Does anyone still buy and collect DVDs?

Definitely. Mostly British comedies now that are Region 2 and likely will never be released in Region 1. I’m a big fan of classic British comedy and like to have physical media. My collection is almost all television series (both USA and Great Britain) and I’ve been collecting for about 15 years now.

 

I have no concrete proof though believe much videotaped vintage footage is better served on DVD than Blu-ray, especially on a larger screen.

 

2010, The final season of The Last of the Summer Wine will be released within the next few weeks. It was the longest running British comedy series in history, and provided my wife and me many laughs over its three decades on PBS.

 

DVD is 480p so there's limitations there on a 55+ inch screen. Although it can be be up-sampled of course.

I still purchase DVD's when the price is right as I do watch movies on a smaller screen so at that point I prefer to smaller storage footprint anyway (I rip many of my movies).

 

Personally, if something is shot on 35 mm film, like the "Twilight Zone", it should be seen in as good quality as its creators intended. The Blu-Rays of that show look marvelous, a tribute to the DPs, the Mitchell cameras and the Kodak B/W stock the show was shot on. Why deliberately degrade something good by watching it in less quality than what is available?
Serling most likely would have been proud that his show could finally be enjoyed in such tremendous quality rather than look like beaten-up, tele-cined 16 mm prints on a horrid-looking worn TV.

Now, if something is from the dark days of color 2-inch or 1-inch tape, complete with tube cameras, then DVDs in many cases can serve very well. "The Jeffersons" and "Barney Miller" come to mind as atrocious-looking, even if they are classic shows. There you get all the "nostalgic decay" you can want, right from the source.

 

The dilemma I have with buying DVD's these days is that most of the DVD's I've bought this past year had been sitting on warehouse selves for so long that they were rotted by the time I got them. All the rotted discs I received had dates on 'em over ten years ago..... I returned 4 or 5 DVD's this past year. My latest failed DVD was Bugsy, one of my favorite movies.

 

I have this DVD (the unrated extended cut). No problems here. I know it's on VUDU in HD also. Surprised there was never a Blu-ray release.

 

The beaten up 16mm prints were obviously not desirable for reproduction of any kind.

B&W 35mm negative by nature has less information in it than an equivalent 35mm negative would have.

I have many B&W DVD's of old movies which are very viewable.

Naturally, Blu-ray has far more detail.

But I think that a good amount of the quality that Blu-ray present is due to the extra care in their mastering process. If people are paying the extra price for a BD, than it had best be a significant improvement over the DVD version.

I bet, if you took and made a DVD and BD the exact same way and I mean doing the BD the same way that they did the DVD 20-years ago, that there would not be that drastic of difference in them visually. This is as specially true with B&W source material.

 

When I get a movie on BluRay, I normally put my DVD copy into storage, or give it to a friend who really wants that movie.

On Friday we bought the movie "Storm Boy" (1976) on BluRay. We will be keeping the DVD. The BluRay looks clearer and the picture fills the screen with a stunning view. Too bad they didn't start making widescreen films in Australia for a couple more years. Yep, the BluRay is cropped into 16:9 while the DVD is the original 4:3. With a large number of close ups and slow pans across luscious scenery, there was plenty of room to crop. But I didn't want a cropped film, even if the overall transfer looks great.

So I collect whichever format has what I want on it.

P.S. We are keeping the BluRay as well as it does look really nice and we got it with a roughly 1/3 discount off the price!

 

I think that my DVD is the same one. I might risk buying another one. It's surprising there's never been a Blu release. A Blu release would be a....." fresh start"...

 

looking through my DVD collection I'm surprised there are so many titles that have not made it to BD! probably never will...

 

maybe you can find a cheap one and try again...good luck.

 

most of my DVDs upscale pretty good, but nowhere near BD quality...if that's all that's available I'm glad to have the DVD...

 

If you have to have a high-definition copy, check on iTunes. Yes you will have to watch it through iTunes or an authorized Apple device, but the resolution is better.

 

I basically watch my movies on our TV, but thanks for the suggestion. : )

 

I have started going Blu-ray but I actually enjoyed Stones in the park 69' on DVD more somehow.

 

I can understand that...I still enjoy some of my transfers that I did on DVD... it's the movie, etc. that really matters...

 

Did you try another DVD player ?

I’ve found a ps3 player works.

 

I go with DVD on some movies if it doesn't matter about the scenery.
Some old B movies and TV shows are fine with me on DVD.

 

You might already know... but with an AppleTV you do watch iTunes movies on your TV

The list of iTunes (or other digital retailers) 4K movies which don't exist on 4K Blu-ray or even regular HD Blu-ray disc is growing every month!

 

Cheaper just buying DVDs -Blu Rays.

 

yes I already know. ; )

 

When I upgrade to a Blu-ray of a DVD I already own, I usually stick the DVD into a paper envelope and store it in the Blu-ray case. I sometimes need a DVD for the computer to access a frame or something, or they can be used when traveling where the location doesn't have a Blu-ray player.

 

Recently picked up two DVDs Earth Girls are Easy and Narrow Margin(Gene Hackman) I don't think either are on BR yet.

 

I picked up NARROW MARGIN within the last year as well. Stumbled on it running on an over-the-air subchannel, and when I saw a train scene, I knew I had to own it.