How do you decide which movies to get on DVD that you may already have on VHS?

Question

We have a lot of VHS tapes, many of which we don't watch often. I wonder if anybody has suggestions for which ones to get on DVD (should it be our favorites, and should we then dispose of the VHS versions?). This may not be the most interesting question to answer, but it will be helpful to me to know how others handled the situation once they purchased a DVD player. We have both a VCR and a DVD player.

Answer 1

We are in the same situation. We have a lot of VHS tapes which we don't watch anymore, even though we have VHS player, mainly for recording stuff off tv. I would get your favourite ones first, and then the rest later. Also i would look out for the harder to find DVD movies, and when u do see them, it is a good idea to pick them up because some movies are very hard to find, especially older movies. If you have a lot to replace, go down to the local DVD hire shop and see if you can order them in or buy the ex-rentals, because they have some really good deals. That's what we have done.

Answer 2

It's a good idea to replace some of your VHS tapes with DVD's, however it isn't necessary to completely discard your whole VHS collection. If you're the type of person who enjoys watching the special features of a film, then this could be a reason for you to make the switch from VHS to DVD. Personally, around 2 years ago, I purchased a new VCR (since mine was quite outdated). I did this to ensure that I had a working, capable VCR that could play the many VHS movies I own for years to come. As was said in another answer, it is a great idea to replace VHS tapes which are quite worn, this would be a good investment in the end. However instead of replacing movies you already own, save the money to expand your collection with newer movies, since DVD's are still very expensive. Finally I think I hold onto my VHS tapes because they are still in good condition and having a mixture of both VHS tapes and DVD's adds a sense of history to my collection, which is quite appealing. And by the way, great question!

Answer 3

Decision Making Practice:
Did I enjoy this move the 1st time I saw it?
Would I enjoy watching this movie again?
Is it a classic?
Is it unique or special in some way?

There are VERY FEW movies that are entertaining to watch more than once, generally we don't buy movies on DVD. Our VHS collection consists of a few Disney classics.

Answer 4

VHS tapes have an average life span of about 20 years, while the average DVD has a life span of about 50 years. So I guess it's a matter of wanting to keep a movie for the rest of your life.

Answer 5

what i did was join columbia house and I got 7 dvd's for the price of 12.95. I only need to buy 2 dvd's at full price ($22.95) within 2 years. It's a really inexpensive way to switch formats of your movie collection. Dvd's will be around for at least another 10 years. The only other format I can think of is digital. Maybe something like a computer chip looking thing.

Answer 6

We replaced all the VHS tapes that wore out. Some of them had been watched SO often that the audio track had been worn down to nothing. Over time we slowly relpaced almost all of our Tapes with DVDs. It worked for us so hopefully it will work for you.

Answer 7

The Home Entertainment department of the studio that holds distribution rights to the movie in question decides whether or not to release it on certain formats. If a film doesn't look like it will profit once transferred and released, (i.e. sell enough copies) then they just won't do it unless fan demand can be proven. So, don't hold your breath.

Answer 8

since video degrades over time,and some of your fave movies are on video,replace them with dvds,or buy the combo vcr/dvd player where the dvd player is also a recorder and make copies of the videos to dvd format.

Answer 9

if its a Disney movie that i have on VHS i get it on DVD once its released from the Disney time vault.......

Answer 10

VHS is dead hell dvd will be dead soon too.