TV DVD: What Influences Your Purchase? (1 Viewer)

[Ravi K]

For blind buys it is critical/audience acclaim combined with good price. I don't want to spend $40 on something I may not like.

For stuff I've seen its a combination of rewatchability and what I'm willing to pay for it. Some sets will probably NEVER come down in price, so if I like the show enough I'll splurge. I'm glad I'm not a Star Trek fan or I'd be screwed

Uncut episodes are important for all TV shows I buy, and to some extent, so is music. It wasn't until after I bought Wonderfalls that I read some of the music was replaced, but it probably wouldn't have made a difference in my purchase decision if I had known about it before.

 

[Ethan Riley]

1.) Faux widescreen: NO WAY. I went on and on earlier about how I refused to buy Dark Shadows: 1991 because of this butchery. The studios can grow up and start understanding that NOBODY wants this rubbish...EVER.

2.) Music replacement: Who cares. This doesn't make the slightest bit of difference to me, if the songs were played as part of the background. A lot of people get upset because the background songs were changed. Why do they care? This is mostly reflected at Dawson's Creek: those pesky songs used to blare away in the background during quiet, dramatic scenes. You would have Dawson talking to his mom about his dad's tragic death, and Pop Star #1 of the moment would start warbling some incomprehensible WHAA WHAAA WHAAAAAAA in the background. There are some episodes that I can barely understand because of said warbling. I don't know why dvd fans get so upset over the deletion of American Idol rejects from the soundtrack.

3.) Price: by now there is a lot of competition in the tv-dvd market. This is hopefully stabilizing prices overall. I hope that by now, gone are the days when a season set costs $100 or more. What's done is done; I bought all my Star Trek TNGs and TOSs at about $100. No more. Whatever else comes out better be a lot more reasonable. This goes for HBO too; in the case of the Sopranos they try to charge you $80 for 12 whoppin' episodes. YEAH, RIGHT.

 

[TravisR]

The people who said that it has an effect on their purchases. Just like you wouldn't buy something that was altered to fill a 16 x 9 TV.

And to answer the thread's question, the only thing truly influences my purchase is if I like the show.

 

[Eve Brown]

Has to be a show I like and there are plenty of those. I have brought a few things blind if there was a good sale. When i started really watching tv shows on a weekily base, i got into taping them. Now that the dvds are out its so much easier and takes up less space then the vhs.


I often feel ready to give up tv and just wait for the dvds.
At first background music replaced brothered me but in the end I probably would not remember the song anyway. Now i want uncut episodes at a good price.

I do most of my of my tv dvd shopping online since its easier to compare prices.
My most spend on a set was Buffy Chosen Collection under $112 for 7 seasons works out to about $16 per season

Most spent on single season Twilight Zone Def. Collection 1 season $70.19 (gift for my mom so worth it)

Most spent on a single season that I wanted Profiler 1 and 2 seasons for $53.17 each

Least spent on series most of the simpsons seasons around $10 and all under $20 (all brought brand new)

 

[Joe Karlosi]

The main thing for me is if I like the show and wish to see it again and again. I won't usually buy TV shows I've never seen much before, but I must say that if the price is right I may take the plunge and give it a shot. I'm becoming interested in popping on one episode a night, and my wife has started me on NIP/TUCK (unusual for me, because I don't watch much new TV).

If I really want a certain show, price is not a factor. However - just this morning I was going to use some Christmas money to purchase Season One of the TWILIGHT ZONE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION, but that $103.99 price tag was too insane, so I put it back on the shelf in the hope that it may come down twenty bucks or so.

As for the "music changes" and "fake widescreen," these things haven't yet plagued any TV show that I'm interested in, thank goodness. But if the day comes, I'll have to swallow it if I want the show at all. I'm dying for THE ODD COUPLE on DVD, but if they released it with fake WS and I had no other alternative other than edited TV prints, I'd rather have the WS over nothing at all. Hell, I even bought the last 2 seasons of LOST IN SPACE with very weak-looking transfers, just to have it over my edited TV copies. In these cases, if protesting these company decision by NOT buying would do me any good, I'd certainly try it - but I don't think that sends the studios any message except making them falsely believe "nobody wants this program".

 

[Andy_Bu]

If its a show I know and love (Farscape, B5 etc), price is no option.


If its a blind buy I look for recommendations from people who know what I like and then I search out good sales, like the brilliant 7 Season Buffy set which was too highly recommended and to cheap to not give a shot to.

Andy