Am I the only one who is confused with this? Sure trailers on these Universal discs sucks, and you can't hit the chapter skip or menu button.

BUT, with a simple fast forward (to 4x, 8x whatever) the trailers are over in under 3 seconds. I am beginning to wonder if anyone remembers what it used to be like with VHS only several years ago. If you want, go back to them

Well, you can fast forward them now, but the next step will be to disable the FF button in addition to the newly defunct stop and chapter buttons. and then we'll really be screwed. Couldn't do that with VHS. Add in some forced ads for Sunny D and we'll have a party!

I really wish they would stop it. I dont mind FFing through them but it is starting to get anoying. Arent industries to try to keep the consumers happy?

In another thread, someone pointed out that once the forced trailers stop you can press Stop and then Menu and bypass them then play the movie. I tried it the other day and it worked. Took all of about 3 seconds.

The point is you are paying hard earned money to get commercials that you have to work hard to avoid. This is more annoying than those insipid and invasive product placements in the movies themselves.

MGM's doing them now on their latest releases but they don't last as long as Universal. It's still an annoying trend.

I understand the point but thought I'd pass on some useful information.

Hey CHENTE you said,
"In another thread, someone pointed out that once the forced trailers stop you can press Stop and then Menu and bypass them then play the movie."
If they have already stopped why would you press stop and then play again that would take more time.

I don't think that the issue is whether you can find a work-around for this problem. By which I mean, whether or not you are truly "forced" to view their trailers. I think the issue is that what Universal has done is force you to deal with their advertising strategy in one way or another. Sure I could "fast-forward through them", or I could "hit the stop button and then the menu button", or I could "start the movie and go to the bathroom". I suppose I could even go sit quietly in the next room until I heard the menu music start.

The point is, they HAVE forced you to deal with their advertising campaign. Futhermore, by playing the law of averages, they know that a certain percentage of the public WILL be stuck watching their ads. That's what deceptive advertising is all about. Not that they haven't allowed you an opportunity to FF or leave the room. Not that you can resist looking and therefore buying. It's the fact that they can automatically calculate a profit percentage based on people that DO get suckered. (And yes, I do consider the fact that most people will not find out what they have bought until after they have opened it, making the item unreturnable, deceptive advertising.) And this annoyance is not done arbitrarily. By removing the "skip" feature from this portion of the disk it is obvious that this is a calculated move to inconvience the consumer to their benefit. To their financial benefit... after you have already given them your money. And it is likely that you will be inconvienced long after the advertised product has been placed on the "out of print" list.

Basically, is this a great social problem? No. Is this a grievous injury? Hardly. But it is the equivilent of having the books knocked out of your hands everytime you walk down this DVD hallway. Will you get past it? Sure. But it's aggravating as hell.

_

Washington, DC (Reuters) --
A tragic fire has destroyed the personal library of George W. Bush.
Both of his books have been lost.
Mr. Bush is reportedly devastated.
Apparently, he had not finished coloring the second one.

And I negleted to say thanks for tip. Sorry and thanks for the tip!

I'm sorry...you must have some built up aggression from years of getting bullied in high school or something. Honestly, this truly isn't a big deal.

Talk to me when they truly are FORCED. Then you've got a "problem".

I'm the one who posted the work-around in the other thread. Here are the actual steps:

During the FBI/copyright warning, press Stop, then Menu. If you wait until the copyright warning is finished, you'll have to fast forward.

I wouldn't put it past Universal to be working on a way to defeat this work-around. If that happens, I will be buying a lot fewer Universal DVDs.

Is it annoying? Yes. Will I stop buying Universal DVDs of movies I really want (should they make any) or let it affect my purchasing decision? Probably not.

K

As long as you keep throwing money at the shoddy product, you have no right to complain. At all. Just as if you don't vote on election day, nobody wants to hear what you think about the current people in office. If you buy a shoddy product, despite your best intentions, you just told Universal (or whomever) that you support that shoddy product.

The more studios try to make DVD just glorified VHS, it's time to write/set up petitions/what ever it takes to get the message to these people that we will not support their shoddy product. And not supporting it doesn't mean buying it then complaining on DVDtalk.com. If you show them you won't support it where it matters (in their pocket) then they will care if it makes you happy or not. Until then, they know they have your money, and they really don't give a rat's crack if you're unhappy FFing or stopping and hitting the menu button.

Out of curiosity, how is this any different from advertisements in newspapers, magazines, and on non-network television stations (i.e., that you have paid for via cable, satellite, etc.)? Or those previews, reviews, and "other books by ____" sections in books? And, of course, previews before movies in theaters? We pay for all of those things and are "forced", to a certain degree, to "deal with" the advertising in them. Why is this different?

What it breaks down to is the need to advertise. These companies need to get the word out on their products. And the most economical and effective way to reach their target audience . . . movie watchers . . . is through associating these "advertisements" with other movies that they own. The fast-forwarding or "hit 'Stop' at the FBI warning and then hit 'Menu'" actions that we do to get around them, is really the same kind of thing as flipping past the advertising pages of a magazine or skipping past the review pages in a book. At least it is still possible to get around them, unlike TV ad's and movie previews (the latter of which, I actually enjoy).

Basically it breaks down to simple, direct, effective, and efficient marketing. I can't really say that I blame them.

I guess I just don't get why this is, all of the sudden, such a big deal.

Oh . . . and "shoddy product"? Isn't that just a tad extreme?

Whoops. What I meant to say is when the forced trailers START press stop then menu, etc. Sorry

Wait a second...Why aren't people bitching about how cheap DVDs are these days?

Any marketing that pisses off a majority of your customers is neither effective or efficient.

Other studies, such as Disney, tried forced trailers a couple of years ago. It didn't take long before the public outcry led them to adding the option to skip directly to the menu.

I haven't heard much public outcry outside of this forum . . .

And let me clarify why I chose the words that I did . . .

"simple"
Trailers are a straight forward advertisement. No excess information (endorsements, product tie-ins, etc.), just a glimpse of what to expect from the movie.

"direct"
The trailers go straight to their target demographic.

"effective"
Whether or not you like them being there, you are getting exposed to what it is that they want you to see . . . even if you only see it as 64x speed. Due to the psychology behind this approach, any negative feelings that are associated with the experience are directed towards the DVD (which you already own) or the studio (and a majority of the public won't even know/bother to find out who the studio is). There is little to no animosity that develops towards the film that is being advertised (in most cases).

"efficient"
No additional materials are needed (as most trailers already exist or at least the shots do and only require a little re-editing) and very few extra expenses are incurred (since they don't have to pay any extra to put their trailers on the DVD's that they are distributing).

Whether or not people like it, it still gets the job done.

This may have to become habitual. Nevermind any forced trailers, just waiting for the FBI warning, the Interpol warning and the studio logo seems to feel longer and longer. And a menu intro, though entertaining the first few times you see it, just adds more seconds to the wait.

That's the whole point here though. Back when the vile concept of ads before a movie in a theatre took hold (not movie trailers), I went to the movie chain that *didn't* have them. Unfortunately, many folks didn't, and now the ads are everywhere.

Companies may need to advertise, but if they do so in an overly obnoxious way, it can backfire. For example, I will never rent another James Bond film, because of the annoying dvd release of Die Another Day. The only button that wasn't disable on my remote was the power button. Numerous other companies have ads that are so vile or annoying that they also make my "will never purchase" list.

Its not the same thing.

DVDs deal with the element of time. Magazines (for example), do not, they deal with tangible space. And since the space is tangible, you can easily overcome unwelcome ads (simply turn the page again). But with time, you have to sit and wait...and that's not what I paid for. I paid for Carlito's Way, not for three-four trailers.


Also, the anger comes from the fact that it is compulsory; you are not able to choose, and the idea of choice is vital to our culture. I'll gladly and happily look at a company's advertising. If they think they can interest me in their product, I'm game; I'm always happy to learn of products that will entertain me. But I want to do it at my leisure. That's why telemarketers get hung up on. Don't call me, I'll call you...and only if I choose to.

Another issue is that we're not dealing with ads from companies to whom we can find alternative distributors to. Bottom line: if you want to watch Hulk on DVD, you go through Universal. No other studio has this title. For this reason, you truly are a captive audience! And I really like Hulk. So, I bought it, but what does that have to do with Universal's other titles? I may not be interested in any other title that they offer for another year, or I may be interested in many. But this advertising supposes that since I'm interested in Hulk, I must want to know about Monty Python and the Holy Grail (I don't). Its not fair, because all i want to do is get to my movie, and these bastards won't let me. I paid my money, now stop effing around and give me my product, and give it easily!

I'd surely trade having forced trailers on DVD's, if they got rid of commercials when I go to see a movie in the theater!

At least I can Fast forward through them, or start my DVD player and keep my tuner on the TV until the menu comes up. Or (as another suggested) put the movie in and make some popcorn). I don't have that option at a theater (without missing any previews.... Even the number of previews is getting annoying now).

By this standard, the DVD should be in your player and ready to go the moment you think you want it.

I mean, why go to the store and buy it or order it online? That takes your precious time.

Why remove the shrinkwrap and security seals? That takes time.

Why turn on your DVD player and home-theater system? That takes time.

Why insert the disc in the player and press a button? That takes time, too.

So after taking all that time, you're going to complain about 3 freaking seconds out of your precious schedule to fast-forward through "forced" trailers? Give me a break.

These "forced" trailers are a minor annoyance, but no more than all those other time-wasters--and certainly not any worse than waiting for FBI warnings or studio logos that truly are forced--such as Paramount's or Anchor Bay's, which you cannot circumvent. As long as you can fast-forward through them (we're talking just a few seconds longer than skipping Disney's trailers) or there is some other work-around, Universal's trailers are not forced.

Everyone should check for firmware updates or hacks for your dvd player. I used a firmware update on my dvd player and now I can skip any damn thing. Definitely an annoying trend that needs to come to an end.