Would you buy a DVD if you already have the VHS?

[John Morgan]

I have a large collection of movies on VHS.  Now some of these movies are being released on DVD.  Now I know there may be extra features and even more movie footage, but I am having a problem in buying a movie on DVD when I already have it on VHS.  

I guess I've been using this criteria: I haven't watched the VHS of the movie in over a year so why spend the money on a DVD that will sit on the shelf as well.  

As I type this, I realize that my first purchase of a DVD that I have on VHS is the American Godzilla.  I would like to get a complete DVD collection of ALL Godzilla movies (If they ever make it to DVD.)  But the other day, I saw the Buckaroo Banzai DVD in Sam Goody.  I almost bought it.  (I will probably go back and get it later because it is a personal favorite.) But I could not help but think that the VHS copy I have I only viewed once or twice over the past year and that I would be spending money on a DVD that I may not get to watch soon because my wife doesn't like the movie. (Dare I say it, She's a Disney Fan.)

Now if I DON'T have the VHS and there is a DVD out of a movie, I buy the DVD.  I would also like for any collections I have to be DVD (Godzilla, Star Trek, Star Wars etc.)

Does anyone else have a similar problem?

(By the way, Thanks for ALL the movie suggestions for DVD's on my last post.  I'm on the look out for them now.)

[Gerry]

As a rule, when I already have the movie on VHS, I only by it on DVD if 1) my VHS has been watched so many times it is wore out and staticky 2) it offers significant new features that were not available on VHS--case in point is the new MAD MAX DVD with original Austrailian dialog.  The rest of the time the VHS will suit me just fine.  It goes without saying that all new titles I'm acquiring, I'm doing so on DVD.

[Rev. Darkstar]

I've sold a lot of my VHS tapes and replaced them with DVD, VHS takes up too much room and are p**s poor quality.

Since buying my DVD player (over a year and a half ago) I havn't bought any VHS tapes.

[Kolos]

My wife is a Mel Gibson/Tom Cruise/Harrison Ford fan, so count yourself fortunate that you only have to look at cartoon animals... I do a trade-off with my wife each weekend; I'll watch one of hers if she'll watch one of mine (now stop that). So I sat through "What Women Want" with Mel Gibson, and in return she watched "Monsters Crash the Pajama Party" with me. Hard to say after the dust settled which of us survived most intact...      

Now to answer your question, I have no problem whatsoever buying a DVD of a movie I have on tape, if the price is right and I like the movie enough.

After 20 years and a few cross country moves, plus having them in storage for awhile, many of my favorite VHS tapes are in very bad shape, and some are unplayable.  Some of my oldest, most prized tapes won't play at all, and a few even rain down tiny oxide particles if I shake them. This is a bit scary too when I think of how many VHS tapes I have that I shot myself, interviews with people and behind the scenes stuff from films and haunted houses I worked on over the years. That stuff must be saved somehow, because once it's gone...poof.

Anyway, back to commercial videos, as I gradually replace VHS copies with DVD, I simply pass along those old VHS tapes (the good ones) to friends who want them, or in the case of unplayable or poor quality tapes, I just toss 'em. My dream is to come to a day when I no longer have any tapes in the house. They just don't hold up like discs do.

I have about 25 VHS tapes I will have to transer to DVD someday, when the technology is both available and affordable to me. 'Til then, I try to pick up from 3 to 6 DVD's per week.

And I'll be the first in line whenever THE BRAIN is released on DVD.

[Brian Ringler]

A lot of Dvd's keep the movie's original aspect ratio where as most Vhs are pan and scam.  

One of the big points for me though would have to be the ability to immediately (or at least quicker than vhs) skip to any area of the movie.  I have always hated rewinding.

[chris]

I have pretty much replaced all my VHS tapes with DVDs.  Beside the better sound and picture quality, DVD is essential because about 99%  of them have widescreen transfers.  I saw Buckaroo Banzai in a revival theater and was astounded by just how much of the picture I was missing on my crappy VHS version.  I wouldn't have any doubts about purchasing any DVD with a 2:35:1 aspect ratio.  Trust me, it'll be like seeing the movie for the first time all over again.  And it goes by default that any DVD with special features is generally worth purchasing also.

[AndyC]

I figure I'd probably replace the real favourites, as well as any tapes that wear out, with DVDs, while acquiring most new movies on DVD. I'd still buy a few old eBay specials on VHS - crappy old video store stock that has yet to be released on DVD, if ever.

Of course, this is all hypothetical for me, as I don't own a DVD player. I'm seriously close to buying one, it's just a matter of feeling good about spending the money. I suppose I should just bite the bullet and get it for the simple reason that DVD is rapidly becoming the new standard, and it's pointless to continue amassing VHS movies any longer than necessary. Having about 350 movies, give or take, I'd sure appreciate giving up the format for something more compact. My living space is very limited, and quite full of shelves at this point.

Of course, I can't afford a DVD player for a little while. I have to pay for a trip to Chicago for some damn B-movie festival :)

[Andrew]

My b-movie collection is around 2500 films now, spread fairly evenly between DVD, LD, and VHS.  I have been steadily buying DVDs, even when I have the LD or VHS on my shelves.  Why?  They take up less room and, 96% of the time, they look better.

Just purchased the Masters of the Universe DVD the other day, even though I have the LD.  Now I need to find someone who wants the LD... ...hey Ebay!

Andrew

[Vermin Boy]

I find myself buying more and more DVDs, including ones I already have on tape-- I'm a sucker for commentary tracks and deleted scenes, especially on my favorite films, which are generally ones I already own. Still, I've got a long-standing VHS habit that's hard to break; I find it damn near impossible to pass up a great b-movie in the "used" rack of an old, grimy video store, even if there's a jam-packed, dirt-cheap DVD a couple of towns over. I'll probably phase out my videos in the not-too-distant future, but as it is, I keep the tapes around to show to friends without DVD players (which are becoming less and less). Plus, there's the fact that I have a great deal of videos that I don't see coming to DVD anytime soon (such as Rat Pfink A Boo Boo and J-Men Forever).

[StatCat]

It all depends on how much I like the film or if there are pretty good extras that enhance it. I haven't bought too many dvds that I already own on vhs, just mostly films that are new to me. I still would take a vhs over a dvd if the price was less and the dvd was bare bones or near. I still buy quite a few films used or new on vhs because really how many times am I going to watch a particular movie in all truth.

[Kolos]

I've had a DVD player for perhaps 2 years, and my wife just got me a new PC which also has a DVD drive and player.  At the rate we purchase DVDs, our collection will soon catch up to the numbers of what's left of our VHS collection.  BTW, at one time I had a walk-in closet full of VHS and Beta tapes, nearly a thousand of them.  

I went through our DVDs last week, pulled all of the B-movies and off the wall stuff (ones my wife doesn't care for) and brought them into my office. Now I have about 70 or so movies such as ANGRY RED PLANET and THE TINGLER all lined up on a shelf in-between history, language and psychology books. I can't wait until one of my students comes by to visit and sees my DVD collection. :)

Chicago...last time I was there was 1962. *sigh*

[PoorLogic]

Over the past 2 years I've purchased a ton of dvd that I already had on VHS - the picture quality is the reason, but a couple of other factors come into play. First, I purchased a Sampo DVD player which is region free and macrovision free - so I purchase a lot of Asian films (Shalin Soccer, Brother) and euro horror (A Touch Of Death, Cannibal Holocaust) and most are region 2 PAL. Second, I bought a Dobly Digital receiver and a Polk Audio surround sound speaker system - This was the best investment I ever made - the quality of the DVD audio is so far superior to VHS!

If I rent a movie from Blockbuster, I want it on DVD, I won't rent a VHS tape. Still - I doubt the "The Man Who Saved The World (aka Turkish Star Wars)" will ever be on DVD, so VHS still has a purpose. I've started to transfer some of my VHS tapes to VCD and have had excellent results - often I can tweak the picture to improve contrast and sharpness and Adobe Premiere 6.0 has the ability to take a pan & scan movie and make it widescreen (well, it might not be widescreen, but it often makes the piture looks better - at least in my mind).

Once DVD burners become affordable and advance, lookout VHS - you soon find a new home next to the Neil Dimond 8-tracks.

[Kolos]

Is there a way presently to transfer from LD to DVD?

You can probably guess why I'm asking... ;)

[Lord_Humungous]

If your LD player has regular NTSC or SVHS outputs and you have a good computer setup, this site might help.  http://www.vcdhelp.com/

It's a site dedicated to making "VideoCDs, SVCDs or DVDs from sources like DVD, Video, TV, Cam or downloaded movie clips like DivX, MOV, RM and ASF".

I'm afraid I'm pretty much in the dark about LaserDisc though.  I just remember seeing some ads for them way back when.  Don't they look like large(i.e. 20' diameter) CDs?

P.S. hyperbole  
SYLLABICATION: hy·per·bo·le
NOUN: A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect, as in I could sleep for a year or This book weighs a ton.  

:)

[Kolos]

I believe LDs are the size of old audio LPs. There is a movie I want very much, that was released on LD some years ago. I'm hoping that if it doesn't make it to DVD soon, I can coax someone to transfer it to DVD for me. That's what I was referring to. :)

*start hyperbole*

If I can't get that movie on DVD...I'll kill myself!

*end hyperbole*

Heh heh...