Blu-Ray vs DVD Top Ten Movies

[Qwikshot]

Okay, I have an extensive collection of DVDs but I did just purchase a Blu-ray player...

What movies should be repurchased to Blu-ray, what movies are quite fine as staying DVD.

My blu-ray collection is as follows:

Dark Knight
Up
The Wild Bunch

My DVD collection is a sprawl from Amadeus to Vertigo (sprinkle in Pulp Fiction, North by Northwest, Wall-E, Unforgiven, Kung Pow, Airplane, Seventh Seal, Roshomon, Oldboy, the Matrix, Tropic Thunder, Blade Runner, Star Wars triology, etc...I'm all over the map).

I'm just unsure of what I should repurchase as to what I should keep? (I'm eyeing Band of Brothers blu-ray).

Thanks

[KWhit]

Don't re-buy anything. That's just crazy-talk, IMO.

[Travis]

Keep your eyes open for replacement/upgrade programs.

Disney Blu-ray Upgrade Program - Official Site

DVD2Blu - Blu-ray Offer - Upgrade Your Warner Bros. DVDs for New Blu-ray Discs

Also, a great site for news/reviews: Blu-ray.com - Blu-ray Movies, Players, News, Reviews, Blu-ray DVD

Worth checking the reviews if for no other reason than to see what they rate them for audio/video to see if the current transfer is worth a purchase compared to your DVD. The reviews there are usually pretty detailed so even if you don't agree with their movie tastes you'll still get an idea of how well done the transfer is and know what all else is on the disc as far as extra's go if that's important to you.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by KWhit

Don't re-buy anything. That's just crazy-talk, IMO.

Agreed for the most part, unless you have really old DVDs that don't do the "enhanced for 16x9 TVs" bit. For example, I really want to re-buy A Bug's Life on Blu-Ray, because our DVD is fullscreen 4:3 or letterboxed widescreen, and I want the non-letterboxed widescreen option I can get on the Blu-Ray.

There is also an issue where a lot of the older movies have very poor transfers, where in many cases they just took the DVD, ran it through an upscaler, and called it Blu-Ray. Recent movies don't do this, but lots of back catalog does. You really need to check the reviews of the actual Blu-Rays to find out. For example, there is a really poor Stargate transfer, then a more recent one that is true HD. Make sure you get the right one.

But for the most part, we're just buying new movies from here on out on Blu-Ray, and not rebuying old movies. Except Cutthroat Island, I think I really want that one on Blu-Ray (and it's got a good transfer...)

[Travis]

Also, assuming you've got a HDTV I'd guess that first for replacement would be any full screen DVD's in your collection. If you don't have any of those, then I'd probably wait for replacement/upgrade deals (or boxing week sales). Most (maybe all) blu-ray players upscale DVD's so while you won't get true HD, it should be an improvement over what you're used to. Some blu's are truly stunning and if you have a surround sound system set up you could benefit from lossless audio as well, but it comes back to what you can afford and whether it's really worth the difference or not to you.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Travis

Disney Blu-ray Upgrade Program - Official Site

Yay, it's actually open! I'd just about given up on this.

I tried the Monsters, Inc one when they were testing about a month ago, but the DMR site didn't recognize my Monsters, Inc DVD UPC code, and they never responded to my e-mail.

The two I'd consider through this are Cars (my kids watch the heck out of it) and Wall-E (which was just a huge visual treat). And of course A Bug's Life for reasons mentioned above.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I'm not sure if it would be an upgrade for you or not, but Planet Earth and When We Left Earth are both must-have purchases and can actually be found pretty cheap online.

I'd also beware of some of those trade-in programs. I've found that a lot of the older movies that are offered can be found cheaper for outright purchase online if you shop around. There are also hidden fees on some of those trade ins, so look them over.

In addition, Blu-ray.com - Blu-ray Movies, Players, News, Reviews, Blu-ray DVD has a shopping tool where you can check for cheap prices or sales deals in one location. Might want to look around there for good deals.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I'd also beware of some of those trade-in programs. I've found that a lot of the older movies that are offered can be found cheaper for outright purchase online if you shop around. There are also hidden fees on some of those trade ins, so look them over.

Disney's is new and looks pretty straightforward. No fees, just an $8 off coupon.

But yes, I agree that if I could use that coupon Amazon, it would be a better deal than buying it at Target or BJs and having that $8 bring it down to maybe just below Amazon's price. Although A Bug's Life isn't all that cheap on Amazon, either.