DVD

Adding DVDs to Your Collection

When you're cooped up inside your home for days or hours, watching DVDs can be one of the best ways to pass the time and escape or even discover more about yourself. Watching movies can be a way to delve deeper within yourself and connect to your emotions. Here is a brief guide to the kinds of movies and shows you can choose.

Before you purchase any DVDs to watch, you need to find out what kind of DVD player you have and what region it is programmed for. If you're in the United States and Canada, you should look for Region 1 DVDs. If you live in Europe, Japan, or the Middle East, select Region 2.

Another detail you'll need to be aware of is whether your DVD player is Region free or restricted to Region 1 or 2. Once you have made certain that your player is fine, you can go ahead and start selecting discs to watch.

Movie ratings are something else you'll need to consider before you start picking out films to watch. This is especially important if you have children at home. Do movie ratings matter? Yes. If you're a parent, movie ratings can help determine what is suitable for your children to watch. Here are the rating guidelines:

• G: General Audience
• PG: Parental Guidance needed
• PG-13: Parental Guidance needed for those 13 and under
• R: Restricted, considered unsuitable for anyone under 17
• NR: Not Rated

The genre of movies and TV shows will depend on your preferences. eBay has a large selection to choose from. Here are some to consider:

• Action and Adventure: This selection comes packed with explosions, spies (think James Bond), and car chases.
• Comedy: If your daily life feels cumbersome and depressing, comedy can be the perfect way to uplift your mood. Choices include subtle humor or laugh-out-loud slapstick comedy.
• Sci-Fi: Escaping into another universe where the rules of science don't apply can be a perfect way to spend your evenings.
• Horror: Horror movies can be fun when you watch them with your friends. You can either select traditional horror movies like Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street, or you can pick ones with original story lines like Us.
• Children's Stories and Family: If the whole family will be gathering around the TV, pick out some movies that will entertain the family. Movies about dogs or children can have ideal themes.
• Drama: Dramas can be fiction or based on real-life stories.
• Romantic Comedies: If you're looking for date-night movies, romantic comedies can be a nice option for a rainy day in.
• Animations: This genre includes classic American animated features as well as Japanese Anime movies.
• TV shows: Often TV shows come in a collection of seasons. You can choose to buy just one season or the entire season.

A collector's edition DVD is often released months or years after the initial version, which is the one that is shown in theaters or on television. It may also be referred to as a special edition. Either way, it may include several components not featured on the initial version such as:

• Cut scenes
• Cast interviews
• Producer/director comments
• Movie trailers
• Apps and games

It is important to look at the region code on a DVD as it will only play in players designed for that region. For example, a US player may only play Region 1 DVDs, while an Australian player may only play Region 4 DVDs. PAL is another notation that might be on a disc, which is typically used in the UK and Australia. There are multiregional players and discs available, which will play movies or videos from multiple regions. The region will be identified on the back of the case so that you can confirm the type of player it is compatible with.

There are two types of video formats offered as a result of HDTV screen technology. The aspect ratio is what varies between widescreen and full screen formats.

• Full screen: 4:3 ratio, which is 1.33 times wider than its height.
• Widescreen: 16:9 ratio, which is 1.77 times wider than its height.

A boxed set is used to provide all of the DVDs for a particular movie or TV series. For example, if a movie had a part one, part two, and part three, they would be sold individually as well as in a boxed set that features all three movies in one box. There may be other items also included in a boxed set, especially if it is an anniversary or collector's edition, such as:

• Movie posters
• An ornament or figurine
• An episode guide