Given the almost immediate double dip releases of I Robot and Day After Tomorrow (both of which I purchased without anticipating a better release) and others, I'm getting a bit leery of purchasing DVDs when they come out.

On another thread, I saw a number of people saying they held off on buying these titles because they knew they were going to be re-released.

So, how does one tell if a double-dip of a new-release movie is going to come out shortly after the original release?

Well in the case of those two Fox titles you mentioned, other regions got them as 2 disc sets the same time region 1 got the one disc version... otherwise, it's a guessing game as much as anything, but you can help try to avoid double dipping by reading up on titles (and their features or lack thereof), noticing the trend with certain companies which seem to enjoy double and triple dipping (ie Columbia, Universal, etc), or you can just hold out in hope that your favourite title will one day be re-released.

you can almost guarantee a double dip with titles that have sequels in the works (granted you might have to wait until the sequel is released and the extras might just be a commercial for the new movie). You can also expect them If the title is a catalog title and has been released fairly early in the DVD format

It seems to be more a trend on high profile titles and barebones indie movies (like Monster and Eternal Sunshine). And like Moppy007 said, some studios are even NOTORIOUS for even triple and quadruple dipping (see: Anchor Bay).

Sometimes it's just a crap shoot.

Also you might want to pay attention to studios being sold or rights being switched around on movies. Those help immensely when trying to determine if a double dip is impending.

Price drops are another sign. Or if the title constantly is on sale. I've seen this happen many times before. They try to get rid of the current version before they replace it with the new one.

If a remake of an older movie is coming up and the older movie has been on DVD for a while, then you can pretty much bank on an updated release of the original movie. The Longest Yard comes to mind as a title fitting this pattern.

No bonus features on a reasonably popular film...like CLOSER and the about-to-be-released OCEAN'S TWELVE. I'm betting we'll see new editions of those in a year or so.

Any thing released by Sony Pictures or Tri-Star Columbia has a very good chance of being re-released.

Good advice has been provided already...

If you are the type of person that must have the definitive version of every disc you purchase, then wait 1 year before purchasing a new release. You'll catch an overwhelming majority of the double-dips... as well as avoid manufacturing defects on those so afflicted.

I use the following rule-of-thumb:
Learn not to care about the double-dip

I examine the specs of each disc that I plan on purchasing. If it is satisfactory to me as it is, and unless there is a hard announcement of a future version (a la LOTR:EE Trilogy), I'll just get it. If there is something about it that I'm not happy about, I'll just put it on "hold" and wait. Sometimes a film is so important to me, that I just have to have it ASAP and will gladly buy it now, with the potential to re-buy it later.

I've only double-dipped a few times....

- Original Frankenstein DVD -> Frankenstein: Legacy
- Airport -> Airport: Terminal Pack
- Night of the Living Dead (Elite) -> NOTLD:Millenium Edition
- Dawn of the Dead (Anniversary) -> Dawn of the Dead (Divimax) -> Dawn of the Dead (UE) (keeping all 3)

I agree with the advice given too. While I dislike the marketing planned double dips I agree with the prior poster who suggested waiting a year or so and not playing their game. If it turns out that there was no double dip after all, it (likely) will be cheaper on the shelf anyway. However, for many, that's easier said then done.

Another approach is just to manage the double-dips a bit. Keep track of the re-issue thread and jettison titles you care about having the latest and greatest release on the used market. Often you can sell it so that it turns out the difference in your wallet is just about the cost of a rental.

Overall, I'm cutting back because I have a backlog and it's clear to me that many of the new releases aren't things I really want in my library anyway. Sometimes a few months go by and you wondered why you even were tempted with buying some of this stuff in the first place.

Studio can make extra money off it = impending double-dip.

Of course, if the only things that are important to you are audio and video quality, then the chances of double-dipping decrease. Especially if said dvd has 16x9 video and 5.1 sound. The only reason to double dip if you follow this criteria would be if the dvd has been given a newer 16x9 transfer (like Apollo 13) or it includes a 5.1 dts track.

Yeah, good question. Its hard to tell if its not blantant barebones or major screw up release. Like I hoping CGI Last Unicorn coming will gives us proper/better release of Last Unicorn animation. As much as I'm enjoying Lost, I know is so popular that is has to be one of first to get hd-dvd/blueray release not too far off in future I would think.

i also agree with the advice given, i too hesitate on buying DVDs. i pretty much fight with myself every tuesday. I've got it down to the question: if it comes out again, am I going have a probelm with that? Keeping in mind, there's always the option of selling the previous version. Yes, one will not get the full price back, but most new releases come out on sale anyway. And when a double dip is confirmed, sell before the re-release and most people with buy it for the sale price that the original buyer bought it for.

Things I watch out for are (to expect a double-dip):
Poor Audio
Poor Video
Low Extra Features (commentaries, documentaries and interviews)

And I understand that a DVD will sometimes have everything fine (audio, video and features) and still be re-released. I cases like that, I'm usually okay with buying the newer version; ie Lord of The Rings and the Matrix.

Everybody's giving good advice, but this is the one I follow the most myself, especially with major releases. If it's a movie I like, has the extras I want, and reviews confirm it has excellent audio/visuals, and the price is right, I buy! Like "The Incredibles" for instance -- until it gets re-released in HiDef (which is a whole other story) it's great quality and has all the extras I could want. Sure, Disney could pull crap like with "Pirates" and tack on even more material -- but I'm happy with what I have.

That said, I hate double-dipping. Sometimes it's a good thing, but more and more it's pure greed and market manipulation. It makes me not buy many movies I love. As consumers, we vote with our wallets, and I prefer to "vote for" the studios that make an effort to put out the best DVD package they can, and "vote against" studios that do blatant money grabbing ploys. There's still rentals and uncut/commercial-free television for seeing my favorite movies with unsatisfactory DVD packages.

Oh, here's another specific double-dipping hint that I've seen many times: if a movie has had trouble with the MPAA ratings (edited to get an PG-13 instead of R, or R instead of NC-17), avoid the theatrical release. They're just waiting for the old "Unrated Version!" double-dip. Current releases with this double-dip danger include "The Grudge" (actually, the double-dip is already confirmed -- tough luck for fans that already bought it ), "Saw", "Eyes Wide Shut", "Cabin Fever", any "Friday the 13th" movie, "Cursed", "Darkness", "Kill Bill" (well, this movie has many double-dip warning signs about it) ... horror movies are particularly vulnerable to this evil practice.

Has anybody ever heard anything about "American Beauty" or "Being John Malkovich"? I love these movies, but they both scream out "double-dip" to me (discounted price, early DVD package, single disks). Everytime I'm in a store, I have to fight off the urge to buy them -- I know if I do the double-dip will be announced the next day. Must ... not ... spend ... more ... money ... on ... DVDs ...

The energy it takes to worry about a double-dip just ruins the whole thing for me....so I don't worry about it. I'll buy now...care later. Life is too short to delay something like buying a film for my library. Just give me the bastard now....I'll deal with another edition when/if it happens.

If I know that a special edition DVD is in the works, I will pass on whatever bare bones version is initially released. I want to get the Kill Bill movies, but I know "The Whole Bloody Affair" is coming in August, and the extras on the current discs are not enough to warrant the extra purchase.

I have multiple editions of Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Ultimate Edition DVD and Extreme DVD), Spider-Man (Special Edition and Deluxe Edition), JFK (Oliver Stone Collection and Special Edition), Halloween (Limited Edition and 25th Anniversary Edition), and the Matrix movies.

I don't mind double-dipping if the different editions have different special features. The Ultimate Edition DVD of T2 has tons of documentary content, far better than that of the Extreme DVD, but the Extreme DVD boasts an excellent commentary by James Cameron and William Wisher that I wouldn't be without.

A ridiculous case of double-dipping is when the new release is really no different from the previous, and the new one is out there JUST to tie in with the release of a sequel. Miss Congeniality - Deluxe Edition, for example. Fine movie and all, but the original release was easily good enough. (Anyone taken a good look at the cover of the Deluxe Edition? It's not a good print job at all. On the slipcase or the Amaray cover. Looks like they used some poorly compressed picture. There's no clarity in Sandra Bullock's face. Not impressed.)

I guess for me, if studios want to provide another release of a movie I've already bought, and the extras on that new release are entirely worthy of my money, I will pick it up happily and excitedly. But I can understand the dismay of buying a simple release of a movie, and then finding a big upgrade on store shelves sometime later.

This wasn't done when VHS was at its peak. Movies were re-released on occasion, but those who already owned them had no reason to double-dip. (The Star Wars Trilogy was an obvious exception, but only for die-hard fans.) When I think about it, there is something a little weird about buying the same movie multiple times. But that's the new paradigm DVD has brought us. New release can equal a better transfer, better sound, and better extras.

--THX

I thought the same thing about Adaptation, but to this day we still don't have a new one. Heck, I haven't even heard a rumor about a new release of that film.

Closer and adaptation were superbits...so it could happen. Birth will be the same way.

The best way to tell, is wait just long enough to buy something that you can't stand it...as soon as you buy it, and pull the shrink wrap off, then the new version will show up.

If other regions have 2-disc versions to the US's 1-disc, that's a big sign. Big box office money-makers that have next to nothing in terms of special features (i.e. Ocean's Twelve, The Passion, etc.) are a virtual lock. Sudden price drops, whether it be seasonal or permanent (i.e. The Day After Tomorrow) are another good sign. You can also tell from past history which studios are double and triple-dip offenders.

I'm afraid I lack the patience to wait a year, especially on movies I liked in the theatre and want to watch again. Good point about the sound/video quality; unfortunately I'm a sucker for special features and flashy packaging

Anyone have educated guesses on these titles (and reasons for the guesses would be useful/intersting):

Meet the Fockers
National Treasure
Hitch
Team America; World Police

Panic Room was released as a Superbit first and then was rereleased as a great 3-disc set. Closer and Adaptation would follow a similar pattern.

Team America is coming out in "Unrated" and "Rated" DVD versions. So if you only see the "Rated" version in a store (especially those kind enough to protect our moral values, such as Walmart and Blockbuster) AVOID. It's really stupid -- why would anyone intentionally buy the edited version? If you like the movie enough to buy, those extra seconds of puppet sex aren't very likely to offend.

I don't think you can predict it at all. For all the cases where a SE has been released for any of the reasons mentioned in this thread, there are just as many cases where no new disc was released. We remember when it does happen, but not when it doesn't.

My approach is to keep myself as educated as possible. That means reading lots of web sites like this one on a regular basis. I can't count the number of times I've seen peolpe complain about a double dip when news or speculation about the double dip had been posted in numerous places months prior to the double dip.

Beyond that it take a lot of common sense and a fair amount of instinct. Eventually you'll learn to get a good feel for likely candidates. You'll still be surprised from time to time. But it will be better as you gain knowledge.

My finally strategy in avoiding double dips is that I refuse to play. I'm approaching 500 films and never once have I double dipped. I'd rather spend my money on something I want and don't have than something I already paid for. The only exception to my rule is boxsets. I had a couple Hitchcock films (Vertigo, Psycho & Rear Window) and replaced them when I bought the big Universal Hitchcock sets. But I wouldn't consider that a double dip. It was just the cheapest way to pick up the remaining films.

You're right. Horror movies can be brutal with the rereleases. The Grudge caught me by surprise. I'm still holding out on House of 1000 Corpses but I may cave if no new release is out by the time sequel is released. Hellboy was another one that caught me offguard. Figured a 2-disc special edition with a nice slipcover was safe enough but noooo 3 disc director's cut had to come out too.