Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

Just this Tuesday I bought all the Marx Brothers reissues which were DVD only, I don't really buy new releases, but there are catalog titles coming out all the time that gets no blu release.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

The standard small fine print is that Blu snobs will only buy a DVD release if there is no Blu-ray counterpart and unlikely to be one. It's a frequently misused accusation on both sides that the format of choice is somehow indicative of one's passion for film. The first guy I knew who had a Blu-ray player has a very limited, mainstream taste in movies. People on this forum who can cite which cinematographer of the silent era influence the staging of a scene in their favorite French New Wave movie resist Blu-ray. In short, format preference is not a useful litmus test for film appreciation.

We don't even own 100 Blu-rays! For that matter, aside from a few that were entirely chosen by my wife, I can say that there's not one title I foresee myself losing interest in. We promised ourselves when we adopted Blu-ray that we would only buy movies that were absolute favorites.

Yeah, I've been disappointed that a lot of DVD bonus content hasn't been ported over. But this doesn't actually invalidate Guru Askew's point--which you took out of context--that those who do fret over such things as bonus content, OAR, etc. are simply being obstinate by drawing an arbitrary line that says they want all the bells and whistles...except HD.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

I don't know man, I quit going to the forums at blu-ray dot com because the way those people act...a lot of them seem to be more into collecting then actual movies. If a movie has a slip cover, they'll buy it no matter what, etc. A lot of them sold off every DVD they owned and REFUSE to purchase or watch a DVD anymore - those are the people I was talking about, they are out there. I mean when you see people say "I hate the movie, but that slip cover looked so awesome it needed to be in my collection" it kind of makes my stomach hurt a tiny bit. BUT to each their own, better then crack.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

I don't want to badmouth another forum or anything like that, but between you and me...those people are scary crazy. I like to believe they represent a very small minority.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

Just get a cheapy 80 dollar blu-ray player. And though it's best to have an HDtv, you don't need one. Even on a regular tv, blu-ray looks much better.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

I switched because blu-rays are regularly cheaper than DVDs.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

^ This.



I'll probably be replacing my DVD/VHS combo player sometime soon and I'm considering buying a Blu-Ray player only because they cost about the same and I figure, Why not? But it probably won't do me a whole lot of good since my 53" Pioneer Projection HDTV is not capable of 1080p (only 1080i) and does not have HDMI, and I'm not buying a new TV until this one dies (and I hope it never does). Besides I won't replace my DVDs with Blu-Rays because I don't have that kind of money.




Besides, shouldn't this thread be in the HD Talk forum? -kd5-

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

I already had a PS3, but after I got a nice 50" plasma (and not having HD cable/satellite), I wanted to make the best of it (blu-rays didn't look too much better on my older 36" 1080i TV), so I've been getting blu-rays ever since - on the new TV, they look TONS better.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

Absolutely, especially cult/horror films. There are still a lot of companies like Code Red & Mondo Macabro. And despite Shout Factory's acclaimed Roger Corman Blu-rays, the majority of their releases are DVD-only. The MGM Midnite Movies haven't been upgraded.

Do I really even need to point this out?

And the problem with many home video companies is that instead of unearthing new catalog titles, they're merely polishing existing releases. Yeah, I know some of them have to do this to survive in the present economy (Blue Underground), but it's a real shame how companies like Paramount & Anchor Bay have let so many great catalog titles go out of print to focus all attention on their cash cows (Anchor Bay might as well call themselves "The Evil Dead Reissue Co").

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

That's pretty much a thing of the past anyway. If anything is left off these days its usually like some obscure extra from a retailer-exclusive bonus disc or something. The whole "extras for DVD, HD for Blu-ray" was one of the first mistakes that were made when the HD formats came out but the studios seem to have learned their lesson.

In '06 we were seeing stuff like individual releases of select "Superman" movies on Blu while the box set hit DVD with additional films unavailable on Blu and packed with extras but now you'd be hard-pressed to find a new DVD "upgrade" that wasn't just a nerfed version of the Blu-ray, and that's if you, as a stubborn DVD loyalist, are lucky. For every "Back to the Future" trilogy where the studio ports the Blu-ray stuff over to DVD you have stuff like "The Cable Guy" and "Apocalypse Now" where the elaborate edition is Blu-only.

My first Blu-ray was "Where the Wild Things Are" and I bought it before I had a Blu-ray player because it was a DVD combo. That right there tells you I'm late to the game, I was hesitant to upgrade too but again, I'm glad I finally took the plunge. If something comes out DVD-only there's nothing stopping me from watching it. My favorite home video release in the year I got my Blu-ray player was Shout!'s "The Larry Sanders Show" set which DVD and perpetually stuck in SD due to the production of the show itself.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

I knew I would go to Blu eventually. But frankly, what pushed me over the edge to buy now instead of waiting for another generation and another price drop was 1) Star Wars announcement, and 2) the latest Harry Potter release. I knew I would I would buy blu-ray by September and since I was going to purchase Deathly Hallows Pt 1 anyway, why not get it blu-ray.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

I had thousands of DVDs when I went Blu. Am I replacing all of them? FUCK no. Mostly because I maybe watched maybe 0.05% of them on a regular basis (I reviewed for 3 sites so I had a ton of product lying around the house). These days I only buy Blus that are classics to me, or worth the upgrade. Animated films are a no-brainer. Same with the classics. Am I ever gonna watch, say, "A Perfect Storm" or "The Mummy Returns" again? Not if I don't start enjoy drilling holes in my feet.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

I hope Star Wars won't be a reason for upgrading to 3D. ;)

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

I was always very skeptical of Blu-ray & HDDVD, not for their technical merits, but rather for their price and the possible longevity in the market.

The prices dipped below $100, picked up a few discs for cheap but I find I'm not buying many titles period.

I have a Blu-ray, but I haven't "gone Blu" by any stretch.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

Because I hate money.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

I have around 1400 SDs and they look super upscaled thru my Tosh HDA1 thru a Epson 9500 UB projector onto a JKP Infinity Cinema Contour 110" screen in my home theater.

If BD was not around, I would be very happy with SDs, at least most of them. I double dip sometimes, but it has to be a very big upgrade. I'm into sci-fi/horror, and I won't pay the price when BDs first come out. I'll wait until the drop to $15 or less.

I own about 150 BDs and about 45 HDDVDs, and watch them all the time. To get the SDs I want, I have to go the MOD route. The only store that sells the small brands is Frys, which, since I've moved has been pushed about 50 miles further away.

I just sold my 500 LD collection, so I'm pretty set on what I have now. I've sold all my non-anamorphic SDs years ago which gives my film library some breathing room.

I only buy my BDs from Amazom.com because they have the cheapest prices and everything that comes on the market.

Now that I'm amassing a BD collection, those bastards better not come up with another format...I don't want to start collecting all over again!

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

They're waiting for you to amass your BD collection before bringing out their next new format. Originally they were waiting for me but I told them to go screw themselves...:D -kd5-

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

Yeah, sooner or later you have to decide that what you have is good enough. I'm guessing that's what all the hand wringing is about for the blu folks wondering why their format hasn't taken over the world yet.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

Why would you only get your dvds through MOD ?

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

Remember the days when they left the SD folks alone because they still had the HD folks to challenge?

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

Go to Best Buy and see for yourself...almost all BD. To get an SD, hopefully it's in the same package as the BD.

I meant to say that any of the older stuff is only thru the MOD system, very little thru standard SD.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

My favorite thing about Blu Ray is the (usually) uncompressed audio. It's almost like there are laserdiscs again, without the need to change sides.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

One should factor in that Best Buy doesn't have nearly as diverse a selection as they used to. Since I've only gone into Best Buy once or twice a year, and mainly browsing through Horror, my time-lapse view has witnessed their Horror selection shrink more than testicles in shark-infested waters.

To get to the point: this is more a reflection of the state of Best Buy than SD. Or, rather, your local Best Buy, at least. My local Best Buy has DVDs in the majority over Blu. But they also only carry the last few volumes of the MST3K box sets. That doesn't mean that all the volumes before XVII have ceased to exist. It just means they're not sold at Best Buy. (Though apparently some locations in Colorado are testing out Human CentIpads)

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

I still don't understand what you mean. Older stuff isn't only through MOD.

Re: What's the reason for switching to Blu?
 

The DVD selection at most of my local Best Buys (in Manhattan) has really diminished in range. Only the one at Union Square seems to have stuff I want anymore.

My local FYE (in the Bronx) has a pretty good selection--both DVD and Blu-ray--and I often wind up buying stuff there, even if it's overpriced, because the stores in Manhattan don't carry it. (They have a good discount Blu-ray section, though.)

But lately, I've been getting more and more of my DVDs from Amazon. They have what I'm looking for and the prices are usually right. But this is largely a response to the fact that the brick-&-mortar stores I used to get things from are mostly gone now.