Renting over Buying Blu-rays

[gamer2600]

I buy first...if I don't have any cash and I really want to see the movie I will rent then buy later. It all depends on what type of person you are. I love movies, so buying is important to me. I rarely double dip unless I really like the title.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by gamer2600

I buy first...if I don't have any cash and I really want to see the movie I will rent then buy later. It all depends on what type of person you are. I love movies, so buying is important to me. I rarely double dip unless I really like the title.

But you own 33 Blus (according to your signature) So I'd venture to say I watch movies quite a bit more often than you, because I REALLY enjoy movies, but not to the point where I'd buy movies I'll only watch once though.

Interesting....

For the price, the rental-by-mail deals are less than the price of one blu each month.... It's just a no brainer for me..... I typically netflix 10-12 movies per month that I decide not to buy, so that saves me $250/mo or so???? Not too shabby

[Blu-ray Fanatic]

The way I do it is: Rent the movie(s) first, determine if you like it or not after viewing, create a list of which ones you think are worth viewing again, and then wait until you see great deals such as buy one get one free or wait until nobody wants those titles anymore. Everything on this planet usually get popular for a short amount of time and then grows old.

[DarkClown]

I almost never rent movies. For movies I do not wish to own, I just wait for them to come to HD cable. Which I guess is 'renting' after a fashion.

Nor do I buy every Blu-Ray disc that gets released. I see some people here claiming to own over 200 BDs. Personally I can't think of 200+ BD titles that I'd wish to own, unless they started giving them away for free. I just went over and counted my BD titles and it is 41. Out of that 41, I'd estimate that 35 of them were titles I already owned on DVD. I'm just replacing my collection of favorite movies that I watch repeatedly as they become available.

I still have over 300 DVDs in my collection. No, I'm not dumping DVDs alltogether yet because there are many titles in there that are not available on BD and probably quite a few that never will be. Many of them are either older or low budget movies where the original source is not good enough to warrant a high def transfer anyway.

I recently bougth 'The Searchers' on BD and I was amazed at the quality of the video transfer for a movie originallly filmed in 1956. However many Blu-Ray owners would probably complain because the studio released it with a DD soundtrack in it's glorious original mono format. And truthfully, I don't know how good of a job a studio could do in taking a single track audio master and converting it into surround. They only thing they probably could have done better was to at least include a PCM mono soundtrack.

[reginaroadie]

Depends. If there's a Criterion disc I want to get (like THE ICE STORM), then yes, I will get the DVD for something that I know will take a long time to get to Blu-Ray, if at all. Other stuff, like that Season 1 SE of 24 that's supposed to be out in May or anything from Paramount, I'm going to wait to see if that's released on Blu-Ray.

As per Blu-Ray's themselves, I'm not going to buy every single Blu-Ray out there, but there are some that intrigue me enough to see if I can either rent them or borrow them from a friend. Like PLANET EARTH. Would love to see that to see if it lives up to the hype, but I don't want to drop $100 or so for something that I'm not going to watch again and again.

[kevinbr100]

i buy, i have the collecting bug. this thread made me think does anyone know if blockbuster has started selling previously viewed blurays. i used to buy dvds this way at a nice discount. usually no issues. i should go check myself .

Originally Posted by Yuzo

so, i have stopped buying DVDs,... i only rent them now,.. as i dont want a shelf full of obsolete format (even though it may be 2-3 years).

i have started buying every blu-ray i can get my hands on,.. which has made me stop and think,... "will i watch any of these again" .. yes i look super cool the more blu-rays i have ... ... and is a habbit of collecting something, just like i did with DVD... (i am still getting rid of DVDs which i never even moved since purchasing)

---------------------------------

my questions:

do you rent blu-ray? ... what makes you rent over buying? ... what perecentage renting over buying?

---------------------------------

... i am thinking of changing to 95% renting my blu-rays, instead of purchasing.

i can sign up to some unlimited rental service,... so if i ever want to watch a blu-ray again,... i just click a button at no extra cost.

this will save a tonne of money on buying new blu-rays at ridiculous prices,... plus i wont be gutted on blind-buys when i pay full whack, and the movie is poor. ... basically watching tonnes of blu-rays,... for 1 set monthly fee ... instead of wasting $200 a month buying,... for which may never be taken out of the box again until the next ultimate format comes out.

sorry if i am ranting on,.... i am just thinking of all the money i could save,... but still have the same blu-ray experience.

... would like some other opinions please

[Clark Kent]

I haven't rented a movie in over a decade. The only BDs I buy blind are movies I have a strong interest in from reviews, the talent involved, etc. Most are purchases of movies I've seen theatrically or on television or previously on dvd.

[liddybuck01]

i rent blus because i don't blind buy. i think it's dumb to spend so much $$$ on a movie i might not even like. so far renting has worked out really well for me. especially being signed up for that rewards thing at blockbuster. getting blus for free is pretty awesome.

[Variable]

Originally Posted by Blu-ray Fanatic

The way I do it is: Rent the movie(s) first, determine if you like it or not after viewing, create a list of which ones you think are worth viewing again, and then wait until you see great deals such as buy one get one free or wait until nobody wants those titles anymore. Everything on this planet usually get popular for a short amount of time and then grows old.

same as me exactly. I only own movies that i see myself watching again no that I've made this my plan. I used to just buy whatever was on sale and looked interesting. I realized this was bad because there were movies I never ever saw and several things I owned that i endedup not liking.

[nycomet]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

Renting is a fine idea, but I admit I am hooked on buying, even making a blind buy now and again (like I did for The Orpahange, Gone Baby Gone & We Own The Night). I get a kick out of owning a multi-million dollar studio production for $10 to $20, and watching it whenever I want. Collecting blus can become a very expensive hobby, though.

I agree with you 100-percent. To an extent, collecting BDs is almost a hobby - an obsession - like collecting coins or stamps. Years ago I collected a few items from Franklin Mint. I had the silver plates bicentennial flags of the world set. But now I have no clue where they went.

Collecting BDs - and finding them on sale or using coupons - makes obtaining them very sweet and satitsfying.

Last night I watched two BDS: BladeRinner and The Orphanage. They were both mind-blowing experiences. I am still debating whether or not to get The Golden Campass. I can get it at Target tomorrow and use the $5 coupon.

[sockmodel7]

Collecting DVDs is a hobby of mine, but I can't understand people who will purchase absolute garbage movies. If you're somewhat discerning with your purchases and just read reviews from Rotten Tomatoes you'll cut your spending by 75% easy. It boggles my mind how some people find 5-10 DVDs a month to purchase.

[foots]

I rent primarily. I have the Blockbuster Total Access three at time with unlimited in-store exchange. I don't have cable and I usually rent 35-40 movies a month. So it works out to about $1 a movie. Renting expensive? I think not.

I then buy my very favorite movies that I believe I'd watch again when they go on sale.

[Cinemaddict]

I just got a deal for $20 at Blockbuster that gives me unlimited free rentals for a month. The only condition is that I can only take out one movie at a time. Fortunatley, I live close by.

So I plan to rent as much of their BD selection as possible. So far, I've rented Juno, Spidey 3, and Pirates 2.

I think it's too hard to just be a "renter" right now because the selection for BD rentals is so limited at the moment. Right now, do they just get new releases in?

With DVDs, it's always to do with how much I like the movie in theaters. If I loved it, I'll always buy it. If I kinda liked it, I might rent it for a second viewing. I will never buy a movie that I haven't seen.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by sockmodel7

but I can't understand people who will purchase absolute garbage movies.

Says the guy who owns Underworld, Van Wilder, and Stranger than Fiction

(no comment on the chick Flicks and kids movies.... we've all had to bite the bullet a time or two!!!)

Just busting your chops.

[Roland1919]

I started doing the same. Easier on the budget especially when Blu is so expensive. I've been pretty pleased with Netflix service so far although theres a long wait for The Orphanage. I think I'm gonna try Blockbuster instead since I can run the movie in after work and get a new one. Thats Awesome...theres about 5 Blockbusters in my area. What is the general concensus about Blockbuster?

[DarkClown]

Originally Posted by sockmodel7

Collecting DVDs is a hobby of mine, but I can't understand people who will purchase absolute garbage movies. If you're somewhat discerning with your purchases and just read reviews from Rotten Tomatoes you'll cut your spending by 75% easy. It boggles my mind how some people find 5-10 DVDs a month to purchase.

For my part, I just don't trust review sites to tell me what is worth watching and what is not. I guess it's just me being different. For example, I actually sat with my wife and watched the Grammys last time they were on TV. Grammy awards are supposed to represent the best of the best in current music. I thought it was all crap. There was nothing on that show that didn't make me want to kill myself just for having listened to it.

[SeahawxBlu]

I have a friend who buys everything...and to this day, half of his stuff is STILL sealed. Yet, he refuses to lend out movies.

I have been renting BR's from Netflix since March 07, have seen almost all of their inventory, and I have bought the ones that really stood out. If you're on a budget, like I am, the renting before you buy works great.

[PNF]

I buy BDs now and then and I have a top 40 Fav list that I will buy, such as I.Robot, Shawshank Redemption (pre-order soon), and etc.

The rest, I blind buy a lot. (The latest being 30 days of night and Donnie Brasco). If I like them, I will keep them, if not, I can still sell them at very good value.

BD holds value very well, at least for now and it probably will until the stage of technology adaption enters "Early Majority". We are most likely "Early Adopters" right now after the innovators. So, I am not worried for BD to drop in value for the next 1-2 years.


PS. I also heard many complaints onlne that Netflix/BB are short on their inventory and the BD queue wait is in weeks.

So... I enjoy owning my fav movies and I turn over them quickly and easily if I dont like the movie after I blindbuy them