CertifiedTHX

Typical single-disc release six months ago:

• The movie
• A small extra or two

Typical 2-disc Special Edition release six months ago:

Disc 1:

• The movie
• A small extra or two

Disc 2:

• The vast majority of extras

Typical single-disc release now:

• The movie
• A small extra or two

Typical 2-disc Special Edition release now:

Disc 1:

• The movie
• A vast array of extras

Disc 2:

• A Digital Copy of the movie

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

The Special Edition of today costs the same as the Special Edition six months ago, but you're getting the equivalent of a single-disc release.

The bulk of the extras are cut from the actual single-disc release, because no one is going to pay as much as $8 more for a second disc if the only extra on it is a Digital Copy.

--THX

Al Padrino

I'm too lazy to put in the research, but what's the appeal of the digital copy?

dx23

This should go here:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread....hlight=digital

or here:

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread....hlight=digital

NoirFan

If you're 16, you can watch it on your iPod or iPhone.

TRC

They allow you to watch the movie on portable media devices.

Now there are alternative ways to go about doing this, but the studios don't approve of those methods so they're pushing digital copies instead.

Abe.

I don't mind the digital copy, but I wouldn't go out of my way to obtain a movie that contained it. If I buy a DVD or BD, and it has a digital copy, that's a plus (if it works for Mac that is). Now, if there was a separate edition without the digital copy, I'd probably get that instead, I wouldn't pay extra for something I could very well do on my own.

I'll be honest, I'm not heavy into special features anymore, it takes a lot for me to go into a film and wade through all the supplemental information.

Al Padrino

I'm with Abe. I don't care for the digital copy, but its growing prominence has made getting the "lesser" edition of the DVD a lot easier of a choice. If the supplemental material is intriguing and worth the time to watch it (I'm thinking of WB's work on their classics), then I'm in favor. But I've owned too many DVDs with bonus materials that were either fluff or not worth repeat viewings.

acdcrocks1980

hm.... when digital copy first started it was fine, even tho everyone was bitching, Live Free or Die Hard was:

Disc 1: Movie (Unrated and PG-13)

Disc 2: at least a 90 min doc, and a bunch of extras PLUS a digital copy

I believe Harry Potter 5 was similar

JOE29

If you're 16, you can watch it on your iPod or iPhone

So what you're saying now is that if you don't need the digital copy ( which I don't ) I should start buying the 1 disc versions of DVD's instead of the 2- disc versions that I have been buying all of these past years. Because the formats have changed ?

GoldenJCJ

What's even more baffling is that many of these digital copies are being sold a a higher cost for the "extra disc" when there have been releases with digital copies that don't require a disc, just a code.

CertifiedTHX

Oops. Didn't do a search before I posted. Pardon the redundant thread.

--THX

Wolf359

I can't imagine paying more for a digital copy. Studio approved or not, I buy the dvd, I'm quite capable of making my own digital copy.

gotrice487

I haven't actually used one of the digital copies that I own. I don't like paying extra for it at all though such as when I purchase a 2-disc and it happens to come along on it

kms_md

i really do not mind digital copies as long as they can be played on a device of the purchaser's choice. the presence or absence of a digital copy does not weigh in my decision, but, i have noticed some releases are windows media only, which excludes those of us that do not use windows media.

philip74

one big advance for me regarding the new digital copy trend is the fact that many movies (which probably wouln`t have in the past) are now receiving 2disc treatment with slipsleeve cover. as a slipsleeve addict i on one hand welcome the new trend, on the other side it has become utterly rediculous, that films are now getting 3disc editions with one more or less useless 3rd digital copy disc
as i order mosts of my discs online the extra weight makes for more expensive postage costs, therefore i would prefer if they could fit the digital copy on the 2nd disc! aren`t these digital copies rather small in file size anyhow?

reverie

I have no desire or use for a digital copy, so this new trend may finally break me of always having to get the decked-out versions of all the films I want. It could be a good way to force me to save money.

Josh Z

The only studio charging extra for the Digital Copy feature is Disney. The other studios charge the same price for their DVDs with Digital Copy as they do for their DVDs without Digital Copy.

general413

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that very little, if any special features are included on DVD sets that come with 1 or 2 disc sets?

I bought Street Kings the other day and there is no special features on disc 1 besides a commentary thing...

I bought What Happens In Vegas today and there is nothing. Nothing at all.

I don't want to pay an extra $5-$10 just to get special features...I am already paying $15-$20...they can't throw in the deleted scenes for the basic editions like they've done for years?

I mean, I wouldn't have a problem paying extra to get the 2 discs for movies like Wall-E, The Dark Knight, etc, but some movies just are not worth it to be spending $20+ on.

Please tell me this is something only certain movie studios are doing...

dadaluholla

Sounds like you got scammed.

Cheato

Yeah, you should yell for help.

dx23

Welcome to 2006! This trend is 2-3 years old and it doesn't matter if the movie is good or not, studios are going to continue doing it as long as people keep buying them, specially on release day.

chris_sc77

I hate HATE HATE digital copies. They are ruining larger Studio releases for me. Not that there are that many titles I would buy anyways but still these digital copies are worthless. Not worth one goddamn thing. I want to smash them but it wouldnt be worth my time.

TheMovieman

^ You could just throw it away. Like Josh said, outside of Disney, the cost of these new Special Editions aren't more than they were before digital copies. And now all the features are on one disc rather than the majority on a second disc. What I've done is just take the digital copy out, transfer the movie to a 1-disc case and keep the other case on hand when I need it for something else.

I honestly don't know why people get so worked up about this. Are digital copies worthless? Sure, I think so, but I'm not pissed off about it since I normally bought these special editions before.

Now, what I used to be angry about (or ruin larger Studio releases) was when they started the whole 1 and 2-disc editions in the first place. Before one could buy the 2-disc edition of Harry Potter for around $15. Now you're paying $23 for the same amount of material and $15 for the 1-disc version with no features. If all the studios start charging extra for the digital copies (with no option of buying the DVD w/o one), then I'd be right there with you, but right now I don't care.

Drexl

I don't care for them at all, but I won't say they shouldn't be available. I know there is a sizable contingent of people, especially on AVS, who don't care for extra features of any kind. They believe the discs would be cheaper without them (even though this has not been demonstrated, except for some multi-disc sets).

I don't think they're going to be on discs for that long anyway. I believe they're including them on discs as a temporary measure to give the fad a chance to catch on. Eventually they'll move them to download only. Really that works better anyway, for saving disc space and supporting more formats.

Drexl

I have long suspected that Warner may have been discouraging commentaries on some titles, just so all of the special features could be on the second disc. The idea is to entice people who want any extras to get the more expensive 2-disc edition. At least the Tim Burton commentary was put on the HD DVD of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

It may also be a way of encouraging people to buy instead of rent, since some rental outlets will either throw away the second disc or charge another fee to get it. It would be another spot in the queue at NetFlix, if they even choose to buy that edition and make that disc available.