Does anyone still buy and collect DVDs?

DVD upscaling and a higher bit rate with BD...what you are saying doesn't gel? any prime examples?

 

you are correct...not yet... add them to the pile of MIA BD titles!

 

I continue to collect DVDs since there are a lot of older movies only available on that format.

 

Wish something "would" come to mind.

 

That would depend on the size screen. I have a 145” projection system. Standard DVD’s are borderline unwatchable at that size, where blurays look fabulous. No doubt mastering plays a big part, but on that size screen you are definitely seeing the limitations of a standard DVD and mastering isn’t going to do any magic. But I have to agree with you when you drop to a 50 or 60 inch screen. I’m sure many people see no need to upgrade if the mastering is well done.

 

Yes, that doesn’t make any sense to me either!

 

Or worse, I will pull out a standard disc and out of curiosity I’ll check and find out it was released but I never was aware of it, and it’s now out of print and I have to pay $75 for it off eBay. Has happened numerous times.

 

yup, me too....missed the boat! but I refuse to pay those shark prices...the DVD will even look better...; ) LOL. I'll deal with the upscale...

 

I'm waiting for some examples...very curious...heck, I'm always willing to learn something new! no disrespect of the OP intended...I really want to know! heck, I'll even buy the DVD! : )

 

if something does please let me know my friend...: )

 

A lot of desirable DVDs ( subjective) drying up. Bit like those early pop /rock cd titles.

 

Examples of things (and pricing) only on DVD:

"Hollywood", Kevin Brownlow's massive history lesson on film, first on VHS and laserdisc, now available on laser-to-DVD transfer, which is probably all we'll get.
The Lon Chaney films (mostly Warner Archives, with a couple of exceptions on BR)
Lots of pre-code WB films (again, from the Archives)
"The Great War", the legendary BBC series about WW1.
"Fawlty Towers" and any number of British series.

Chaney in particular deserves a full BR box, but is it going to happen these days? I ain't waiting for it, so I have everything I can get with him now, on DVD, in case they go out of print.

Some crazies are charging hundreds for the "Great War" set already.

"Fawlty" is available for cheap in Britain, and the DVD set is very nicely mastered.

It is a gamble, as always, but in some cases, if the DVDs turn out to be only place holders until the BRs arrive, at least the films are available, even if only on DVD.
Sometimes you have to be grateful for what you can get.

C.

 

Blu-ray is definitely far higher definition than DVD, but, sa you indicate, with today's upscaling technology, a DVD can look very good, surprisingly so on a 60" to 65" TV.

When you start to project an image over 100", as specially at 120" and above you are definitely going to loose picture resolution with a DVD. Bluray is the only way to go, if you have a nice HT witha front projection system.

 

I always will collect CDs, Lps , Blu Ray and DVDs . Just a lot more selective than I used to be.
Not sure I really will ever get into 4K discs. I’m very happy with what I have. This forum definitely makes me buy a lot more stuff than I normally would. . Long live physical formats.

 

"Fawlty" is available for cheap in Britain, and the DVD set is very nicely mastered.

they did 2 masterings of this...

which one do you have?...rumor has it that the second release was edited?

 

I collect classic TV series on DVD and classic movies that never made It to BD

 

I received the entire series of Last of the Summer Wine (Region 2) for Christmas. It’s a 54 DVD set and I’ve really been enjoying it. One of my all time favorite shows.

 

I see more titles I like on dvd definitely used ones.

 

You may have a point concerning DVD's on larger screens, but I think distance one views any resolved screen has far more affect on perceived sharpness. The bigger the screen, the farther one has to sit for a reasonably comfortable view.

Vintage videotaped footage has far less resolution or perceived edge sharpness than DVD at 480 lines of pixels per inch (or is that 480 the total count for the entire vertical frame?). But the large viewing screen may be 108o but is that per inch or is that total vertical pixel square count? I've understood it to be total pixel count which means the pixel squares are enlarged to fit lets say a 50inch screen at 16x9 aspect ratio. I would say you'ld have to sit at least ten feet away to see that as sharp with some help from upscaling.

Below is how a DVD appears sitting at arm's length viewed on a 1920 x 1080 27in. LG computer display using Apple's DVD player software on my 2010 MacMini. Not so sharp, Is it? If I view at 7ft. or more away from the screen it looks sharper.

 

Not sure if you have a Big Lots store or something similar but here in the states they seem to be giving away discs for movies as new as ten years or more. At Big Lots I paid $5 for the Fargo Blu-Ray. I paid $3 for the Blu-Ray/DVD combo of the 2007 Beatles tribute movie "Across The Universe". All new and factory sealed packages. The DVD photo I posted above is from that movie. There are other Blu-Ray/DVD combos at Big Lots at around $5 to $7 but I guess it's due to the demand and popularity of the movie. But then I've seen that qualifier get thrown out the window on other titles that were popular but are a couple of decades old.

 

Heck yeah! I love my DVDs and Blu-Rays and CDs.

When I bought my last laptop and insisted on one with a disc drive, my IT friend mocked me and said “Optical data is dead.” I replied “Not in my House.”

 

Since I eventually got with the program and bought a 4K smart TV, I've largely switched over to blu-rays. Still buy DVDs if they're cheap or the only option. Even though I subscribe to a couple of streaming services, I'll always want physical copies of the stuff I really like.

 

I find there are very few movies in my collection that I regularly watch. I've been in a forced downsizing mode, and have donated or sold dozens of old DVDs over the past year because I simply didn't have space to keep them. The vast majority are available on Netflix or Hulu if I really have to scratch that itch.

 

It’s good to have a dvd-library a lot of stuff I like you can’t stream it.

 

I have the DVD of that movie and when viewed at my viewing distance of 10' away, looks perfectly sharp.

I went and bought the 4K Blu-ray version, as my first (an only) 4K Blu-ray disk.

I did not like the 4K BD. All of the dark areas went to black. It did have "blacker blacks", but it also seemed to make things black that were not supposed to be black. The disk also had problems playing as I got to the middle of the movie and I could not finish it.

My guess is that the 4K HDMI cables I was using, one that came with the Oppo UDP-203 player and one from Amazon Basics were not doing the job.