Posts asking if you've ever purchased a DVD in the Full Screen format rather than the widescreen, theatrical format and members boasting in response that they do indeed buy *some* films FF - I predicted this a while back. Hoping that the DVD player market would stall and the P&S crowd would remain an insignificant minority in the DVD community, I openly cheered flat DVD sales. Sales have since bounced back and with about 50% of VHS households now owning a DVD player we have a genuine problem.

POST: Do you ever hit the pawn shops in search of DVDs?

Where are all the "old" veteran members of this forum? I seriously doubt that true Film/Home Theater enthusiasts would frequent pawn shops for anything!

What exactly is so bad about finding a low priced dvd at a pawn shop?

I'm sure the ppl here only bought dvds in close to new condition since we're all dvd enthusiasts and quite anal about the quality of our purchases.

their possessions are desperate for cash. Profiting in this manner is obviously unethical!

How do you feel about people exploiting misprices?

Wait are you saying Film/HT enthusiasts have ethics or morals?

Unethical behavior is unethical regardless of the degree of societal impact.

If it makes you feel better, I was going to pick up All of Me for $5.88 at Wal-Mart last night, but I passed, because it was full screen.

and their usual immoral thinking isn't a joke.

majorjoe23, if you're trying to be helpful, thank you. The OAR issue is something about which we should be vigilant.

I'm quite serious, I had it in hand, checked the back and returned it to the shelf.

Dont take this the wrong way but . . . . huh?!? Is this a for or against widescreen thread? What does pawn shopping have to do with any of this?

El-Kabong,

The post is essentially addressing the changing face of the DVD community. In my opinion too many average "Joes" are ruining a wonderful hobby for film lovers and Home Theater folks.

I'm especially taking exception with people who, through their "posts", flaunt their Full Screen purchases.

Isn't this just a rehash of your earlier post on this topic......

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=277848

So, how is buying a DVD from a pawn shop "ruining a wonderful hobby?"

audrey,

I suppose you could look at it that way. However, I'm speaking again because of the startling deterioration I've been observing lately. People like you are rarely posting and topics are becoming inane. Was DVD Talk really this base back in 1999? I believe this is destructive to the DVD community.

The "pawn shop" issue is another symptom of the unfortunate mentality that is creeping into our "DVD lives".

In my opinion, the number of "average Joes" that are now buying DVDs are improving this wonderful hobby, not ruining it. There are an incredible number of releases that never would have seen the light of day if the number of DVD owners stayed low.

Aside from not liking pawn shops and not liking people talking about fullscreen releases, can you give a specific example of how things are going downhill? Is picture/sound quality getting worse? Is the number of titles released shrinking?

And, personally, I love meeting a DVD newbie that had previously only enjoyed Hollywood action films... and then using DVD to turn him onto more obscure/classic/foreign material that otherwise would go unwatched. Having Criterion/Kino/etc. releases reach the 'unwashed masses' can be fun.

bboisvert,

Downhill? Well, dual Full Screen and Widescreen releases that "test" what the market is demanding, the sudden absence of chapter inserts and the shoddy treatment (replication) of some TV shows that have been transferred to DVD are certainly not steps in the proverbial right direction!

I agree that some of the newbies are wonderful people who are an asset to our community. Many, however, are not!

I agree! I've done this with a few people now. I get a kick out of helping someone along...and helping to improve thier taste in film.

This thread has to be a joke.

If not I fear Duality might end up bombing a Best Buy in support of "the cause"..

Ha!

"FOR WIDESCREEN!!!!!"

Sorry, I still don't get it.

Are you saying that saving money is a bad thing?

So I guess to be considered a "true Film/Home Theater enthusiast," one should eschew all coupons, codes, price matches, rebates, price mistakes, used DVDs, Columbia House, etc., and pay full MSRP on all DVD and HT purchases.

Wow, talk about an "unfortunate mentality."

1 - I'll never buy/watch a movie in fullscreen. Just yesterday my girlfriend rented Daredevil from Longs in fullscreen and I didn't watch it for that reason.

2 - Pawn shops...I don't go there because well, there aren't many by me. If they had cheap prices on DVD's, I'd go there. I get my DVD's as cheap as I can, so I can buy MORE.

3 - Misprices? I take full advantage.

It's too bad for you that you want to spend top dollar for your DVD's. Do you wait until release week sales are over so you can pay more money on a new release? Think about it. Maybe you're just a moron.

Digital Video Dementia - thinking that your DVD collection and the length of time you've been into it makes you better than everyone else.

So, let me see if I get this right. Your stance is now that DVD is no long a niche market; the studios are beginning to dumb down the releases and shoot for the lowest common denominator. That DVD should remain a hobby of the few instead of the many.

So you want DVD to emulate the Laserdisc market?

Laserdisc never reached the mass market that DVD now enjoys. As a result, discs cost 40 or 50 bucks for a bare bones movie, and a special edition disc would cost well over a hundred bucks. As a result of it's niche market, there were only 20,000 or so titles by the time the format died. DVD has doubled that number in half the time. As a result of LD's niche market, you couldn't rent a LD for love or money. You couldn't buy them save for a couple of retailers. And when you did buy them, it was full price - 10% off if you were lucky.

You want to go back to that? Not me, brother.