Blu Ray vs. DVD

[CT]

I don't think anyone here is buying films for the picture only. You're right that would be a waste.

To me, making the switch is less about the picture (though it will be a Bonus) and more about what makes good economic sense. There's enough films I love that I have not yet added to my regular collection that it seems to make economic sense to go ahead and get them on blu Ray rather than get them on DVD and buy them again on blu Ray five years from now. I know I'd make the switch eventually so I might as well do it soon. Refusing to make the switch is of course an alternative, but it seems futile and unrealistic as I don't know anyone who only has VHS and no DVDs...

[HNT]

Agreed, although to be fair there is less of an upgrade present in switcing from DVD to bluray than there was from switching from VHS to DVD. That revolutionized the way that we collect and watch movies. I, for one, can't imagine going back to a situation where I couldn't use the chapter selection to go right back to watching a movie where I left off when I fall asleep and the movie runs to the end. When that used to happen to me on VHS I would spend a fairly long time rewinding or fast forwarding and trying to spot the exact place I left off.

Also, as someone who actually enjoys the collection of films, I think that the bonus material that has become de rigeur for DVD is something that I really enjoy and tend to take advantage of. One of the nicest things is watching a favorite film with a commentary track on if I admire the film and the actors and/or director doing the commentary. It has given me hours of enjoyment rewatching things that I likely would not have revisited so soon otherwise.

I agree with you 100% that upgrading to Bluray makes economic sense, especially if you are a collector of films as we all are, but I don't necesarily think that you are missing out as much by not making the upgrade as you would be if you stuck with VHS forever

[CT]

True, it's just the best example I could think of lol.

[Jen]

Sept 9, 2009 11:16:19 GMT -5 HNT said:

You'll be on board soon enough, GL. At this point it's only aatter of time till they stop releasing films on DVD and go bluray exclusive. I held out on switching from my VCR to DVD for all the reasons you mentioned, but eventually it was necessary.

This is what I figure is going to happen.

And I would never choose to watch something less entertaining just because the quality of the picture is better. Hell, the two we bought are ones we watch regularly because they are favorites of ours. I'm not about to buy a bunch of movies on Blu-ray that I could care less about because they "look better". The movies I will buy on Blu-ray will be movies I genuinely enjoy and don't already own on DVD (or, like with Halloween and Evil Dead 2, are pretty cheap upgrades that we will definitely be watching a lot).
There will be no blind buys for Blu-ray, though with DVDs we do blind buy once in awhile. But usually the duds are so cheap we can resale them and get our money back (a few times we got MORE than we paid...haha).

[CT]

Same here, I'll only be buying blu rays of movies I don't have on DVD aside from a select group of ultimate favorites I really wanna see in blu Ray like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Also, I actually have some favorite that I have yet to upgrade from VHS and now I can just skip from VHS to blu Ray with them.

[CT]

I'm getting player and some Blu Rays for Christmas.

[FireStar]

I see no need in getting a blu-ray player at least until I have a need to replace the one I have right now. I've heard that the picture quality isn't really worth the extra money.

[CT]

I got my player and some Bly Rays. Looks amazing, and it enhances the picture of all your regular DVDs so well it's really worth the upgrade whenever you get a chance. Love it.

[HNT]

Hmmm, the picture quality is a definite improvement. I hesitate to say whether it is "worth it" or not, because that is a personal calculation that we all have to make individually. It depends on everything from how much money you have to spare to how important collecting films is to you, to what kind of films you enjoy watching and whether they are the kind of film that will benefit significantly from a visual upgrade.

All things considered, if you don't have a high definition television yet then it really won't matter all that much. If you do, though, the difference is huge. I enjoy the upgrade, but I certainly don't think it is absolutely necessary or anything like that at this point.

[CK (old account)]

Yeah I know I am late but oh well. I made the decision to "upgrade" to Blu Ray after the holidays. I seen one that tickles my fancy its panasonic with surround sound t has all the fixings 3D capable but I dont want to get sucked into the nightmare!!! At first I will start of with Blu Rays like Star Wars LOTR and so on to purchase on BR. Im not going to hurry out and update my Kevin Smith collection I dont think I need to see Silent Bob fly through a mall dressed as a fat ass Batman in HD lol. Now Im going to show how stupid I am will BR players play a DVD as well?

And FYI I still have VHS hooked up to my 42" LCD tv

[HNT]

Yes they will. And they will upscale the DVD to 1080 and improve its quality. Definitely worthwhile

[CK (old account)]

Snoogins

[The Walking Dude]

I've taken the plunge now as well, or more precisely have dipped my feet in. Obviously because Australian releases are quite limited I needed to wait till I found a player that can be made region free for both DVDs and Blu-Ray.

It will only be special releases that I upgrade though, so for the most part I will only be getting movies that I don't already own in the format.

[abraxas]

You can codes to do that on the net, search region free etc, best thing to do is to find out how to do it and base the kind of DVD player you want on that, as some cannot be made region free

[HNT]

Aug 28, 2010 7:58:59 GMT -5 CK (old account) said:

Yeah I know I am late but oh well. I made the decision to "upgrade" to Blu Ray after the holidays. I seen one that tickles my fancy its panasonic with surround sound t has all the fixings 3D capable but I dont want to get sucked into the nightmare!!! At first I will start of with Blu Rays like Star Wars LOTR and so on to purchase on BR. Im not going to hurry out and update my Kevin Smith collection I dont think I need to see Silent Bob fly through a mall dressed as a fat ass Batman in HD lol. Now Im going to show how stupid I am will BR players play a DVD as well?

And FYI I still have VHS hooked up to my 42" LCD tv

How much is the 3D capable unit? Might be worth buying only because the time may come where we all watch 3D and you will need to upgrade anyway. So long as 3D capable televisions are obscenely expensive you won't see the immediate advantage, but eventually you will. It is like buying a new computer. SUre you can always save money in the short term by buying one with less processing speed, because inevitably there won't immediately be a use for the speed of the most powerful machined available. Problem is, you probably want your computer to last 2-4 years at a minimum, and by then you will want the speed for some applicaiton or piece of software that wasn't a consideration initially. Just like that, the time will come, maybe sooner than later, that we all want 3D. Knowing that, it might be worth it to buy a 3D capable player for a little more now rather than buying two in the long run. I guess it is a bet on whether or not you think that 3D in the home is gonna take off.