This sh!t ain't free! - UPDATE #3

[Pwolf]

If we're talking about just doing the hobby... $20,000-$30,000 maybe. This is mostly due to computer equipment purchases and upgrades over a 12 year period. AMVs certainly increased my interest in computers and the majority of my upgrades in the past were attributed to it. While I can't say my most recent, and most expensive, upgrade was done because of AMVs, it was something I planned for non-the less and I use it for editing a lot more then I've used it for 3D rendering. And then of course my anime collection which, after doing a rough calculation, might have cost me upwards of $2,000 - $3,000 or more. Normally I might exclude some titles from that list but I attribute my interest and purchase of anime because of the hobby.

If I add in cons... with airfare, hotel, registration, and spending money (food, gas, etc.), doing a rough estimate, it's $10,000+. Most of that is for airfare. Granted, i usually don't go just for the AMVs but to see friends. That said, I wouldn't have said friends if it wasn't for the hobby, so I'll add it in because it make the number bigger

Sooooooo.... Over the course of 12 years this hobby has cost me upwards of $40,000... I think it's time to retire >.>

[ngsilver]

Well... my last quote was around $10k+. Technically I'd say that would be still accurate, though not a really good number.

Since then I've built 2 more PCs, 1 I use as a Media Center PC but it's primary job and reason it was built was to play AMVs at cons and so I could watch vids at home on my couch on my HDTV rather then at my PC. My new PC I built mainly because I wanted a new one, I generally consider myself still a techy and I kind of like having the best parts I can, but I also don't exactly buy the cutting edge stuff either since I'd rather let others test new hardware for me since I want my stuff to work and last. However, the amount of hard drive space and much of the specs I designed primarily for editing and not gaming (I'm primarily a console gamer anyway) and the other things I do on that PC I wouldn't exactly consider worthy of the cycles available, so yeah, I'll add that in. So that's another $2.5k.

My DVD purchases have slowed in recent years. This is partially due to not wanting to buy something unless it's a BD, but also due to a lack of new anime I'm interested in. However when I do buy often it is for source more then to complete my collection, but I guess I still do buy a lot of older series and the like primarily for the purpose of watching. So we'll add $2k to that number (BDs are more expensive then DVDs).

I suppose I can also count in the cons I do and the money I spend for them just for AMVs. While many of these I do go to also hang out with people and friends, I probably wouldn't have started going or still go to them if it wasn't for AMVs. So that's food/room/badge/ect and that'd come out to another $2k since last time (I swear I spend almost as much for ACEN working the con then I do for AWA.)

So adding that up I'm near $20k.

[Infinity Squared]

I haven't bought anything that had any intention towards AMV editing in the past couple of years. Yeah, I've edited, but everything else that was purchased was for something else and being able to edit on the machine is purely a secondary ability. How things have changed.

[Prodigi]

On my most recent trip to Chicago that I just got back from I dropped over $1000 on some new computer parts. But I don't really think of putting that towards editing. I will edit on it, and I will enjoy the improvement, but really for at least the last 2-3 years my updates have been for other stuff with editing as a bonus.

[TritioAFB]

I'll like to know what does it feel to buy a DVD

[ZephyrStar]

I've lost track, but if you want to consider my indie anime an "amv" of sorts, then a lot. I just placed a $1k order for audio gear, and in the coming year I'm buying ~$5k of software. Add that to what I've spent already on rigs and software and dvds and monitors and a TV and... I'm thinking in the neighborhood of $20-30K since joining the org.

[BasharOfTheAges]

Upper guess of around $5K for multiple systems, source, etc. If you want to bring con expenses into it, it's a bit more, but i'm not trying to game an expense report, so no reason to get that specific.

[8bit_samurai]

$79.00 in donations and about $100 for Magix MEP Pro 11 and 14. Thinking about upgrading Magix, though.

[l33tmeatwad]

$20 for a DVD that I normally wouldn't own for the purpose of making an AMV and whatever AWA costs me this year. Other than that, I use equipment and software that I got for other reasons, so I don't count that at all.

[guy07]

To date, on equipment alone I have spent $67,500 just on AMV equipment...

YOU WIN

Or loose. Depending on how you look at it.