You Buy The DVD - Then What?

[21C]

How often do you watch a DVD after you've bought it?

I'm not a DVD collector at all but I was seriously considering buying the first season DVD of Arrested Development. Only part of the season was shown here in Australia ( normally we get shows about 4-6 months after being shown in the US but this never made it here for a while ) and it was late at night. I loved AD and wanted to get more but I tend to watch a show once and that's about it.

I have few shows/movies on tape that I've kept but I don't tend to go back to those much at all. The funny thing is that I'll watch a movie I like more than once when it is on TV but I don't go and watch the taped stuff at all.

My question is - how often do you watch your movies/DVDs after you buy them ( on average as well as most watched ) ?

Do you ever buy something to say that you've got it - but never actually get around to watching it?

[sterlingice]

I have few shows/movies on tape that I've kept but I don't tend to go back to those much at all. The funny thing is that I'll watch a movie I like more than once when it is on TV but I don't go and watch the taped stuff at all.
I don't understand it, but I'm the same way about this. In fact, if there's something I have the DVD of, I'll sometimes just watch it on tv rather than get out the DVD (South Park: BLU is a perfect example of something I'll do this with).

SI

[TLK]

I own many dvds.... I very rarely watch something more than once. However.... it's pretty damn neat, to see the reaction when someone walks into the "lounge" and sees the DVD collection... :)

[TazFTW]

On average, about 2 times. Most watched about 6 or 7 times.

[Raiders Army]

I own many dvds.... I very rarely watch something more than once. However.... it's pretty damn neat, to see the reaction when someone walks into the "lounge" and sees the DVD collection... :)

The same thing with me, but there are certain movies that get watched every 3 months or so.

[QuikSand]

I own many dvds.... I very rarely watch something more than once. However.... it's pretty damn neat, to see the reaction when someone walks into the "lounge" and sees the DVD collection...

I'm thinking this attitude is far more common that most people let on.

[QuikSand]

On average, about 2 times. Most watched about 6 or 7 times.

That makes for some challenging math.

[Ben E Lou]

That makes for some chalenging math.Grammatical error, I think. "Most-watched."

I rarely go to the movies any more. In the past several years, I've only seen the following movies in the theater:

Coach Carter (the wife and I bored on Sunday afternoon)
Meet The Parents (at the in-laws for Thanksgiving...they wanted us to see it)
LOTR: Return Of The King (Saw the first two on DVD. Didn't want to wait for release of #3.)
Passion Of The Christ (took a group of kids to see and led discussion afterward)

I seriously don't think I've seen any others in the theater in maybe 4-5 years.

That being said, we own so many DVD's that we had to get rid of all of the cases and put 'em into two CD binders. I can probably name 25 movies in the collection that I've watched at least a half dozen times., counting the ones that I originally owned on VHS and upgraded to DVD.

[Flasch186]

the classics i watch at least 3 times a year but then there are many that still have the wrapper on....I love to just HAVE them.

[JimboJ]

My wife buys almost every kids movie that comes out for the kids, and thats fine because they actually watch them.

Me, I only buy what I consider to be the must-have classics. And then I rarely watch them, unless there is absolutely nothing else on, or if I have a friend over whose never seen one of them.

[Ryan S]

I don't buy many DVDs (I only own 6 or 7), so the ones I do buy tend to be films I will watch again and again.

I usually rent DVDs rather than buy them.

[Greyroofoo]

I've probably watched Dr. Strangelove almost everyday this week, so yes, I do make great use of my DVD collection

[Dutch]

We tend to buy movies we think we will like on DVD. We justify it by saying that it costs us between 14-20 dollars to get a DVD, 2 bucks for popcorn, and 2 bucks for soda and the whole family just sat down together and watched a movie. for under 25 dollars.

It's about 25 dollars less than going to the theater and you get to keep the movie afterwards if you want to watch it again.

Of course, there is pay-per-view which is even cheaper, but like TLK, I think I like having something tangible when I buy a DVD vs Pay-Per-View or going to the Movie Theater.

[panerd]

I have few shows/movies on tape that I've kept but I don't tend to go back to those much at all. The funny thing is that I'll watch a movie I like more than once when it is on TV but I don't go and watch the taped stuff at all.



You just described me also. And I am not even talking HBO/MAX, I watch them on basic cable with commericials and all. One good example is the Fugitive. I own the DVD and don't think I have watched it once, but have probably caught it about 100 times on WGN in the past two years.

The only DVD that gets a lot of play is Rounders. That DVD has bought itself over about 400 times.

[Easy Mac]

I've watched most of them at least 3-4 times each, but I also had a lot of free time in college when I didn't go to class. I still haven't watched any of the DVD's I got at Christmas ( Long ROTK, 2 Simpsons DVD's, a couple of random movies). Same with X-box games I have. I've played most of them at most 10 times each, and I haven't turned it on since around the new year.

[Anthony]

the least watched DVDs in my collection have been viewed at least twice, if not a minimum of 3 times. i don't get any movie on DVD that i don't like (once or twice we've taken fliers on a movie we thought we'd like, like Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise...oof).

i'm also the opposite when it comes to tv - i won't watch any movie on cable that i have the DVD for. my thinking is if i'm going to watch even a little bit of the movie i might as well make use out of the DVD i paid for. to me you only have to watch a DVD like 3 times for it to have paid for itself, when you factor in most tickets (in NYC at least cost about $8-$9) then factor in rental fee if you really liked it and wanted to watch it again. 3+ views of a DVD and it's a bargain.

the most-viewed DVD's in my collection have been viewed about 5 times. but my favorite genre of movies tend to be those 2+ hour war epics, like Gladiator, Troy, Last Samurai, Braveheart...those types of movies don't really lend themselves to quick viewing. you really gotta be able to set some time away to watch the movies i like.

[Cringer]

I own several DVDs that I have only watched once or twice I guess. But many I will watch a bunch. Band of Brothers is one series I have watched about 4 or 5 times, all the way through the 10 episodes. Star Wars gets turned on about once a year I think. Got Anchorman already and have watched it about 3 times so far I think. I have watched Signs about 3 or 4 times I guess.

Mainly I just ike to have them around, and maybe one or twice a year break them out and watch them.

[Logan]

I'm thinking this attitude is far more common that most people let on.

I'll admit that I used to be the same way. My collection was up around 125 DVDs at one point last year, which was way too high for a poor college kid. I kicked the habit and sold a large chunk of my DVDs.

[sovereignstar]

Officially, I've only got 7 DVDs. Unofficially, I've got 8 because Showgirls is hidden under my PS2.

I watch all of my VHS tapes and DVDs frequently, probably once or twice a year. Showgirls, I like to watch in clips.

[cthomer5000]

For me it's all about getting the best entertainment/cost ratio... so i almost never buy DVDs.

Although I have to imagine that it's probably cheaper to buy a DVD, watch it, sell it than for 2 people to see a movie in the theatre.

[gstelmack]

My wife has many movies she watches over and over again. We buy many for the cost reasons mentioned above: if I can buy the DVD for about what it takes to go to the movies (and with my 5.1 stereo and widescreen HDTV, I'm not missing much), why not own the movie?

Some of these I'm keeping around so my kids can see them, because I have no idea if/when they'll be shown on TV in the future.

[SackAttack]

Depends on what I paid for them. The stuff that I pay full price for, those are generally the movies I consider to be "classics," and end up being the movies I watch multiple times. My Bond films, my Bogart collection, and some newer stuff like Spaceballs!, Airplane!, and The Princess Bride.

The rest of my DVDs, a lot of those are movies I picked up on the cheap, frequently for less than five bucks. Those'll generally get watched at least once, but they're there if I want to see them again.

[kcchief19]

For me it's all about getting the best entertainment/cost ratio... so i almost never buy DVDs. Funn, I also evaluate entertainment/cost ratio ... but I buy a lot of DVDs.

I have wireless headphones plus a DVD drive on my laptop, so I'll listen to DVDs while mowing the lawn, cooking, playing games and what not, and I'll also listen to movies while I'm travelling or working at home.

My ratio of TV to movie purchases has soared in the last year or so. I think the only movies I've purchased in the last year a half are X-Men 2, the Indiana Jones trilogy and the Star Wars trilogy. TV DVDs are usually more cost-effective for me. One season set of the West Wing comes out to about $2-3 per hour of entertainment, which is better than you get with almost any movie DVD.

My DVDs have diminished my TV viewing. I won't usually watch TV shows I have on DVD, so my syndicated viewing of The Simpsons is almost nonexistent.

The only DVD I have that I haven't watched more than once (or at all) is Daredevil, which I got because it came in a twofer pack with X2 at the same price as X2 by itself.

[Coffee Warlord]

I've basically replaced renting movies with DVD's. Most of the time, if there's a movie that I wanna see, I'll wait for it to come out, and just pick up the DVD. If it sucks (and there's a couple in my collection which qualify as Suck), I'm out roughly the same price as the theatre version, and I don't have to worry about returning it to the rental. I'm pretty legendary for nasty late fees.

I pretty much split my DVD purchases into 2 categories: 1) Movies I could watch 8000 times, never get sick of, and are often thrown in when I'm bored and want something to watch whilst half paying attention. 2) Movies that are pretty decent, and I can buy dirt cheap. I wouldn't pay 20 bucks for the second category, but if I see it for 5-10 bucks, I'll usually pick shit like that up.

[Raiders Army]

Grammatical error, I think. "Most-watched."

I rarely go to the movies any more. In the past several years, I've only seen the following movies in the theater:

Coach Carter (the wife and I bored on Sunday afternoon)
Meet The Parents (at the in-laws for Thanksgiving...they wanted us to see it)
LOTR: Return Of The King (Saw the first two on DVD. Didn't want to wait for release of #3.)
Passion Of The Christ (took a group of kids to see and led discussion afterward)

I seriously don't think I've seen any others in the theater in maybe 4-5 years.

That being said, we own so many DVD's that we had to get rid of all of the cases and put 'em into two CD binders. I can probably name 25 movies in the collection that I've watched at least a half dozen times., counting the ones that I originally owned on VHS and upgraded to DVD.

For us (a family of 5), it costs $50 to go to the movies (including popcorn, etc.). It is far more cost effective for us to wait until the movies come out on DVD. This has a few advantages:

1. For the cost of going to see one movie in the movie theater, I can buy at least two movies.
2. Extras. Nuff said.
3. The comfort of my own home.

A few disclaimers: I have a 55" WS HDTV. I also have a "movie theater" hot oil popcorn popper, to which I have bought a big bag of popcorn ($10), Oil ($7), and popcorn salt ($8) which will last at least 6 months of every weekend use.

[Crapshoot]

Im cheap, so I never buy a DVD - the Star Wars movies will probably be my first eventually. I just never quite sit down and watch em, and with HBO and all, any movie I want to catch I probably will. Im always amazed when people have something like 100 DVD's - I add up the numbers, and its mind boggling.

[Mac Howard]

I don't buy this "it costs so much to see it at the movies so I buy the dvd instead". Then rent it and save your money. Some of you guys obviously get paid waaaaaay too much ;)

The only member of the family that will watch a movie several times is my 9 year old daughter and even she's moving away from that. And with eight 24/7 movie channels available on Foxtel satisfying most movie-watching needs then the only dvds that are bought are music dvds. Dylan Unplugged is currently testing the idea that dvds don't wear out :)

[ISiddiqui]

I got a bunch of DVDs, and there are a few I haven't watched too often. I usually will watch the DVD once the day I buy it, but sometimes with 'collections', I won't get through it all. I believe there are a more than a few episodes of South Park Season 2 and 3 that I haven't watched on DVD yet (though I've seen them far more than once on TV), and a few episodes of Seinfeld I haven't gotten around to watching on DVD.

[Suicane75]

I tend to buy a bunch of DVD's at Christmas, and never watch em, I just don't rewatch things, even things I love.

I've watched some of Family Guy once and have watched the complete first season of sportsnight twice, other than that all my DVD's are just collecting dust.

[gstelmack]

I don't buy this "it costs so much to see it at the movies so I buy the dvd instead". Then rent it and save your money. Some of you guys obviously get paid waaaaaay too much ;)
Rental takes time and effort, and as said earlier my wife has movies she's watched at least a dozen times. And with rental, we're at the whim of what they've actually got in the store.

[Ksyrup]

I've watched my Family Guy DVD a bunch, but less now that it's all over TV again. I usually watch at least 1 or 2 episodes of Kids in the Hall a week. And I've damn near worn out my Columbo Season 1 DVD.

My guess is this is pretty much because of the NHL. Once baseball season starts, I'll be watching games all night, every night. There hasn't been a decent thing on TV for the past 2 months.

[CAsterling]

Got to admit I have 100's of DVDs and some of them I watch frequently, some I haven't watched yet.

One of the things I tend to do is buy TV series of series that I have trouble catching in order - The Wire being a prime example, I missed series 1 on tv, but after all the fave reviews I got the series 1 and 2 dvd sets so I can now watch it in order (and have done repeatedly). 24 is another series I did this for.

Also all those old eighties TV series, Miami Vice, Wiseguy etc. I loved them and always enjoy watching them again, and as I want to get them whilst they are available I buy them now even if it takes a few months for me to watch them.
Of course I make bad decisions occasionally and remmeber how great I thought a series was at the time, buy the dvd and when I watch it again now I can't stand it - 3's company being a prime example.

As for films, it has to be something really special for me to get a current release, but its nice to be able to pick up a film I remember from a few years ago and watch it at my convenience.......so I guess its its not the cost of owning dvds vs renting them its more for the convenience that I collect DVDs.

[21C]

but then there are many that still have the wrapper on....I love to just HAVE them.
That's sort of what I was afraid I would do. I like the idea of having a movie or a series in my possession but I'm not big on re-watching. Mind you, when I was younger ( I'm 41 ) I watched Animal House and The Blues Brothers about 20 times each.

My wife and I are great time-shifters. We have a shitload of shows that we tape during the week when something else is on at the same time ( I should have said that I tape since she doesn't even know what channel some of the shows are on let alone attempt to work the VCR ) and then watch when there's nothing good on.

I guess I'm more of a "catch-and-release" type of viewer - well these days anyway.

[timmynausea]

I only own a few dvds, and it's all stuff that is worth watching more than once (All the Mr. Show dvds, Adaptation, Evil Dead 2, the Seinfeld DVDs.) I never really understood buying a bunch of dvds of movies you'll only watch once.

[Sharpieman]

Does anyone know why the NFL is so stupid not to jump in on the dvd craze?
I would love to buy past games in full. I bet theres some kind of legal issue that doesn't allow them to do this. But I dream about it.

[timmynausea]

Does anyone know why the NFL is so stupid not to jump in on the dvd craze?
I would love to buy past games in full. I bet theres some kind of legal issue that doesn't allow them to do this. But I dream about it.
That is a good point. It seems like at least the super bowl should be available on DVD. Every year they'd sell a ton of them in one city and none everywhere else.

[Mac Howard]

Not for me to promote piracy, but don't you guys have dvd recorders for that sort of stuff? :)

[timmynausea]

I wouldn't actually buy football on DVD, I just think it's pretty stupid of the NFL to not sell DVDs cause they'd surely make money at it.

[sabotai]

I can't estimate the number of times the Sports Night, Family Guy, ATHF, Snatch, Office Space, and about a dozen other DVDs have been played. My DVD buying has slowed to a crawl though now that I rent from Netflix since I always have new DVDs to watch.

[Ksyrup]

My wife buys almost every kids movie that comes out for the kids, and thats fine because they actually watch them.
I have absolutely no qualms about sinking hundreds of dollars into kids movies, because the return on investment is priceless. My daughter has seen some movies so much, she can quote them the way I can quote Fletch.