A Student's Guide to DVD borrowing in Newcastle

DVD is lauded as the best thing to happen to movie fans, and the worse thing to happen to cinemas, since the VCR. And it's not just movies, your favourite TV shows, sporting events and music performances can now be enjoyed ad nauseam and with commentary, subtitles and a "The Making Of..." documentary. This guide is about getting the most DVD viewing possible out of a stretched uni student budget.

The University Libraries - DVDs Right Under Your Nose

The best thing about borrowing DVDs from Uni is that they're free! Except when you get overdue fines ($2 first day, 50c each day after that). The libraries don't have the biggest selection and the DVDs, Videos and funky looking Laserdiscs are of variable quality. You can borrow 5 at a time and most DVDs are 3 day loan, but you can renew online <www.library.newcastle.edu.au/patroninfo>. Keep in mind that other people need the DVDs for their essays so treat them ok and don't hang onto one for too long if there's a hold on it.

Make sure you don't pick up a NTSC video or a DVD that isn't region 4, unless you know that the machine you're going to watch them with can play them. Both libraries have video and DVD players nearby their AV collections. Recently new DVD/VCR combos have been put in and they can play disks of any region. These are especially useful for those of us without DVD players and for making use of the air conditioning on hot days.

To find the AV collection at Auchmuty go through the main entrance, turn left, and then left again after you go past the stairs. Auchmuty has the most movies. You can find some good titles in Auchmuty Short loans too, but they can only be borrowed for two hours and there's a late fee of $2 for every two hours overdue.

To find Huxley library's AV collection walk straight in and downstairs. There are lots of educational vids and some children's shows.

Other On-Campus Options

You can score a free DVD by reviewing it for Opus. Stop by the Opus office in the NUSA building and look through the items waiting to be reviewed. In exchange for the freebie you leave your contact details and submit your review to Opus.

There are free movie screening at Uni. Last year it was Tuesday nights at the Bar on the Hill. Sometimes it's hard to hear every word as drunk people are often loud, but it's free and fun. Look in the weekly "What's On" or the UNU website <www.unu.org.au> for details.

I'd also recommend checking out the university clubs at O'Week or the UNU website. I don't know as yet what will be on offer this year, but last year clubs like the British Comedy Club had regular on campus screenings. The Anime Club had bi-weekly screenings as well as a DVD library that club members could borrow from.

Public Libraries - Not Just for Books Anymore

The public libraries have a steadily growing collection of DVDs for borrowing. Like at the Uni libraries, to borrow is free, but the selection and condition aren't always the best.

The number of DVDs/Videos you can borrow has just gone up from two to five per visit. The loan time is one week and there are overdue fines of $1 a day, but you can renew online <www.ncc.nsw.gov.au/services/culture/library/catalogue>.

Newcastle Public Library (the one in town near the fountain) currently has the biggest selection, but I am eagerly awaiting the opening of the new Wallsend Library building. Wallsend's librarians have informed me that it will have the largest DVD collection of the Newcastle regional libraries.

In most libraries, DVDs can be found in the "Entertainment" section. However, they could be placed in other relevant sections eg Travel docos in the "Travel" section. Remember to check "Young Adult" if you're looking for anime and the "Children's" section for cartoon's and stuff.

Paying - The Student's Last Resort

Sometimes payment is necessary, to get the DVD you want when you want it. When borrowing from video stores, mid-week tends to be cheaper than the weekends and coupons in the mail can have some good offers. Video stores have different deadlines for due material, some are due by closing time and others are at 6pm, regardless of the store's closing time. I've had to pay overdue fines for missing a 6pm return time and it sucks.

Some stores have special deals like Video Easy's "DVD Unlimited" club. By parting with $30 a month you can hire as many DVDs as you want. There are limits though, like only 4 DVDs can be borrowed per day and Premium titles must be returned the next day. If you (or you and a bunch of friends covertly sharing the same card) think you'll get your money's worth every month, then it's a pretty good deal.

You can buy DVDs fairly cheaply at video stores too, but JB (Hi Fi, Kotara) is usually my first choice if I just have to have a particular title. Also, there are crazily cheap DVDs of old films being released now (thank you public domain), so if the thought of slightly shonky prints of golden oldies has some appeal to you, head to your local discount store ASAP. Lots of the titles are uninspiring but I recently bought ten Hitchcock films for ten dollars, so it's not all bad.

Shevaun O'Neill