for the logos and things you can bypass to play, skip all the stuff you don't want to see, etc.

I have all my movies (DVD, BD, HD DVD) cataloged and organized. And I am not that lazy. Honestly, you are blowing this way out of proportion.

Now try doing this with your PS3/360/etc...select your media server, select the movie you want to see, watch the movie. It you change your mind, stop it and select another one. Cool huh?


Please BDA and Sony, let us rip movies to our media servers legally. Then I'll buy more BDs!

I have a PS3 and have owned a 360. As far as downloads go, I have been very unimpressed with the quality (720p, lossy audio, can't own the movie, no extras, annoying buffer time for download, PSN does not even offer 5.1 sounds on their HD downloads, etc).

And you did not address my question. Where are you getting quality 1080p downloads that let you own the movie? What is the audio quality? Extras?

[phansson]

Everdog, you are reaching. We all know you were not happy with the outcome of the "format war". Try to give it a rest.

This thread is a "reasons for replacing your SD DVD" thread. Not a "why I hate Blu Ray" thread.

[phansson]

I replace my SD DVD's with Blu Ray:

1. If the price is right. Example:I purchased both of the Kill Bill discs the other day for $40. -$20 rebate for owning the SD DVD. Trade my two SD DVD discs in at dvdplanet for $8. That means those discs were $6 each net. Darn good deal. BTW, I would have upgraded these at full retail also.

2. Movies that I really enjoy and have replay potential.

3. Quality usually isn't an issue. Most of time it is a nice upgrade on video as well as audio.

As for new releases, I do not purchase SD DVD anymore. If there is a movie out on SD DVD only, I will rent. SD DVD on a 106" screen just doesn't have enough information.