My Up-coming DVD Collection

Ah Kansas City (Overland Park, really, but whatever). I have but one real friend here. I work all the time – at least 9 hour days, usually a little more. After dinner and maybe a trip to the gym, I’m usually reading a book on Access Programming. I guess that would make time for work or work-related things increase to around 12 hours. Nonetheless, with the little amount of free-time I do have, I don’t really do much. This coming weekend I’m going to Manhattan and Wichita, for picking up my mail and to a wedding, respectively. Odds are, I’ll be venturing back to KC on Sunday. So that leaves me one day to get little stuff done, like go to Wal-Mart, Target, etc. So, what can I do to during my down-time?

Oh, you had to ask, didn’t you? 😉 The answer is two-fold: NEC ND-3500A and Netflix.

I’ll briefly detail why I made the choices that I did.

First, the NEC ND-3500A. This is, arguably, the best DVD burner on the market today. Really, it was a toss up between this one, which is featured in Ars Technica’s November 2004 God Box and the Sony DRU-710A, featured in Maximum PC‘s Best of the Best. It should be noted, however, that Ars Technica tends to make recommendations for hardware prior to it being widely available. Also, Maximum PC is a magazine, so things are a little slow. The only difference that I can see between the two is that the Sony has an 8x write speed for DVD-R, whereas the NEC has a 16x write speed. Everything else is the same. Oh, I guess the NEC is also $26.00 cheaper.

Now, Netflix. This was a toss-up between Blockbuster and Netflix. If I were still in Manhattan, I’d have gone the Digital Shelf or Hastings maybe route. But, I’m in KC and I don’t have much free time. You may have heard about the little battle / price war / whatever between Netflix and Blockbuster. As far as I know, it ended and the result is that Blockbuster’s monthly rate is $15.00/month and Netflix is $18.00/month. Not a big difference. Also, I should note that Blockbuster also gives you two free in-store movie or game rentals each month.

So why did I choose the more expensive one? Well, Netflix has been in this business a lot longer than Blockbuster. And by this business I mean the DVD through the internet/mail thing. Netflix is known across the board for getting you movies very quickly. As in, usually one day. Plus, I’ve heard from people who’ve used both and are going back to Netflix. They cited a bigger catalogue of movies. So that’s nice. Plus, Blockbuster just seems very Corporate and I’m very not. Well, when I can be.

And that’s about it. Pretty soon my DVD collection will rival that of Barrett and even, dare I say it, Collin. W00t.

14 thoughts on “My Up-coming DVD Collection

  1. Yeah, my DVD collection is pretty much at a standstill. I’ve added one movie (Napoleon Dynamite) in probably the last 2-3 months. Additionally, there are some movies in my collection I wonder how they ever got there. Anyone wanna buy some? 🙂 However, it will still take you quite awhile to reach me, and Collin is pretty much unreachable.

    Also, my bro did a free trial w/Blockbuster and I think he said it takes 3-4 days to get them. You made a good choice. I’m anti-Blockbuster, too. Digital Shelf all the way!

  2. I think I’ll be pulling a Collin and just get to the point where I’m not even watching the movies, I’m just burning them. Which means, pretty soon I’m going to have to search for a 400+ DVD changer. 🙂

  3. Personally, I think that’s dumb. I don’t want a collection where a majority of the movies I won’t ever watch more than once. But…whatever floats your boat.

    You should create an account on dvdaficionado.com so I can keep track of how many movies you have and make sure you don’t pass me up too quick. Also, I can see all the dumb movies you get and you can be reminded of all the great movies I have.

  4. I like a lot of movies, I’m not as selective as you are Barrett. I think a lot of my movies will be like TV show movies. My first three are the first three discs for season 2 of soprano’s. They’re on season 6 now I think. That right there is a lot of movies. Plus a lot of the movies you have, I will probably want as well, so there you go.

  5. 456 dvds and counting, rookie biotch! 🙂 Oh, and I have watched all but about 40 of them. And Netflix is awesome. I am on the 8-out-at-a-time plan for like 45.00 per month. It is great. The selection is unbeatable, they have over 30,000 dvds I believe. So yes, I concur with your findings.

  6. Jesus Collin, 8 at a time? Soon you’ll have everything in their collection. Did you fill up your DVD carosell yet? Was it a 400- or 500-disc?

    I just got my first three DVD’s lastnight. The first three discs of season two of the Soprano’s. One of them had a huge crack down the middle of it. That is a little discouraging, but I think it’s just a unique case and it doesn’t happen often. Ever had anything like that happen to you Collin?

  7. Collin’s DVD changer was 300. Also, it’s looking like I’m gonna have to do Netflix for atleast a one month period because there are some movies that I want that Digital Shelf doesn’t have (damn them and their 2500+ collection). Since Digital Shelf doesn’t have it, it’s a guarantee that Blockbuster doesn’t. So, I will be doing Netflix soon, unless James or Collin wants to be nice and rent the movies I want for me 😉

  8. Ok, 300, whatever. I looked into that AFI Top 100 Movies list. I figured why not just add them all to my list. So I did. All were available except 1 or 2 I think. And those two were like pre 1935, so it’s understandable.

  9. Haha, I doubt you’ll like ALL of the top 100, but whatever. While you’re at it, you should also add all the Luis Bunuel movies that Netflix has to your list 🙂

  10. Who knows, I could like them all. Even if I don’t, I still appreciate the cinematography of them all. They’re all on the list for a reason, right? And pray tell, why would I want to see all these Luis Bunuel movies? They all seem to be in spanish.

  11. He’s the king of cinematic surrealism, and I really want to see some of his movies. You probably wouldn’t be interested, I just wanted you to get them for me since Digital Shelf doesn’t have any of his movies, but I guess I could start Netflix on my own…I want to watch them first anyways.

  12. Well you let me know if they’re any good. I already have 300+ DVD’s in my queue on Netflix. So even if I did get them for you, you wouldn’t see them for half a year.

  13. I’ve been trolling around on netflix most of this morning trying to find movies to fill up my queue. I almost feel like I’m tapped out. I think the 8-at once plan would just get me closer to being done. At the rate I’m currently at, I won’t be done with all those movies for almost a year, most likely. So I think I’m good for now.

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