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Advice about Future Purchasing Decisions (DVD vs. Blu Ray)


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StormSky92





PostPosted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 12:55 am Reply with quote
*if this is in the wrong section, please move it to the right one

Ok, so, i'm in a situation that I don't know what I should do. I know anime always looks better in Blu Ray 1080p HD compared to DVD quality. Thing is, I currently don't have a Blu Ray player or HDTV, and probably won't be able to get one until a good 6-7 years from now. (such is the joys of being a college kid from a middle class family with very little savings for such things, going to what will be an uncertain job market) My current DVD player is old and doesn't enhance anything and the TV is SD. However, my laptop is fully capable of playing both DVDs and BDs. I only ever watch anime on my laptop most of the time, since I can use my headphones and don't have to worry about waking people up at night. So, i've been thinking of planning ahead and just buying anime BDs from now on, and just preparing for the future when i'll have a BD player and an HDTV. But I hate how BDs can't be played on a normal DVD player. In case I want to show someone a series, i'll rather show someone a series on my TV than my laptop, out of convenience.

So, what would you do in this situation? Should I keep buying DVDs for now, or go ahead for Blu Ray, even though it will limit how i'm able to watch them? (and my laptop is starting to show signs of not lasting much longer)

Thanks in advanced. Any advice is appreciated. (i'm still somewhat of a noob anime buyer)
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luffypirate



Joined: 06 Oct 2006
Posts: 3186
PostPosted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 2:03 am Reply with quote
DVD is still king in North America. I wouldn't worry too much. If you don't plan on upgrading for a good six years or so I would just keep on getting those DVDs!
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FaytLein



Joined: 21 Jun 2008
Posts: 1260
Location: Williamsburg, VA
PostPosted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 4:59 am Reply with quote
Well, anime Blu Rays are probably going to be more scarce as Japanese developers are becoming very weary of reverse importation these days. And not ALL anime is going to be a native HD transfer, upscales are still going to be a common thing, and most developers aside from Sentai are going to still be plugging away at DVDs. Blu Rays haven't quite reached the "default" release format yet, so in about 6 years, when you are ready to upgrade, Blu Ray will be more plentiful, and probably much, MUCH cheaper.
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luffypirate



Joined: 06 Oct 2006
Posts: 3186
PostPosted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 5:22 am Reply with quote
Part of me wonders if the true North American anime market (ie: not Japanese subsidiary) will still be around in six years time...:<
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gsilver



Joined: 04 Nov 2007
Posts: 611
PostPosted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 7:17 am Reply with quote
You can get a Blu-Ray player for $40, so cost really shouldn't be a detriment. An HDTV is a much larger cost, but if you get the player now, you'll have a media collection that can take advantage of it once you can afford the TV.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 7:54 am Reply with quote
Some licensors like NISA and Funimation offer dual DVD/BD releases. NISA seems to be doing this routinely for its new releases like Usagi Drop. Often BD releases run about $10 more for a full series, and sometimes this buys you both disc formats. Aniplex USA seems committed to forcing you to choose between DVD and BD releases, and some shows like Bakemonogatari will be BD-only.
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Alan45
Village Elder



Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 9811
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 9:01 am Reply with quote
Since you can now play Blurays, I would buy Blurays discs if it is not a sacrifice due to extra cost. If the extra $5 or $10 for Bluray in some cases is going to be a hardship don't. DVD is still a fine way to watch and you have no idea if what you are watching now will be treasures or dead weight.
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varmintx



Joined: 31 Jul 2006
Posts: 1197
Location: Covington, KY
PostPosted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 11:43 am Reply with quote
Can you hook your laptop up to your current TV (preferably with HDMI)? And, as has been mentioned, There are plenty of cheap BD players available and you can hook them up to old TVs that don't have HDMI; the blu-rays will play in SD, but there are 2 good reasons to buy the HD now. First, there's always the chance the blu-ray won't be available in the future. Second, even if it is still available, you'd have to re-buy the same content to get it if you initially buy the DVD.

Honestly, if (yes, bolded and italicized for emphasis) there's very little price difference between the two formats for a particular title, I can't think of any good reason not to start buying the BDs. For new titles, there usually isn't much of a price difference; for old titles, you can probably get the DVD super cheap, and if it's a show, the BD is more likely to be an upscale anyway, so it wouldn't be worth it. When it comes to movies however, I think it's even more worthwhile to spend the extra money as they benefit the most from the higher resolution.

Hopefully, if you're getting a good degree and there are jobs available, you'll be able to enjoy the HD picture and lossless audio (which so many people seem to overlook) down the road.
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potatochobit



Joined: 26 Aug 2009
Posts: 1373
Location: TEXAS
PostPosted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 1:23 pm Reply with quote
bluray on a laptop is a total waste
every year or two they disable your video players aacs key (sony's DRM) and you have to repurchase your software

but.... if you dont own a TV you have no need to purchase discs, really
just subscribe to crunchyroll and hulu and you should be covered with most new anime. if you want to watch older stuff subscribe to anime newtwork and cancel when you want.

I recommend you save 349$ and buy a 40" LCD TV
honestly, they are not that expensive anymore
you can then plug your laptop into the TV and watch videos
this will make the 'biggest' difference in anime viewing experience
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Zeguna



Joined: 06 May 2010
Posts: 66
PostPosted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 3:16 pm Reply with quote
If you can afford to buy anime, you can afford a blu-ray player. Seriously, I paid $70 for mine and I know you can get them cheaper than that. Even if it gives you no benefit on your sd television, it's not going to look any worse than a dvd, and when you do have enough money to spend on an hd tv, you'll already have a decent start on your blu-ray collection.
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EricDent



Joined: 28 May 2008
Posts: 997
Location: Georgetown, TX
PostPosted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 3:38 am Reply with quote
Lots of the newer releases from Funimation (as well as several re-releases) are going the Combo Pack route.
Which is the DVD & Blu-Ray in one package.
Sure they might be a bit more expensive to purchase, but if you wait on a sale (like on Right Stuf for example) you can get good deals.

As for people who say that you have to "repurchase" everything on Blu-Ray, I say give me some money! Unless it's something that you think would vastly benefit from the upgrade, then just keep the older version.
DVDs play just fine on any Blu-Ray player, and will also be upscalled.

As for the TV issue, look for good sales at local electronics stores.
If you go to the lesser known brands, you could easily get a 40" for under $300.

If you decide to wait, I am sure the TVs will be even cheaper.

As for the so-called "next format" I kinda doubt that will happen unless there is some sort of nation-wide broadband Internet (that does not cost you about $40 a month to have).

DVDs are uber-cheap to make, and the cost of Blu-Ray blank media is quickly dropping as well.
Unless somebody makes a hollodeck anytime soon, it's probably gonna be some sort of disc for a while.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 7:04 am Reply with quote
EricDent wrote:
As for the so-called "next format" I kinda doubt that will happen unless there is some sort of nation-wide broadband Internet (that does not cost you about $40 a month to have).


The next big thing is so-called "4K" resolution, with four times as many pixels as 1080p. 4K sets will be on the market this fall, though at prices that will make them attractive only to rich enthusiasts. Sony's entry will cost about $25,000.

4K content? No, not yet.
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 1:51 am Reply with quote
Your laptop has a BD drive, correct? Get yourself an adequate HDTV for $300-400 dollars (should net you a 27-40 incher if you look around hard) and some proper AV connections to hook that laptop up to the HDTV. If your laptop doesn't have HDMI out, then it should have VGA and audio out, but you need to check if the TV you're purchasing has those inputs. Not all of them include VGA (PC) ports as standard, so scrutinize. The benefit here is being able to not only play BDs, but also DVDs, online streaming, or whatever is possible on your laptop on your TV, as it now acts as a dual monitor system.

If you're just gunning for a standalone BD player and HDTV, but can't afford them for a while, then just wait, or forgo buying DVDs so you can save up for better equipment instead.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 4:17 am Reply with quote
yuna49 wrote:
EricDent wrote:
As for the so-called "next format" I kinda doubt that will happen unless there is some sort of nation-wide broadband Internet (that does not cost you about $40 a month to have).


The next big thing is so-called "4K" resolution, with four times as many pixels as 1080p. 4K sets will be on the market this fall, though at prices that will make them attractive only to rich enthusiasts. Sony's entry will cost about $25,000.

4K content? No, not yet.


I ... I must have it!
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superdry



Joined: 07 Jan 2012
Posts: 1309
PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 11:29 am Reply with quote
Both walw6pK4Alo and EricDent give damn good sound advice.

Regarding buying a HDTV - you can also save good money by looking at blowouts of last years models. Amazon is a good place to look since they tend to keep stock a little longer.
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