Why do people collect DVDs?

[tigerbait]

<< . to me audio is more important than video. >>



I agree. While a properly made Divx movie can look pretty good, the sound is lacking when you are used to DD and DTS.

 

[tigerbait]

<< about divx.. wasn't there a video disc format called divx a few years back that worked on the premise that you buy the disc cheap but can only watch it once >>



yup, that was offered through Circuit City. You had a modified DVD player, and you would "buy" a DVD disc that would activate upon first viewing and work for a few days thereafter. After the rental was expired, it gave you to option to spend the difference to buy the disc. I was an employee at CC back then, and the management was always on us to push the Divx players instead of the regular DVD players. When they pulled the plug on Divx, we employees were so happy. And the price of Divx "rentals" went from 5.99 to 1.99, and some people found ways to get their machines to play the movie after the viewing period ended.

 

[Nefrodite]

i'm so happy that circuit city divx died. it was like dvd without any special features and big brother breathing down your back. each player had a @#% modem that would dial out and charge your ass each time you wanted to play a movie

 

[junthin]

I collect DVD's since I can get to watch movies I like over and over again in very high quality, and also watch the extras as well. And besides, my DVD's usually cost me around $9 to $10 each.

Price of a downloaded DivX Movie:
$0.00

Price of a CDR:
$0.10

Price of a DVD:
$10.00

Price of a long Divx vs DVD debate on the AT Forums:
Priceless

However, DVD still owns the DivX format in terms of quality.

 

[tigerbait]

<< it was like dvd without any special features >>



and if I remember correctly, it was almost impossible to find a widescreen divx movie. Everything was pan&scan.

 

[Sachmho]

If collecting movies in DVD format is weird, in what format should we get them, VHS? C'mon..

seriously; people for all time have had a bunch of movies... now instead of VHS they're DVD... is it that crazy to prefer quality?

pointless question...

 

[RabidMongoose]

<< I have the same question. It's not like they're going to be worth anything as collectors items. Some people seem to love having hundreds of DVDs. You'd have to watch the movie several times to break even and I'm sure that the vast majority of people will never get their money's worth out of this vs. rental fees so I guess the reason people do them is because they like to see shelf after shelf of DVD in their own place instead of a movie store. >>



Nah, some DVDs are collector items! Sometimes when a DVD goes OOP (out of print), the price will skyrocket. There are some DVDs that sell for around $100-$300!

My average is probably about $7 for about 150 DVDs. There used to be great bargains and we would just end up selling the extra ones on eBay to lower the average. If a blockbuster rental is going to cost me $4-$5, I'd rather buy the DVD if I can.

Oh, and I think my $7 average would drop once I sell my stash of rare DVDs

 

[VirusDub]

I buy DVDs that I know I will watch over and over and over again. My collection is at 12 right now, and it probably won't get much bigger (until at least I can afford the $35 for Clerks). Anyway, I've watched every DVD in my collection at least ten times, which means I've gone way past breaking even. I've watched Snatch over thirty times, The Big Lebowski around 25, Bulworth close to twenty, and The Princess Bride around fifteen. I don't collect DVDs, I buy them so that I can be entertained whenever I want.

 

[minendo]

I really dont know why I keep buying DVD's, but I think its cause I just enjoy watching movies over and over again. I'd probably have a lot of extra money if I didnt keep buying movies.

Ive got just over 100 DVDs now.

 

[Nefrodite]

ah well, finally bothered to download the warcraft divx. very kewl game, i can't wait but the divx did not impress me, it was like most any 1 cd rip i've seen, not the best its res was 640x288, not dvd at all, there was pixelation, clarity seemed to be missing not a good example at all. its audio is fine because it is mp3 ~224kbs nuttiness which totally isn't for 1 cd rip.. let alone 2.

 

[cappsa]

<< I have the same question. It's not like they're going to be worth anything as collectors items. Some people seem to love having hundreds of DVDs. You'd have to watch the movie several times to break even and I'm sure that the vast majority of people will never get their money's worth out of this vs. rental fees so I guess the reason people do them is because they like to see shelf after shelf of DVD in their own place instead of a movie store. >>



This isn't necessarily true. I started buying DVDs 2.5 years ago. The average price of my collection is around $6.00 each. A rental costs $3.87 here at Blockbuster and $3.00 at Family Video. I watch a movie twice(or once if I return it late), and it's paid for. Now most of the deals have dried up, and it's hard to get a movie under $16.00(except through Columbia House), so I'm only buying movies I really, really want, and asking for them as gifts. I had ~100 at the start of 2001, and I have about 120 now, so my buying has slowed down since the deals have gone south.

 

[Jzero]

DIVX may be compatible on your computer, but I don't know many people with a 27" or larger monitor and half-decent sound system on their computer. Add'ly, when you can get a good quality set-top player for as low as $200, why would you bother using a far more expensive computer to do the job, and often times not as well?

I got news for you: Technical merits or mpeg2 and mpeg4 aside, the end result is what makes the difference. I can't put a DIVX cd (unless it's a VCD?) in my set-top and expect it to play. I don't want to have to spend through two hours wading through pr0n banners and screwed up servers trying to find a movie on DIVX.

The movie has to get encoded, SOMEHOW. If you HAD it on DVD, why would you waste the time and disc space encoding it?
There's only one answer to that--so you can share it illegally. DIVX has one chief function--to allow cheapskates to get movies without paying for them. It doesn't matter if there's legitimate uses. There were legit uses for Napster and there's legit uses for pot, and look where those are in the legal food chain...
It's not the same as ripping all your CDs to MP3. Having a vast juke box of movies is pretty silly sice you aren't going to play them at random and sit through any great number of them at any time. Seeing as you have 90 min or more before you have to swap DVDs, that's really no comparsion to CDs where you'd have to swap them every 45 min or so.

I have lots of friends that have vast jukeboxes of DIVX movies. And I know what they do with them.

 

[LostHiWay]

Man some of you guys with 100 DVD are just sad...


















Come on...I have 567 DVD's and still going strong, and I just got a 65" HD Widescreen TV to watch them on.

Yes I know I'm insane!

 

[Modeps]

<< Most people cannot afford 5.1 sound setups ANYWAY.

<<
You dont know anything, why are you talking? 5.1 setups are not as expensive as you may think. I got my father a setup last year for about 150 bucks. Granted its not 'Movie theatre' quality, but its good enough to get the extra *uNF* out of your DVD player. Plus, the difference in 5.1 and L/R Stereo is insane. No matter how 'cheap' your 5.1 is, it's better than normal stereo.

Im not an audiophile, but Cambridge Soundworks' sells decent little packages that run usually around 250 - 300 dollars. It's worth every peny.

 

[conjur]

<< Bathurst, King, Steels and Sheppard
Where all that people, hot dogs no more,
All Whom eat, pls pay first,
Hot dog is one great delicous item. >>




WTF?!?!?!


Crack = Bad

 

[Glock30]

Heh why buy DVDs at all when you can download them from Gnutella network?

 

[murphy55d]

I only buy DVDs that I can't rent elsewhere. Mostly concert/music video collections... I usually watch a movie once, and then not again for a year. I prefer to just rent.

 

[slickdude50]

Well it beats VHS, especially when you have kids like me who waTch the freakin Lion King movie fifty-million times. Plus DVD cases look much cooler than VHS. And there is a scene you love to watch you dont need to fast forward your vhs everytime.

 

[S0me1X]

I'm too poor to start a DVD collection... but I have plans for a big DVD collection some day (starting with the complete Ranma DVD and whatever other box set animes )

 

[KokomoGST]

DVDs rock over VHS for so many reasons, so isn't the real question... why not?

<sarcasm>Oh, I LOVE anime DVDs and the companies that bring them to the US</sarcasm>
Yes, even though I own a few myself, I find that overall, the state of the US anime industry sucks sour frog @$$...
the quality of the translation is usually sucky, the costs are often prohibitive, and extras... what extras??

You look at the DVDs in Japan and see all these inserts and collectors items in them... but we get "diddlypoo!"

 

[StageLeft]

<< I buy DVDs that I know I will watch over and over and over again. My collection is at 12 right now, and it probably won't get much bigger (until at least I can afford the $35 for Clerks). Anyway, I've watched every DVD in my collection at least ten times, which means I've gone way past breaking even. I've watched Snatch over thirty times, The Big Lebowski around 25, Bulworth close to twenty, and The Princess Bride around fifteen. I don't collect DVDs, I buy them so that I can be entertained whenever I want. >>

Good movies but this just makes me sad to hear you've watched any one movie 30 times.

 

[NTB]

Why do I collect DVDs? Mostly because a lot of the stuff I want isn't out for rent; not around here (St. Louis) at any rate - I collect mostly anime DVDs, a few music video/concert ones, and there are a few TV series I'd like to get. Hollywood movies are easy to come by, though, and I do usually rent those. Only ones I buy are my favorites and any ones that I can get a good deal on. As for getting my money's worth, I've watched most of my DVDs at least twice. Also, I have a couple of friends who are into anime, and we try to collect different series at the same time, so that we can borrow from eachother if we want something new to watch.

Nate

 

[clarkmo]

Divx is just dandy for pc watching, tv out and you can use 5.1 or ac3 soundtracks. Dix 3.11 is Microsft's mpg4 codec but hacked nad so you are encoding to raw mp4. Whaddaya lose? A little sharpness, maybe. A little detail, maybe. So many comments about how it's no good and I get great quality. There is no disputing what I see, either, as I have triple prescription progressive trifocal high index lenses on my nose and thus can just lean back or forward to get a sharper view. Until you can say the same, your dvd/divx comparisons/complaints just don't hold water.

 

[voodooguy]

<< There is no disputing what I see, either, as I have triple prescription progressive trifocal high index lenses on my nose >>



I have no idea what a progressive trifocal is but WORD!!!

 

[pulse8]

<< I have no idea what a progressive trifocal is but WORD!!! >>



Only you would support something when you have no clue as to what it is.