I was going to say I agree with this post, but I agree with the first half. Right up to the point where you said "I think hd/bluray is alot of hype". I dont think its hype. I think there are valid benefits to HD, but I think right now it is still somewhat a niche market. With any new technology you are always going to have early adopters. For those people, more power to them. Personally I prefer to wait it out, see if one format does indeed win out, wait for a cheap combi player. Hell I paid about 250 for my first dvd player, so some of the toshiba hd players arent that expensive. Problem is, I need an hdtv to reap the benefits, which I dont have.

Anyways this year I bought 0 hd dvds, 0 blurays and many many sd dvd's.

HD for me.

Because when DVD's came out they used the same old CRT TV's that have been used for years. People had to buy the players to see the difference.

Now that HDTV's are becoming cheaper and cheaper people just have to turn on their TV's to see the difference between HD and SD. There is a bigger jump in quality than there was with DVD and VHS.

Well i just got an hdtv so I'll be looking for the next hot hd deal. Brought lot of regular
dvds through.

SEE BELOW (HD DVD and Blu-ray by a landslide)

Yes and no. Let's not forget that when SD came out, the points that were touted were that it was a longer lasting material (over VHS tapes), less shelf space, and that the picture quality had gone digital and was substantially better. Personally, I have most of the movies I'll ever want to watch in my life or that I've enjoyed so far in it. I have a lot of my favorite tv shows in just the way that I saw before I knew what HD or BluRay even was. I'd say that I'm fairly content. Sure, for certain movies I'll pay up for the HD/BluRay version when that time comes; stuff like Star Wars, but I still feel that the current version of it and most movies are fine, with the caveat that Lucas has been an absolute asshole with the DVD release of Star Wars and not putting it properly on DVD with the correct aspect ratio, etc. I've invested plenty into my DVD collection that my DVD collection, plus a decent respectable upconverting DVD player, are all I'll really need for the foreseeable future. And again, I see DVD (with an upscaler) a comparable product to the same VHS/Beta shenanigans we're experiencing now. The SD DVD has all of the same features if not more sometimes and is usually far less expensive.

There's not a single person, and no movie company or studio, that can come out tell me I should be paying that much more to buy it in HD or BluRay when I'm getting the same product on SD, the exact same product, sometimes with even more extras that enjoy (even if I have to pay a few bucks more for the extra disc set, the price is still substantially cheaper compared to either of the HD formats). The movie doesn't change and afterall, that's what it should be about, the enjoyment of the film and the film itself. You're not going to remember the picture quality on it. I hardly think that anybody remembers Star Wars after so many years for how it looked, but rather for the story, plot, themes, etc.

And who wants to deal with two different formats. If I want to watch one movie, watch in format A, if I want to watch another, then go to format B. It's ridiculous. I don't want to have to memorize which movie studio is supporting which. I really don't care.

Still buying DVDs only. I received a pamplet in a DVD that read that HDDVD might be going double sided disks with HDDVD on one side and DVD on the other.

I bought more DVD this year, but in the past 2 months since I got my HD player it's been mostly HD discs.

That's the thing. It's not the same product. It could be that you can't tell the difference (which is fine) but that's like someone saying they're happy with a regular Vette and can't tell the difference between that and a Z06 or a ZR1. Or someone who buys steak from the supermarket vs. some gourmet butcher.

There's nothing wrong with that. But it's not the same product.

Those are HD DVD "combo" discs. They've been around for over a year.

DVD for me. After I upgrade my TV (no HDMI), then hopefully there will be a winner in the hi-def battle royale. There are very few titles I own that I would upgrade anyway.

The thing is, some people do actually say the picture was "amazing," and don't talk about the quality of the actual film. A lot of people are so worried about the picture quality, and they forget about the most important part of a movie, the movie.

I have a friend who always says, "I can't wait ti'll I get a PS3 so I can play Blu-Ray discs!" He doesn't put into consideration that almost all of the movies available on BD, aren't his type of movies. He's a big TV on DVD collector like I am, and when he does get his PS3, I'll ask, "How's BD?" and he'll say, "I haven't bought any BD movies because I either own the movies/have no interest in seeing them".

If you're more worried about the picture quality than the actual film, you have no business watch the film.

The picture quality of the film affects how you percieve it. Go watch movies on a 5" b/w tv and tell me it's the same as watching them in HD or even DVD, or even a color 5".

HD and BD are still in intense battle for format supremacy. Whoever wins then that would be the time to switch. That is, HD/BR prices also reduce.

I sometimes watch my DVDs on a 7" portable DVD player, and guess what? It's still the same movie! I don't "perceive" it any differently.

If the movie sucks on 5" b/w TV, it's going to suck on a 60", $3,000 HDTV.

I purchased more SD by a large margin this year (80%), followed by BD then HD DVD.

I'll minimize SD purchases (Criterion, TV-on-DVD, niche indie titles) in 2008, purchase mostly BD and only purchase HDDVD very rarely.

I really don't know to be truthful. I think more HD because they may have released more titles I wanted than BR. However, I got apretty hefty stack of each so who knows. I definately bought less SD DVD this year than any other.

I bought more HD/BR, however, I got every Criterion released this year so maybe it's about even. HD-DVD/Blu-ray is here to stay. The war is at a stalemate and will most likely remain so for a good year or two. I'm one of those guys that always spent the extra money to get the best version of the DVD so going to HD/BR was a no-brainer.

Standard DVD all the way. I have 0 interest in HD/BR.

Now that I've joined the HD bandwagon the transition has been a very slow process. And I'm still buying standard DVDs at a far greater rate, and that's primarily due to the fact that many of the HD titles (especially Blu-ray) for some strange reason don't always port over all the supplemental material from their SD DVD counterparts:

HD/Blu-ray + Lack of Special Features = Standard DVD Purchase.


Of course, lack of collectible packaging and higher prices play a big role for me as well. That being said, I'm still extremely happy I made the leap to HD and look forward to the addition of titles from both camps.

More DVD by far. I only buy titles I truly feel would benefit from being in high def. It's definitely not everything. My HD-DVD collection is relatively small. Probably less than 20 titles. My DVD collection is under 1000 but only because I had been trading off DVD's here and there since August that I know I would never have an interest in watching again since I do the blind buy thing quite frequently. Standard definition DVD's, as has already been said to death here, are more than adequate if the transfer is done properly... and if it's an animation title? Forget it, they practically already look flawless.

I'll eventually probably get a Blu-Ray player as well but, I'll also only buy the titles that really make sense for me to have in high definition.

True, but if a movie is great on a 5" b/w TV, it will be a religious experience on a 50" Plasma in HD.

I'm upgrading to HD when the first BluRay/HD-DVD is released for a silent film.

You may be waiting a VERY long time..... :(

Way, way more HD this year. I still buy DVDs as well, but mostly for TV box sets and stuff that doesn't benefit as much from HD.

I've also started selling off some of my DVDs as I replace them.