Does a blu-ray need to meet a specific criteria of yours to warrant a purchase?

[Werdsniper2]

What I mean by this is, are there any traits that automatically qualify or disqualify the possibility of a purchase for you?

For example:

Personally, I typically refuse to buy a movie unless it contains a commentary track of some sort. There can be an abundance of special features, but if a track isn't one of them, then I won't buy it. There are some rare exceptions to the rule, but only two of them.

A) If a good movie is way, way too cheap to pass up ($4 or less usually)

B) If it's a good movie directed by someone who refuses to do commentary tracks (Tarantino, Spielberg etc...) and may never get one at all.

Not liking a movie is obvious and doesn't count.

[willieconway]

I only buy circular discs. No square BS for me.

[Chiefy]

1. Movies I enjoy that I don't already own on DVD or digital that have gotten a good review (PQ/AQ). - Buy

2. Blind Buy for a movie that has gotten great reviews and very low price - Buy cautiously

3. Wait until a TV series is complete before buying - Depends

4. Movies that have not received a US release, but are available abroad - Buy

5. Double/Triple Dips - have to be substantial upgrades to Buy

6. Special Edition vs. Regular Edition - Buy Regular Edition if content is the same. Don't care about slipcoves/frills.

Quick list, but I may edit this if I think of more.

[Worship.my.wreck]

Waiting for the "No 3D, no sale" posts

[Bugg]

Proper aspect ratio, original sound-mix and a solid transfer are the biggest factors (aside from movie itself). Also a reasonable price. While I used to pay $30-$100 a pop for movies on laserdisc, I am now much tighter with my money and seldom ever pay more than $20 for a single movie.

[Mystic]

Originally Posted by Bugg

Proper aspect ratio, original sound-mix and a solid transfer are the biggest factors (aside from movie itself). Also a reasonable price. While I used to pay $30-$100 a pop for movies on laserdisc, I am now much tighter with my money and seldom ever pay more than $20 for a single movie.

Well said. You speak for me as well.

[monwobbbo]

have to really like the movie if it is something i already own on DVD. if it's something that will get watched at least once every 2 years then it's worth an upgrade. if not then probably won't buy a blu of it.

i will say that rarely will extras play a role in the decision. they are nice but the movie is what counts most. exceptions would be things like the Game Of Death footage found as an extra on Enter The Dragon or the great Harryhausen Documentary found on the 7th Voyage of Sinbad that contained super rare footage not available elsewhere.

price is a consideration as the higher the cost the more i'd have to love a movie especially if i have it already.

i've gotten way pickier at this point. rebuying movies has gotten a bit old. some titles i bought on 8mm, VHS, DVD and now Blu-ray . can't keep rebuying stuff

[thinredline]

-Must NOT be degrained!

-Must include original audio if the remix is substantially altered

-Must not be revisioned either with teal-to-death coloring (see Ritrovata/Eclair) or altered effects/corrected errors etc.

Unfortunately those 3 rules, have prevented me from buying some of my absolute favourite films!
(The Terminator 1 & 2, Predator, Disney animation classics, Star Wars original trilogy etc.)

lately I have added another rule:
Must be from a new 2K/4K scan
which makes me reluctant to buy old blurays of movies I want, hoping that they may be released in new transfers.
(eg. Pretty Woman, Dances with Wolves, Farewell my Concubine)

[Axl Rose]

I have to really enjoy the film.

[darkness2918]

Not really. If I like a movie or in the case of a blind buy think I'll like a movie I'll buy it. For most major studio new releases I'll wait for a price drop. For movies from labels like Arrow or Scream Factory I'm more willing to blind buy since in case I don't like it they're easier to sell/trade.

[Werdsniper2]

Originally Posted by Chiefy

1. Movies I enjoy that I don't already own on DVD or digital that have gotten a good review (PQ/AQ). - Buy

2. Blind Buy for a movie that has gotten great reviews and very low price - Buy cautiously

3. Wait until a TV series is complete before buying - Depends

4. Movies that have not received a US release, but are available abroad - Buy

5. Double/Triple Dips - have to be substantial upgrades to Buy

6. Special Edition vs. Regular Edition - Buy Regular Edition if content is the same. Don't care about slipcoves/frills.

Quick list, but I may edit this if I think of more.

#3 is a must for me. I don't care how long I have to wait, I will never buy a specific season. I would rather wait a decade and buy whatever glorious complete series or box set they ultimately decide to put out. If I really want to watch something, I'll stream it or watch on TV... but no purchase until it's complete.

[TXMoviebuff77]

At first I would only buy new released movies on blu ray & mostly action movies because I figured those would look better in HD. It wasn’t until about 3 years I started being more lenient on what to buy. I still had quite a few DVDs & I started selling them and upgrade them for the blu ray copy. The biggest decision though is I read the reviews on this site before deciding to buy an older movie title.

[Ray_Rogers]

There's too many to list and I'm not going to list them.

[AaronJ]

-- I buy a lot of Criterions (and very occasionally foreign releases when there is no US release), so price can only be so much of a concern sometimes.

-- Extras, if they're very interesting, are often a deciding factor.

-- I blind buy a lot of films with directors/actors/whatever that interest me since I so rarely get to the theater these days. Especially concerning directors, if there's a new film by Fincher, or a really nice release of a classic film, say by Antonioni or someone, I buy it full price on Day One.

-- I also love Exclusive DigiPak releases, especially from Target. But those are pretty much usually just comic book movies -- not that I have anything against comic book movies. But like the Target Exclusive of Wonder Woman or Logan are just beautiful.

I'm sure there are ones I'm forgetting.

[drush9999]

The movie itself is the obvious one. But original sound and great picture quality are very important factors. I'd pay over the odds for a favourite movie which handles the quality perfectly e.g. The Thing etc. Others like The Terminator which looks fantastic but doesn't have the original mono, are bought at a cheap price, for that reason.

Price factors in quite a bit, if it's a non-Disney, main studio release, I may wait for a decent price. If it's something that never drops in price, I may go down the second-hand route.

If I see collection "filler", used or new dirt cheap, I'll buy, and am less concerned about quality.

If a movie is only released in one version, and the transfer is marginally better than DVD, but the movie is a particular favourite, I'll wait till it's silly cheap, or if going for scalper prices, just ignore it until they re-release it.

[geomon]

Movie has to be OAR with no DNR or EE applied and it must have lossless audio.

[JimDiGriz]

Has to be at least a 7/10 and even then I have to like it enough to buy it.

[Roonan]

Yes.

1. Do I like the movie enough to own it on BD?
2. Does it have a good transfer?
3. (if applicable) Is it the cut the creator prefers?
4. (if applicable) Is there an international version with considerable better A/V quality?
5. Is the price good?

[OneWayFilms]

NO SLIPCOVER - NO PURCHASE!

[Show spoiler]Bwa ha ha ha ha

[Member-222782]

My criteria for how a Blu-ray should be presented:

I need the best possible transfer for the film.
I need original audio
I don't believe in censorship so I want to see the film the director intended
I need chapter stops
I'd like there to be last-viewed memory on all discs
I don't want forced advertising of any kind

Of course, if some or most of these are not present on the disc, that won't stop me from buying it because that would be silly.