Gizmo

And when Scarface comes out...you're gonna wait for $14?

Nick Martin

Price is the biggest factor.

I'd love to own 'Beetlejuice' on BD but at $30 that's never going to happen.

I also belong to the 'takes better advantage of HD' crowd regarding more visual films like action, sci-fi and so on.

Batman Begins, ID4, Serenity, Firefly, Cloverfield, The Perfect Storm, Spider-Man (all three)...those were upgrades because of their more visually impressive content.

SPRBD

I won't upgrade for over $12, although that factors in any money I make when I sell the original.

Mr. Cinema

The movie itself is the #1 factor. If I really enjoy the movie and will watch it multiple times, I'll upgrade. However, if I already have the dvd, that makes the decision a bit tougher.

Price is the #2 factor. As Tony mentioned above, paying $20 for a catalog title, especially one I already have on dvd, is something I'm doing less and less of lately. Something like King Kong, I'll pay $20 on day 1 because it's one of my favorite movies. But Napolean Dynamite...no way am I pay $23 for that. I would for $15.

If we really are moving away from "early adopter" stage and moving towards "mainstream", then it's time to lower the damn prices on catalog titles. I can wait.

islandclaws

My criteria:

- how much I love the film
- are all the extras from the SD ported over?
- improvement in pq/aq?
- price

If all of those factors line up, then I upgrade. As for new titles I don't already own, those I always buy on BD. Why not pay the extra couple bucks for 1080p?

bunkaroo

I draw the line at...."is it available on Blu-ray?"

It's hard for me to enjoy a DVD when I know there's an HD version out there, even if the improvement is minimal.

I'm trying to be a little more judicious with my money, but I still bought Sideways, Little Miss Sunshine and Office Space day one this week. At least I am holding back on blind buys.

Spy021

I recently made the jump to Blu-ray and have been wrestling with this very issue. At the moment, I've decided that if it is a new movie that I want, I will opt for the Blu-ray every time. As for older catalog titles, or movies that I already own on DVD, I will only upgrade if I can do so on the cheap $12 or less or if it is an absolute favorite.

eXcentris

Simple, I only upgrade favorites and some films which had crappy or non-anamorphic transfers on DVD.

I disagree with that statement. I notice the improvement in sound a lot more than the improvement in PQ. Hence a bigger impact in action films. I don't see the point in upgrading dialogue driven films or comedies. It's not like the film is gonna be funnier because it's in HD.

DeanoBKN

For me, it's mainly price. At $15 dollars, I would upgrade nearly everything I have because after I sold my DVD i'm looking at a $10-$12 purchase. I love Mrs. Doubtfire but at $29.99 they can keep it.

If it's a new release I will buy Blu 100% of the time though.

Ghostbuster

Like many others, I am only upgrading films that I think have impressive visuals (Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Jurassic Park, etc.). For the most part, I will be upgrading action and sci-fi films. And for the most part, I will NOT be upgrading comedy and drama films.

Snowmaker

Right now I am sitting in front of my collection, trying to determine what I want to sell / trade in and get the Blu-ray of. I have Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, a movie I have not watched in years, yet I feel the need to upgrade it because I bet it looks AMAZING in HD. I also have my 4 Matrix DVDs pulled because I'd like the box set, but not sure when it will come down in price enough to make me jump.

Looking at my comedies, Heathers is the only one I'm really considering upgrading because its one of my all-time favorites.

ctyankee

Same here. So far I own three Blu titles. Dr. No, Thunderball and From Russia With Love purchased on Black Friday from Amazon at something like 6.78 per title. Upconverted is fine and (going through the DVD buying years) I'm a lot more patient now waiting for prices to drop.

I think the only title that is a given for my purchase this year is North By Northwest if it comes out as expected on Blu-Ray for its 50th year of release. Other than that, Netflix.

wakwak007

It really comes down to three things:
1) PQ/AQ enough of a improvement to worthy an upgrade.
2) If its a movie I really like (such Tombstone, Jurassic Park, etc.)
3) I'll admit depending on how many upgrades I've already done of the film. Such as, I have bought the Bond films in enough formats that I'm Ok with the UE versions. The only will pick up the newer films as they are released in Blu-ray. That said I did upgrade Casiono Royale ( Usd & with trade-ins at Movie Stop) but I'm not going to even rent the older films like, TSWLM or FRWL in Blu-Ray because I know I'll start buying just my favorites in Blu-Ray than poof I'll want them all upgraded...Not this time.

tonymontana313

Well, I can make a few exceptions.

clckworang

Any movie that I like enough to own I would rather have on Blu-ray, regardless of genre or age. The only exceptions would be if the Blu-ray were a total disaster for whatever reason.

DarthVong

I'm limiting myself to films that I really like, will watch often and would benefit more from HD. Action, Horror, Sci-fi etc. I'm sure some would argue, but I don't see getting Ricky Bobby or Superbad on BD. The SD is fine for those types of films IMO.
I also like to keep the price range limit to $19.00 if I can. I've actually been more impressed with BDs of older films like Halloween than I have from newer films.

wormraper

My crieria go like this.

1. Is the movie out on DVD and I have it.
2. Is it out on Blu
3. Then I upgrade.

cgray

Same. Price determines when, but if a blu comes out where I own the DVD, I'll generally try to sell the DVD ASAP in preparation to upgrade.

I'm still waiting to upgrade some semi-older blu releases (e.g. Baraka), but I've already sold some DVD's where the blu version has yet to come out (e.g. Wizard of Oz).

wakwak007

You all have a very validate piont on the pricing issue. I guess since going this forum, I've taken the mindset, "I'm not going to pay a lot for this DVD," I take that for granted. Like you Darth Vong, I too am impressed that older movies are often much cheap than the new releases. I guess its nice to not be in the "Optimal Marketing Demographic" anymore or at my tastes in film no longer fall into that category.

ctyankee

Agreed. And even when you think you've got a good handle on things, some well informed consumers over at the DVD bargains area of this forum will make you look clueless.

Blu-Ray prices WILL settle lower. Amazon is already discounting Patriot Games Blu-Ray by 14 bucks ($15.99, 47 percent off MSRP) yet other Amazon Marketplace sellers have it NEW, starting at $10.50. And there are 39 sellers selling it NEW not to mention the sellers with used copies. Clearly supply is well over demand leading to the inevitable.

The economy and Blu-Ray migration has also hurt SD-DVD catalog sales. 57 sellers offering Patriot Games (NEW copies) starting at $3.74 compared to Amazon trying to sell it for $10.49. Now Amazon is happy about getting their cut from Amazon Marketplace sellers but they can't be happy about the price compression.

B5Erik

My "Upgrade Rules" -

1. Is it a movie I'm going to watch several more times? If yes buy it when the price is less than $18. (See Goodfellas as an example.)

2. Is it a movie that has great visuals that will benefit greatly from Blu Ray? If yes, but it (again, at the < $18 point, preferably < $15).

3. Is the standard DVD pretty weak? (Does it look like VHS on an HDTV?) If yes, buy it when it can be purchased for less than $18 (and, again, preferably less than $15).

If a movie falls into any of those three categories I'll upgrade. I've got 40 or 50 Blu Ray titles right now (and about half were upgrades).

lizard

I'll upgrade pretty much any DVD I have to BD if/when I can get it for $10 or less. Same as my price limit for new releases. If I don't think it is worth upgrading — because I haven't watched the DVD in a long time — then I probably should just sell the DVD anyway.

Unlike some above, I don't care much whether the BD has all the extras. Except in rare cases, I only watch those once, so having them on the BD is irrelevant unless there is something new. I don't have the "completist" mentality.

ctyankee

I'm at a different mindset, not better or worse, just different.

1. Is it a movie I'm going to watch several more times? Netflix it to see how much improvement it is over up-converted DVD. If worthy, purchase when price is below 15 bucks (except Criterions and other boutique suppliers).

2. For a film that I'm not going to watch or refer to repeated ... Netflix it. For a buck a month more than standard rentals, Netflix pays for itself for the year with one watched versus purchased Blu-Ray release.

3. Boxsets? If I can sell off the individual releases that I don't want to watch often thus making the releases I do keep a bargain, it's a no-brainer. Otherwise, wait for the eventual individual releases and/or Netflix them while I wait. (Netflix more and more is breaking up boxsets for rentals).

Greg MacGuffin

So far I've been able to keep my upgrades under control. My rules:

1. Non-anamorphic DVDs get upgraded. I finally replaced my old copy of The Thing for this reason.

2. If I buy a sequel to a movie on Blu and I have the original on standard, I will usually upgrade the original as well. For example, I picked up The Dark Knight on Blu, so at some point I will probably upgrade my Batman Begins.

3. Price. I picked up Texas Chainsaw Massacre last year for about eight bucks (thanks to a deal posted in the bargains forum). While I would not have normally upgraded that title, the price was just too good to pass up. (And I'm glad I did - it looks phenomenal.)

4. Big events, like the Blade Runner box. I had the Director's cut on standard for years, but as a fan of that movie, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to own such a great set.

5. Imports. I'm trying to consolidate everything so that I will only need one machine to play all of my discs.

There are other exceptions of course. I will probably pick up 2001 at some point, simply because I adore that film and have heard great things about the Blu. But other than that, I can live with having most of my collection on standard.

d2cheer

I am caught in this same issue, I have upgrade the Dirty Dozen, The Thing, and The Warriors. New movies while they look good to me and I am sure I will get flamed here, don't really have that much difference from the regular upconverted DVD. There is some noticeable improvement in picture and sound but not enough for me to buy the blu ray DVD; but for older films it is night and day.