EXCUSE ME??? Do I call you stupid on the forums? And yes, but saying that you are in a way calling me stupid.

Barebones DVDs are glorified VHS tapes. VHS tapes had no bonus features and might have just had some trailers at the beginning. They were put out mainly as a disposable product for the rental market at first before they were put out for sale later on. Now we have bare bones DVDs rushing to the shelves mainly for the rental market while we get the more enhanced editions later on.

I stand by what I said, regardless of what you think of it. What got me into DVD wasn't necessarily the promise of better quality, it was the promise of bonus features and wide screen versions of the movies I loved. The attention given to new DVD releases is gone...they are rushed out fast and the quality is suffering. The true fans who want the better editions are waiting for the double dips.

Exactly. These people are still stuck in some wierd 2004 mindset where people were willing to get in debt up to their eyeballs just to own the latest cool gadget. These days everyones waitign for the prices to come down before they even look at this new high-def technology. Besides, in most cases why even bother? For the vast majority of movies and shows that weren't fimed in high-def, DVD resolution is about as good as its going to get. I seriously doubt I'm going to be able to see nipples if I buy the Blu-Ray version of Flash Gordon.

As for DVD's, its simple. Release a bare-bones edition with a trailer, and a coupele of previews for J6P. A month or two later put out the DELUXE THREE-DISK UNRATED EXTENDED DIRECTORS CUT COLLECTORS EDITION W/ FREE T-SHIRT for the fans.

What about a middle ground? I am thinking of early DVDs that just had two disc widescreen releases...they weren't sold for as low as one disc DVDs now, but everybody bought it, both the people who wanted just the movie and the people who wanted the bonus features. Maybe there's a decent number of people who never pop the second disc in, but if they charged a couple extra bucks for that set, why not? Wouldn't that be better than multiple versions of the same title?

I know I am not the only one, but maybe I feel like I am the only one on here to not be all that excited about the Blu-Ray format. Granted, I have read up on it and I am glad it won the format war, but I don't have a player and I don't plan on buying one, at least not for a long time. I've seen the side by side comparisons at places like Best Buy and I only saw a remarkable difference when you got in to the high end TV sets that were in the thousands of dollars. Yes, you can see a difference on a regular wide screen TV set, but not enough to blow me away. And since I doubt I am going to be buying one of the high end TVs any time soon, I just will stick with my regular DVD format.

I'll echo the sentiments about the double/triple dip thing, as well as what I can only assume is consumer education about these things. I used to buy stuff on impulse, movies that I had seen but that I liked, and might watch again. I'll watch it once or twice, for the most part, and then some beautiful new edition comes out... I should've just waited. So for most movies, I just wait... I don't need to watch it now, and I don't have that collector's mentality any more because just about everything will get re-released eventually anyway. And now, there's a new, better format to wait for too. And prices will just keep going down.

Also, as dvd collections grow and space dwindles, people start to realize that they don't need to own every movie and TV show that they kinda liked, just because they can.

Well, at least they're not whining that sales "only" went up 1 or 2% last year. I swear every Christmas shopping season you hear retailers whining that sales "only" increased 3% over the previous year!

Anyway, I agree with pretty much everything above- I have a huge backlog of stuff, I have the catalog titles I want and some I don't know why I wanted, and I'm more wary of possible double dips. It's pretty simple.

As far as Wal-Mart's bargain bin titles not selling well, how many copies of Young Guns do they really expect to sell- that's half of the bin at my local store!

Oh, and the other party to blame is the Princess Bride. My God, how many dips are they on now? Six? One of my favorite films that in the past I would've went bonkers over getting the Super Duper edition, but now I'm like 3 versions behind.

You are 100% wrong. Anything shot on film can be transferred to high-def, just as it was transferred to DVD. The resolution of 35mm film is far greater than even 1080P HD media can display. There is no "filming" in high-def (some newer movies have been recorded digitally in high-def, but it is not film). So pretty much any major movie can be released in high-def and look vastly superior to its SD DVD cousin (see: "Casablanca" and many old John Wayne movies).

I suppose this is the mindset of most of the public and the reason why the HD media haven't taken off yet.

Back to the original discussion... I agree with several points. I have slowed way down in my purchases because 1) I realized my collection was growing far faster than I was watching it and 2) I was waiting out the HDM war (even though I finally got sucked in last summer) and didn't want to re-purchase movies in SD and HD.

I agree with a problem being the barebones/special edition dichotomy. Used to be the Special Edition was the ONLY edition and it cost the SAME as what the barebones costs now. I could walk into Best Buy and get "Kick Ass: The Movie", 2-disc Special Edition for 14.99. Cool.

Now, I walk into Best Buy and see "Kick Ass: The Movie" The 1-Disc Not-Even-A-Trailer Edition for 15.99 and the 2-disc with a dorky set of postcards for 34.99.

So what happens? I buy neither. I just rent 99% of the time now when I used to buy at least 60%. I used to blind-buy, and buy new releases, but the value for the dollar has gone away from DVD purchases and Netflix is a much better option for the consumer.

I thought that was a fascinating article.

I too, have severely curtailed my optical disc buying habits in recent times. I have almost every title I want right now in my collection, and I was a notorious double & triple dipper during the ramp-up to the nearly 500 titles I have today.

Those days are over.

After living through that expensive (and often unneccessary) phase, and having very recently been burned by the capitulation of HD DVD, I am in no hurry to start replacing my collection with Blu-ray discs at $25 a pop.

Maybe 10-20% of my collection, encompassing only those premium, favorite titles are candidates for an upgrade to Blu-ray, and then, only at a price-point of $10.

That's it. I'm done chasing the dragon.

It doesn't help that, at the retail B&M level, DVD prices have actually been going up. A few years back I bought many a new release at Costco or Sam's Club for about $15 - $17. Now, most other retailers can beat their prices, at least on first day releases.

Frys Electronics recently upped prices on some BR discs. Jailhouse Rock and Viva Las Vegas debuted at $19.95 (and those weren't sale prices)... now they're at $22.95. WTH!

These guys better start getting a clue and figure out how to sell their stuff at prices that match Amazon and other online retailers.

For me DVD has always been more than just an improved picture and audio. I agree that a barebones DVD, which Warner Brothers is notorious for nowdays, is only an improved VHS tape. For this type of technology and space capacity, why settle for less? There are DVD producers that film behind the scenes material while the film is in production. Audio commentaries are normally recorded while the film is still in theatres. Don't they start producing the DVD while it's still in theatres? Why can't these guys get their shit together and stop putting out half assed product. That's why I think alot of passionate DVD lovers aren't spending the money now because of this shitty product and overpriced SE's. Remember only 3-4 years ago you could buy special editions for pretty much every new release. Even 2-disc SE movies were selling for $14.99 to 16.99 on release week. Then all of the sudden, the studios decided to charge us an extra 5-10 bucks for the bonus features disc and create the Fool Screen, Bare Bones crap. Why do they seem to cater these half assed DVD's to the Wal Mart shopper who doesn't give a shit about extras? If someone doesn't care about bonus features, just turn off the damn movie.

A few points.

1. Double/Triple dips. Personally, I don't understand the outcry here. Its not about fleecing the customer in any way, shape or form. It is about remarketing a rcognisable brand, and having back on shelves in stores where it is visible. You may have already bought a version of a film, but Person X has not, and this is why the work to put a recognisable film front and centre. I do understand that sometimes people are upset because a new edition may include a documentary they do not own, or a commentary, but then, its a compromise agreement. The studio spends money on producing these new extras - it seems fair to me that if you want them, you should have to pay. However, I do think that perhaps the studios should be a little more proactive. When I was working in the industry, I suggested that they sell discs of only the extras of a re-re-released film, and sent them in a 2 disc case. I explained that this way, the current owner could simply insert the sleeve and existing disc into the box, and hey presto, they would own the 2 DVD edition. However, I was looked at as though I had just offered to eat their first born.

2. Secondly, I am not, for one second, worried about the future of the market. The great strength of DVDs was never in the new release industry, and never will be. Retailers make absolutely no money on new releases, with the great strength always being in catalogue releases and campaigns. For a great number of people, and I include myself in this, DVD was a way to own catalogue titles on a medium that didn't look like crap, didn't take up massive space on the shelf, and looked better than the film had in years. A great film like say... Rear Window will never look any better than it does on DVD. I consider myself a film fan, and I have not even thought about upgrading to a Blu Ray player. I know many people who feel the same.

Long story short, keep the faith. DVD is around for a long time.

It's very simple. The Walmart shopper - and I think I know what that is, though I am in England, and we don't have that - is the market. We have a similar situation here with supermarkets and DVDs.

Not sure I agree with you about 'barebones' releases, either. It may or may not be an upgraded video tape, but studios, from a financial point of view, are not going to spend a lot of money producing extras for your favourite film when it has only a limited appeal. Ultimately, they release something because there is a demand for the FILM. The extras are just that - extras.

Maybe all the high-def fans should start bitching at the stores for not setting up the HDTV's and Blu-Ray displays properly. I swear, every supposed HDTV I've seen in stores has been less than impressive. With a nice grainy picture.

I hate to dissapoint everyone, but not all of use can afford a $350 player and an $800 HD plasma screen tv.

Then why make such a ridiculous statement?

Classic cinema benefits greatly from the additional resolution that high definition offers. Try watching Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Grand Prix, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Searchers, 20 Million Miles to Earth, The Seventh Seal, or any of the other films well predating the CGI era that are on HD DVD and Blu-ray -- there is very much an appreciable difference. Remember, these classic films were meant to be splashed across 50 foot screens -- what makes you think they won't hold up on a 50 inch television any better than they do on DVD?

I don't expect Blu-ray to ever dominate DVD, and I don't think any less of someone with no interest in upgrading, but it's just incorrect to say that classic films look the best they ever will on DVD.

I haven't bought DVD's on a regular basis since 2004, cause that is when I completed my library as the Star Wars Trilogy was the final holy grail of what I call 'A' movies of back catalog titles. There are always new movies that come out on DVD from the theater, so there is a market for that, but I have every movie I wanted from older catalog releases, and now it is whether I want to buy a Special Edition, and most of the time I pass, cause I just want Anamorphic Widescreen and Dolby 5.1.

BluRay will be the same way, as it will grow and grow for the next 5 years, then once all the back catalog 'A' movies come out, everyone will cool down their buying of the movies.

I got the same thing on the 1-disc / 2-disc thing. First time it happened with me was Batman Begins. I used to blind-buy a movie I really expected to like on release day...it would always be the cheapest on release week for at least a year or so.

But if my choice is barebones or 2-disc for $20+, I chose neither. Now I tend to buy a lot less discs.

The same issue comes up on HD-DVD / BD these days, except kinda of opposite. I'm not going to buy a barebones BD from Fox for a premium over the 2-disc DVD...so I buy neither, most of the time.

Bingo

Just another example of how the studios are completely out of touch with their audience.

Every year you read about how moguls are going homeless because the theatrical market is down 2.3% from 1997. Now they've gotta start bitching about the DVD market, because the durable little things last so long and people don't buy as many discs as they did when they first started building a collection.

And I think there should be standard set DVD releases for each new movie: A bare bones, movie only disc that retails for $14.99 or less, and a special edition release for those of us who don't mind paying for more.

I'm willing to be the lack of growth is due almost entirely to catalogue releases. Everything big has come out, and the bad early releases have come out again. Catalog sales were never a huge part of DVD sales in the past few years, but they can easily explain the 3% drop.

There's also a certain point where I think you don't really nee that many movies. That level is different for everyone, but at some point you'll hit 50, 500, or 5,000 discs and say, "OK, I believe that's enough now."

I'm not really that concerned with extras, my concern is that there are movies that are on their 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th edition of a DVD while other movies have yet to see a DVD release. Or there are movies that had a initial release that really needs improvement (Austin Powers comes to mind) but nothing is done.

Your post pretty much speaks for me too. I am starting to run out of room to store my movies. I agree than thinpacks would help a lot with that issue.

But my biggest reason for slowing down my purchases is that most of the classic films I've wanted for years are already out and I've already bought them. This leaves new theatrical releases, most of which just don't interest me.

I do think HD versions look better, especially on a large projector screen, but to me there's not enough difference to upgrade any but my very favorite titles. I can see buying the high-def versions of new releases when they reach the $20 price point but can't image upgrading more than a small percentage of titles I already own on DVD.

And, finally, the economy slowing down overall with high gas prices and heating bills is surely making a big difference on the DVD market (like everything else).

Yeah. I remember when I read that in the newspaper last month. "RETAILERS GLOOMY!! SALES ONLY INCREASED 2% FROM LAST YEAR!!" It tends to sound like pure greed and always expecting more more more out of the good consumers.

Considering that my paycheck didn't increase 2% last year or the year before, I'm not feeling too bad for them.

As for my buying habits, yeah, after a while the "fun" sort of goes away from DVD buying when you have release after release of "special Edition, 20th Anniversary Editon (followed shortly thereafter of course by the 25Th Anniversary Edition etc. etc.) Unrated Version, Directors Cut, and on and on and on.

Is it too much to ask for to just devote their (the studios) time to release the best version they can produce, ONCE!?

After a while, I just stopped buying a lot of DVD's and now wait for Circuit City to blow out titles at $5.00. I'm at the point where if I spent $9.99 on a DVD, I think I paid too much. So with the studios, it's a case of a little greed coming 'round to bite you in the @ss.

I knew the dvd era was over when my joe six pack brother in law said I gots to get me some blu-ray at wal-mart. the techies can argue all they want about hd-dvd vs. blu-ray vs. dvd vs. this vs. that but it was joesix pack consumers at wal-mart who decided the format war.