Transformers Venting thread!

[Autocon]

Better stock up! Blu ray and dvds are being phased out by retailers.

[Omega Metro]

Better stock up! Blu ray and dvds are being phased out by retailers.

I have about 500 blu-rays an DVDs that I never even use these days. Can’t get rid of them unless I give them away which I don’t want to haha

[griffin]

I got rid of 90% of mine several years ago while there were places that were still buying them, but now that all the Movie rental stores are gone, and retailers are getting out of selling them (the BigW near me no longer sells them now), I regret getting rid of them now, as I am often finding myself wanting to watch something that never gets played on TV and even if you can find it on a streaming service, you can't buy it.

The thing that annoys me most as a Transformers fan is no longer being able to collect Transformers cartoons, and maybe even Movies soon too. My comics and DVDs is something I am most proud of in my Transformers collection, and it has now been a couple of years since the cartoon saw a physical release, and some of the comics are not getting a physical release either... it seems that a Transformers collection is pretty soon going to only be a toy collection.

[High_Q]

My comics and DVDs is something I am most proud of in my Transformers collection, [snip]... it seems that a Transformers collection is pretty soon going to only be a toy collection.

That's a surprise and perhaps unusual for a TF fan. Most TF fans would probably be toy collectors, primarily, so the toys would be the most important part of their collection, and also something they'd be most proud of, especially if they have an impressive collection like you do. Fiction media (DVDs, comics, posters) would be secondary.

[JJJ]

Not so odd, I suspect. For a start, it is far easier to afford comics and DVDs than a whole pile of toys. And I guess I would fit that description - I never had many Transformers toys as a kid, and so the comics (which I could afford each week with my pocket money) were what my "collection" was (and so would have been a pile of VHS tapes if we had had a VHS at the time ). And this was true until very recently - I missed the toys of the 90s and 00s for the most part, checking in every few years to see if they had got any closer to what I wanted, and was vaguely aware of the toys over the past 15 years, but I was keenly aware of the comics, and have a bookshelf full of them. I was also aware of (some of) the cartoons, and obtained copies of them, too (a complete DVD collection of Animated being the one I prize the most).

I only started buying toys again in late 2018 (and not Hasbro products either, until I encountered Siege Starscream in the wild April 2019). It is true that they are now the largest (and most expensive) part of what I have, but the comics will forever be what Transformers is for me.

Gotta say though that I've not noticed any comics not being released physically - what have I missed?

[griffin]

The toys are great, yes... and the primary part of my collection, but it is the comics and cartoon that give us the "characters" behind the toys. It's the stories that feeds our imaginations, to know who the toys are representing, and to be able to creatively "play" with them (even if it is just for a few minutes of transforming it between modes before going on the display shelf).
Having easy access to those stories, both in print or on disk, is a catalyst for better enjoying the toys as I get them, and I miss not being able to collect everything official now to fully enjoy my toy collection.
And until recently I was able to record cartoon episodes that didn't get released, but the more recent shows that didn't make it to free-to-air, I don't have a copy... and in a few years time when my recording device finally dies, I will lose a lot of recorded episodes (because panasonic doesn't let you copy recordings to a disk or USB).

[High_Q]

And until recently I was able to record cartoon episodes that didn't get released, but the more recent shows that didn't make it to free-to-air, I don't have a copy... and in a few years time when my recording device finally dies, I will lose a lot of recorded episodes (because panasonic doesn't let you copy recordings to a disk or USB).

Great to read about different ways fans enjoy TFs. I'm more of a 'toys that transform are cool' kind of a fan, and have much less attachment to most TF fiction.

But having said that, the only reason i haven't thrown out my PS3 is so i can rewatch the 86 movie or JP G1 DVDs for the 100th time. I don't know whether to purchase a dedicated Bluray / DVD player once my PS3 breaks down, or maybe just watch them free online at lower resolution/quality.

[Tranceblade]

And until recently I was able to record cartoon episodes that didn't get released, but the more recent shows that didn't make it to free-to-air, I don't have a copy... and in a few years time when my recording device finally dies, I will lose a lot of recorded episodes (because panasonic doesn't let you copy recordings to a disk or USB).

Theoretically you could just remove the HDD and mount it in a PC. Provided it's not using a proprietary format for either the drive format itself, or a recording encryption, SD recordings will be MPEG2-TS streams similar to a DVD and HD will be MPEG-4. The worst part is opening each individually numbered recording and determining what the recording is.

Alternatively it may be an option to invest in a USB tuner that has software support for recording.

[JJJ]

Great to read about different ways fans enjoy TFs. I'm more of a 'toys that transform are cool' kind of a fan, and have much less attachment to most TF fiction.

But having said that, the only reason i haven't thrown out my PS3 is so i can rewatch the 86 movie or JP G1 DVDs for the 100th time. I don't know whether to purchase a dedicated Bluray / DVD player once my PS3 breaks down, or maybe just watch them free online at lower resolution/quality.

Have you condsidered ripping your DVDs?

[High_Q]

Have you condsidered ripping your DVDs?

No, i didn't think of that, so thanks for the advice. I don't have a ripping device, though, so might have to borrow etc. when the time comes.