MJARINA72

Just need to rant a minute. I just got finished writing some feedback on the new Halloween 25th edition. Anyway, it made me wish I had a job with some or all of these companies, Anchor Bay, Sony, Universal, Warner Brothers. It seems they have complete idiots working for some of these companies. Every week I almost wish I had some input on how this DVD should have been put out. I feel I want to scream because Im at the mercy of some retard at these companies. It makes me think that most of them are only concerned about the bottom line and never putting out a good product.

First of all (how it should be) every company should focus on the best video transfer and sound possible. I only buy a DVD for the movie, nothing else, if the movie sucks, why bother with a boatload of extras. There is wonderful technology these days so there is no excuse for anything less.

My wish list for now....
Warner Brother: Do away with snapper cases. It seems the bottom line is pushed on me with every snapper case. I cant imagine any cheaper way to cut cost. These cases simply suck. Warner Brothers is the Master of Ceremonies at the discovery of the worst DVD case in history. Still those idiots pump them out. I cant imagine what genius thought of releasing Matrix Reloaded in an Amaray case. Warner also need to start supporting DTS and DTS-ES when possible. I would really think Harry Potter would rock if it had a DTS-ES track on it.

Universal Studios has a few turkeys working there also. I want to meet the idiot who came up with the ET case. The disc are awesome (did something right there) but whats up with the AWEFUL case. Again, Master of ceramonies at the discovery of bad design. Also John Carpenter's The Thing. When are these idiots going to realize this needs a new transfer. I got the Mummy UE with dts finally, but no Mummy returns in DTS. Also American Pie UE crap. How many disc of American Pie are they planning on releasing. Can someone get it right once?

Anchor Bay should release a definitave collection of the Evil Dead movies and the Dead trilogy (by Romero). Remaster older Dario Argento films before the rights go to Blue Underground.

Colubia Tristar has some things backwards. I hate rebuying Superbit DVD's. Why cant they put them out first before another SE comes out.

Why not release a definitave version of the movie first. Screw the extra's the first go around, just the pic and sound is all that matters. Now before you go and screw up something good, just release a Superbit Deluxe version after with a second disc of extra's. Offer customers a chance to buy the second disc by itself who already purchased the single release. Have a nice package thats also durable and can stand up to time. Cardboard cases all suck. I dont even like these Digipaks that are with Harry Potter and so on, all of them are already starting to show some wear. Amaray cases are wonderful I think. If the case breaks, its easy to pull out the insert and replace a new case, holly smokes thats pretty simple. Just as long as I take care of the disc, I can replace the case 100 times before I wear the DVD out.

I feel I could go on forever. Im sure many have the own input too that could make DVD perfect. Its not difficult, but it seems many companies seem to have a hard time with simple decisions and think how they can screw things up 3 or 4 times, have customers buy them 3 or 4 times, before we can finally have a product we can cherish for many years to come.

Tarantino

All things we and the studios have heard before. Trust me, even if you worked there, things wouldn't change.

gutwrencher

your #1 priority would be disc quality itself, right? to me...all the other issues are pointless. it's just not as doom and gloom as people make it out to be. buy what you want....or dont. there are tons of wonderful dvds out there...have paitence with the rest.

"Just as long as I take care of the disc, I can replace the case 100 times before I wear the DVD out."

wear out? according to the digitalbits....I think it's 50 to 300 years. there is your first concern right now. stop delamination and force quality control to get off thier ass!! sorry guys....you knew I had to say it once in this thread.

danol

Didn't anyone tell you the laser used in DVD players, is not the one they used on James Bond in "Goldfinger"? This laser simply reads the information it doesn't cut the person in two. I am with member gutwrencher he also *knows* that lasers read the pits, not destroy the disc!

Walter Neff

While it's true that all of the things MJARINA72 is saying have been said a hundred times before here at DVD Talk, maybe he's on to something. You know how large newspapers often have an ombudsman/readers' representative? Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea for each studio to have a viewers' representative/customers' representative -- someone who trolls Internet sites like this one, hangs around Best Buys and other retailers to eavesdrop on DVD customers, and generally keeps up on what the buyer is looking for.

Hell, maybe if Paramount Home Video had a viewers' representative -- and if that person had some influence -- he or she could have convinced the powers that be that, even though I love "Better Off Dead," I'm not going to pay more than $20 for a DVD with no extras (not even a trailer) and a mediocre-to-poor film transfer. With those "selling points," I'd rather spend my $20 on better DVDs (most likely not produced by Paramount) and just catch "Better Off Dead" when it's on cable.

Iron_Giant

Hate to tell you, but there are alot of people who do not have big TV screens and could care less about the perfect video quality (they could not tell the difference because the do not have HDTVs).

Just because you only want the movie, there are tons of people who want all the extras in the DVD. I love the extras. When they showed how the Mummy was made by computers and added to the movie later, it helped my boy not to be scared of movies any more, he figured out that movies are not real. He used to run away scared when any "Bad" part of the DVD came on.

rockinghorse

I'm with you Iron_Giant. An okay trasnfer looks just fine on my 36"er. I want a movie with my extras, not extras with my movie. Give me every piece of crap somebody descided to save while they were making the movie. I want everybody who had anything to do with the movie doing a commentary track. If you just want the movie buy the VHS.

scottp120

I wish they would come out with a definitive version of Dawn Of The Dead. I have both R1 versions plus I have the directors cut from R2 w/ commentary from Tom Savini. Next year I'm getting the Anchor Bay version which will have commentary as well. Hopefully it will have the commentary off the laser disc from George Romero. Luckily, I've never bought Day Of The Dead so the one coming out this month will be the one I buy. I have at least 5 copies of the original Evil Dead, about 3 copies of Evil Dead 2 and about 4 copies of Army Of Darkness (including the R3 version with the better transfer).

Mickey

I would imagine the DVD industry is much like any other. The worker bees know what should be done yet management always has their head up their rear and shoots down their ideas. Still you get the occasional bone head that mucks something up (like going with the wrong source material for Texas Chainsaw Masacre). Studios are pushing to get the product out ASAP. Many times the extra content isn't complete so they force a barebones version out on the market rather than risk a delay (Dogma). Then 6 months to a year later they release a Special Edition.

I agree with your statements though, I would like to only have to buy one version of a movie but we don't always get what we want. Also what is their insentive? If they release 5 versions of Halloween and the completests must have each varient the studio makes more money. The cards seem to be in the studio's favor.

vedderstapp

I HAVE a DVD-related job, I work with the studios every day, and while you have some points, there are a few things i'd like to take up with you:

That's just not always possible. Its a question of accounts. I was reading somewhere, it may have even been here, that people were disgusted with the treatment 'Drop Dead Fred' got on DVD, picture and sound wise. Well, Artisan sold less than 2,000 copies first week, with projected total sales less than 10,000. When the cost of authoring is what it is, you cannot do it as the profit and loss do not balance up. Its also worth remembering that not everyone cares as much as you, I and the rest of the board, or the online community in general. For 99% of people out there, the picture quality of a film is not the first thing on their mind.

Warner have invested a lot (and i've seen the figures, and its a LOT) in their cases, right from the outset of DVD. At the end of the day, for them it is cost effective, and whichever way you slice it, they are a business, and they have to maximise profits any way possible. I have asked their people about it, and they did raise one very important point. You can tell a Warner product straight away thanks to the case. And that's what they want.

This is currently one of Universal's top 10 selling DVDs. If it had flopped, they may have gone back to it. But, while it has sold and is selling as well as it has, there is no chance.

In closing, and I hope I do not sound like I am putting you down, because I do not mean to at all, I think that if anything, you are NOT the kind of person who should be working in the industry. While it might be great for you, me and the other DVD-aholics out there, could you make business decisions? Could you remove yourself from your personal feelings about something (which are clearly quite strong) and decide something for the good of your campany? To make the most money? Becuase, really, that is all they are about.

DrS

Vedderstapp,

you paint a grim picture. If a DVD's sales are doomed, nothing will change. And if it is highly successful, nothing will change.

My guess is that there is a lot more flexibility on cash cows, but that willingness and commitment are the needed ingredients to improve products. That's why studios vary in quality.

d

BobSolo

Excellent point. I've often thought this when I've gone to pick up a movie and seen it in a snapper and thought "another Warner".

I couldn't disagree with you more. I personaly want to see a full loaded DVD released first (a true definitive version) with commentaries, extras, etc. If the studios want to revisit the DVD for a Superbit release to squeeze that extra bit rate, fine, but don't make that the only thing to offer (ala Adaptation, no sale for me).

Whichever way, tell the public what is being release. If you're putting out a barebone first with a special edition to follow, say so. That way people can decide to wait if they want. They did this with the LOTR DVDs and Black Hawk Down and I was happy to double dip (though both had incredible extras in the first releases). But this American Pie rerelease crap they can shove right up their pie holes, I'll stick with my Collector's Edition.

Really it comes down to price.

Oh and PS studio reps, Theatrical Trailers, TV Spots, Cast Bios and Interactive Menus don't make a DVD a special edition.

vedderstapp

True to a degree. But for them, its all about calculated risks.

In the case of 'The Thing', Universal put out what they considered to be the definitive edition of the movie. If it had flopped, they would have been forced to ask themselves why.

majorjoe23

Have to disagree with you there, great selling DVDs get double-dipped all the time, in fact, I think a disc selling well makes it more likely that a studio will think "Hmmm, I wonder if they'll buy it again."

vedderstapp

Possibly, but they're more likely just to add more extras, as oppose to remastering the picture