Comments on: Cable vs. Buying DVDs vs. Renting DVDs

By: cheeseball

cheeseball — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:26:15 +0000

#14 – shane: what you are suggesting is illegal. You may justify it however you like in your head but there is not getting around the fact it is illegal. If you dont own the disc you can’t have a backup copy.

By: cheeseball

cheeseball — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:19:33 +0000

#15- ron:
i agree with your point in considering trade in value of a dvd when you buy it. Thats often a forgot part of the equation when measuring the value in buying dvds. But note columbia house dvds (and other clubs) generally have no trade in value when you sell at places like mx123. They require a upc number

By: ron melquist

ron melquist — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:50:42 +0000

Great article. I always had a hunch that was the case but your logical analysis and numbers confirmed it for me. One pro about buying dvds is that you may sell your dvds when you are done viewing them. Sites like second spin and mx123.com will buy your items in bulk.

By: Shane

Shane — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:17:05 +0000

I solve the “Netflix Pressure” problem by opening the envelope, ripping a copy of the movie into my Media PC, and then dropping it back in the mail.

I rarely have a movie at home for more than a day.

The newest releases do have protection on them that prevents a digital copy from being made. I’m sure I could overcome it if I wanted but if they put copy protection on I just leave it be. In those cases I keep the disk till I watch it, then send it back. I average 18 movies a month on my 3-at-a-time plan. Or just about $1 per DVD exactly.

I have heard that Netflix will “throttle” users to prevent them from getting too many movies each month, but I theorize I haven’t had a problem with that because only a small fraction of my queue is new releases. I doubt Netflix would let me get 18 new releases a month as they surely cost the company far more to license.

Some may look down upon this practice. I am ok with it. I’m not selling bootlegs. Content producers are getting paid the substantial “rental rate” fees they charge Netflix. Artists are being paid. Netflix s being paid. And I have the flexibility of watching when I like, where I like, and how I like.

By: TravelGargoyle

TravelGargoyle — Sun, 24 May 2009 15:21:29 +0000

Have you ever heard of something called a Public Library? You can borrow them there, at no charge.

By: Cindy M

Cindy M — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:21:48 +0000

Jennifer, check out http://www.watch-movies-links.net. I have been using this site for a few years now and can stream-watch the latest movies usually without a hitch on line, and I have no objection to watching movies on my PC screen. It looks fully legal. Not perfect, but I no longer even bother to go to the library when I want to watch a new movie. There are many other sites out there where you can watch a movie or TV series you haven’t seen before.

I have to have high-speed internet for my work but have not had cable TV for years. Lord knows I would not pay to see a movie any more unless it’s super cheap. I used to collect VHS tapes and some DVD’s but quit ages ago.

By: A Frugal Lifestyle » Financial Websites Experiment: Week 5

A Frugal Lifestyle » Financial Websites Experiment: Week 5 — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:15:52 +0000

[...] can find online. So I’m debating whether to get rid of my cable. SavingAdvice.com has an article about a woman who did just that, and bought DVDs instead. This isn’t an option that had [...]

By: Gail

Gail — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:42:33 +0000

We buy DVD and VHS when we find them at yard sales and library sales, sometimes we get videos for 50 cents a piece. We don’t feel like it is a big loss then if we don’t like it. My hubby loves to watch his favorites over and over again and we aren’t up to going to movies, so our collection of movies is a very cheap source of entertainment. Our son keeps track of newer DVDs and buys them for us for birthdays and Christmas and he likes to spend time with us watching them. I can’t imagine turning over $840 a year to watch cable TV! We maybe spend $50-75 tops on movies during the year and we can sit in our favorite chairs with our favorite cheap snacks to watch them.

By: Anne

Anne — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:40:26 +0000

I’m one of the lucky ones who has both Redbox (very recent) and a movie-lending (for free) library system. We hadn’t spent a dime on movies for a while, I suspect the Redbox will change that, but it’s still a lot better paying $1 (if you can get it back responsibly) than $4.50 at Blockbuster!

By: Jean

Jean — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:26:28 +0000

I get movies from the local library.
While some libraries loan them out for free, mine charges $1.00 per movie – I get to keep them for a week.
My libary is part of the county system that includes about 10 others. If I can’t find the movie I want, all I have to do is request it, and they will get it from one of the other libraries in the system and call me when it’s available.