Do you buy pre-2010 blu-rays? (1 Viewer)

[Konstantinos]

I was wondering, now that the format has been in the market for more than 15 years, do you buy early blu-rays?
Or are you waiting for updated versions or UHDs?
There are many early blu-rays* of beloved films I haven't bought yet, and I I don't know if I should still wait or take the plunge and just buy them...
Many of them have the ancient codecs of VC-1 or MPEG-2 and/or lossy audio tracks.

* E.g. Quo Vadis, The Robe, Pearl Harbor, Immortal Beloved, Pretty Woman, The Towering Inferno, Midnight Express, The Adventures of Robin Hood etc.

 

[Keith Cobby]

I buy them from all regions, one thing I have learned is not to wait.

 

[Capt D McMars]

Agreed, wait, and they go out of print and then have to pony up prices that can be down right scary!!!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

If it’s a movie I want to own and that’s the best way to do so, yes.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I don't really see the point in waiting for upgraded versions at this point in time. The number of double dips on the Blu-ray format now seems negligible to me. I feel like most catalog titles have already gotten the Blu-ray release that they're going to get. Unless a studio has already announced a double dip will be coming, yes, I would buy something regardless of what year it came out.

 

[DaveF]

I just bought The Talented Mr Ripley on Blu-ray since there's no 4K, so I think, yes I buy early blu-rays?

 

[JimJasper]

Great question that we all consider. If you don't know it's 4K release yet, then I'd say yes buy the best blu-ray version you like if it's before 2010 or not.

 

[David_B_K]

I bought all the titles on the list (except Pretty Woman and Midnight Express) when they came out. I still watch them.

 

[Todd Erwin]

I find that as soon as I break down to purchase an ancient Blu-ray release, the studio releases a newer transfer/encode or licenses it out to a company that does the same.

 

[ahollis]

Absolutely and some 4K if I enjoy the picture i.e. Paint Your Wagon, Lawrence Of Arabia, Aliens, etc.

 

[Walter Kittel]

It doesn't happen often, but sometimes I will discover a new (to me) filmmaker or artist and I'll mine their earlier oeuvre via BD; which can include pre-2010 BD releases. While older releases have sometimes been supplanted by newer ones, I tend to not wait if the title holds my interest.

- Walter.

 

[Thomas T]

Are you kidding? I still buy pre 2010 DVDs! If I want a movie and that's the only option available, I buy it. I don't understand the wait and see mentality. Life's too short and there are no guarantees.

 

[Konstantinos]

So, I think the general consensus is that I should just give in and buy whatever film I like, early blu-ray or not.

 

[OttoIsHere]

So, I think the general consensus is that I should just give in and buy whatever film I like, early blu-ray or not.

I think the people that still actively purchase physical media are a very diverse group; at least on this forum it seems the participants are all across the spectrum. Certainly you can go on some other forums where the users just focus on a single item or brand (for example: some people ONLY purchase Ultra-4K; some ONLY focus on Criterion releases; or I remember a few months back seeing a photo of a Kino-Lorber collection which must have had at least 1,000 titles on the shelves.

In my opinion, to each their own, every physical purchase we each make (whether DVD, Blue-Ray, or Ultra-4K) helps to keep this hobby alive and the flow of more releases coming.

In the last month I've purchased all (3) types, from box sets of 60s/70s TV shows on DVD (Get Smart and Emergency!) that I don't see upgrades coming for (though I'd buy them); to a group of Warner Archives Blu-Rays from the recent Moviezyng sale (from 1948's The Boy with Green Hair to 1968's The Stalking Moon) to a few Ultra-4k's from Target's recent B2G1 sale (To Kill a Mockingbird and Inglourious Basterds). Plus I'm expecting a nice box of Blu-Rays (and only Blu-Rays) arriving this week from the recent Kino-Lorber spring sale.

But yes if you're really interested in a specific title right now, find the best version available for the money you're willing to pay and go get it; and remember if we want new titles to keep appearing we need people to keep buying DVDs and Blu-Rays as well as Ultra 4ks.

 

[Alan Tully]

Yup, I agree with the others, I'm a film fan, not a tech head. Some of those early releases will get a rerelease, new transfer, maybe 4K, but most of them won't. It's a dying format*, if a favourite film is available (from anywhere), buy it.

*"The overall video disc market is declining by 20% to 25% annually since a few years. Effectively, the market for 4K HDR content on physical media is stable, thanks in part to a constant flow of new titles".

 

[Stephen_J_H]

If the price is right, and it's something I really want.

 

[BobO'Link]

Same here - year of manufacture makes no difference if it's a title I want and there's no better transfer (or the better one is priced higher than I'm willing to pay). More often than not a BR is an upgrade, though sometimes a negligible upgrade, over the DVD of the same title.