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Due to all the re-releases -- I decided to stop and wait for HD-DVD

Due to all the re-releases -- I decided to stop and wait for HD-DVD

 
Old 06-03-04, 07:27 PM
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Due to all the re-releases -- I decided to stop and wait for HD-DVD

Due to all the re-releases -- I decided to stop puchasing movies and wait for HD-DVD.

I own well over 800 movies and I used to purchase new releases all the time. However an evil un-necessary trend of re-releasing movies more frequently has turned my delight for DVD-movies sour.

Early re-releases used to be an update to the DVD to make the movie anamorphic, or fix an audio problem. However, now even before a release is out -- a future version is already announced.

There are many specific examples, but the ones that started the souring and made me 'ticked' were: Grease and Apocalpyse Now Redux. Before these even hit the shelves the studios announced that "newer" versions are on the horizon. I purchased them anyways because I wanted to.

New titles that really got me thinking are Kill Bill, Gladiator, and now Spiderman.

These re-announced titles pushed me over the edge.

Nobody is forcing me to buy the most recent titles -- and I am at liberty to wait to get the version I want. But I 'feel' as if I am getting screwed for being a good boy by purchasing movies I like.

I also figure that the studios will eventually re-release all thier movies on some HD-DVD format -- and then re-release those titles again as some sort of special edition as well.

So basically I am going to wait -- I'll purchase one hi-def copy of version of a film -- and not one more.
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Old 06-03-04, 07:42 PM
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Well, different studios have different patterns for their DVD releases.
Once you follow a certain company, you can tell which films will be double or triple dipped.
I think that Warner Bros is the studio to screw us over the least, their 2 disc SEs appear to be definitive versions of their films on DVD.

Sony/Columbia is the worst as I try to avoid them at all cost.
They seen to have an average of 3 different releases for their popular films including Superbits.

Waiting for HD-DVD release of your favorite films will keeping you waiting for a long time. Apparently scheduled to launch sometime 2005, I foresee scarce D-VHSesque releases for a few years. I really can't see DVD type acceptance until around 2010. (The only reason studios are pushing for new formats is copy protection as they don't want films spread around like MP3s)

My 2 cents

Last edited by smirnoffski; 06-03-04 at 07:46 PM.
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Old 06-03-04, 07:58 PM
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Only Columbia Tri-Star (which Sony owns); and, possibly, MGM (which Sony is trying to purchase) will have any significant Hi-Def disc output prior to 2007. (Both of those studios may be releasing a limited number of titles to Blu-Ray by Fall 2005.)

It may be just a tad premature to begin waiting for your favorite movies to start to appear on Hi-Def! (Heck, a lot of us are still waiting on the original Star Wars movies to appear for the first time on SD-DVD!)
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Old 06-03-04, 07:58 PM
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Me too. I cant wait for the 3 disc HD-DVD version of Citizen Kane with the director's cut of the film and 7.1 DTS EX sound.
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Old 06-03-04, 10:12 PM
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Ok, can someone explain to me Gladiator? Is there a new director's cut on the way or something?
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Old 06-03-04, 10:19 PM
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wouldn't you also have to have the technology to play these "HD-DVD's"? i assume you can't just watch them on any current DVD players. and if there is the tech out for it wouldn't it be outrageously expensive?
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Old 06-03-04, 10:32 PM
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There will be a format war between BluRay (Sony/Columbia) and the HD-DVD. Sony has announced that it'll release its movies in BluRay only by the end of 2005 - effectively starting the war.

There's no guarantee this time that someone like ex-Warner Bros' Warren Lieberfarb will step in and stop the insanity. If the war happens, expect customers to be turned off (ala DVD-Audio/SACD war - been more than two years and barely a blip).

Don't let studios' bad behaviors turned you off from your hobby. Get the movies that you want and as long as you're happy with them, who cares. Stay strong, brother!
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Old 06-03-04, 11:35 PM
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more power to you and good luck! I'll stick to buying titles by the armloads.
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Old 06-03-04, 11:38 PM
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And when HD-DVD comes and there are re-releases in that format? Believe me, there will be. Will you then wait for the next format after that?
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Old 06-03-04, 11:42 PM
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I made this decision a long time ago. I only buy movies I REALLY want (LOTR, Pixar releases etc) and I Netflix everything else. I Netflix'd Kill Bill even though it took them forever and a day to send it to me and I REALLY wanted to buy it but knowing that the directors cut/se/ce or whatever they'll call it will be coming eventually kept me from purchasing. Eventually this practice could turn around and bite the studios in the ass. More and more people will start putting off buying the initial release eventually. Then they'll have to start doing it right the first time. Well, one can hope anyway.

I'll start buying more releases when I can get them in HD (and AFTER the format war is settled which I'm hoping won't get dragged out for too long). However, in any case that I know a better version is planned like with Kill Bill, I'll still be renting (Hello Niche Flix!).
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Old 06-04-04, 09:03 AM
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I think that the sentiment of the OP is more of a reflection of society in general... the rabid pursuit of instant gratification, the blind drive to get the biggest and best, and the suppression of a sense of contentment. Hyper-consumerism rears its ugly head.

We dislike it when a company simultaneously releases a basic disc and the announcement of a more comprehensive release in the future. Why? Because we want it all, and we want it now. We don't have the self-control to wait for the more extensive release.

Or if we choose the basic release, our lack of a sense of contentment kicks in because we see that others will get both or hold out.

We're not all like that, but there is a good percentage.

Too much blame is being placed on studios. Drop the telescope and pick up a mirror.

------------

As for "holding out" for newer, higher quality formats. This too is a symptom of hyper-consumerism and in some regards is short-sighted.

The people associated with older films are either gone, or have memories clouded by age. Any new supplemental material will be worse than stuff done at a time that was closer to the film's release. There's also no guarantee that supplemental material from older media formats will be included in these new formats.

Elements for those films are getting older and will either be the same or in worse condition by the time new media formats are produced. This will require more restoration work than ever before.

Not all titles available on previous formats will be available on new ones. Although there is a great number of titles "exclusive" to DVD, there are still many that were never put on DVD and only available on OOP VHS.

Lastly, there is nothing inherent in these newer formats that will elminate the complaints we currently have with DVD.

Last edited by sracer; 06-04-04 at 09:11 AM.
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Old 06-04-04, 09:13 AM
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It's a sad day in the home video world where people won't buy a movie to watch the movie.
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Old 06-04-04, 09:26 AM
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I think you're being a little over the top. Why do you have to have the definitive version of a movie? Isn't 5.1 sound and anamorphic widescreen enough?
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Old 06-04-04, 09:35 AM
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Originally posted by Mr. Cinema
I think you're being a little over the top. Why do you have to have the definitive version of a movie? Isn't 5.1 sound and anamorphic widescreen enough?
Nope, people 'round these parts don't buy DVDs to watch the movies, they buy them to "have" them, and superiority complex insists they have the BIGGEST BESTEST version out there (whatever that means).

I have quite a few discs that have had "better" versions released, but unless they offer something of substance or significant audio/video quality increase I see no reason to buy it again. Furthermore, for the movies I do buy twice, I've always sold the previous disc or given it away. It's a painless process, I'm not sure what people have their panties in such a wad over.

I think it goes into the Jay & Silent Bob description of the internet: the internet gives everyone a voice, and everyone uses that voice to bitch.
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Old 06-04-04, 09:47 AM
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Originally posted by Mr. Cinema
I think you're being a little over the top. Why do you have to have the definitive version of a movie? Isn't 5.1 sound and anamorphic widescreen enough?
Nope. DVD is certainly not enough on the setup I have at home. Compare to true HD, DVD looks terrible most of the time. If DVD costs $15, I will gladly pay $50 for a movie in HD format. Yes, it makes that much of a difference to me and I wholeheartedly agree with the OP. I won't pay for re-release when a new version that will be substantially better is only around the corner (at least for the Superbit discs from Sony/Columbia).
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Old 06-04-04, 09:47 AM
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I made this decision a long time ago. I only buy movies I REALLY want
As opposed to...buying movies you didn't want?
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Old 06-04-04, 09:53 AM
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Originally posted by Groucho
And when HD-DVD comes and there are re-releases in that format? Believe me, there will be.
So very true. Re-releases and consumer double dipping is here to stay. Studios will always find a way to market something several different ways to maximize profit. That doesn't sound all that bad. Until you realize that the profit comes from us.
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Old 06-04-04, 09:56 AM
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I stopped buying a lot of movies consistenly when prices hit above $10. Sure I will spend some dough on TV box sets, documentaries and movies I consider classics..

I never collected VHS movies, and to tell you the truth, movies aren't my central focus in life, and I think DVD quality is just fine. I really have no interest in re-buying stuff in any other format.

Give me OAR, decent sound and a good picture, and I am happy.

Re-Releases were another big reason I stopped collecting. Its ridicoulous when Bourne Identity gets a new release 1.5 years after the last one came out.

Sony/Columbia is the worst. I refuse to buy stuff from them.

I use Netlfix and am happy.
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Old 06-04-04, 10:03 AM
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Originally posted by tacomantt
There are many specific examples, but the ones that started the souring and made me 'ticked' were: Grease and Apocalpyse Now Redux. Before these even hit the shelves the studios announced that "newer" versions are on the horizon. I purchased them anyways because I wanted to.
Grease was released in September 2002.

Apoc Now Redux in November of 2001.

To date, neither one has a new version officially announced.


I guess I don't understand why this situation makes you soured, or 'ticked'. I assume that you enjoy these films, right? And you'll have had them for YEARS before a new edition even gets released (if one ever does).
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Old 06-04-04, 10:11 AM
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Grease was sitting on the shelf for a long, long time. Poor audio/video quality all around

It was released but at the same time the director said they were already working on a new version. Kinda lame to do that.
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Old 06-04-04, 11:15 AM
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I too in a way I have stop buying as much DVD's as I use to because so many in my collection has been re-released (some 2 and 3 times). To me its just not cost effective because now-a-days you can tell off the bat they will re-release some DVD's within a year. I am now sticking mainly to T.V series, definitive box sets such as Star Wars or Disney DVD's and titles such as Pulp Fiction, Fight Club etc. which reviewers have said are packed full and a re-release would not matter. No longer will I pick up a movie such as Spiderman on release to DVD.

I am not against re-leases but its getting ridiculous, example ID4 which has been re-leased 5 times This is why I really admire Disney for making one definitive version of a DVD even though most go out of print.
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Old 06-04-04, 12:07 PM
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I still have the old Star Trek movies, picked them up real cheap about 3 years ago. I will not spend the money to upgrade them, other things in like are more important.

LOTR's DVD are the only DVDs I have ever doubled dipped for. The first 2 movies were worth the DD because of the extras, I am not so sure on the 3rd - I have seen about all the extras a man can watch of one set of movies.
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Old 06-04-04, 12:08 PM
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If people would stop picking up the 2nd movies, the studios would stop making them.
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Old 06-04-04, 12:34 PM
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I buy re-releases of movies I love if they offer a number of significant improvements or extras, and they way I do it is painless (to me anyway). Here's my strategy:

My local Wherehouse Music has a deal where you can trade in any three used DVD's for $27.99 credit towards the purchase of a new DVD. When a re-release comes out that I have to have (like the The Good, The Bad & The Ugly), I take my old copy of that flick and cull two flicks from my collection that I've grown tired of or have wrung evey bit of enjoyment I ever think I'll get from them and then trade those titles in for the new release. That way I get the new release I really wanted, I used my prior copy towards that purchase, I culled two no longer wanted titles from my collection (which helps control DVD bloat), and I get the new release for no money down. If you have a WM near you, check to see if they offer this trade in program.

I also reduce the need to have to upgrade by never buying bare bones DVD's even if there is no special edition on the horizon. I resisted for years from buying the bare bones Trainspotting release on principle alone. I did buy the recent Miramax 2 discer though and am happy I held out.

Last edited by Loc Nar; 06-04-04 at 12:37 PM.
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Old 06-04-04, 02:36 PM
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Eh, I bought my lasers, then replaced them with the DVD's and I'll do the same with HD-DVD eventually and then with whatever replaces those. I'm not gonna miss out on watching my movies waiting for the next format. I don't care about extras so OAR and digital sound are my minimum requirements. I don't rent, because I want to be able to pick a title on my whim and immediately throw it in the player.
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