FOR THE HOLIDAYS, PERHAPS IT'S TIME TO START THINKING... IN THE BOX DVDS ARE SEASON'S BARGAINS.

Byline: GREG HERNANDEZ Staff Writer

With VHS now virtually dead, replacing cherished movies with a DVD version might seem to be an enormously expensive undertaking. But it doesn't have to be.

Between discounts from major retailers, sales of used DVDs from rental chains, scanning the Sunday circulars, searching the racks of independent DVD stores and surfing online sites, everything from new releases to a hard-to-find classic can be found for a bargain price.

``When I rent a movie at the video store, I'll look around and find some really good deals,'' said Sara Euenrostro, a 16-year-old from Canoga Park, a regular at both her local Hollywood and Blockbuster video stores.

The two biggest rental chains sell used DVDs at a bargain rate to get rid of their extra stock. As soon as a new release loses a little bit of rental heat, it usually makes its way to the for-sale racks for such deals as ``3 for $25'' or ``Buy Two, Get One Free.''

Such newer movies as ``X-Men: The Last Stand,'' the Adam Sandler comedy ``Click,'' and the Keanu Reeves-Sandra Bullock love story ``Lake House,'' the Oscar-nominated ``Brokeback Mountain'' and the drama ``United 93'' can currently be snatched up at the three-for-$25 price at most Hollywood Video stores.

Slightly older titles, including ``Ocean's Twelve,'' ``Fantastic Four,'' ``Walk the Line,'' ``Capote,'' ``Good Night, and Good Luck,'' and ``Yours, Mine and Ours'' are on sale at Hollywood for $5 each. The chain had long offered four movies for $20 for the titles being phased out but is now employing a no-minimum-required policy that is driving sales up.

``I think it's the best deal we've ever done,'' said Edward Rutledge, manager of the Hollywood Video in West Hills. ``I have customers who walk out of here with stacks.''

Smaller chains

A smaller chain, 20/20 Video, is currently selling dozens of older DVD titles such as ``Miss Congeniality,'' ``The Last Samurai,'' and both sequels to ``The Matrix'' for just $2.99 or less, with newer titles going anywhere from $5.99 to $19.99.

At the West Hollywood location, boxed sets of earlier seasons of such TV shows as ``Sex and the City,'' ``Smallville,'' ``Gilmore Girls,'' ``Friends,'' ``The OC'' and ``Everybody Loves Raymond'' can often be found for less than $20. The selection and prices vary.

The wildly popular independent Amoeba Records in Hollywood has an entire floor of DVDs, including thousands of used titles on sale from between $4.99 and $9.99, depending on the popularity of a movie. For a DVD collector looking for a hard-to-find gem on DVD, stores like Amoeba can prove to be a treasure trove.

``We have a large selection of used DVDs which is very attractive to customers,'' said Dave Cunningham, a floor manager at Amoeba. ``I think our depth of catalog is greater than other stores so people come in and find a lot of really good titles.

Shopping online

For those who prefer to shop online, there are many discount DVD sites to choose from. One of the best known is Columbia House (www.ColumbiaHouse.com) where you can join and buy your first four DVDs for 49 cents each. The catch is this: You must buy four to five more (depending on whether you buy a bonus DVD initially) at the regular price of $19.99.

Other discount DVD sites include: PlayCentric (www.playcentric.com), Buy.com (www.buy.com), Overstock.com (www.overstock.com) and eBay (http://movies.half.eBay.com).

New DVDs

There are plenty of people who prefer to buy their DVDs brand new and still in shrink-wrap plastic, and there are plenty of options for them, too.

This time of year, major electronic chains Best Buy and Circuit City are discounting many of the library titles that might be missing from your collection.

This week, Circuit City is advertising dozens of movies for $6.99 apiece, including the animated movie ``Antz,'' the 1970s classics ``Saturday Night Fever'' and ``An Officer and a Gentleman,'' as well as such star vehicles as Tom Cruise in ``Minority Report,'' Johnny Depp in ``Finding Neverland,'' and Sean Connery in ``The Hunt for Red October.''

At Best Buy, many titles are on sale for $7.50 this week including ``Into the Blue,'' ``Stealth,'' ``The Patriot,'' ``The Fog'' and ``Guess Who.''

Best Buy also routinely pairs up similarly themed movies and sells them for about $20. They include the ``Die Hard'' trilogy, underdog stories ``Cinderella Man'' with ``Seabiscuit,'' and a three-movie pack of romance films: ``Just Married,'' ``Down With Love'' and ``Le Divorce'' for about $20.

Target stores are offering similar packages this week including the ``Lord of the Rings'' and ``American Pie'' trilogies ($17.99) and other movie ``triple features'' for only $8.99. Those groupings include ``Singles,'' ``Home Fries'' and ``Mickey Blue Eyes,'' three Elvis movies and three ``Lassie'' movies.

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