bunkaroo

The recent reviews of AvP: Requiem and The Seeker got me thinking:

Why does DVDTalk even bother reviewing these Fox screener discs? Is there some sort of obligation there to do these?

Seems like a waste of the reviewer's talent and time to sit through watermarked and otherwise gimped DVD's that aren't representative of the final retail product.

Just curious.

Drexl

For one thing, they can still review the special features. Plus, some are just as interested in thoughts on the film itself as they are with the video quality. Particularly with DVDs (not BDs), these days the quality is assumed to be from good to great in most cases, especially with new releases. I think people care more about the content now.

Supermallet

It's a show of goodwill. For whatever reason, Fox likes to pump out watermarked screeners well in advance of the release (AvP isn't out till April 15th!), and we review them with the expectation that the final product will make it out to us when they have it available. So it's a give and take. To date, we've only gotten final product for them on Blu-ray, and they come in much closer to the release date.

Shannon Nutt

Actually the majority of watermarked screeners come sans extras. Not sure about FOX, though.

Paul Mavis

I don't review a lot of Fox titles, but going back and looking at my more recent ones, all of them have been final shelf product (Newhart, The Simple Life, Dr. Dolittle, Garfield Gets Real), as well as the MGM releases distributed by Fox (The Billy Wilder Collection, The Pink Panther and Friends: The Inspector Cartoons). So, we don't only get the watermarked screeners here.

bunkaroo

I've noticed many reviews don't get updated and I assumed it's because you didn't get final product. That's why I think it's a waste to even do the screener.

I can't speak for others, but I click a review to see the PQ/AQ assessment. If that's not there it seems pointless to me.

FusionX

Technical specs are what I look for in on-line reviews (as long as their Tvs are 50" or up and surround systems are decent), opinions on the movies or shows from on-line writers don't interest me in the least.

Supermallet

But if we don't review the incomplete screeners, Fox wouldn't send us anything at all.

TheBigDave

I've gotta agree with bunkaroo and FusionX. I have no interest in reading screener reviews. If DVDTalk is going to review screener discs, I wish they'd label them clearly, so I don't bother clicking on the link.

And if Fox demands you review their lousy screeners or they won't send you anything, then screw'em. If they want to turn their back on promoting their products to thousands of targeted buyers, that's a stupid decision, but it's up to them.

eXcentris

We have a no reviews of screeners policy and Fox doesn't seem to care, i.e. they are listed as "Excellent" in our list which reflects our relationship with studio. Considering we're a small French Canadian site and you are the biggest review site on the internet, you're argument makes no sense whatsoever.