For many collectors, owning DVDs is becoming more important than actually watching them. The average DVD buyer has amassed nearly 50 movies but up to 10 percent of those titles have gone unwatched, according to consumer surveys for Universal Studios Home Video. Thats an average of five movies at least 10 hours of filmmaking, not counting all those extras sitting on the shelf, perhaps still in their wrappers.

But its not just a matter of time. Consumers are so taken with DVDs that they are buying them simply as vanity items, knowing full well that they might never watch them.

Having ousted the videocassette as the dominant home video format, DVDs are now upstaging the coffee table book as a reflection of a collectors personality.

We put (the movies) up as a statement of our interests and values, much like the books we buy but may never read, says D.J. Fone, who was among more than 50 members of USA TODAYs new Pop Culture Panel who commented recently about their DVD collections.

Unlike VHS movies, DVDs are priced so that consumers can collect them like CDs and snatch them up as impulse buys at the supermarket and department store.

The latest development in that strategy, which is expected to push DVD sales to an expected $22 billion this year, is the growing number of deluxe packaged DVDs that are made to be displayed and can serve as conversation starters.

Take The Apprentice, out this week (Universal, $60). Open its flip cover and a voice chip of Donald Trump says, Youre fired.

It is very much like a digital version of the coffee table book, says Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Video, which released the DVD. In some ways, if it is done well, its an art object and if its not done well, its at least a conversation starter. It does more than just function as a storage device for filmed entertainment.

Some of the Pop Culture Panelists favorite DVDs to display:

# The metallic box set of Band of Brothers (HBO, $120) looks good on the shelf. Its in a prominent place, says Diane Wilkerson, 46, of Red Bank, N.J. Boomtown rests on the coffee table as a discussion piece for those unenlightened friends who havent seen the show, she says.

# The Pink Panther Film Collection (MGM, $70). Todd Bresnahan, 49, of Phoenix says, Just about every time someone sees the DVD collection, they laugh, usually quoting a favorite Peter Sellers line like Does your doggy bite?

# Lost in Translation (Universal, $20) and Magnolia (New Line, $27) are the two DVDs that are still on my coffee table. Both always seem to spark great conversations, says Nick Lazar, 25, of Greenville, S.C. He has pre-ordered The Star Wars Trilogy (Fox, $70) and The Passion of the Christ (Fox, $30) because they would both make great conversation and showcase pieces.

# The Scarface deluxe edition ($60, Universal), a large black faux leather cigar box, is display-worthy at many homes. It makes a statement, its a man thing, says Yale Tindel, 28, of Howard County, Md.

# The Sopranos ($75-$100 each) and Friends ($30-$45 each) complete-season DVD box sets rest like trophies on a special display rack that Michael Suchy, 26, of Greenwich, Conn., bought to show off his collection. With your DVDs, you are telling them the programs (that) have made a big impression on your life, he says. People definitely purchase DVDs to make statements about themselves.

# The Godfather DVD Collection (Paramount, $106). The first two movies are among my all-time favorite movies, says Angela Langowski, 42, of Littleton, Colo., who has more than 200 DVDs. I can tell a story about every DVD I own.

Some finicky DVD consumers even shy away from DVDs that they wouldnt want to be associated with. Janelle Baker, 29, of Mission, Kan., says that she has not purchased certain DVDs that might pollute my collection.

Kelly Blincoe, 31, of Richmond, Va., solves that by having a hidden stash including 1985s Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Anchor Bay, $15) and others that I watch all the time, but would be forced to defend upon discovery.

hehehe, you better not mention the divx's, im sure most people havent watched over 50%, i used to say i saw half of my divx collection, but to be honest i think i saw 1/3 ...

Well, im my land I can't find the movies I want on DVD, they produce new hollywood movies mostly...

I buy DVDs only when I travel to England, Germany or...

You got the point

Same here man, our distributors suck balls

Thing is, not only do they suck nuts but also the people in our countries... We don't have many citizens as bigger countries, and us who like sick horror shit are a minority.

Fuckin assholes go to the video-store and buy Titanic

10% is damn accurate! This article is 2 years old (and has an obscene amount of question marks in it), but yeah the average unwatched discs is probably more. I've put on most discs, but haven't finished them (watched extras or just the movie). AVIs I always preview, but wtaching them through without falling asleep, I don't know.... maybe 50%.

hmmz, lux and malignus, you live in croatia both, right? if it makes you feel any better, i live in the netherlands and although we have some very big dvds stores they sell mostly crap. Most of the dvds i have (or want) i buy from the internet. I have not so much dvds ( compared to some other people who posted their collection in another thread here a while ago), maybe somewhere about 300. That number i bought 2 third from on ebay and some other sites. Guess that if you want something you just have to search for it.


Also its about time people should start to realize that divx are actually good. The good movies you do buy afterwards, because they are worth it, they other ones are just crap or a way to see flicks you would normally have never been able to get.


grtz cyber

Soon I will have credit card, so I hope I can buy from the internet