Seven years ago, HBO released the first seasons of hit shows "Sex and the City" and "The Sopranos" on DVD.
Sitcoms like "Friends" and "Seinfeld" quickly followed suit, and since then, a TV-on-DVD craze has taken over the pop-culture world.
In Manhattan, video stores like Blockbuster Video, Dillon's video, Hasting's Books, Music and Video and the Digital Shelf offer shows on DVD to buy or rent.
Charissa Beer, employee at Digital Shelf, said TV shows on DVD are one of the most sought-after items in the store.
"TV shows are probably where the owner makes the most profit," she said. "People are always getting into shows and coming in to rent them."
Beer said Digital Shelf carries almost any show imaginable, from HBO's "Rome" to "CSI" and "Deadwood," some of the most popular rentals.
"We have absolutely anything from the old classics like 'Beverly Hillbillies' and 'Dukes of Hazzard' to any of the current hits like 'Lost' or 'Grey's Anatomy,'" she said. "And if we don't have it, we'll get a hold of it so you can come in and rent it."
Beer said she thinks TV shows on DVD are successful because a certain amount of convenience comes with watching shows at one's own leisure.
"A lot of shows people either can't get a hold of or they don't have the time to watch when they're on, so they come here," she said. "It's very convenient to be able to watch at your own pace whenever you want."
Digital Shelf offers entire seasons of some shows all in one package, but others are offered only one or two discs at a time, depending on the number of discs in the season, Beer said. Customers can rent new releases for three days, and other rentals are for five days and four nights.
Rachel Kroh, junior in elementary education, said she owns seven seasons of "Friends," all three seasons of "One Tree Hill" and a season of "The Office."
"'Friends' is classic and hilarious," she said. "Having it on DVD is great because you get to watch it whenever you want and pick whatever episode you want."
Christina Keys, junior in personal financial planning, said she owns two seasons of "Gilmore Girls," two seasons of "24," and all three seasons of "Grey's Anatomy" because she prefers owning the sets to watching on television.
"You don't have to watch commercials, and you don't have to wait for the next episode," she said. "It's nice to be able to watch it all at once. It's more convenient."
Kroh and Keys agreed it is easy to get addicted to watching complete seasons.
"My favorite is 'Grey's Anatomy,'" Keys said. "It sounds stupid, but you'll get to the point where you just can't wait to see the next episode. I've even got my parents and my sister all watching it now."
Kroh said she also became hooked on a series.
"I watched all three seasons of 'One Tree Hill' in about two months because I couldn't stop watching it, even though I already knew what was going to happen," she said. "My husband and I were afraid to rent 'Lost' because we didn't want to get addicted to it."
Keys said watching shows on DVD does not affect her other TV-watching habits for the most part.
"When I first bought 'Grey's,' I'd watch it all to get caught up with the current season, and I didn't really watch any TV," she said. "I don't watch a whole lot of TV anyway, but after I'd get caught up, I'd go back to watching any shows I did normally watch."
