Getting into DVDs. Seeking advice.

Mospeada_21

Mospeada_21

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Hi All,

After running out of games to buy or waiting for future releases, I'm turning towards DVDs. (shiny disc syndrome, aka SDS)

My first two purchases were Resident Evil: Apocalypse (Special Edition), and Resident Evil (Deluxe Edition), for the obvious reasons.

I'm just getting my feet wet in DVDs, and my question is, "What's up with all those different editions?" Obviously there's a lot of $$ involved. But there's so many:

1) Full-Screen Editions
2) Widescreen Editions
3) Special Editions
4) Deluxe Editions
5) Extended Editions
6) Director's Cut Editions
7) Unrated Editions
8) Collector's Editions
9) Trilogy Collection Editions

My god, my head is spinning just trying to decide. I wanted to buy AVP, but I wondered, "What if they came out with a better edition later?" Any advice from seasoned buyers? Thanks!
 
My advice is always get the widescreen version. Its always the original version of the film and its the best way to watch the movie. Even if you dont have a widescreen tv, get the widescreen versions of movies anyway because you will eventually have a widescreen tv.
 
Do a little research to see which version you want before you buy a movie with multiple versions.

The full-screen and widescreen editions are just dealing with whether you want a wide-screen or fullscreen picture. I prefer the wide-screen just because it lets me view the whole picture and not just cut it off like full-screen.
 
The only difference between widescreen and fullscreen is that in fullscreen they crop the picture to make it fit your tv. That's why widescreen movies have the black bars on them.
 
DVDs will always be rereleased with a better edition. If you don't have the movie, then get the latest edition. If you already have a movie, then don't bother upgrading.

Bonus features are cool, but it's the film that matters, never forget that.

The only time I would CONSIDER upgrading to a new version is if the first one did not have Anamorphic Widescreen and the new one did. It makes a HELL of a difference when you have a wide display like I do.
 
lots of questions- watch out for bad advice!

get the widescreen edition of a movie, always

for the most part (lawsuits aside) the widescreen will show the movie as it appeared in the theatres- the theatre screen is wider than the standard 4:3 tv screen

thus movies not wide screen (full screen or pan and scan) are formatted to fit your tv (the picture is cropped or in some cases elongated)

options 3-9 are highly dependent on each individual title. Many movies now only release with special editions, but occasionally a movie will see 3 or 4 releases (T2). ALso called double-dipping. And since a company will rarely tell you if they plan to release a special edition later, there is no definitive way of knowing if AvP will release again with any more extras.

To throw a monkey wrench into the whole process, as a new format war looms (hd-dvd vs blu-ray) many movies will most likely see a re-release on one format or the other. But we are probably 2-3 years away from a winner and whatever dvds you buy now will be compatible on next format players.
 
ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS buy the Widescreen versions of movies. You can bitch and moan now about "black bars" but in 5 years when 4:3 TV's are 100% obsolete you'll be glad to have a Widescreen movie that looks purty on your 16:9 TV.

"Unrated" and "Directors Cut" usually mean it's a version of the movie that has extra footage not shown in theatres for various reasons. They're usually sold right alongside or after the "normal version" of the DVD is out.

"Special" "Collectors" "Platinum" "Super" "Mega" don't really guarentee anything. Sometimes they're just barebones DVDs with a few pitiful extras added to make the consumer more eager to buy. Alot of times they're put out after the "normal" versions of a DVD have been out usually to entice the consumer to buy the same moive twice with a fortune of extra features.

A "collection" usually means it's a series of movies aka Rocky Collection, Karate Kid Collection, or DaiMajin Collection.

The current version of Alien vs Predator is pretty decent special features wise, but i'm pretty sure there will be a "Special 4 disc edition" depending on how well the current one sells, but who knows.

Anymore questions?
 
Is it GOOD or is it CRAP? Let's see...

1) Full-Screen Editions CRAP
2) Widescreen Editions GOOD
3) Special Editions CRAP
4) Deluxe Editions CRAP
5) Extended Editions GOOD
6) Director's Cut Editions GOOD
7) Unrated Editions GOOD
8) Collector's Editions CRAP
9) Trilogy Collection Editions CRAP

Just worry about getting a widescreen version of the movie you want. The "extras" are things you will probably only watch once (but they can be cool - see the Matrix for the bullet time documentary). Otherwise, I could care less...
 
[quote name='Admiral Ackbar']Only buy DVD's that are at a hot price.[/quote]

exactly. I was a member of columbia house dvd club a couple of years ago. Even though a got good deals at the time, I could buy them a lot cheaper now. There are always good deals in the ads for CC, BB, and Target. Be a cheapassdvder!
 
My advice is that if you don't want a DVD right away wait for the special edition to be released a couple months later. When that happens the normal eddition will become cheap. But then I never watch the extras that come with the deluexe version and it's inflated price.
 
Look into places like Blockbuster to buy used DVD's.
Their current promotion is buy 2, get 1 free. It's an easy way to save money on newer releases that still cost about $20 each. Of course, you usually don't get any of the inserts or the slip-case (if applicable), but you'll save a good bit of money.
 
[quote name='captainfrizo']Look into places like Blockbuster to buy used DVD's.
Their current promotion is buy 2, get 1 free. It's an easy way to save money on newer releases that still cost about $20 each. Of course, you usually don't get any of the inserts or the slip-case (if applicable), but you'll save a good bit of money.[/quote]

Sometimes if you are nice and ask them, they will give you a spare DVD case if they have them. Best day is tuesday for my store, because they are throwing out most of the ones they don't use.

EDIT: I know its been emphasized enough already but ALWAYS get Widescreen. Even if you have a regular TV. It's the only way to see the true movie.

comparison
just look at the difference.
 
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