eXcentris

Not sure if this the best place to discuss this, but since reviewers hang out in this forum and those who are reviewing Tartan Video DVD's will surely know what I'm talking about (assuming they get the same review copies we do), it probably is.

I'm of course talking about the anti-piracy "Property of Tartan Video" text which is displayed at frequent intervals on their review copies.

On "The Phone", the text appeared in the upper right hand corner roughly every 10 min. and stayed visible for about 30 sec. each time. I thought ok, every 10 min. is a bit excessive but I guess I can deal with it.

On "A Snake of June" and "Whispering Corridors", the frequency is about the same but they moved the text to the bottom of the screen where subs are displayed, and used a bigger font. I thought well, this is getting more annoying but I can still deal with it.

Well I just checked my "A Tale of Two Sisters" review copies and they decided to up the ante by leaving the "Property of Tartan Video" text there ALL THE TIME, except when subs are displayed. It even displays during pauses in dialogue so you'll see something like: line of subs, Property of Tartan Video, line of subs. Wtf?

I could tell my boss to write and complain, i.e. "we understand the anti-piracy concerns and are prepared to deal with it if it is handled reasonably, but what you have done to A Tale of Two Sisters is clearly excessive, and we will not review that title or any other title which you have treated the same way." But because we are a small site they might simply cut us off.

So I'd like to know how reviewers here feel about Tartan Video review copies. Also, is your review copy of "A Tale of Two Sisters" the same as mine? Did they just screw up when authoring the review copies for this film or is this a sign of what all future review copies will be like? What do you feel would be the appropriate course of action if any?
Since DVDTalk carries a lot more weight than we do and assuming that you also find this excessive and unacceptable, did you (reviewers) ask Geoff to contact Tartan and address the issue?

I'd appreciate your input.

P.S. If you do not feel that discussing this in public is appropriate, please e-mail me at the address listed in my profile.

Adam Tyner

Not sure about that one specifically, but it does sound like DVD Talk is getting the same copies you are. From a recent review of Whispering Corridors:

eXcentris

Thanks Adam, if your reviewer felt, as I did, that every 10 min is annoying, I can't wait to see how he's going to feel about "A Tale of Two Sisters"...

Ian Jane

I'm the one who wrote that, and yes, it was really, really, really annoying to see that there.

Jason Bovberg

Oh joy. I have "Tale of Two Sisters" coming up.

eXcentris

When you pop that abomination into your DVD player, I expect you to experience the whole gamut of emotions between sadness and rage.

Seriously, I think that reviewers should flat out refuse to review that disk, and site owners (or whoever handles contacts with studios) should definitely let Tartan know that this is unacceptable.

flmfreakcentral

I agree. DreamWorks tried this with GLADIATOR a few years back. After a handful of sites (including mine) refused to review the DVD on principle, the studio immediately put a stop to the practice. You have to let them know that it's not the critics pirating these things, and refuse to be the scapegoat. They need us (especially a relatively small outfit like Tartan), not the other way around.

Bill C

flmfreakcentral

One more point to consider: way way back when Trimark still existed, they would produce two screeners. One had an anti-piracy "bug," and would arrive months in advance of the street date; the other was the finished goods and you'd get it a week or two prior to street. Quite often, the two discs had different tech specs (i.e. the latter was a vast improvement), so Tartan may be mastering these titles differently from the release version and thus soliciting inaccurate reviews of their product from more A/V-oriented sites such as this one.

Randy Miller III

You should write "PROPERTY OF DVD TALK" as every other line in the review.

Jason Bovberg

I was thinking of doing something to that effect. Dude, you're stealing my thunder.

Randy Miller III

"THUNDER" IS PROPERTY OF RANDY MILLER III.

Rogue588

eXcentris

I agree but there needs to be some sort of a concerted effort because as I pointed out, even if they are a small outfit I doubt that they will much care about complaints coming from a small french canadian site if it's not backed up by other sites. They are more likely just to cut us off. And since I'm the one reviewing all the Asian titles, I don't want that to happen.

It also seems, from the examples in my original post, that Tartan aren't quite sure how to handle this because they keep changing "strategy" with each release. I've received "Koma" as well, and although the case and disc art carry the same "For Promotional Use Only" caption, this one is a straight screener without menus or extras.

Maybe we need to form a Reviewers Guild or something.

eXcentris

Ok it gets worse... Both commentary tracks on disc 1 have no english subs. The subs that display are those of the film as described in my original post. Disc 2 is fine.

I don't know who is the genius who mastered this thing, but I'm not reviewing this film unless they send us a PROPER replacement for disc 1.

babybim

Stumbled onto this thread recently. Wonderful to find out about Tartan Video smacking an anti-piracy message on their review discs as I was just recently added to the company's promo list. Great thing to hear about a company before I start to review their stuff.

At least Tartan Video doesn't sound as bad as eMaximMedia, as their review discs (for Brain Damage Films) have an obnoxious burned-in property message that obscures maybe 20% of the entire screen. It's hideous to look at, really.

lotsofdvds

New Line tried a nutty process for a while where their screeners would just go to black and white throughout the film at random intervals. I had to see Run Ronnie Run for the first time like this.

eXcentris

Well Tartan did send us a proper retail version of Tale of Two Sisters to review after we complained. However, they still don't seem to have a standard as far as their review copies. The Memento Mori disc we got was a straight screener (just like Koma), with no menus or extras. I don't know why they bother sending these screeners because they had previously been notified that we won't review them.

MrE

Who would have thought that someone would come up with worse annoyances than commericals? I'd encourage you all to notify any company that includes any of these devices on their review copies that they will not be screened. They need you more than you need them. At a minimum I suspect the copies you'll be sent will be normal DVDs.

Alan Smithee

I don't know what the point of screeners are when they make it so you can't even enjoy them. I checked out a couple from Fox and they had a pop-up "Not for sale" message along with a serial number and the picture periodically turned black and white, and it seemed like they had made the sound intentionally crappy.
Some of the "Not for sale" messages are subtitles, not on the actual video, so on some players you can turn them off (they'll lock out the Subtitle button, but try it with the disc stopped) or you can use a ripping program and have them removed.

eXcentris

Hmmm, they sent us a "normal" retail copy of Acacia. I wonder if enough sites complained and if this reflects a change in policy, or if it's just luck. I guess I'll know when the next few titles arrive.