MojoLists

"DVD is going away soon" has suddenly become a hot topic on many enthusiast forums. While the question makes a lot of sense from people who have invested a considerable amount into collecting DVDs and buying top-notch players, there is nothing to worry about in my opinion, at least not yet.

Many make the argument that Blu-Ray will be a short-lived format that is brought down by downloadable movies. I will concede that downloadable movies will become more popular in the years to follow however for the vast majority of the public, it is not a convenient option as long as video quality and bandwidth problems exist.

Blu-Ray and downloads aside, DVD is king in the public eye at the moment. The movies are readily available at a fraction of the cost of Blu-Ray discs and players are available for well under $100. At this price point, the general public will continue to go the DVD route.

The difference between DVD and VHS was much more dramatic than DVD to Blu-Ray is. Few people had large collections of VHS tapes and the difference in quality between VHS and DVD was immense. Many home theater enthusiasts have skipped Blu-Ray altogether as they do not see enough of a difference between Blu and upscaled DVD. I am not of this opinion as I see a huge difference on many movies but like all media, it is dependant upon the source material and the quality of the transfer.

The current rule in my house is that big action movies get picked up on Blu-Ray for the HD sound quality as do classics for their video quality. Upscaling is good enough for many other movies, especially movies that are likely to be played in one of the bedrooms or even the living room where HD audio isn’t an option. I still like to have flexibility in where I watch but I never watch the latest war movie outside my main theater.

Until the general public is convinced to calibrate their televisions so they can easily see the difference between DVD and Blu-Ray they will not buy unless the price comes down to DVD levels, which it won’t, at least in the near future. Besides, what is the chance that the public will suddenly decide to turn their TV setting down from eye melting bright, not much in my opinion.

Downloading movies seems like a great option and years down the road it may be true, but renting downloads doesn’t satisfy the collection bug of so many who want the physical package on their shelf. The big chance downloads have at the moment is that most people really don’t care about picture quality at this point but the need to run wires and set up special servers will hold this format back for at least a few more years.

DVDs are not an endangered species by a long shot and much like VHS, the manufacturers will continue to put out players and media as long as there is a public willing to buy or rent. I for one will continue collecting for years if not decades yet to come.

Refurbished is a word every budget-minded hobbyist should know. Over the last 15 years I have purchased at least 50 items considered refurbs. I have never had a problem, not one, with any of the refurbished equipment I have purchased.

Refurbished items are more than simply factory rebuilds and fall into several categories that we will discuss along with their relative merits and weakness.

First off, why should anyone consider a refurbished product? To save money, get more for your money and overall being able to put that little piece of magical equipment in your house sooner. Refurbs are a great buy for many items but others are best avoided depending on the type of refurb it is.

Recertified: An item that has been returned, most often to the manufacturer for repair. These refurbished products generally made it into someone’s home where it failed to operate properly. It could be that it had a failed part such as a hard drive or the firmware wasn’t correctly installed. Recertified products are a great buy because they go through much more rigorous testing than the original units and carry a warranty, often the same as buying off the shelf.

Open Box: These are the marked down items you see when browsing, most often, the local Best Buy or other brick and mortar. They often went home with someone who decided they didn’t want it for whatever reason and returned it. Look out for missing parts such as cables and manuals. The nice thing about buying an open box item is that you can return it easily if it fails to work. Open box televisions are generally the best buy in this category but make sure it wasn’t a demo unit.

Floor Models/Demos: Products that fall under this group should have a serious savings involved, like 30% or better. If it is an item that uses power like a television, it has likely been on for 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, in full burn mode for months. This is not a good buy, I also avoid receivers, computers and other items that the public have had a chance to dismantle. Non-power items or items that come from a high end dealer where they have seen light use are a better buy and worth considering.

Damaged: This is likely a unit that has a few scratches, dents or other cosmetic flaw. If the unit will reside in a hidden area such as a cabinet or there is a scratch on the back side where nobody will ever see it this is not a bad buy. It is really up to the buyer to determine if a damaged unit will work for them based on the amount of savings involved.

Previous Generation: Big savings on last years model can be a great deal as long as it has a feature set that works with your system. Many of last years products may not have a key feature, for instance HDMI receivers are new to the market. You may not see a need for HDMI in your system but it does future proof your investment. Research the missing feature, many of which will have no impact to you at all.

Factory Seconds: Very small scratches or dings that make selling an item at full price impossible. The cosmetic damage is far less than the damaged category so the savings may be less. These are a great buy if the savings are right.

Buying refurbished products from a respected dealer is important to ensure you are able to get help if there is a problem. I have found many bargains at Fry’s, Best Buy and Amazon but my favorite shop is Ecost where I have received great service and the pricing is right.

 Aside from times when my son or wife talks me into seeing something at the Alamo Draft House in Austin I buy or rent movies. I see no reason to endure the crowd, rude people, poor sound systems and dull pictures so often associated with going out to a movie.

 I buy a pretty good number of movies on DVD, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD but most of the movies I watch are rentals. I have belonged to both Netflix and Blockbuster, even both at the same time at one point and I have been reasonably happy with both. A recent thread at my favorite online hangout, The Home Theater Forum, was about which rental service is better. The main complaint about both was the long wait for many titles and I have experienced the same problem but I have always been able to make it work. I don’t bother with downloaded movies so I will not be discussing that option, available from both parties.

 I started with Netflix about a month after they came online. I was in hog heaven, movies right to my door, no late fees and an amazing catalog of movies to choose from. I dismissed Blockbuster altogether at this point because of a grudge over late fees that I felt was unfair and it was some time later that they introduced their online plans.

Years later Blockbuster came up with their trade in deal. Instead of mailing the movies back, I take it to my local brick and mortar in exchange for an in store rental, at no cost. I decided to give it a try and it has worked so well for me I dropped Netflix.

The movies I put in my Blockbuster queue do tend to be older classics, cult favorites and concert videos. These types of movies tend to have a short, long or very long wait associated with them. While that would be a problem with Netflix, it isn’t for me as the wife and I make a pilgrimage to the store every Saturday and pick up the latest releases, often on Blu-Ray. Occasionally, if there is a standout release I will go in on a Tuesday morning. This works, I get the best of both worlds for the cost of a single subscription.

  If you sole purpose for renting online is to never walk into the store again and you order a lot of older movies and classics you are likely to be disappointed by the wait associated with these types of selections. My advice is to brave the sun once a week or so and take advantage of the Blockbuster trade deals, they let you have your cake and eat it too.