One of my theories on why DVDs have been growing faster than any other consumer technology while CDs have been in decline is DVDs are often a bargain.
Like I bought the DVD for Hedwig on sale for $20 (which is the price at Tower again) while the soundtrack was $19 and there is a play all song feature, so I basically got the movie, documentary, and all the other extras for a buck. And many DVDs retail for $20, $15 or even $10 (and those which cost more are often worth it).
That is a long digression into the fact that there are lots of DVDs on sale now (and others usually go on sale every tuesday when new DVDs are released). And some DVDs (particularly music related and others you can play over and over) are worth buying rather than renting.
You can often get similar (or even cheaper) prices at Amazon, but I like actually going out, looking at rows & rows of DVDs, getting told how great the DVD is by the woman who rings up my purchase, etc.
It helps if you have a Tower records or Virgin Megastore nearby, but you can find less quirky stuff on sale at Best Buy (though I did get the Tenacious D DVD for $12 there a couple weeks ago), etc.
So what I recently spent too much money on:
Gigantic (they might be Giants doc with tons of extras) $18.99 at
Virgin (also at tower for a buck more).
Standing in the Shadows of Motown (doc on the Funk Brothers with ton of extras though all of these have lots of extras) $12.99 at Virgin
The (video) work of Spike Jonze $15 at both V & T (if you get all three - see below, it is much cheaper at Amazon)
I am trying to break your heart (wilco doc) $20 at T, $23 at virgin (both cheaper than at Amazon)
Looney Tunes 4 DVD collection $50 at Tower (all Warner Bros. DVDs are 25 percent off through Sunday which means the Errol Flynn Robin Hood for $20).
I didn't buy them (yet), but Virgin has Annie Hall for $8 (cheaper than Amazon) and Chinatown for $10 among others. I think this sale (which includes lots of other DVDs and CDs starting at $5) runs through sometime in January.
There are more but I should get some work done.
Article comments
1 - Al Barger
Trading Places $5.50 at WalMart
2 - Tom Johnson
Music is still a much better value. How many times can you watch a movie, in how many environments? Why not pay $4 to rent it to watch the one time you are most likely going to watch a movie? A CD you can listen to at home, in your car, in your computer at work, while working out - practically anywhere. A movie you can watch at home. That's it, unless you've bought a portable player - and still, where are you going to go actually watch a movie besides your living room? I'm not saying not to buy movies, because there are some that are worth having. But I think it's pretty ridiculous that people are choosing to buy limited-use items like DVDs over something you can get much more enjoyment out of, like music. I think it's a "perceived bargain" because the movie cost $15-16 for two to see in a theater, but now you can own it for that much. If you're like me, most of these movies aren't worth paying that much to see in a theater, so why is it worth it to own it? No thanks, I'll save a couple bucks and buy music that I'll never run out of places I can listen to it (even with many of the harder to find CDs I like, I average about $13 for CDs - not $19. Anyone paying $19 for a widely available CD is a fool. And you know what they say about fools and their money.)
3 - TDavid
Tom - perhaps I'm in a smaller crowd on this one, but watching a good movie several times can prove to unveil many things that were missed, sort of like listening to a CD. Granted music lends itself to more replay than movies, but DVDs like The Simpsons ... well, they will probably never stale.
We are clearly in the group that buys more DVDs than CDs these days. Maybe like 10 to 1 or more.
Also, it's a good way to protect the ability to share great movies with friends or to entertain/occupy children. If you have children, spinning music isn't the way to give them something to do when it is raining outside. It's either books, games or movies most of the time in our house, anyway. Oh, and the computer, though we do try and limit that.
As for saving $$$ from watching in the theater? Absolutely this works for us, a family of five. It costs us around $50-75 to see a movie in the theater after you factor in the popcorn (what would a movie be without popcorn?). Very, very, very few movies are worth that price. I guess it is more about the experience. Kind of like paying $5 to ride the ferris wheel for 3 minutes.
I see your point though, but also we have bought DVDs of some new CDs like Ozzy's Live at Budokan (don't recommend this one, BTW) which sort of give the best of both worlds for those who have a DVD player on their computer.
4 - Steve Rhodes
The problem is I like music by bands who aren't going to get discounted. so often it is only available for $16 or $19 (though some labels like dischord, mr. lady, and kill rock stars keep CD prices down).
And I don't drive, so I usually am listening to music at home while working. So I can have a DVD playing in the background (and if I really want to listen when I am out, I can record from my dvd player to my minidisc).
And there are non-music DVDs that I will watch many times and/or they have lots of extras I'd never have time to get through if I rented them (like the expanded editions of the Lord of the Rings films).
5 - Steve Rhodes
Monday's NYT has a brief article on music DVDs.