Shroud

A few years ago it seemed that every studio had a special premium edition release (Vista Series, Ultimate Edition, 5 Star Collection, Extreme Edition etc..) now most of that was marketing fluff, however usually the audio/video was remastered and included neat extras. Now it seems that we are extremely lucky to even get a Directors Cut of a film as we get a standard barebones release followed up with a slightly better 2 disk SE. What happened?

ctyankee

I don't understand your gripe.

It seems you want repackaged DVDs but only if the audio/visuals are improved or director's cut and that they call it the mondo vista edition or something.

So, it would seem that you would be happier if marketing puts out an inferior video image or film cut the first time so that you can be happy about it when they finally get it right.

Shroud

Its not really a gripe, but if I really enjoy a movie I would like to have the best audio/visuals as possible such as the Sony Superbit titles.
The Vista series were great as movies like Tombstone and Pearl Harbor were done with extra packaging and had great transfers, although the series seemed to fall apart when Signs was released as a Vista series when it was a single disk with bare packaging.
Everything is rushed today and it seems that the studios are trying to skimp so bad that the inserts went the way of the dodos.
I think there is a difference between the way Joe Six pack watches his DVDs on his 32" Goldstar tv with his Cyberhome DVD player and a true movie enthusiast who has a projector/ LCD/Plasma TV and dedicated Home Theater sound setup. I don't mind paying more for the dvd if its done correctly, however there are several movies that I had to import R2 or R3 to get better quality then the standard R1 release.

SinCity

this seems more like a rant on dvd companies than an actual question........

marty888

Yeah, all those WB 2-disc sets that have been presenting classic films as never before possible .... and the many, many great 2-disc sets of contemporary movies ....

What's your problem? I think you need to get over your high-tech elitism and concern with labels. Many newer releases are actually superior to those labeled (Vista, etc) releases that you seem to be mourning, and inserts only ever existed to give people something to complain about when they started disappearing.

Do you seriously claim that the quality level of current DVD releases is less than it was in the past?

SinCity

i agree with marty888. the level of quality for DVD releases, for the most part, has increased since the "good old days" of the Vista series and others. Hell, the majority of today's modern DVD rleases are 2-disc SE's, and even films no one would really even care about have hours of bonus material and Superbit quality AV.

ernestrp

I think they are just waiting for the new formats to appear. Then we will start to see the Ultimate, Extreme, etc... editions, again.....

Mike Lowrey

Careful there. Agreeing with marty888 is kind of dangerous if you take a slightly different view on his specific point.

I agreed with him once, and he nearly bit my head off for it.

marty888

Thanks Mike, for another quality post making a substantive contribution to the discussion at hand.

nightmaster

I for one want the first release being special in itself. That tends to be the case in many more cases these days than before, and I think it's great.

DVD Polizei

Shroud,

DVD releases have changed for sure. Basically, you get a better version the second time around. The movie studios want you to impulsively buy the first release, then dip again to get the "Director's Cut" with 139,433 hours of extras and better video and audio transfer. Now, this is the case with popular movies, and with not so popular titles, you can usually find a great video and audio transfer.

And I'm still waiting for Fright Night Part II and Iceman to be in DD5.1 widescreen. I picked these up recently because I just couldn't wait anymore.

Shroud

Not all releases ever see a directors cut and there are many classic movies such as True Lies, Strange Days, Scream, The Faculty that are non-anamorphic to this day.
Also why is the reason that a studio would produce a movie such as "The Girl Next Door" as a single layer? Movies that are re-released such as Heat do not have a new transfer?
The audio and video has been better but why does it seem that movies that do not benefit from a DTS track always seem to get them (dialog heavy movies) and movies that could benefit from them never do.
I'm sorry if i seem Elite to you Marty888, but after spending money on Dual SVS Subs, a Projector, Harman Kardon Receiver and B&W speakers I like to get the feeling that I have the best source possible to display on my system.
Maybe I am jumping the gun a bit here and should just wait for HD-DVD to be released to see if they take advantage of Full Bitrate DTS and a higher bitrate for picture.

Shroud

Also i find it hard to believe that everyone here is satisfied with the first releases and no one has enjoyed the Vista Series, The Mummy Ultimate Edition, Superbits (real Superbits in Silver cases) and T2 Extreme Edition.

pagansoul

Sometimes you loose things in the newer versions. Things like isolated soundtracks are becoming a thing of the past. Don't get rid of 'older' version till you check out the full package.

ShagMan

Seems to me that we are getting much, much more "special features" on DVD's these days, whether the packaging really shows that or not. I don't understand this gripe at all.