So My Name is Earl S4 just got announced with pictures of its packaging. From what's shown, its clearly just a normal DVD case that will house 3-5 DVDs inside instead of the usual cardboard. Now, I wouldn't have a problem with this if the previous three seasons looked just like this but they are instead in typical TV Show packaging. While the show has been canceled and the chances of future seasons are not happening why couldn't they have just made them all look the same? Why such a drastic change? Its not like this is Scrubs S7 with a shorter season.
Family Guy Volume 7 is the same way. I saw it in a clear amaray case with slipcover. The previous 6 volumes were in slimpaks. I've also seen Arrested Development in clear cases now.
I usually don't care what packaging it comes in, but changing after several volumes is sort of annoying.
GizmoDVD
06-18-09, 12:58 PM
If they are re-releasing all of them (i.e. show is completed and done) I get that. Buffy, Angel, Roswell, X-Files etc. all had changes to make them cheaper and be able to stock more copies on store shelves. But halfway through the show is such a pain. I've been wanting to complete my Earl collection but it looks like I will just wait till they are eventually all released in slim packaging. Such a pain in the ass.
MinLShaw
06-18-09, 12:59 PM
Burn Notice - Season One had a slipcase containing two slimline cases. Season Two is a standard case without a slipcover. I think this constantly changing package trend is one more reason I'm inclined to simply wait for complete series releases.
KillerCannibal
06-18-09, 01:01 PM
They did the same thing with Tales from the Crypt. Started off with digipack fold-outs, then switched the slimline cases. Is it annoying? Yes, but I have more important things in life to worry about.
jjcool
06-18-09, 01:39 PM
I can see where this is frustrating for some. However, I actually welcome this change, as the other three seasons of Earl I have are in a similar style case as the fourth season appears to be in. These cases can be had for cheap, and covers can be found on the internet.
GizmoDVD
06-18-09, 01:58 PM
All the Earls I have seen have been in the typical Fox Digi-pack like packaging. Have they been re-released in slimmer sets?
joltman
06-18-09, 02:18 PM
ER did this in a nice way, they changed the packaging for their most recent release (10th season), but you wouldn't know it from the outside. They were previously in fold-out digipaks, but this last release was a wide six-disc case.
Corey31
06-18-09, 02:23 PM
All the Earls I have seen have been in the typical Fox Digi-pack like packaging. Have they been re-released in slimmer sets?
I think what jjcool is referring to is he bought empty cases that hold the disks and just printed out artwork for the case. Earl hasn't been re-released in slim packaging
leitmotif
06-18-09, 02:57 PM
It looks like a lot of upcoming TV show DVDs are switching from slimpacks to standard cases with slipcovers this fall (It's Always Sunny, Family Guy, American Dad, My Name is Earl, How I Met Your Mother, and more) which I assume has to do with cost cutting by the studios.
kstublen
06-18-09, 03:05 PM
It looks like a lot of upcoming TV show DVDs are switching from slimpacks to standard cases with slipcovers this fall (It's Always Sunny, Family Guy, American Dad, My Name is Earl, How I Met Your Mother, and more) which I assume has to do with cost cutting by the studios.
The least they could do is release them with slipcovers so there is at least some uniformity. It is going to look so crappy on my shelf to have the side-entry slipcovers and then a random plastic case. They changed 24 (again) but at least they gave it a slipcover. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like they are going to do that with any of the other releases.
drak b
06-18-09, 03:14 PM
oh sonofa... *sigh* I know I will eventually want to buy the 4th season of Earl but I really, really hate this sort of move by the studios. It's as if they aren't even aware of the possibility that people might own other seasons or might care how they look on a shelf.
jjcool
06-18-09, 03:32 PM
All the Earls I have seen have been in the typical Fox Digi-pack like packaging. Have they been re-released in slimmer sets?
I think what jjcool is referring to is he bought empty cases that hold the disks and just printed out artwork for the case. Earl hasn't been re-released in slim packaging
Corey is correct. Apologies if I gave the impression that they had been re-released. I dont find the single width cases to be much slimmer than the box. Maybe the two thinpaks make up the width of a single width case, with the only difference being the actual thickness of the two sides of the cardboard case.
jjcool
06-18-09, 03:38 PM
The thinpak cases have got to be cheaper than the old foldout case, right? At least with the thinpaks they can buy in trememdous bulk, and use the same cases for multiple releases. With the gatefild packaging, you have this huge cardboard case to be manufactured and printed specific to the dvd title. With the thin paks you ahve the outer cardboard, less cardboard, to be manufacttured and printed. Plus the covers of the thinpaks. Obviously the carboard case, and covers are specific to the dvd title. With the single multi disc case all they have to print is one cover, and maybe an insert. Plus they can use the multi disc case for any title with the same number of discs. So they can buy huge quantities of them.
critterdvd
06-18-09, 05:06 PM
Warner Brothers has been doing the same with "Everwood" and I'm assuming the next wave of "one tree hill," "gossip girl," and "Smallville" will be the same way...
GizmoDVD
06-18-09, 05:24 PM
Warner Brothers has been doing the same with "Everwood" and I'm assuming the next wave of "one tree hill," "gossip girl," and "Smallville" will be the same way...
So Everwood S2 is in a normal DVD case vs the cardboard foldout?
IIRC, Gossip Girl S1 was in a DVD case (housed in a slip cover).
komsik
06-18-09, 06:30 PM
Anything they can do to save a penny... It just encourages me to buy less. -wink-
WMAangel
06-19-09, 11:48 AM
I mentioned this exact same issue last month when the last season of Boston Legal was released in the single plastic case:
"Just picked this up this morning, and I have to give a BIG thumbs down to the packaging change from Fox....the previous four seasons featured plastic thin packs held within a cardboard box, now for this final season they switch to a clear standard size DVD case with two flaps inside holding the four discs....
Usually I will be happy about a smaller case size, due to my ever so limited shelf space, but not this time......I mean, come on Fox! This is the last season, couldn't you have just released it in the same format as the previous four?? Now it stands out like a red-headed stepchild, geez......"
dkedvd
06-19-09, 01:59 PM
I love the new change! I was never a huge fan of the box set look. I truly hated them when they used to be full sized cases, then they went thin and that was better, but now just a standard case is nice. It looks "clearer" I guess is the work I'm looking for. All in all I think they look much nicer this way.
Though I do see how it kinda sucks when half of a series is box set and the 2nd half is in a standard looking case. I personally do not mind it so much just as long as they keep the spines looking the same.
Brian T
06-19-09, 02:26 PM
I love the new change! I was never a huge fan of the box set look. I truly hated them when they used to be full sized cases, then they went thin and that was better, but now just a standard case is nice. It looks "clearer" I guess is the work I'm looking for. All in all I think they look much nicer this way. Though I do see how it kinda sucks when half of a series is box set and the 2nd half is in a standard looking case. I personally do not mind it so much just as long as they keep the spines looking the same.
They should've have used this kind of packaging from day one. Those big, clumsy boxed sets--for TV, animation, even movies--were such an unnecessary and unwieldy waste of packaging materials and shelf space! I don't buy TV on DVD as a rule, but these standard sized cases with trays sure make it tempting.
Doctor Zoidberg
06-19-09, 03:56 PM
I'm glad they've changed the packaging to these cases, and agree they should have been like that in the first place.
GizmoDVD
06-19-09, 03:57 PM
Problem is they were not like that from Day One which pissed me off.
Dean Kousoulas
06-19-09, 07:59 PM
I guess they figure the smaller the sets get, the more people will buy because they have more shelf space.
Look at 24 for example. The first few seasons were huge (Season 4 being the biggest, by god it's huge) and then 5 and 6 got slim, and 7 is in one of the new cases.
MinLShaw
06-19-09, 08:02 PM
I guess they figure the smaller the sets get, the more people will buy because they have more shelf space.
Look at 24 for example. The first few seasons were huge (Season 4 being the biggest, by god it's huge) and then 5 and 6 got slim, and 7 is in one of the new cases.
I think it's more likely a matter of costing less to ship more to stores, and stores being able to stock more of a title that is behind the transition. In the beginning, I think TV releases were made larger and used more special packaging to convince prospective buyers that owning a season on DVD was, in fact, something special in a move to convince them to purchase something they could catch in re-runs on TV. Now that we're used to owning TV seasons, they don't need to lure us in as much and can shift their emphasis to more cost-conscious measures.
darkhawk
06-19-09, 09:50 PM
The Simpsons pissed me off when fox did a double. Changing the boxes for the heads and then after ordering a box, it's not the same as the others either. Then Season 11 changed.
kstublen
06-19-09, 09:59 PM
The Simpsons pissed me off when fox did a double. Changing the boxes for the heads and then after ordering a box, it's not the same as the others either. Then Season 11 changed.
At least with The Simpsons they give consumers a choice, more or less. The heads still don't look that odd next to the first 5 Seasons because the spines still line up. But after Season 6, they gave us an option which is more than they are doing now with My Name Is Earl, etc. And even though they did change the packaging for Season 11, making it a little thinner, the spine is still pretty much the same and it doesn't look out of place next to Season 10.
That being said, I hope they don't change the packaging on us for future releases of The Simpsons.
If they would at least give us slipcovers, I wouldn't mind the change as much. If they did that there would be more uniformity. Now, you have paper sleeves and then a plastic case. Just looks out of place and sloppy.
smashthesymbols
06-19-09, 10:08 PM
The Simpsons pissed me off when fox did a double. Changing the boxes for the heads and then after ordering a box, it's not the same as the others either. Then Season 11 changed.
They'll probably change it again. The Simpsons has had some of the worst TV packaging since day one. They're the only thing in my collection I hate so much I've considered getting new cases and custom artwork.
As for My Name is Earl. If you really want to see a messed up collection, think about those of us who have the first season in the Best Buy flannel shirt package. That coupled with the other cases makes for one ugly series on the shelf. A new complete set would be nice, but I'm not going to hold my breathe.
Corey31
07-08-09, 11:33 AM
Bumping this back up, via TVShowsOnDVD's Twitter: "In Oct, Fox to "Viva" repackage old releases of HIMYM, 70s Show, Am. Dad, Unit, Remgtn Steele, Sunny/Philly & My Name/Earl".
I assume the Viva packaging is the thinner packaging used for Buffy/Futurama recently? If so then that means you could get all previous seasons of Earl in the thinner packaging
kstublen
07-08-09, 11:58 AM
Bumping this back up, via TVShowsOnDVD's Twitter: "In Oct, Fox to "Viva" repackage old releases of HIMYM, 70s Show, Am. Dad, Unit, Remgtn Steele, Sunny/Philly & My Name/Earl".
I assume the Viva packaging is the thinner packaging used for Buffy/Futurama recently? If so then that means you could get all previous seasons of Earl in the thinner packaging
Too bad I already have the first three seasons of My Name Is Earl and How I Met Your Mother and I only have until mid-July to return them.
GizmoDVD
07-08-09, 01:00 PM
Bumping this back up, via TVShowsOnDVD's Twitter: "In Oct, Fox to "Viva" repackage old releases of HIMYM, 70s Show, Am. Dad, Unit, Remgtn Steele, Sunny/Philly & My Name/Earl".
I assume the Viva packaging is the thinner packaging used for Buffy/Futurama recently? If so then that means you could get all previous seasons of Earl in the thinner packaging
Good news for new owners (and not surprising to see the switch), but bad news for the older collectors.
kstublen
07-08-09, 01:50 PM
I highly doubt they would offer it, but it'd be nice if those of us that already owned previous seasons could purchase this newer packaging from FOX directly; send in a UPC or something along with some money and get mailed the replacement package. Too bad the studios could care less about the customers and this would never happen.
jjcool
07-08-09, 03:18 PM
I am curious why, since alot of people seem to be bothered by this, more people dont just buy replacement cases and download scans of the artwork to make their own "Viva" packaging. Costs very little, and takes very little time.
kstublen
07-08-09, 03:26 PM
I am curious why, since alot of people seem to be bothered by this, more people dont just buy replacement cases and download scans of the artwork to make their own "Viva" packaging. Costs very little, and takes very little time.
I am not familiar enough with places to download artwork or how I should print them out (what type of printer, paper, etc.). Furthermore, it is also a principle of the matter thing, at least for me. I don't mind that the studios change packaging, but I think the least they could do is offer replacement packages for those willing to pay. I wouldn't mind paying a few bucks for replacement cases directly from the studio for the sake of uniformity on my shelves.
GizmoDVD
07-08-09, 03:34 PM
I am curious why, since alot of people seem to be bothered by this, more people dont just buy replacement cases and download scans of the artwork to make their own "Viva" packaging. Costs very little, and takes very little time.
It's a pain in the ass.
First you need a color printer. Now you need special paper. Now you need to find someone who scanned the appropriate size artwork. Now you need to find a DVD case that has enough spindles to hold the 3-6 discs. Its a pain. I'd rather sell off my original sets and rebuy the new ones.
Corey31
07-08-09, 04:49 PM
I've considering blind-buying How I Met Your Mother for a while, I will wait for the smaller packaging now. I'm also a fan of My Name is Earl but given it's recent cancellation I'll probably wait for a complete series release.
It does suck for fans of shows who have been buying the season releases but it's really not that big of a deal to sell your old sets and buy the new ones. You will probably be out on average $5 a season but you get the smaller packaging. I'm surprised Family Guy was not a part of the list of series' getting the re-packaging job.
bigjim25
07-08-09, 05:13 PM
I'm surprised Family Guy was not a part of the list of series' getting the re-packaging job.
I figure it will be eventually since they used those cases in the Stewie head that AMAZON sells. ;)
droidguy1119
07-08-09, 05:58 PM
I'll be replacing my "It's Always Sunny" seasons once they do this. If I watch My Name is Earl and like it, I'll consider doing that series too.
Josh-da-man
07-08-09, 07:06 PM
Lat month I noticed that repackaged versions of Babylon 5 seasons 1-5 started showing up on various sites, but I haven't actually seen any in stores yet.
RobCA
07-08-09, 09:06 PM
I'm surprised they're bothering to repackage How I Met Your Mother. The Season 1-3 sets are already pretty damn thin. I'm sure as hell not gonna bother replacing them just to save a couple of centimeters of shelf space.
Rob
kstublen
07-08-09, 10:08 PM
I'm surprised they're bothering to repackage How I Met Your Mother. The Season 1-3 sets are already pretty damn thin. I'm sure as hell not gonna bother replacing them just to save a couple of centimeters of shelf space.
Rob
A lot of the sets are already pretty thin. How I Met Your Mother, My Name Is Earl, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, etc. are already contained in thinpaks...these new packages really aren't that much thinner. I prefer having TV Shows in the type of packaging the aforementioned are already in; I think TV Shows deserve a little different packaging from regular movies.
Really, it is just easier for the studios and cheaper, because they save money on the outer cardboard slip cases and only need one set of covers/inserts instead of two or three spread across thinpaks. It's just cheaper for them. I don't understand why they weren't doing this from the start though.
SI78
07-09-09, 12:22 AM
The worst offender ever is Alias. 5 seasons and not one of them matches the other. It's a really ugly looking set on my shelf.
GizmoDVD
07-09-09, 10:50 AM
I don't understand why they weren't doing this from the start though.
They wanted DVD to stand out from normal DVD movies and TV on DVD has always been a premium product.
jjcool
07-09-09, 01:54 PM
It's a pain in the ass.
First you need a color printer. Now you need special paper. Now you need to find someone who scanned the appropriate size artwork. Now you need to find a DVD case that has enough spindles to hold the 3-6 discs. Its a pain. I'd rather sell off my original sets and rebuy the new ones.
Canon color inkjet.
8.5x11 white paper. The same stuff I use for printing documents.
r1db.com, customaniacs.org, 9covers.com, etc for covers.
genesysdtp.com for every case imaginable.
dillkid
07-10-09, 03:41 PM
It is very annoying when they do that! I'm not so sure about Reigion 1, but in Reigon 2 they released Season 1 of Two and A Half Men as a wide carborad slipcase, with the individual mini plastic cases inside. On the spine it says "Disc 1 Episodes 1-6" e.t.c, like the One Tree Hill DVDs. From Season 2 onwards, they use the smaller slip cases, with the normal sized palstic case with all the discs inside that.
Where can I get these new 6 disc cases? Looks like I have some converting to do...
wvtechs
07-12-09, 12:39 AM
Stargate SG-1 did it when they went from the nice boxed sets to the thinpaks late in the series without giving people the option of buying the later seasons in the original boxed sets to match the others. Very annoying!
GizmoDVD
08-06-09, 11:29 PM
Got Gossip Girl Season 2 from Warner today, They have an outer slip case and a thick DVD-style case I have not seen in a while. Glad to see that didn't stick to the slim design of Season 1 (which was 7 episodes shorter than S2).
On top of that, the S2 is a bit taller so it looks odd on the shelf:
http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab206/gizmodvd/photo.jpg
NowOrNever
08-07-09, 04:08 PM
Argh, I know exactly what you guys mean. I really don't mind the smaller packaging because I don't think it looks that bad and really does save a lot of space, I just hate it when studios switch in the middle of series. As was previously stated, even if the studios stuck these sets in slipcovers, most of them would match up pretty well (especially the "How I Met Your Mother" sets). Fox seems to be the worst offender of this - they couldn't even package two seasons of "The Riches" the same way. The "7th Heaven" sets also drive me nuts - the first two seasons are incredibly huge. They match perfectly, but are HUGE. Then seasons three on are all in the slimmer packaging, which is nice because all eleven seasons of that show in bulky packaging could take up an entire wall, but it drives me NUTS how the first two seasons don't match. I doubt Paramount/CBS will ever repackage them, so I want to myself, but can't find case inserts to match anywhere.
I'm OCD when it comes to my TV DVD sets, I can't really help it, so I won't lie: when FOX re-releases their older sets in the newer packaging, I'll probably buy them just so everything can match.
As for the Gossip Girl set, I'm a little pissed they switched the packaging after just one season, but I'm not surprised, since it's a 7-disc set.
Whew, sorry. Rant over. :)
TheKing
08-08-09, 08:52 AM
It would be nice if FOX took the opportunity of this repack to put HIMYM Season 1 out in Widescreen. But I doubt that'll happen...
Universal redid season 1 of House in Anamorphic, and I think Paramount put out a Widescreen re-release of C.S.I. Season 1.
Frankly, I hate the keep cases. Especially something like Dollhouse where they don't even get a slipcover, but just a piece of one pasted onto the front.
temp81830
08-10-09, 04:59 PM
It would be nice if FOX took the opportunity of this repack to put HIMYM Season 1 out in Widescreen. But I doubt that'll happen...
Universal redid season 1 of House in Anamorphic, and I think Paramount put out a Widescreen re-release of C.S.I. Season 1.
Frankly, I hate the keep cases. Especially something like Dollhouse where they don't even get a slipcover, but just a piece of one pasted onto the front.
I think the widescreen of csi season 1 was only on bluray and not dvd... i wish they did both... and i agree, if HIMYM season 1 was released in widescreen, that would be nice.
Also, on a side note, does anyone know where I can buy these cases that they are now using. I have a few things I know aren't going to be re-released and they simply take too much space.
EDIT: I figured out who makes them : viva-eco-box . com / dvdmulti . html, but I'm not sure how to buy them yet.
GizmoDVD
08-15-09, 02:57 PM
Warner has done the same with their Blu-rays as well - they now all slide in instead of a normal slip cover.
Disney has also continued with the DVD case and Slip cover. Got Dirty Sexy Money Season 2 and its a clear DVD case with slip cover that does not match Season 1...sigh.
Nick Martin
08-18-09, 12:52 PM
I think the widescreen of csi season 1 was only on bluray and not dvd... i wish they did both...
Correct - Blu-ray only.
AND
They repackaged the fullscreen season 1 DVDs that have been around since the beginning in case that matches the Blu-ray cover art.
HE Pennypacker
11-11-09, 12:52 PM
Canon color inkjet.
8.5x11 white paper. The same stuff I use for printing documents.
r1db.com, customaniacs.org, 9covers.com, etc for covers.
genesysdtp.com for every case imaginable.
The new slim cases in question cannot be found on the site you mention.
jjcool
11-11-09, 04:04 PM
The new slim cases in question cannot be found on the site you mention.
You can definitely find single width six disc cases on Genesysdtp.com .
HE Pennypacker
11-11-09, 06:12 PM
You can definitely find single width six disc cases on Genesysdtp.com .
Yes, but not like the ones being discussed in this thread. In fact, I have yet to find those anywhere.
jjcool
11-12-09, 01:38 PM
Yes, but not like the ones being discussed in this thread. In fact, I have yet to find those anywhere.
I guess you are talking about the Viva cases that some releases have used. I havent seen those cases avaialbly anywhere, but a 6 disc case is a 6 disc case. :shrug:
Kory
11-12-09, 01:44 PM
You can definitely find single width six disc cases on Genesysdtp.com .
Is that a legit site? Never heard of it before but it looks like they have some great cases at awesome prices. Thanks!
jjcool
11-12-09, 03:11 PM
Is that a legit site? Never heard of it before but it looks like they have some great cases at awesome prices. Thanks!
Definitely a legit site, and a great seller. I have bought over 1000 cases from him, and never had an issue. Shipping is very reasonable, appears to be very close to the actual cost to ship, rather than an ultra inflated price. Added bonus for me, is that he is in CT, so I get stuff with ground shipping the day after he sends them out.
HE Pennypacker
11-12-09, 08:33 PM
I guess you are talking about the Viva cases that some releases have used. I havent seen those cases avaialbly anywhere, but a 6 disc case is a 6 disc case. :shrug:
Yeah, I might have to settle for those. The positioning of the disc-holders in the case isn't a big deal, but the color is. I wish they had clear ones on that site as well.
Buy: