Do you keep both formats of a film? (1 Viewer)

[Keith_R]

Hey all, Now that I'm getting deeper in to Blu-Ray I'm beginning to run in to an interesting conondrum.

I use to only buy Blu titles that I did not have on DVD. Lately however, I've recently begun to start getting a few titles that I have on DVD. I have limited space and am now trying to decide on whether or not to get rid of the DVD copies of these films. The problem with this is that my house has one DVD player and one Blu player so I feel as though it is best to have one DVD copy to play back on the bedroom DVD player when it is needed. I also prefer the cases and some of the extras on certain DVD's (i.e., the case of The Departed dvd vs the Blu, or the included comic book on the Batman Begins DVD which isn't included on the Blu release). I know that this sounds trivial but it is a connondrum within a collection.

So, fellow HTFer's who have made the high-def jump, how do you handle dual formats? Do you tend to keep both formats of a film or do you do so selectively depending on the film?

 

[TravisR]

If all the content is ported over to the Blu-ray, I sell my copy of the DVD or give it to a friend.

 

[Lew Crippen]

I donate my DVDs

 

[Matthew Marino]

If the Blu Ray is missing features that I want I will keep the DVD as well. What I do to save space is to replace the useless digital copy disc with the old DVD. If it doesn't have any features then I'll sell the DVD.

 

[PaulDA]

It depends on several factors. If it is a kid movie, I keep the DVD for use elsewhere in the house or on long car trips. If it is a movie that is purely for entertainment and any extras I find interesting are included in the BD, I give my SD DVD to friends/family. If it is a movie that I also use in the classroom (primarily, but not exclusively, historical feature films), then I keep the SD DVD because it will be a long time before my school goes "blu".

 

[David_B_K]

Posted by TravisR:
Ditto.

I need to get some Blu-Ray 2-disc cases so I can just keep the 2nd disc with the feature.

 

[Nick Martin]

I wish those were easily available.

I gave several DVD counterparts away to my Grandmother to enjoy and share with others (she's not much of a "Spider-Man" / fan but her friends have kids - DVDs aren't the most affordable things where she lives) but I do keep some others but I have no real criteria for doing so. I just sold "Firefly" and the 2-disc "Serenity", and the latter I kind of regret selling because that packaging was so neat, but I'll never watch it again because the Blu-ray has all the bells and whistles along with the incredible A/V upgrade.

In intentionally bought both formats of "The Dark Knight", one because I love it and wanted both for viewing anywhere, two because I liked the idea of seeing most of the IMAX-formatted sequences without modification but it's understandable that the shorter establishing shots weren't included. A damn shame those sequences were encoded as bad as the film itself, though. They even had the same audio bitrate.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Generally I get rid of the DVD ... but I'm always thinking what could happen if somehow Blu-ray winds up not becoming the mainstream product of choice in the future and then I'm stuck with a whole lot of Blu movies that won't be able to get played somewhere down the line. It's not that likely, since high definition is the wave of the future, but Blu-ray is still a long way off from replacing regular old DVD.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I am a packrat by nature so I keep both copies.

However, more than that, I think it is important to keep the DVD
counterpart for two reasons.

* Not all features ported over for Blu-ray
* Not all televisions in the home have a Blu-ray player

 

[Xylon]

I keep everything.

Almost.

I have to sell about 400 of my Laserdiscs for room.

 

[Brian Borst]

I'd like to sell the redundant dvds, but I don't seem to get anything for them. So most will probably end up given away to friends who want them.

 

[Kevin EK]

I'm afraid I'm even more of a packrat than Ron.

I have retained some redundant DVD copies for which I have Blu-ray editions - sometimes for the features, and sometimes for the additional option.

I have also retained multiple copies of some DVDs where different features are available on different editions. (i.e. ALIEN with the production soundtrack and the initial commentary on the 20th Anniversary DVD but not on the Quadrilogy...) I believe I have both releases of The Dark Crystal and This is Spinal Tap.

And I have also retained laserdiscs whose content did not make it onto DVD, including some Criterions, etc.

The one place where I finally wised up was with the VHS tapes, where I shedded over 150 of them due to already having the content (movies or TV series) on DVD in higher quality. Of course, I also retained some things for archival purposes (TV shows that didn't quite make it onto DVD intact, etc).

 

[Nick Martin]

Even now with DVD and Blu-ray, I've always wanted to watch a laserdisc.

 

[SilverWook]

I've pruned my collection down, but it's hard to let go of the one's with great cover art. They make picture frames for showing off LP's now. Laserdisc jackets ought to fit?

I also have this crazy idea about covering the walls of my home theater in old LD's.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I've been selling or donating my SD-DVD's as I upgrade my favorite films to BD. With about 1,100 DVD or BD titles in my collection, shelf space is limited.

 

[Keith_R]

Ron hit the problem for me right on the head.

I think I'm working out my new system in my head and it will have to be on a disc by disc basis.

As I stated before, there are some discs I have duplicates of which I will keep on both formats because of differences like casing or extras on the disc. However, in other cases I will be getting rid of the DVD copy because the Blu is better then or equal to the DVD copy.

 

[Tim-H.]

I think that sounds like a cool idea!
I'm keeping my DVDs with my BDs, just to have more options (travel, lending, etc.) When I've upgraded DVDs I've usually just given them to friends (with the exception of the aforementioned ALIEN).

P.S. I've gotten some nice quality 2-BD cases on eBay, about $20 shipped for 25.

 

[Mark Oates]

Another packrat here. Although I don't have that many Blu-rays yet, I tend to hang on to my DVDs, even multi-dips.

 

[Jason Seaver]

I've got a pile of DVD in the living room with a card that says "Free to a good home" like for kittens. My family often leaves with a decent haul when they come over.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

Replace "pile" with "bag" and you've got my method.