Out of curiosity, in general, do most people belonging to this forum buy DVDs or rent? What is your criteria for making a purchase vs. renting? Seems to me as early adopters build their libraries rentals will pick up as not every title put out on DVD will be worth owning, thoughts?

I certainly hope that rentals DO pick up, as the demand will build larger libraries at the stores, which will allow a greater selection, as well as more pre-viewed DVDs for sale at lower prices.

Most of my DVDs are newly bought. When I do buy used discs, I insist on looking at the disc before purchase, to avoid scratched or poorly-handled discs.

I personally own almost 100 DVDs, because I like the instant ability to watch what I feel like watching at any moment, along with the feeling I get when I look at the rack.

Overall, I would say that my DVD watching is probably 85% owned by me, 15% rental, and the other 5% borrowed or brought by friends.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Wait a minute! That's 105%! Oh, what the hell, it looks about right. Anyway, I wanted to add that, unless I'm really sure I want to own a movie (The Matrix, for instance), the ability to rent first makes renting valuable to DVD buyers as a preview mechanism, too.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Unless I have already seen the movie in the theater and I know I want to buy it, I always rent it first.

Then, I make the decision whether to buy. I use a simple formula: How many times I really want to sit down and watch it, times the price of renting it, must be greater than the purchase price.

I can rent new releases for three dollars, and I can buy most DVDs for twenty. So, if I think I'll watch it seven (times three equals $21) or more times, I'll buy it for $20 instead.

- Bruce ;-)

Apparently, the view of a particular colleague is that I am chief sad b*****d because I almost invariably buy new, (which I find terribly confusing because I cannot believe he's admitting to something at which I am better than he).

Anyhow, the criteria I use is that since there's little difference between buying a disc and going out, I do the former because the 24/7 availability and the lack of hassle (which, in my circumstance, also applies to the rigmarole in renting).

Of course, the downside to this is that one can, quite easily, get "burnt", but since that's also applicable to theatre viewing I'm prepared to accept it. (Personally, I thought the likes of "What Lies Beneath" and "Unbreakable" to be complete tosh. However, unlike visting a cinema I can, at least, recoup a little bit of the outlay by selling them on).

Oh, and specifically on the issue of viewing before buying... A cautionary tale (for UK region 2 viewers).

I must confess to enjoying the "Die Hard" movies; bought the original 4/3 tapes, then the wide screen boxed set and now, having purchased a DVD player, I've got the discs. Well... not really. I've got 1 and 2 but passed on 3 because it's been hacked to shreds.

The story goes that the film was originally passed uncut for an 18 cinema release. The distributors, however, wanted a more commercial product so made approximately 11 seconds worth of cuts and resubmitted it to gain a 15 certificate. It was this version that was released to the UK cinemas and subsequently transferred to tape. In the meantime someone made a further 90 seconds (or so) worth of cuts, to create a truly dreadful sanitized TV version of the film, and it was this that was transferred to the UK region 2 DVD. A case of what you see is not always what you get.

my logic is that since i don't get a chance to go to the movies (my children are too young and i have 3) i buy any dvd of a movie that i didn't catch in the theaters that i wanted to watch. i never rent because i don't have the discpline to return them on time (i don't have the patience to drop them in the mailbox either so no netflix). i buy about 50% new at costco and 50% previewed from blockbuster or hollywood video. i have gotten some great deals from them. I have a 400 disc changer with about 300 dvds in it already. i buy them in bunches, sometimes up to 10 at a time. So i usually have between 10 to 20 dvds that i haven't watch that i can choose from. last night i watched reindergames for the first time. i purchased it almost a year ago, previewed from blockbuster. about 100 dvds that i own are animation titles like disney and so on that the kids watch over and over again. recently i have started to collect dvd concerts. those i can watch over and over again.

if a movie is really bad, like "get carter", i take it out of my collection and sell it on ebay or something. this works for me nicely and i since i used to be a big movie goer, i am actually saving money. now my theater is in my family room. calibrated 61 inch widescreen hdtv with surround sound system.

This message was edited by slocko on 02/27/02 22:21.24.

Bruce,

Pure logic, love it. But what would you do if the cost of buying DVD's at a Costco or Best Buy is the same as renting from Blockbuster? Warner Bros. is leaning in that direction so it can circumvent the Blockbuster's of the world. Would you try (i.e., rent) before you buy?

Larry,

No problem on the math. Since you own such a large collection, would you characterize it as mostly new releases (films released in the last couple of years) or catalog films (released over 2 years ago)?

slocko,

I identify with not going to the movies anymore (similar family demographic) and your right on with the animation titles, DVD is perfect for the kids since you don't have the same type of degradation as you do on VHS. Just curious, but why wouldn't you buy all your DVDs from Blockbuster or Hollywood's previously viewed collection?

since i have 3 kids i am always in costco, more so than any other store. i see a new release of a movie i wanted to catch in the theater and i can't help myself. it won't be available as a previewed dvd for probably another month if it's a new release. that is why.

Hey everybody,
Here's the deal:
Movie at theater for two, popcorn and drinks = $26.50.
Easy choice for me.....purchase DVD!
-Ken


This message was edited by Ken on 02/27/02 23:37.44.

HT Fan,

Sure, it's all related to the money. If I can buy it for the price of renting it, I'll take the chance and buy. And if the sale price is $10 I only have to like it enough to watch it three more times, etc.

But I have to say that recently it seems that a lot more "junk" is being released on DVD. At first I think the studios were only releasing the "good" stuff, to keep sales high and encourage the new medium. Now -- like I said earlier -- unless I already know it's good, I'm getting more reluctant to take the chance that all discs are worth the purchase price. So I usually will review the movie first, either by renting or on the big screen.

-Bruce

I can't remember the last time I rented a DVD. I own about 120 of them, and buy them totally on impulse anytime I see something I think I might want to watch.

A quick scan of the titles I own shows me that I've got about 35 that I've never even watched. I like having a library like this so that our guests can pick one they'd like to see. To me a small investment of $10-$20 per disc is not really an issue. Even if I add up all the money I've spent, it's still insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

LOL, Larry! It actually works out to 100% because you probably don't return the DVD's you borrowed or your friends brought and forgot to take home with them! ;-)

Mostly buy: have about 300 total (DVD&LD). Bought disks come in the mail or by UPS and on occasion I'll go to the local Tower Records. The few movies I didn't want to keep found happy homes with friends. Keep a data base in my pc and print out a report of just the movie name and main actors. At the 300 movie level I can find something I want to watch most every time. If not I go shopping!
KDM