Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs? - Page 2

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

I've always only bought movies on DVD that were favorites and would be watched more than once. So I only have a few hundred DVD's.

My plan with HD is if a movie comes out on BD that I already own on DVD, then I will replace the DVD with the BD only if it contains all of the extras the DVD had. If the BD doesn't have all of the extras, I'll hold on to the DVD in addition to the BD.

For instance, I just ordered Almost Famous on BD (the UK region free version). It doesn't contain all of the extras or the theatrical version, so I'm buying an Amaray Triple replacement Blu-ray case and will use it to hold the BD and two DVD's that came with the Untitled set.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

For me, we are replacing movies we really watch multiple times. The replaced DVDs I give to people in the family to pass around or to the local library.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

I had amassed around 1,000 DVD's and started selling them off 3 years ago in anticipation of HD media--knowing there was going to be a format war and that I'd be waiting it out. I didn't jump in until this January.

At first I just sold off my "crap" titles, ones I'd buy site unseen that I thought would look and sound cool. Like "The Fast and the Furious." With no regrets there I started selling off "secondary" titles, ones I'd buy -site unseen- and found good, but would never have any interest in watching again. Like "Gosford Park" or any number of Anime titles. As of a couple of months ago I was down to around 180 discs, movies that I really enjoy and watch a lot. I also didn't buy more than 15 new releases during this time.

After all that, I decided I didn't like my collectors habit, something I never intended to do, and I plan to buy HD media more conservatively. It's a lot easier now with HD movie channels and such to pick up the slack.

For the record, estimating the total cost of my DVD library, I was able to make back about 70% on the portion I eliminated, and don't intend to remove any more titles, even as I replace them with HD versions. ( I like to A/B them, its fun for me.) I don't think I could have done nearly as well if I hadn't started started "early."

I can already tell that the "collector's instinct" has kicked in with Blu-ray, but it's a lot easier for me to say no. Still, I doubt I'll be as conservative as I planned to be.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

I'll only dump SD titles that I already own an HD version of, as I've been doing with my VHS collection. My only real reason for dumping any is to pay for more of the HD/SD movies that I still only have VHS and/or new releases. I'm kind of curious what Gamestop pays for movies. They probably have more brand new HDM than this local shop I normally pawn at.

To date, I have about 340 tapes left. I'm guessing 40 of which have never seen DVD release anywhere in the world, and there are quite a few I need to import. I'm at around 920 SD-DVDs and a dozen or so HD-DVDs.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

I've sold off about 15-20 titles that I've replaced with HD-DVD/Blu-Ray counterparts, but I still have hundreds of SD DVDs that I don't plan on getting rid of anytime soon.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

Like Doug said, I still have not replaced all my LDs(about 500) so no reason to replace all my 1500+ SDDVDs either, some titles yes as I have done with LD to SDDVD but probably only a select few. LDs & SDDVDs for the most part are not worth much on the used market if anything.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

Hell no and I won't anytime soon. It seems like alot of the people on here haven't even heard what being multi-region is anyway. Hell, there're a ton of Asian films I'm still buying which aren't even anamorphic yet and the titles I am buying I've waited for for several years.
Hell, there are still several titles I'm needing to repurchase on my wishlist I sold off a few years ago due to debts. I'm heavily into extras so I import and look for multiple versions of a title to buy to "complete" it.
I do have both formats, but the BD player is my best friends so I own more HDDVD. I import alot so being region free or no region for high def is what draws me. Doesn't matter which format of course. If I can find a particular version of a title I'm looking for, also for a great price, I'll buy it.
I'm keeping alot of my "SD" DVD's.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

At this point, I've only gotten rid of DVDs that got double-dipped with special editions......gotten credit on them at a used CD shop to use on new BDs that they get from time to time. I have no plans to clear out my collection at this point though......I will; however, buy BD copies of my favourites as they become available ( Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, etc....).

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

I just got my BD player this week... so far the only title I have is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire... I already own the first three on SD, and planned on purchasing all of them, I just hadn't gotten around to it yet, so I will continue that series in HD. I might upgrade if there is a GREAT price on the earlier ones somewhere down the line, but I'll probably end up with half and half.

I'll probably be upgrading very few movies, even out of my Disney collection (I'll upgrade Roger Rabbit cause I own it in every release, including LD, Beauty and the Beast, cause the first one's kinda messy, etc) I have no complaints about the quality of my DVD's when I watch them at 120" through my DVB-318, so I'll be OK if I don't upgrade everything. I"ll try to refrain from buying any new titles in SD, however, and if I do upgrade, unless lots of features are lost, I"ll either sell the movies on eBay or give them away (I gave all my Disney VHS tapes, and non anamorphic DVD's to friends with kids)

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

It's generally pretty easy to pick what is likely to end up on Blu over the next few years and what isn't, so I've kept my indie and cult stuff, as well as my TV sets. Any big blockbusters I figured were fair game, as they will likely all show up on Blu within five years or so (some of them will probably be triple dipped on Blu by the time five years is up, right Lionsgate?). The few big-name titles that might not be big enough to get a Blu release within a few years, and ones with directors who were sheepish to release on DVD at first (Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Lucas) are all safely stored on my HTPC.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

I shall only focus on those HD and BD titles which I do NOT already have in my optical disc (LD or DVD) collection in one form or another.

Some titles I have replaced--particularly, Good Night and Good Luck, which was the very first HD/DVD combo disc I ever purchased. I often like to buy HD/DVD combo discs as much and as often as possible as I like the option they provide from playing a disc in an HD DVD player or an sDVD player.

Otherwise, if there is no clear-cut advantage to my upgrading from an sDVD to an HD or a BD on a particular title, then I'll just hold what I've got, as I have in determining previously-adjancent title moves from LD to DVD earlier this decade.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

I've been selling every DVD in my collection that falls into the following category:

1. I know I won't want to watch it again until it comes out in hi-def, so there's no point in keeping the DVD on my shelf (Dances With Wolves was such a DVD).

2. I know it's coming out in HD in the next year or so, and I can wait to see it again until that time (Wizard of Oz and Gone With The Wind).

3. It's out on HD now and so I can finally let go of my DVD (films that I need "to have" no matter HD or DVD because I need them in the collection: Finding Nemo would be such a disc... I'll keep that on DVD until the BD arrives).

For me personally, if it's a film worth owning, it's worth owning in high-def. So it's just a matter of which of the three categories it falls into for me personally to decide "when" I sell the DVD. If a title is category 3, and it never comes out in high-def, then I'll keep the DVD indefinitely.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

For me its a matter of compatibility. Which is why I'm almost always buying films on both HD and SD, and why I'm hanging on to all my SD discs. I can't watch a blu-ray on my portable player at 30,000 feet...yet.

Doug

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

That is exactly my thought process as well. Scary.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

I've never been more excited about collecting movies than now with HDM.

While some folks will look at their legacy collection of Laser, VHS, and DVD as an obstacle to moving forward enthsuastically with a new format, I view HDM as the "holy grail" and I've longed for but never found with earlier NTSC/SD limited formats.

HD allows films to look (and sound) exactly as the director intended. Watching a movie at home that's providing full fidelity (from a 1.5 distance, we'd need 4K to sit much closer) is a revelation, and the art of cinema has never been more powerful in the HT environment than it is now.

I'll gladly jetison every SD version of every film in my collection and embrace HD with open arms.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

Ignorance is bliss I guess and I don't intend to find out how much better the Blu-ray discs are compared to SD-DVD - which is to say I won't be switching anytime soon. I am pretty happy with the quality I get out of SD-DVDs on my front projection system and I have two compelling reasons to stick to SD-DVD until the format becomes obsolete (which won't be anytime soon).

1) I have over 600 DVDs collected over a period of 10 years - about a third of them are Criterions. With the demand for used SD-DVDs fast plummeting I know that my collection isn't worth even a fraction of what I paid for it. I already have a vast majority of my favorite films in their original aspect ratios, on a format that will last for a long time (unlike VHS) and I don't see myself making the same kind of investment all over again just to get the exact same titles on Blu-ray.

2) I am mainly interested in older titles (more than half of my collection is made up of pre-1960 B&W films) and foreign arthouse fare. I don't expect to see much of an improvement in picture quality when these titles do make it to Blu-ray and whether they ever make it to Blu-ray is a big question in itself. It remains to be seen if Blu-ray will get the same kind of widespread support that SD-DVD did (how long will it be before Criterion jumps on the Blu-ray bandwagon ?) or will it remain a niche format reserved only for new releases which would see a bigger benefit from a HD presentation ?

Anyone else in the same boat as me ?

-D

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

D,

classic film can benefit enormously from HD. Don't let the "just for new movies" myth fool you. I reviewed That's Entertainment, and where newly restored HD transfers were available, many of these vintage 50's/60's musicals were stunning. Gigi in HD is a mind-blowing 3-D experience. HD allows you to experience these classics AS THEY WERE INTENDED. It's well worth it.

Ben-Hur is also slated for Blu-ray in 2009. Along with two 1.33:1 movies: Oz and Gone with the Wind. Warner will be pushing classics on HD in a big way. What the HT community needs is for *classic film collectors* like you to start buying them so the HDM sales will show well for classic titles. What gets released in HD is in YOUR hands... vote with your wallet.

Now understand folks, nobody is saying you have to dump your DVD collections or stop buying DVDs. However, if you really love the art of film, you owe it to yourself and to the films you love to buy them in HD whenever possible. Trust me, it's worth it. And I can still enjoy a DVD when no HD version is available... even on my front-projection system.

Let that front projector of your show you how good it can really look. Having a FP system and watching SD only is like buying a porche and only driving it 55 miles per hour. You deserve more!



The value of SD is not plumeting. Those Criterion editions will sell easily on Amazon or ebay as new HD versions emerge (and Criterion is already gearing up for BD releases). There will be plenty of consumers eager to buy your SD copies for many years to come. And in the meantime, enjoy the 16x9 SD DVDs that you own,and if some of those titles are represented by films that won't necessarily mark a huge improvement in HD then there's no need to upgrade every single copy. But don't short-change yourself or your films by going out of your way to avoid HD media. Trust me, you won't regret watching your films as they were meant to be seen... not one bit.

dave

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

You'd be surprised. I have to admit that my large SD DVD collection has taken on new life with the addition of my Tosh HD-A2 and its upconversion capabilities. Before this player I was using the Zenith DVB 318 which, in its own right, is highly regarded but the A2 is just sooooo much better. SD DVD on my 56" 1080p literally is HD like and the PQ on my 720p projector has also improved dramatically.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

David, did i see that right? Criterion is gearing up for BD now that the war has ended? When do you see this happening?

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

Criterion has been mastering in 1080p for some time and has already done a few test blu-ray discs and were very happy with the result. They had been holding back on moving forward with HDM waiting for the format war to end and waiting for BD-authoring costs to come down. The toolkit for BD mastering and experience required is more expensive than for SD DVD so it's a gradual process to "ramp up" for Blu-ray Discs.

My hope is that the BDA extend a helping hand to help kick-start Criterion's BD mastering/authoring and help off-set some of the initial investment costs to get them started. HD media really needs classic titles such that Criterion specializes in, and along with Warner's big push for classics this coming year and into 2009, Criterion would be a great asset to help broaded the reach of HDM among those who might represent its greatest supporters: serious collectors of serious films.

No time-frame yet, but trust me that many in the industry are as eager to see Criterion move ahead with their Blu-ray plans as we are.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

I put aside about 150 discs Id like to sell at our yearly neighborhood garage sale. This is mostly stuff I bought, but dont need, have seen so many times, arent favorites,blind buys I didnt like, etc

As for stuff Ive replaced with HD, Ive put the SD aside, not sure whether I shoudl keep them or get rid of them as I replace them with HD media.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

I'll do the same thing I did with VHS. If a better version comes out, I'll get rid of the old format. If not, I'll hang on to it. I still have a shelf of VHS tapes for movies and special programming that have never come out on DVD. And yes I still watch them.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

Am I the only one hoping that once BluRay players come down sufficiently in price that SD and BluRay kind of become interchangable, with people using BluRay players even on non HD sets, and things being sold side by side, depending on what is needed for the particular disc, sort of like DVD and CD's now have become almost interchangable in more J6P's eyes (using a single DVD player in a home theater system to play movies and listen to music on)? I would also love to see the studios that release TV on DVD release SD programs on BluRay... I mean, a whole season of the Simpsons could fit on one BD50 with TONS of extras, all in the 480i they were originally produced in...

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

Exactly. I've actually dubbed most of my irreplaceable VHS movies to DVDR to have a backup of them. I'm a bit surprised at the amount of DVDs I've had to import to replace my old VHS releases.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

I'd love to be able to sell off 3/4 of my collection, but it isn't worth the hassle for the money I'd get, except perhaps the Criterion stuff.

I wouldn't be replacing any of the titles I would get rid of.

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

I only have about 200 or so DVD's so I will only be replacing ones with blu/hd dvd for ones that I really like. I plan to sell them at my local CD shop for a small amount (maybe $5 a pop but better than nothing). I may sell off more in the future as more HDM tiltes become available...

Yes I agree that HD looks significantly better than upscaled SD but I still find my old DVD's very watchable on my 720 dlp FP. And I'm using an anamorphic lens for 2.35:1 material so I watch them really big...

A properly authored DVD still can be very enjoyable and very worthwhile even within this new Hi Def world we now live in...IMO of course

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

given the audience of us here at HTF, allow me to swing in and remind any HTF members who don't yet have an HDTV that they can *still* get a Blu-ray player and discs and watch them on their regular TV right now. Not only will that give you a way to start to invest in HD software to build a future-proofed film library, but those discs will look better on your 480p set than regular DVDs (due to the increased color space resolution and more transparent compression).

Re: Anyone else clearing out their SD-DVDs?

Well you say that, David, but what about the exciting new "multi-region" BD players listed here:

Stegen Electronics

The descriptions note that they do not have SCART outputs. So how would one connect them to a regular TV that doesn't have HDMI or component video? (I really don't think S-Video is a suitable alternative...?) (I use RGB Scart for DVD)

PS. There's absolutely NO SUCH THING as "future proofed".