4k UHD has made DVDs and Blu-Ray basically worthless (1 Viewer)

[James Ryfun]

"Worth" is truly in the eye of the beholder. I still buy and enjoy DVD & blu-ray. For me, its about having and enjoying the films I love even if they aren't pristine. Heck, I still find joy watching lousy prints of old films on those cheap 'Mill Creek 50 Classics' sets because they bring me back to my childhood.

Not that picture quality is irrelevant, clearly not, its just never been an overriding factor for me. The fact that its a buyers market when it comes to older formats has me smiling ear to ear.

But of course and as always, your mileage may vary.

 

[Frankie_A]

We end up buying the DVD, the Blu-Ray and then the 4k UHD over time without being able to get rid of the previous version wasting both space and money.

Not to mention tons and tons o unrecyclable plastic and metal -- just more garbage that we have no way of reusing or know how to get rid of.

 

[Bartman]

Not to mention tons and tons o unrecyclable plastic and metal -- just more garbage that we have no way of reusing or know how to get rid of.

I believe the plastic cases can be recycled. The discs less so, as the're plastic/aluminum/lacquer composite.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I believe the plastic cases can be recycled. The discs less so, as the're plastic/aluminum/lacquer composite.

I'm not so sure they're not recyclable, given that PET containers [combination of metal, plastic and wood pulp] are recyclable. It may be a question of the infrastructure being developed to do so.

 

[dagover]

The result? We end up buying the DVD, the Blu-Ray and then the 4k UHD over time without being able to get rid of the previous version wasting both space and money.

When we downsized from our house of 20 years to an apartment, we must have given a couple hundred DVDs to Goodwill. After the move, we bought a 4K UHD TV, and all-region 4K UHD player. In 4 years, I've only bought two 4K UHD discs. I only upgrade my hundreds of bootlegs to DVD, if I like the film. Only select favorites of DVD get upgraded to blu-ray, depending on quality or added scenes. In some cases, I still prefer an old DVD to BD, or BD to UHD, especially when some BD or UHD's edit scenes.

My only two 4K UHDs, you ask? Eureka's Limited Edition of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, and the Studio Canal import of Dawn of the Dead. I have bootlegs, dvd, and BD of Caligari and have to admit that the 4K UHD was a noticeable improvement over those. Dawn of the Dead, which my wife and I saw at a drive-in, and again at indoor theater when it came out was an improvement over our old VHS & dvd. I've resisted buying the Night of the Living Dead 4K UHD, which my wife and I saw at a drive-in 3 nights in a row, while dating in 1968. Besides airing often on TCM, no video can re-create the experience of sitting in the back seat of a car watching a zombie film, while other movie-goers walk past your car shuffling in stones going to and from the snack bar. We miss those drive-in days.

 

[tenia]

It's an interesting point, but while it probably didn't help, I doubt UHD is the main responsible for making "DVD and BD" worthless on second hand markets. First because most of the market has always been kinda worthless at resale even before UHD appeared on the market, save for some very specific stuff; second because it's not as if UHD has replaced the other 2 formats within consumers' practices. I own dozens of releases I could resale at least twice their face value, but they're specific releases. Everything else is easier to drop for free at charities or cinematheques, than trying to sell them for pennies on the dollars, which is what I did 15 years with some of them and since stopped doing because it's not worth the time and energy. But it was way before UHD was introduced.

I'm not so sure they're not recyclable, given that PET containers [combination of metal, plastic and wood pulp] are recyclable. It may be a question of the infrastructure being developed to do so.

A lot of multi-components, especially assembled like video discs, currenty aren't recyclable because we don't know how to efficiently separate each layer. That's the same issue than for plastic-coated cardboard cups you think are recycled but actually aren't.

PET containers, if you mean the plastic ones, are not multi-layered materials.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Yeah, the last several times I sold any DVDs were during stoop sales (ie. garage sales done w/out a garage in neighborhoods like mine) that my kids were doing when they were still (pre-teen) young back some 12-17 years ago... and sold them for maybe $1 each -- at first, we did get $2-3 each, but it became $1 (or less) by the last couple times... and there was this one guy (in his mid-40's?) who would regularly swing by looking/asking and buying a bunch to send to the military overseas.

These days I may just donate any unwanted discs (whether the small number of remaining DVDs or some BDs) and maybe other stuff (like unused, outdated or obsoleted AV gear) to my church for their version of garage sales, if not Good Will, Salvation Army or the local library perhaps (and I do live near 2 libraries, including the biggest one in Brooklyn... though that one is ~1 mile away).

I could also just leave them out in front of my house free for passers-by too of course -- and my house sees plenty of pedestrian foot traffic these days...

_Man_

 

[Douglas R]

I rarely try to sell on eBay now, items go for such a low price and it’s too much hassle listing and packing them, not to mention the awkward buyers who complain about a hair scratch or crease on a booklet. I take most to the charity shop and they list them all, DVDs and Blu-rays at £1.00, less than a US dollar.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Ever since my local Hastings Entertainment closed, there isn’t an avenue for me to sell used discs unless I want to put up with eBay (which I’m not willing to do) so I just donate them to Goodwill.

 

[Bartman]

I rarely try to sell on eBay now, items go for such a low price and it’s too much hassle listing and packing them, not to mention the awkward buyers who complain about a hair scratch or crease on a booklet. I take most to the charity shop and they list them all, DVDs and Blu-rays at £1.00, less than a US dollar.

Local libraries won't take them either. My town library has Kanopy, when I run out of discs to watch I'm going to sign up.

 

[Keith Cobby]

A couple of times a year I go through my discs and any that I won't watch again or have upgraded I give to friends or sell through MusicMagpie. Scan the barcode for a price (some have no current value but might next time) and MM send a QR code for a free return. Prices are very variable but usually discs imported from the US attract higher values, though second hand prices are on a steep downward trend.

 

[Douglas R]

A couple of times a year I go through my discs and any that I won't watch again or have upgraded I give to friends or sell through MusicMagpie. Scan the barcode for a price (some have no current value but might next time) and MM send a QR code for a free return. Prices are very variable but usually discs imported from the US attract higher values, though second hand prices are on a steep downward trend.

That might be useful for my US imports which I no longer want because even charity shops are unable to take them because it's illegal to sell discs in the UK without a British Board of Film Classification certificate.

 

[TheMovieDude]

I have enough discs to last me for the rest of my life. There are comparatively few titles I don't have in any format and most of my funds are now spent on upgrading. I buy very few contemporary films or television series.

Owning a film on DVD is better than not owning it at all. Owning it on Blu-Ray is even better. And owning the 4k UHD is a luxury, not a necessity.

 

[Jasper70]

Just returned from a buying trip, I’m a seller of media. There are stores that actually give decent trade credit, especially for Blu-ray and 4K discs. I traded about three postage bins worth of DVDs and CDs, all worthless to me, meaning online value is less than $5 and I got over $200 in credit which I used to purchase more DVDs for resale.
I have over 4,000 discs mostly DVDs. I have a small Blu-ray collection and a very small 4K collection.
While physical media has slowed down, DVDs are still my best seller.
I have many TV series in my collection, again mostly DVDs. Some look fantastic to my eyes like Mannix and the original Hawaii 5-0.
Last year I was watching Emergency on the DVD sets. Probably the worst picture quality of any DVDs I have watched. When I was close to the end of season five the series was released in HD and I bought it for $30. The picture quality was incredible.
While I greatly prefer buying the physical copy I do have a small digital collection as well. Most were from movies I bought to sell, I have found it easier to sell them without a digital copy because I have no way of knowing if the code is valid. I have purchased four TV series digitally. Emergency, Hill Street Blues, LHOTP and the original Magnum PI, which when I purchased it there was no domestic Blu-ray release but after MC released it I got it.
Most of the TV shows I’d like to have are from the 70s and 80s. I’m definitely a buyer if more come out but who knows when or if that will happen.
Still want Seinfeld in 4K. Budget is tight but I’ll get it eventually.

 

[Bartman]

Just returned from a buying trip, I’m a seller of media. There are stores that actually give decent trade credit, especially for Blu-ray and 4K discs. I traded about three postage bins worth of DVDs and CDs, all worthless to me, meaning online value is less than $5 and I got over $200 in credit which I used to purchase more DVDs for resale.
I have over 4,000 discs mostly DVDs. I have a small Blu-ray collection and a very small 4K collection.
While physical media has slowed down, DVDs are still my best seller.
I have many TV series in my collection, again mostly DVDs. Some look fantastic to my eyes like Mannix and the original Hawaii 5-0.
Last year I was watching Emergency on the DVD sets. Probably the worst picture quality of any DVDs I have watched. When I was close to the end of season five the series was released in HD and I bought it for $30. The picture quality was incredible.
While I greatly prefer buying the physical copy I do have a small digital collection as well. Most were from movies I bought to sell, I have found it easier to sell them without a digital copy because I have no way of knowing if the code is valid. I have purchased four TV series digitally. Emergency, Hill Street Blues, LHOTP and the original Magnum PI, which when I purchased it there was no domestic Blu-ray release but after MC released it I got it.
Most of the TV shows I’d like to have are from the 70s and 80s. I’m definitely a buyer if more come out but who knows when or if that will happen.
Still want Seinfeld in 4K. Budget is tight but I’ll get it eventually.

We've been watching Seinfeld on a local OTA TV channel so I'm pretty sure Seinfeld sources are not worthy of 4K. CBS/Paramount TV series from the 60s & 70s shot on 35mm look particularly good on DVD. Of course, 4:3 has a resolution advantage over 16:9. While I've upgraded many DVD movies to Blu-ray, I'll be keeping TV series on DVD, the content is more important than the media. Cheers!

 

[cinefan]

Just returned from a buying trip, I’m a seller of media. There are stores that actually give decent trade credit, especially for Blu-ray and 4K discs. I traded about three postage bins worth of DVDs and CDs, all worthless to me, meaning online value is less than $5 and I got over $200 in credit which I used to purchase more DVDs for resale.

I managed to sell a bunch of DVDs and blu-rays to a dealer recently for what I thought was a fair price.

For a while I'd been accumulating DVDs and blu-rays that I have upgraded to blu-ray or 4K, respectively. Maybe 150ish titles all together. In addition to the upgrades that included maybe 10 or so titles I just decided were not worth my precious shelf space anymore. It was mostly DVD but maybe a dozen blu-rays. Since it was almost all stuff I have upgraded, everything of course is available in newer editions of some kind that, at least in my judgement, were in some way superior. On the other hand they were almost all what I would call "good titles" -- not a lot of Mill Creek, direct-to-video, etc. And they were by-and-large in good-to-excellent condition -- both the discs and the packaging. In fact, at the risk of someone telling me I got taken to the cleaners or had something super-rare that I foolishly let get away, I'll include the pics I took of everything I had.

Maybe a month ago I took them to a local shop that sells first- and second-hand movies, cds, vinyl, video games, collectibles, etc. While I browsed around one of the employees spent about 15 minutes going through what I had. I looked at their movie section and they had a *lot* of DVDs and blus. So I figured they were well-stocked and wouldn't have much need for my stuff.

When I talked to the guy he asked me if I wanted cash or store credit. I'm pretty much out of shelf-space so I said cash (and never found out what the store credit offer would have been). They offered me $220.00 for the lot. Honestly I didn't expect that. I said "you want all of them?". (I was thinking they would maybe take select titles). He said yeah -- they're generally in good condition and good titles so they could put nearly all of them directly into their main stock (as opposed to I guess needing to clean them up or put most into the cheap dump bins they had).

Is it a lot less than I spent accumulating them over the years? Of course. Could I have gotten more selling them individually with a *lot* more effort? Perhaps. The realistic alternative for me would have been to give them away. So I took the cash.

The store has been around a while so I think they know what they are doing in terms of this being a good deal for them. I really hope they make a decent profit off of them because it is a very cool store.

 

[Jasper70]

I managed to sell a bunch of DVDs and blu-rays to a dealer recently for what I thought was a fair price.

For a while I'd been accumulating DVDs and blu-rays that I have upgraded to blu-ray or 4K, respectively. Maybe 150ish titles all together. In addition to the upgrades that included maybe 10 or so titles I just decided were not worth my precious shelf space anymore. It was mostly DVD but maybe a dozen blu-rays. Since it was almost all stuff I have upgraded, everything of course is available in newer editions of some kind that, at least in my judgement, were in some way superior. On the other hand they were almost all what I would call "good titles" -- not a lot of Mill Creek, direct-to-video, etc. And they were by-and-large in good-to-excellent condition -- both the discs and the packaging. In fact, at the risk of someone telling me I got taken to the cleaners or had something super-rare that I foolishly let get away, I'll include the pics I took of everything I had.

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Maybe a month ago I took them to a local shop that sells first- and second-hand movies, cds, vinyl, video games, collectibles, etc. While I browsed around one of the employees spent about 15 minutes going through what I had. I looked at their movie section and they had a *lot* of DVDs and blus. So I figured they were well-stocked and wouldn't have much need for my stuff.

When I talked to the guy he asked me if I wanted cash or store credit. I'm pretty much out of shelf-space so I said cash (and never found out what the store credit offer would have been). They offered me $220.00 for the lot. Honestly I didn't expect that. I said "you want all of them?". (I was thinking they would maybe take select titles). He said yeah -- they're generally in good condition and good titles so they could put nearly all of them directly into their main stock (as opposed to I guess needing to clean them up or put most into the cheap dump bins they had).

Is it a lot less than I spent accumulating them over the years? Of course. Could I have gotten more selling them individually with a *lot* more effort? Perhaps. The realistic alternative for me would have been to give them away. So I took the cash.

The store has been around a while so I think they know what they are doing in terms of this being a good deal for them. I really hope they make a decent profit off of them because it is a very cool store.

Most of these have little value however there are some here that I’d buy to sell online. I think you did good. When I trade I want trade credit because it is usually significantly higher than the cash offer, I’m interested in buying inventory to sell, unlike most people.
DVD prices fluctuate. Of course Blu-ray prices do as well. I hold certain titles back from trading them because they usually come back into a profitable position.

 

[Indy Guy]

Does anyone agonize about tossing a $20 ticket stub after seeing a film in the theater or tossing a magazine after it has been read?
Why do we place viewed discs on a different pedestal?
We enjoyed the viewing experience and after that it's just a question of collectability vs discarding without remorse.
I have a few movie ticket stubs that have meaning to me...Star Wars opening day at the Chinese for instance, and some select vintage magazines with articles/photos that mean something to me, but the countless others gave no concern to toss.
I share the angst of tossing a disc in the trash for various reasons. A few years back all award screeners were provided on DVD or BR. After viewing you were "respectfully asked" to cut them in half with scissors! I must admit I didn't do that to all the titles I received, but it was actually pleasurable to do the deed on a good many award candidates!
The real justification in keeping vs tossing is how meaningful is this magical artifact after it has been viewed? It most likely will never ve played again, but if it remains in your safe keeping it will be faithfully there just waiting should the desire ever return.

 

[Robin9]

Does anyone agonize about tossing a $20 ticket stub after seeing a film in the theater or tossing a magazine after it has been read?
Why do we place viewed discs on a different pedestal?
We enjoyed the viewing experience and after that it's just a question of collectability vs discarding without remorse.
I have a few movie ticket stubs that have meaning to me...Star Wars opening day at the Chinese for instance, and some select vintage magazines with articles/photos that mean something to me, but the countless others gave no concern to toss.
I share the angst of tossing a disc in the trash for various reasons. A few years back all award screeners were provided on DVD or BR. After viewing you were "respectfully asked" to cut them in half with scissors! I must admit I didn't do that to all the titles I received, but it was actually pleasurable to do the deed on a good many award candidates!
The real justification in keeping vs tossing is how meaningful is this magical artifact after it has been viewed? It most likely will never ve played again, but if it remains in your safe keeping it will be faithfully there just waiting should the desire ever return.

Most of my film viewing is watching discs already in my collection. For me, keeping them after the first viewing is most certainly not the same as keeping a theater ticket stub. I also have a collection of magazines which I sometime re-read.

 

[Nick*Z]

To be fair, BD has always been pretty much worthless. I've been looking to sell nearly 2,000 on E-Bay for a few years. My estimate is about $400 for all of them, leaving me to hold onto them for a bit longer, hoping someday they might become "collectible". But I doubt it very much.

That being said, my 4K collection should bring a good chunk of change when I sell it.

If you're collecting, merely to sell some day and turn a profit, you might be collecting for the wrong reasons. Formats change. And if 8K ever becomes 'a thing' on physical media, you'll be in the same boat trying to unload your 4K's.