Snowmaker

I'm constantly fighting the urge to want to upgrade any and every title I can that I have on DVD. I only own about 8 BR movies so far, 3 of which are already upgrades (Serenity, Batman Begins & Transformers). Also have The Thing on the way.

I have several others I'd really like to (Matrix, King Kong, Pirates trilogy, etc) but then I also see movies like Clerks II or Waiting .. and want to upgrade them too for some reason, even though they are just comedies.

I can't afford to rebuy everything and I try to stick to just the action ones that I feel would benefit, but I need to set limits or boundaries.

So where do you draw the line?

Pointyskull

Since I still think "regular" DVD look great upconverted on my 50" plasma it's easy to be selective, and the idea of rebuying all of my titles (over 1000) on Blu-Ray isn't even an option or a thought.

My rule is "go Blu" on a title only if the transfer is particularly exceptional in order to replace something I already have. Or if the price is right...

Snowmaker

Follow up question then: Do you still buy DVDs of some movies because they're cheaper?

I'm thinking of doing that for Zack & Miri this week.

Kal-El

My wife and I agreed that we'll only upgrade on movies that we really, really like and movies that really take advantage of the HD format. So rom-coms and comedies that we already have are gonna stay on DVD and newer ones we might just rent on blu.

lisadoris

I have only upgraded a few titles and so far the criteria is: a significant difference in audio/video quality (Batman Begins, Matrix, Serenity) AND if all of the extras are ported over (so no T2 or Independence Day). Those factors have kept the numbers down so far.

Bandoman

I just got my Blu-ray player, and have 8 BR discs. Most of them are upgrades of movies I know I'll watch over and over. I'm not sure I'd buy a regular DVD again if the title is also available on BR.

Artman

I'm going all blu - though I only had 300+ titles or so, mostly mainstream. I also traded in the majority of DVD's last yr when trade-ins were much better in value. So for me, no question if it's blu I'm buying...on sale of course.

The only recent DVD I bought was Heart of Darkness, cause chances are it won't be on blu.

Spiky

I don't understand how an action flick "takes advantage" of HD while a comedy doesn't. Sounds like a self-inflicted psych-out to me. Perhaps on the audio side this is more valid, but most people ignore the audio, anyway.

nmr1723

I'm upgrading if the price is right or if I really love the movie/TV show (I will likely upgrade the first two X-men movies as well as Ghostbusters this year ).

I recently upgraded about 10 titles because of the $5-$6 HD DVD prices on Amazon and at my local Kroger grocery (picked up Hot Fuzz HD DVD for my brother last night for a whopping $3).

I'm ok with SD DVD for now...but it is getting harder and harder to watch some DVD's now that I'm so used to HD DVD & BD.

And yes...if a catalog title is super cheap ($2-$5) on SD DVD...and the Blu-ray is $20+...I will most likely just buy the SD DVD. I've been trying to buy all new releases on BD though.

Gizmo

I'm getting to the point where it has to be one of my favorites or really damn good. As it stands I plan on selling off half my BD collection because I have so many movies I know I'll never watch again. My HD DVD collection is 300+, but at least I paid less then $5 for 2/3rds of those

Snowmaker

An action / sci-fi flick relies more on the visual images than a comedy does. A comedy is more dialogue-driven.
To me video quality is a little more important than audio quality.

Kal-El

I don't think it is. At least for me personally. I mean, I absolutely love Old School and School of Rock, but I don't think I need to upgrade those to HD. Most of the laughs I get and my appreciation for for both movies is the same whether I'm watching it on 1080P and DTS-MA or in SD and DD5.1. I can't say it's the same "experience" DVD vs. BD-wise personally for movies like Transformers or Hellboy 2.

Brian Shannon

I'm still waiting to start since there are no players worth buying (IMHO) and few titles I want to actually own.

GenPion

I don't draw the line. I'm not really sure why I upgrade as many movies as I do. However, a definite improvement in audio/video is necessary in order for me to take the plunge. I'm much more likely to make a purchase if it includes all available bonus features as well. And, of course, I only make purchases that have good sale prices.

I just checked and 68 of my 174 Blu-ray's are ones that I already owned and have upgraded. That's a lot of different titles... and that's not counting HD DVD. 37 of my 116 HD DVD's are titles I have upgraded.

jiggyblau

I'm in the same boat. I've recently upgraded a bunch of DVDs to HD DVDs simply because, by selling the DVD for $5 and buying the HD DVD for $5, I'm getting more (or at worst case equal) for nothing. There are also other films I bought in blu-ray (Tommy Boy, Dumb & Dumber, etc) that I watch often, even if the improvement is only marginal, and I sold the DVDs. Either way, though, I'm only doing it when they're on sale. For instance, with Tommy Boy and Dumb & Dumber, I got them both for $22 from CH with B1G1. I only ended up paying like $7 or so to upgrade both - a no brainer.

If there's a good deal on a high def version of a movie (under $15), and I can get $5-$7 for selling the DVD, I'll upgrade. I've done it a lot lately, and I probably will do it more often going forward.

Oh, and one more thing. I found the best reason to upgrade from DVD. Snap cases. Yep, I just sold American History X and Wedding Singer for $13 combined. I ordered the blu-rays from Amazon for $30 combined (pre-orders). So I spent about $8 each to upgrade them, but I also lost two hideous snapper cases! I recently did the same with the Austin Powers movies since Amazon had the trilogy for $37. Selling my DVDs got me $15 and got rid of some snappers!
.

kefrank

For the most part I just take it on a case-by-case basis. I'm most enticed to upgrade when any of the following apply:

-- it's one of my all-time favorite (Top 25) films
-- the DVD version I have is non-anamorphic or has a really bad transfer
-- the DVD version I have is in a snapper case
-- I paid $5 or less for the DVD
-- the BD can be had for around $12 or less
-- there are new extras, especially PiP or worthwhile BD-Live features

I generally don't upgrade TV on DVD because I prefer the convenience of being able to play them everywhere in my house and not having to waste projector bulb life on hours of a TV show. The exception would be cinematic miniseries such as "Band of Brothers" which is a no-brainer on Blu-ray.

BuckNaked2k

At Tommy Boy, that's where I drew the line.

Bob330i

Not setting the bar very high, eh?

Anyhow, for me, I also fall into the action category. However, since I tend to lag on my purchases, I've only upgraded V for Vendetta on HD and I have the complete Matrix in HD also coming in the mail. So far, none of my BD purchases have been upgrades from DVD.

Spiky

So I guess we agree on the reason, if not the resultant choice. Personally, I don't care what the genre is, I'd rather have BD now that I've upgraded hardware. Upgrading discs I already own will depend on price and level of upgrade actually offered by the BD. I'd probably most like to upgrade the older Bonds since the DVDs weren't great. But they aren't even all out yet.

Doctorossi

I only buy movies I really love and, as such, I'm upgrading every single one of 'em that hits Blu (and I pray they all do). My philosophy: Good enough to own? Good enough to own Blu.

Cosmic Bus

Do I already own it on DVD? Then I'm probably not going to upgrade, although there are rare exceptions.

tylergfoster

I'd upgrade anything to Blu as long as I watch it. But I do read reviews, so if something has an exceptionally bad transfer, I'll live with the SD-DVD (I skipped "Elf" for this reason). If it's missing extras, I'll just keep the SD-DVD counterpart. And genre or age is not relevant, for me -- there are lots of comedies that could benefit from the Blu treatment, and 35mm is higher resolution than 1080p -- no excuse for poor transfers.

Artman

Oh, I like that!

Gizmo

Very true. Look at Being There as an example.

tonymontana313

Only one criteria for me and that's price. I will not pay more than 14 dollars for a catalog. It works out very well especially when you wait for a CH BOGO sale too.