Kiss Kiss, Unforgiven and the horrors of shopping at Circuit City (1 Viewer)

After so many member recommendations, I finally bought
and watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang on HD-DVD. Overall,
a very entertaining film that kept me amused throughout. Extremely
clever for the fact that it was constantly breaking down the 4th
wall -- the kind of stuff I just love (remember Ferris Beuller?)! I
would recommend this as a purchase.

Anyhow, let me backtrack....

I had a problem with Circuit City over the Internet which caused
me to write them and say that I would never shop there again. For
my troubles, they send me a $50 gift card which I'll give them praise
for.

I go into Circuit City with my $50 gift card. They don't have shit
as far as HD-DVD selection. All they have is a standup turntable rack
with about 10 different Warner titles. No Universal titles to be seen
anywhere. I didn't even see any Blu-Ray discs.

I picked up Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Unforgiven. That
sets me back about $63 Ouch! Thank God for the gift card.

Then, I go over to the TV area. I'm in the market for a new TV.

I talk to the salesman. Younger guy, bald like me. He keeps talking
up Blu-Ray but has no idea that there is a competing HD-DVD format.
He was quite surprised when I told him about it.

To top things off, idiot me that knows far less about hardware than
anyone, was telling him all about the benefits of 1080p and why I
needed a set capable of displaying it.

You know, it's very sad to see the quality of help at Circuit City.

Now let me fast forward....

Just started watching Unforgiven but decided to wait till
I had more time for it. Let me tell you, the opening scene in that
film REALLY shows off the benefits of HD-DVD. There's a beautiful
sunset sky draped in the deepest black I have ever seen. Then, a
narrative scroll begins with some of the most razor sharp text that
has never been seen on any television. It was amazing!

Ron,

I feel your pain with CC, not sure who is worse, CC or BB?!?!?

On a happier note, glad you liked Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, I rented from netflix (HD DVD) and found it to be quit a lot of fun.

Purchased Unforgiven and yes, it is a wonderful movie made even better on HD DVD

Hayes
(patiently waiting for Batman Begins and King Kong...)

Ron,

I'm not sure as to why CC isn't carrying Universal HD titles, but I have never been able to find them on the shelves of that chain of stores. And the Warner titles? You're lucky they were on a turntable rack. In the stores near where I live and where I work, they have them mixed in with the regular DVD titles, spine out. The same goes for Blu-Ray titles.

I just don't understand why stores such as Best Buy and Circuit City go out of their way to push HDTVs, but could care less about a new DVD format that is specifically made for those sets. I'm not saying that they should only pay attention to HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, but at least give it a little bit of respect.

Ron,

The circuit City here in Vegas, doesn't even have a HD DVD display, they just mix in the HD DVD's with the standard DVD's. And most of the "salesmen/saleswomen" don't make commision, so it's their attitude that they don't have to know everything they need to know. jsut stand stuff(if that)

the other thing to is, if the person you spoke with Ron, kept talking up Blu-Ray, he/she obviously haven't seen many titles(probally zero) and is just going on speculation. That's why I NEVER shop retail anymore!

I buy online and if I need an opinion, that's why we have a great place like HTF to get valid and honest opinions

If I can make a slight suggestion, try E-bay for the HD DVD's. I have bought three HD DVD's off of there(kiss kiss, Serenity and Lethal Weapon) one in MINT cond and the other two watched once but in EXCELLENT cond. Not a SINGLE scratch on any HD DVD

I got Serenity for $8.50 and the other two titles for about $15 each.
No problems what so ever.

I really liked KKBB... and when I get home this weekend, I plan to spin Unforgiven.

I swore I would not shop at CC, but even after the DIVX fiasco, they do occasionally have sales and merchandise that tempts me.

My last purchase there left me with high blood pressure and a red face. I ordered a DVD recorder for in-store pickup--you know, with the "ready in 24 minutes, or you get a $24 gift card" guarantee.

An hour or so later, I get to the store. They close out the purchase, and I wait. And wait. And wait. Ten minutes passes and I don't have my DVD recorder.

So I call them on it, and ask for the gift card. They had over an hour to get the package picked and ready for pickup, and yet it was still not ready when I got there. "Well, how long did it take you to get to the store? That's not fair to us!" the jerk behind the counter said. In other words, the 24 minute guarantee was not going to be honored because I did not get to the store in 24 minutes. I'll bet they never pay that $24.

A store director came over and explained that they had to go in the back room and pick the package. I had not run a stopwatch or anything like that, but I gave up. I took the player home and hooked it up--although I may return it out of spite.

I don't think CC has learned their lesson, do you?

Anyway, glad you are enjoying your discs, Ron! And if you need any assistance with upconverting standard definition, let me know.

- Steve

For the owner of one of the webs most pleasurable HT sites, your personal dealings with HD discs sure have been a pain!!!
At least you've gotten the classic upgrade benny, where you get one new piece of equipment for your system & the whole system gets a boost in performance!
Hope more & more people get into 1080p displays, helping bring the prices down FAST! Sony's next XBR will accept 1080p & lose the ugly 'ears'.

Ron,

Although CC sells HD-DVD discs in the store *and* sells Toshiba HD-DVD decks on-line, they don't sell Toshiba DVD players of any kind "over the counter". As a result, their sales staff seems totally ignorant regarding the HD-DVD format. I even had one CC salesman tell me (with a straight face) that the upconverting DVD players on the floor could play the HD-DVD discs!!

Lucky for me, I have one of those faces that screams: Don't bother talking to me! when I go into such stores. My wife, on the other hand, often tells me of the ignorance of such employees and I can only shake my head.

I was in CC last week, they had the Blue Ray stuff up front but I never did see the Toshiba or any HD-DVD stuff I don't think they had any , this is in Western Mass.

Kudos to Circuit City for giving you a $50 certificate for a discount snafu. Best Buy has done worse to me and I never got a penny.
Anyway, right about the same time you had the problem with the order, I ordered the RCA from CC and got it in 2 days shipped free (everyone was saying a week).
I have been extremely happy with my purchase (bought Goodfellas and Unforgiven and rented Lethal Weapon, Van Helsing, Constantine, and JarHead).
My Tampa Bay Circuit City has no HD DVD display and the Warner only movies are just shoved in to the regular DVDs at retail prices.
Those of us that lived through the 97, region restricted DVD launch are used to such practices.

I hate CC but the one i go into if no one else has a DVD/HD-DVD I want, has a nice big selection of every single title on display

The first week HD DVD was released, I walked into a Circuit City and the worker argued with me telling me they were only SD upconverting players and that HD DVD wasn't going to be released until the fall --- like Blu-ray.

I don't own a HR-player yet. I am planning to import a HD DVD player and a BR player during the coming year (I'm currently negotiating about getting a Toshiba HD-A1 shipped to me). So, I could'n help starting to purchasing a few HD DVD and BR discs already.

Unforgiven was the first one arriving at my door. I'm glad it's such a good example of the new format, Ron. Lethal Weapon and Serenity are on their way. And on general recommendation here on this forum, I ordered Kiss Kiss Bang Bang recently!

Next a player.


Cees


PS:
We don't have Circuit City over here. For me the name probably always will be associated with DiVX, ever since 1997.
C.

Which is why its my last resort when buying stuff

I would rather shop for DVDs at Wal Mart then CC, and i loath WM!
Our CC is dirty, when you need help you cant find it, and they always seem to be out of stock of everything.

The Knoxville West Circus City has all the HD-DVD's and Blu-rays out. They've been cheaper than Busted Buy on several titles too. Their employees are clueless two. I was there the day after Samsung gave them all a marketing pep talk. That's all this one dude knew. I set him straight. Of course, I don't know how much he believed me. He'd been huffing Blu propaganda. They don't have any HD-DVD players in the store to experiment with....