Could someone recommend a good DVD review/news site? (Not players, just movies.)

I've done searches with Yahoo, etc., and have yet to find that magical site that fulfills all my needs. :-)

The Big Picture (www.thebigpicturedvd.com) has thorough reviews that break DVDs down into separate video and audio quality categories, and are replete with screenshots.

The problem with this and most other reliable DVD review sites is that their test equipment kind of makes their reviews irrelevant to the average consumer. Sure, that new DVD release might look flawless when read with their progressive-scan DVD player and piped through their $10,000 projector onto a 120-inch screen, but that doesn't mean my generic $200 player and regular 32-inch TV won't produce a shimmering mess. It's tough to get information on DVDs that look good on an average AV setup.

Thanks, I'll definitely check out the site. Did anyone here read Imagine's short-lived magazine, Total Movie? I really liked how they reviewed DVDs--they gave one score for the quality of the movie and one score for the quality of the special features.

I'm just curious, and this is not in any way meant as criticism -- I just really want to know: How many DVDs that you buy do you actually watch more times than you would have to rent to pay the same price? For example, if some movie costs $24 on DVD, and it costs $2 to rent it for two days (as it does here), how many of these purchased movies do you watch 12 or more times?

That's a good question and one my wife asks me everytime I buy a DVD. I can only bring up the library vs. bookstore comparison, which mollifies her a bit as she's a big book collector (as am I).

-Andrew

"I'm just curious, and this is not in any way meant as criticism -- I just really want to know: How many DVDs that you buy do you actually watch more times than you would have to rent to pay the same price?"

The same question applies to us lower caste VHS people. My answer is: very few. We buy some tapes that we know the kids will watch several times, but that's about it. If there's a movie I want to watch more than once, I'll rent it more than once. I already have an attic stuffed with boxes full of books and I have games stacked up like small towers. I don't need more clutter and the cost is hard to justify as well.

I've even gotten to the point where I dispose of most of my books. It helps that I mostly read junk, but I used to save everything I read. Now I take them with me when I go to the used bookstore.

Hehe, yeah, I bristled at the price of those Sesame Street videos my wife likes to buy at first ($9.99 for 1/2 hour). But my daughter watches them more than enough to justify the cost. Plus, I find them much more bearable than most children's videos.

I probably should hit the used bookstores too. I've got plenty of books boxed up in the basement. I seem to have this optimistic notion I'll someday have enough bookshelf space for them.

So far as actually answering Bruce's question, I rarely buy DVDs now. Only selections I have an irrational need to OWN... and I admit I don't even have time to watch the Director's Commentary and other extras.

-Andrew

>How many DVDs that you buy do you actually watch more times than you would have to rent to pay the same price?

When I buy DVDs I don't do a cost-of-buying-versus-renting comparision. If there's a movie I know I'll watch several times, I'll buy it. And there are certain movies, like Unforgiven, that I usually watch once a year.

I've never spent $24 for a DVD (usually with specials they're $8-$15), but even at that there aren't many I've watched enough times to equal the rental price--yet. Over the course of ownership it'll work out differently, but in many cases I buy a DVD so I have plenty of time to listen to the commentaries and watch the other special features that most come with. Certainly not cost-effective, but I frankly don't care.

It also doesn't help that many of the DVDs I like to watch aren't available at the local video stores (or are there but butchered). I went the Netflix route until they started running out of everything all the time, and now it's more convenient to simply buy something. Ever tried finding Buffalo 66 or an uncut version of Requiem For A Dream at Blockbuster or Hollywood? Tricky.

How many books do you own that you could just as easily check out from the library? Or games that you could rent from the store or borrow from a friend? That's not meant as criticism, either, but to illustrate the point that in most cases it's nice to have that kind of stuff on a shelf and easily accessible.

I rent movies from my supermarket. I'd borrow books from them if the library had a branch there next to the frozen peas. It mostly about price and convienence with me.

The selection's small, but I'm patient. Eventually a movie will be there that I want to see. They're only $0.99 for new releases and $0.39 for older titles, which is nice for those of us who have had the Internet collapse around us.

I know I don't have lifetime enough to read or see everything, so I read and watch what tumbles into my hands.

"How many books do you own that you could just as easily check out from the library? Or games that you could rent from the store or borrow from a friend?"

Actually, very few. Especially after I moved to the university with the third-largest book collection in the United States. I don't buy a lot of games, either.

I really didn't mean for the question to seem belligerent, which is why I included the disclaimer. I'm just interested in people's motives for acquisitiveness.

The new Cake album is pretty good, btw. I bought that.

>I really didn't mean for the question to seem belligerent, which is why I included the disclaimer.

I didn't take it that way, nor did I mean for my response to sound defensive or patronizing. My point was merely stated poorly, as usual.

I, too, am interested in the reasons people accumulate so much junk and wish acquisitiveness was a trait I could shed, but I'm just one of those people who likes to have a lot of stuff within easy reach. Now that I have the means to acquire said stuff I do so for the sake of convenience.

Plus, what the hell am I supposed to fill my bookshelves and media cabinet with? :)

The best DVD site by consensus on Usenet is www.dvdfile.com -- early reviews, the latest in news, a good database of links to other sites reviews. (Although Tracy's comment about having above average AV equipment does apply here.)

At times, www.thedigitalbits.com can be good if for nothing more than their "Rumor Mill," but it no longer has the same impact it use to.

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For example, if some movie costs $24 on DVD, and it costs $2 to rent it for two days (as it does here), how many of these purchased movies do you watch 12 or more times?

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The Digital Bits is my favorite site for DVD news, reviews and special features.

As for Bruce's question about buying and renting, I don't necessarily look at it as having to watch the film twelve times to justify owning it instead of renting it. I love owning the films I care about because they are important to me. I may watch them over and over, but I may not. Owning them is worthwhile to me because it gives me immediate and constant access to them. I can pop Rushmore into my player anytime I want to see the scene where Herman Bloom runs off after talking to Miss Cross. Or if I'm in the mood to see the Kung Fu scene in The Matrix, or to hear the music only track on that film, or to watch Reservoir Dogs. It's a comfort having them there, like a bunch of old friends.

The funny thing is I have films in my collection still in their shrink wrap, not because I'm hoping to make a killing on eBay someday, but just because I haven't gotten around to them. This is a bone of contention as far as my wife is concerned (as in, "Why do you have to own all these movies if you're not even going to open them?") but I still love having them.

Just about the same applies to my book collection. I am almost genetically unable to get rid of the books in my collection, especially the hardcovers. I moved across the country with them, which is just ridiculous, but I just can't give them up. Am I going to read most of them again? Probably not. They are a comfort to me. Evidence of who I am.

Yeah, I know that's weird.

"It's a minor compulsion. I can deal with it if I have to."

-Amanpour

Mark: "I rent movies from my supermarket. The selection's small, but I'm patient. They're only $0.99 for new releases and $0.39 for older titles."

Same here, the local Albertson's has DVDs for 99 cents, and older VHS tapes for 50 cents. Once the secret got out, the shop turned into a boneyard, but if you're patient, you'll eventually get stuff.

As for buying them: I will buy the ocassional special movie that I want to keep. The rest I rent, although someone else here made a real good point that those rented DVDs tend to get clobbered after a while. It kills me when I rent one and it's covered with scratches and fingerprints. People are monkeys.

'People are monkeys.'

Technically, I think we're only 98% monkey. Ook.

>How many DVDs that you buy do you actually watch more times than you would have to rent to pay the same price? For example, if some movie costs $24 on DVD, and it costs $2 to rent it for two days (as it does here), how many of these purchased movies do you watch 12 or more times?

It's almost never worthwhile buying vs. renting if you're solely judging cost. I never bought a VHS tape for that reason, although I used to copy a few movies using two VCRs. But many DVD purchasers (including me) are willing to pay a premium to have a perfect copy of movies they like readily available.

Here the difference is basically a $4 rental (which I'll invariably return a week late) and a $30 purchase for a DVD. But $30 is no more than it costs to take someone to a movie in a theatre, and I a good DVD can be enjoyed more than seeing a movie in a theatre (Debbie does Dallas, etc.).

Stefan

>The funny thing is I have films in my collection still in their shrink wrap, not because I'm hoping to make a killing on eBay someday, but just because I haven't gotten around to them

Heh, almost everyone I know who buys DVDs has the same habit.

Stefan

Check out this website http://www.dvdshrine.com/

Its the best in reviews and they update their main page at least 3 times a day. The forums are pretty cool too.

I also recommend checking out http://www.chud.com for movie and some DVD news, even though they tend to focus more on movie news.

I write reviews for a website called http://www.dvdorkism.com. Its not the best site, but we do have some good reviews. Unfortunately, we have not been able to update as much as we have liked to recently.

Another great DVD website is http://www.dvdsewer.com. I recommend checking all of these out and seeing which ones you like the best.

Thanks for the recommendations, Kevin.

No problem

"It's tough to get information on DVDs that look good on an average AV setup."

I find its the opposite for me. With their superior setups and huge screens it seems like they are able to perceive flaws like grain and edge enhancement much easier than I can. If a movie gets a moderately good score for picture I can generally be sure it will look flawless on my 32" TV.

I'm one who buys far more than I rent. I currently have approximately 100 movies on DVD. Some I like owning just to give me more time to go through the special features. Mostly I just find it convenient. There are quite a few nights where I'm in the mood for a movie but don't feel like heading out to the store. Instead I just peruse my video library and something invariably jumps out at me. Plus its very hard to find a lot of the titles I'm interested in at the local Blockbuster (like the unrated Requiem for a Dream mentioned earlier).

Oh, and my favorite DVD sites (in order):

The Digital Bits
DVD File
DVD Review (like their reviews hate the interface)

BTW one of the reviewers for DVD Review is Guido Henkel, who worked on Planescape: Torment but left Black Isle afterward to work at the website.

>Guido Henkel, who worked on Planescape: Torment but left Black Isle afterward

.."beforehand", actually. He left about 6 months before the game was done. I like his gaming work...really dislike his DVD review stuff.