mdnitoil

That's where I'm at with this. I have no problem with buying a piece of crap, talking about the actual media here, not the content. I just expect to pay piece of crap prices. Call me crazy.

Jay G.

There's no way to say that for certain. If DVD-R releases didn't exist, there's at least the possibility that some of these titles would've been released as pressed DVDs.

It takes time and money to prepare a DVD-R release. And some transfers are likely being prepared for syndication packages anyway. And there have been plenty of sub-par pressed DVDs.

The DVD-R releases are allowing studios to release more titles faster with fewer upfront costs, but for any given title, it means that a pressed DVD release is that much less likely.

mdnitoil

I think it's pretty obvious that this stuff is never going to get pressed. It's not going to come out on blu ray and the SD market won't be growing anytime in the future. Besides, now that the studios have discovered that people will actually pay for this disposable media, why in the hell would they do it any other way? Pressing now only makes sense for the big sellers. The genie is out of the bottle and it's our own fault for actually buying this stuff.

rw2516

Why can't people understand that DVD-R did not kill the catalog DVD market. The market no longer exists in an economic viable state and DVD-R is a response to that. With MOD there would be no catalog titles at all. Or a dozen or so a year that third party licensees can afford to restore.
The real issue is MOD not the media type. The marketplace dictates that these titles need to made to order and currently pressing dvds on demand is not an option so burning is what's left. If pressing on demand was available, yet they still chose to burn on demand than I would feel the same way others feel. They are over priced but I'll pay $10 for them w/free shipping which I've done several times.

g

I think that some of the titles would have been released by Warner if the program didn't exist. There are some viable titles that would have been released in sets or alone. Without the program Warner would still release some releases to this day. Ones that they said would get regular releases ended up in the archive instead. In the Warner case it most definitely killed pressed releases of some titles. Of course there are many titles that would never get a release that ended up in the archive and should have. but Warner has not followed through in continuing regular releases because of this program.

Jay G.

They may not be able to press one at a time, but they certainly could press limited runs of the titles. They could press a few hundred copies at a time. Of course, the pressing may be more expensive than DVD-R at limited runs, and the initial cost is more, since they'd have to press in advance of orders, not as they come in. But it's an option.

Regulus

Song of the South! I'd love to get this Movie on a Pressed Disk, but the PC Crowd won't let it!

Pizza

A Study in Terror was scheduled to be pressed in the US. Now, it's a MOD DVD-R but I luckilly bought the Region 2 DVD when it was available. And, if it got released on region 1 DVD, I would rebuy it. The UK is a smaller market and they were able to sell out this title on DVD. My point with this thread, besides express disappointment in a title not coming out on DVD, is hopefully to show that there are those like myself that won't buy a title until it sees a DVD release. Maybe I'm alone in feeling this way. If so, that's fine, but you're not changing my own opinion. It's how I feel, end of story, deal with it. I have no issue with those who enjoy MODs and the option is there for you. I am certainly jealous over some of the titles you get to enjoy but obviously I've drawn my own line as to how to spend my movie/DVD money and it won't be on DVD-Rs.
See you at the horror movie challenge.

GoldenWheels

Count me in on price being the biggest issue. I've broken down and paid when I felt I just MUST have X movie but man it hurts.

Silverscreenvid

Out of over 500 DVD-R releases on the Warner Archive, maybe 20 or 30 would have gotten a pressed release. The studios do not make money on pressed releases of catalogue titles. Warner was probably the best at releasing these titles both as standalones and in boxed sets, barebones and special editions, and they've now got hundreds of their titles in the bargain bin at Big Lots as a result.

Paramount has tried twice to keep their catalog alive, first through licensing through Legend Films, now with Olive. Sony had its Martini Movies. None of them have sold.

The only two viable models currently for run-of-the-mill catalogue titles are the DVD-R and packaging 2-4 rereleases of older titles in a single slim case for $10-20 (like Warners 4-packs and the Fox Film packages). If people would buy, the studios would sell, and Warner has been the best about making its catalogue available in nice packages. I can't fault them for trying for several years and now looking to try something different.

mdnitoil

Considering that it costs something on the order of a buck and a half to produce a pressed disc, I'm struggling with this myth that no money was being made, even in the bargain bins. Given that we're dealing with major corporations, the issue is closer to not enough money being made. Somebody needs to remind Shout! Factory about the only two viable models, because these poor fools must be losing money hand over fist with their pressed discs loaded with extras.

Alan Smithee

I don't consider ANY release without an insert to be a "nice package". (But I'd still prefer an insert-less real disc over a DVD-R.)

Have ANY of these "Archive" titles been on dual-layer DVD+Rs? Anything running over 2 hours should require that, but dual-layer blanks are significantly more expensive than single-layers, and some players have a hard time playing them.

Oh- and add "The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh" to the list. I bought a used VHS recently because I thought it'd never get a DVD release. If I could go to Fry's and buy the DVD I would right away, but I'm not going to mail-order a DVD-R. (They've certainly got a good master for it judging from the clip online, but it still irks me how they have the lazy chapters-every-5-minutes thing when all my homemade DVDs are properly chaptered! Why can't they hire me to do that for them if nobody there will?)

DarkRavenII

Under The Rainbow

I would buy this for $5 at Wal-Mart or $3 at Big Lots. But I will not pay $26.99 for a DVD-R on Amazon.com. If they would just lower the prices I might buy all of those I listed in my last post and this one. Maybe. But not for what they're asking. Right now during the Big Lots sale I could snag about 12 DVD's for that price including a better Chevy Chase film "Memoirs Of The Invisible Man". or "Spies Like Us".

Dane

Unfortunately, the Region 2 was in Fullscreen.

However, the Region 4 was released in 16:9 Anamorphic Widesreen with a few extras.

Alan Smithee

The Warner DVDs at Big Lots are "cutouts", meaning stock that didn't sell at full price. Unfortunately that's probably a big reason why they're not putting out catalog titles anymore. The $5 discs at Wal-Mart aren't cutouts though, I assume those are the lowest prices they can sell at and still make some sort of profit (and that's how much DVD-Rs should sell for). I'd still pay more for titles I want, but again not for what's essentially a legalized bootleg.

Silverscreenvid

By nice packages, I met the package of extras that they often put on their catalogue titles (Warner Night at the Movies, audio commentaries; Film Noir boxed sets; Signature Collection boxed sets, etc.) They put a lot more into those disks than just the barebones film itself and it didn't do them much good. I don't care about a piece of cardboard that tells me how many chapters a particular movie has.

I have not been able to tell any difference between the Archive titles that I have bought, in terms of picture and sound quality, and comparable vintage run-of-the-mill catalogue titles.

Spottedfeather

Who cares about inserts ? Sure, it's nice, especially if it's nice insert with the movie poster on one side and the chapter list on the other. But you can get pretty much the same info on the dvd's menu. For instance, the Passion Of The Christ blu-ray. Instead of having some regular names for the chapters/scenes, they have the scenes divided by bible chapter. Very cool. I'll take a cool dvd menu over flimsy insert any day.

Pizza

Good to know. Thank you for the info.

Alan Smithee

This has been discussed hundreds of times- they're not a dealbreaker for me, but it really looks cheap when you open a case and see the tabs there that hold the insert only with nothing in them. If downloads and the like are really a threat to physical media, those who want it to survive should keep making the packaging special, not making it plainer.

MrSmearkase

I've gotten so used to this, I am now surprised when I actually find an insert.

DarkRavenII

^ Agree. I was surprised to find an insert in my "The Replacement Killers: Special Edition" DVD. It has a great shot of Mira Sorvino practically naked showing off some of her characters tattoos. We see more of her than even the movie shows. (Example: She is barefoot and it shows off her feet which weren't even shown in the film at all.) That is a nice insert.

Inserts would help DVD-R's feel more "official".

Dane

I cannot confirm this, but according to a member over at Home Theater Forum A Study in Terror DVD-r is in fact 1.85 anamorphic, and equally as great, the image has been cleaned up (re-remastered)... as if it was ready for a pressed and proper DVD release.


Only downside is the price, which is WAY too high for a DVD-r!!! Should have been priced around $10.00

Pizza

I recall reading somewhere that it was being prepped for a DVD release, probably to cash in on the updated Robert Downey Jr. Holmes movie. Plans obviously changed. I think Amazon had it listed at one point.

mdnitoil

It was due out last November and then disappeared off the schedule.

Alan Smithee

Just got an email ad from Warner about "Pretty Maids All In A Row"- looks like a great movie, but they want $24.99 instead of the usual $19.99, and it's still a fucking DVD-R! (Good news is the first 500 orders get Angie Dickenson's autograph on the cover, so if you're a fan it's probably worth it.) Warner's last catalog titles on REAL discs were between $15-20, so they've got a lot of balls charging more for something that costs them less to produce!