cynthia

With all the frivolous law suits going on, I wondered if anyone has sued studios like Columbia/Tri-Star for mislabeling DVDs as having both WS and FS when it only contains FS or MGM for taking all the special features off some "special edition" DVDs when the prices drop and not correcting the covers to reflect the absense of said features.

Columbia Tri-Star examples at Widescreen Advocate

I think that's plenty more worthy than suing because MGM said their "A Fish Called Wanda" widescreen contained more video information than the (open matte) fullscreen.

Do any studios have services where you can exchange your lesser DVDs for ones like described on the cover, assuming there are different versions out there?

Jackskeleton

Ahem http://mgmdvdsettlement.com/

cynthia

That's the frivolous suit I was pointing at in my post, really.

DavidH

Your best bet is to check forums like these to get the "heads up" on these rare mistakes before you purchase. I always try to read something about a DVD before I buy it.

Drexl

The problem, though, is that doesn't really do any good. I don't know about the MGM titles, but with the Columbia titles there is no way to tell whether you're buying the "good" one (with both versions) or the "bad" one (with FS only) without opening it. The only help a forum like this could be is to let you know what's inside could be different than what's indicated on the package.

Not to mention, people who aren't as obsessive as us and don't keep up with this news aren't aware that the box could be wrong.

ThatGuamGuy

I believe it's indicated on them. Not 100% sure, but pretty sure.

I'd say your best bet is to buy them used (E-bay or half or something), since that's the only way to be sure you're getting what you want before you buy it. I don't know if stores would take them back, but either a store or the studio *should*. If they don't, threaten a lawsuit; bring up the MGM one, which is suing Best Buy, Blockbuster, and other stores in addition to MGM. [While I find that lawsuit frivolous, I am serious; bringing it up would probably help, as it's a good precedent for what you're talking about. I wouldn't reccommend actually suing, though.]

Do you think people like that are going to be especially bothered by it?

BigDan

Are yuo saying that anyone who doesn't read/search this forum (or another site) before purchases would prefer fullscreen versions of movies?

Quite honestly, I don't know the list of titles that are listed on the back as having both widescreen and fullscreen but only has fullscreen inside. It's entirely possible I could buy one of those, and I would be bothered by it.

Easy

I suppose nobody has sued because it just isn't worth the time, effort and expense. A better option would be some consumer protection laws to ensure that the studios deliver on what they advertise. They have managed to hide behind the "no return if opened" bullshit for too long. We should have the right to return dvds that are misrepresented.

Alan Smithee

I bought "The Bear" last week, saying it had both widescreen and foolscreen versions on the back cover, but the disc was 1-sided and only had the foolscreen version. The store I got it from let me check 2 more copies and they were the same; they would have let me exchange it for something else but I've decided to send it back to Sony and demand they send me the correct disc, and until they do I won't be buying any more of their titles! If I had the time I certainly would be taking these bastards to court! What do you have to do to file a lawsuit like that anyways?