Hatrack River Forum: DVD prices... wha?

This is topic DVD prices... wha? in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.hatrack.com/ubb/main/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=021280

Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :

Just stopped by Best Buy to pick up Lost in Translation since they almost always have the top movies on sale the first week.
Nope. $19.99. The one on sale was Under the Tuscan Sun which was on sale for a cost-slashing $17.99.

What happened to the $15.99 sales? I looked at all the new movies available this week and they seem to have jumped up about $2 across the board. This is distressing. Somehow I really doubt production costs have gone up two bucks a disc.

Although, it occurs to me that if I stopped buying new DVDs, I could save up for a DVD burner in no time. Hmmm...

Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :

My guess is that with the Academy Awards coming up they're boosting their prices because they assume everyone will be wanting to get the nominated movies.

Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :

And I will. Online from Amazon on someplace that marks it down a bit, or used at a pawn shop in a few weeks.

Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :

Chris, Walmart often slashes the prices on selected new releases for a couple of days, then raise the price back up. Usually just a couple of bucks. Costco is another good place to look largely because they offer rebates on some, which take the prices back down to a bargain level. I got X2 for 12.99 after the rebate at Costco. And Costco makes it so easy to apply for the rebate-- you can do it right online, no mailing required.

Posted by MidnightBlue (Member # 6146) on :

My mom's laptop has a dvd burner, but you can't actually burn most dvds because the regular ones have blocks on them. You can't copy them. Unless someone else knows a way and is willing to share.

Posted by esl (Member # 3143) on :

Out of curiousity, exactly how would a dvd burner take the place of new dvds?

Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :

You can rent a DVD, rip it and burn it. My brother does it all the time. It's one reason he subscribed to Netflix. He rents 'em rips 'em and sends them back, then watches them whenever.

He sleeps okay and all, but it makes me a little uneasy. I figure if you rent something, it's not okay to copy it.

I DO think it's a good idea to rip and burn children's dvds, though. I wish I had the capability to do that. My wee one broke his favorite dvd when I couldn't come get it out and put it in fast enough to suit him. I'm still waiting for Toy Story II to show up at the used DVD place to replace it...

Edit: stupid typos

[ February 03, 2004, 03:25 PM: Message edited by: Olivet ]

Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :

MidnightBlue, you can using a ripper. There are a number of sites online that describe how to do it and what software you need to do it.

It's actually pretty neat. I needed a couple of scenes from Toy Story for a Sunday School lesson, (our church does have a license to do this, btw, so I'm not advocating breaking copyrights), and I had the devil's own time getting anything since Disney copy protects their stuff six ways from Sunday. Ultimately I was able to rip two of the chapters I needed, rendered them to MPEG-2s, then edited them to just the two scenes I needed. Then I burned 'em to VideoCD (I don't have a DVD burner). Worked *great*.

This site was the most helpful, though I used several to figure out how to do it: http://www.dvdripguides.com/

Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :

How a burner would solve your problem:
If you own a VHS, which do tend to be cheaper, you are entitled to one back up. I think. My husband read this on the internet, so caveat emptor . But you don't get the neat special features.

I'm still trying to figure out why my burner works only sporadically.

Posted by Taalcon (Member # 839) on :

<--- just bought Lost in Translation from Best Buy for 19.99. As one of my three favorite movies this year, it's well worth the price.

Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :

I don't buy movies, I ask for them for birthdays. [Smile]

I only own about 5 dvds now because I never buy my own. It's not worth my money.

Posted by Taalcon (Member # 839) on :

I have over a hundred because I am weak and addicted [Evil]

Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :

I also have over a hundred because when I rent DVDs, I forget to return them and rack up late fees.

It's way cheaper to just BUY the dvd.

Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :

Netflix

Because I have never returned a movie on time.

Posted by hansenj (Member # 4034) on :

O_o Wow, how come you get to have more than one birthday, Nick? I only get one... [Grumble]

Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :

[Razz]

You know what I meant.

Posted by slacker (Member # 2559) on :

Midnight, check out dvdshrink.org for a free program that will let you rip/burn full DVD's (including the special features).

I've been using it for a while now, and even with 50% compression, I still get the DVD quality movies on my DVD-R's.

It works best if you have Nero installed (I use nero 6), as it'll burn the DVD for you automatically.

Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :

Thanks slacker, I find this program to be... very useful. [Smile]

Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :

I favor buying movies over copying them anyway. Legal, of course, and the covers look better than the inkjet copies. I'm rapidly approaching 300 bought DVDs (mostly used and pawn shop purchases, else I'd be broke). Replaced quite a few favorite videos, but I've still got something like 150 videos still. Sigh.

I will admit to owning an overseas copy of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead on DVD but only because it's never been released domestically and doesn't look to be. Buena Vista really bugs me sometimes.

Like today, in fact. The Special Edition of Ed Wood was supposed to be out today, but was recalled (again) at the last minute by Buena Vista. Their reason was because they wanted to wait for better timing (possibly because three of the people involoved are up for Oscars this year) but rumors suggest there were legal problems with something in the extras. I was bummed because I've been waiting for this for awhile, but I stopped by Blockbuster and bought one tonight. They must not have gotten the memo...

Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :

The place near my school sells dvds for $10-$15 each....

Posted by Zevlag (Member # 1405) on :

For the BEST details on all DVD and SVCD detail please check out http://www.doom9.org/ It is by far the best. A good place to start is the "guides" link on the left.