Media

Movies are available on a sometimes bewildering array of different media, which we may make available to our users through shopping links. These are described briefly here.

Blu-ray: Second generation digital format, these discs are the same size as a DVD, but hold many times more data, making them suitable for high definition video. Read more at Wikipedia..
PSP: PlayStation Portable, a mobile video-game platform which also supports movie playback. Read more at Wikipedia.
DVD: First generation digital format, these discs are the same size as a compact disc and hold about two hours of standard definition video. Read more at Wikipedia.
VHS: The popular video cassette introduced in the 1970s. Read more at Wikipedia.
online: Movies may be downloaded from various sources and viewed immediately ("streaming") or saved for later ("download").

Formats

Theatrical movies have traditionally been shot in aspect ratios of 16:9 or higher, while television has until fairly recently only been available in 4:3. This has led to movies often being released in different formats to let consumers choose their preference. These are the terms we use to differentiate between formats on this site.

fullscreen: Anything that fills the entire screen in 4:3 aspect ratio. These include anything originally filmed in 4:3, and anything filmed in a wider aspect ratio but cut down to 4:3 with the "pan and scan" process (where the sides are cut off). Read more at Wikipedia.
widescreen: Anything originally filmed in a wider aspect ratio than 4:3 which preserves the entire original image. When shown on a 4:3 display, this is achieved by adding black bars at the top and bottom of the screen ("letterboxing"). Read more at Wikipedia.
dual format: A package which includes both a fullscreen and widescreen version. Read more at Wikipedia.

Resolution

At this time, this site doesn't differentiate items by resolution, but it is useful to include a couple of simple definitions.

standard definition: The video signal handled by first-generation televisions and provided by VHS and DVD players. Standard definition is 480 lines of data in an interlaced format (aka "480i"). Read more at Wikipedia.
high definition: Any of a number of resolutions handled by newer televisions and provided by Blu-ray players. Common examples include "720p" (720 lines of data, non-interlaced) and "1080i" (1080 lines of data, interlaced). Read more at Wikipedia.