DVD industry out of control

Saw this on another forum today so here it is. I agree 100% with everything stated below:




I think the motion picture industry is out of control.

People flock to Blockbuster, Best Buy and other retailers to buy new releases on the day they come out to huge fanfare and discounts offered by retailers.

A few months later, they release a "special edition" version with new extra features. Virtually every DVD I own has been the victim of this type of marketing. The original intent of the DVD was to provide a richer entertainment experience. It seems richer applies only to the coffers of greedy corporate execs who want to gouge the public for all it can get.

I bought the Mummy, only to have an "Ultimate Edition" come out a short time later, which has 2 discs instead of one, and a ton of bonus features. Same with:

Terminator
Terminator 2
The Abyss
The mummy Returns
ALL Star Trek Films
Independance Day
ALL Disney Films
Men in Black
Jurassic Park

and the list goes on. If it is a big budget special effects film, you'll get bare minimum on the DVD you buy when it hits street, only to find they have enough material for a complete second disc 6 months later. Nothing like spending 24.95 for a movie, only to find a BETTER version being sold later for the same price.

Just this morning, I find once again my wallet being picked. The original Stargate film with Spader and Rusell, is now being re-released, remastered and a second disc of bonus materials added.

This is a really nasty tactic. They know fans will plop down bucks when stuff comes out. The clerk at the Best Buy asked me last week what was up with this Buffy box set (season 3 came out last week) she said people had been buying these like crazy all day. I explained it was a popular television program. And execs know that fans will buy right away, we are a nation of instant gratification after all.

Unfortunately they know that they can keep releasing special editions of the same material over and over again and the same people that spent millions for the first limited releases, will go out and shell out money all over again for the new and improved versions.

Until people start saying no, they will keep doing this. Until it is clear that we want a quality product, first time, no bullshazbot, they'll keep it up.

Anyone who has had enough, I urge you to write to the companies that produce the DVD's and tell them you have had enough. Next thing you know they'll be cranking out 6 different cover box art versions of a film and expect you to buy them.



Also, feel free to cross post this message anywhere you frequent. other forums, mailing lists whatever. Spread the word.

[moovok]

Too true, that's why usually I wait, I look around for rumours.I know for sure there's a Dogma DVD 2 discs in the States, over here we still have the 1 disc. I'm not gonna buy Dogma until the 2 discs come out, but I sooooo much want that film.

I try my best to buy the films when they're two disc. The only time I've bought the same movie twice because of a better version is LOTRs, cause I wanted both the normal version and the 30 extra minutes version. But that's it, I try to stick with one DVD. If it's got what I want, that's fine by me

And, most Big Blockbusters are 2 discs, if you buy one that ain't, you really aren't that clever :p hehe. But I do know where you're coming from.

[Kai]

I've noticed..
these special / ultimate /superduper super value extreme editions are slowly appearing on video now..

so if they don't get you on DVD.. they'll get you on video...

Kai

I have the two disk Dogma set...I've had it for maybe a year now, give or take, still haven't watched anything more than the movie.

You forgot to add Stargate to the list.

[General Phoenix]

I only buy the new versions if they include a better video or audio transfer than the previous versions. For example, I bought the re-release of A Few Good Men, because it featured a 5.1 audio track, lacking in the original. As for video transfers, I hardly ever buy anything that's not widescreen, unless it's a TV series, so I'm pretty much an audio guy. As far as extras are concerned, I think of them as a one-time amusement - it's the film itself that I'm after.

What I'm more concerned about is the possible effect that Blockbuster's purchasing scheme will have on the DVD's available to us a few years down the road. If you go into a Blockbuster Store tomorrow, you'll see that almost all of the new releases from the last two weeks are available in PAN & SCAN only - no widescreen. This is going to be a continuing trend, too - just today, I saw over 100 copies of The Bourne Identity delivered to my store, and every one of them was in P/S.

The theory behind this is that the people who are just now jumping on the DVD bandwagon aren't big fans of Widescreen video - they probably don't even know it exists, in most cases - so they want their movies to fill their whole screen, whether that screen contains the whole FRAME of the film or not. In the short term, Blockbuster is going to make a lot of money off of these people, and in response, they'll expand their P/S-only practices. But what about those of us who know the advantage of Widescreen? Eventually, the studios will start making less of their films available in widescreen, to pander to the masses who don't know what they're missing, and those of us who made the format successful in the first place will be screwed.

I only hope that the filmmakers themselves start to push for the WS rental releases of their films...

Originally posted by Vertigo1
You forgot to add Stargate to the list.

Stargate was mentioned in my first post.

Originally posted by General Phoenix
What I'm more concerned about is the possible effect that Blockbuster's purchasing scheme will have on the DVD's available to us a few years down the road. If you go into a Blockbuster Store tomorrow, you'll see that almost all of the new releases from the last two weeks are available in PAN & SCAN only - no widescreen.

This is going to be a continuing trend, too - just today, I saw over 100 copies of The Bourne Identity delivered to my store, and every one of them was in P/S.

I see little reason to be concerned about this as it is just a case of blockbuster shooting themselves in the foot for short term gain.

TV her ein the states is changing over the next couple of years as the FCC reclaims the airwaves for government usage and people are forced to buy HDTV.

Full Screen P/S looks like complete shazbot on HDTV's because of the TV being wider.

If they are avoiding the subject by pushing P/S instead of taking the time to inform their customers, then they are doing the customer a major disservice.

Hollywood Video clerks will gladly tell you all about the differences. I have seen it on more than one occasion.

I see you said tomorrow on Bourne Identity. I guess Blockbuster is going to make it a habit of breaking street dates. I hope it backfires on them.

Just because the delivery was today doesn't mean they're allowed to put the video out for people to see. He said hypothetically if you go to the store tomorrow you'll see new releases that way.

[General Phoenix]

Thanks, Kakaze - that's what I meant.

The only reason we were told to break street-date on Signs was because several other competitors had already done so, or so I was told. (They don't tell me everything, you know - I only run the place... )

As it was, I didn't have the man-hours available to put Signs out early, anyway. In fact, thanks to delayed deliveries due to New Years, I'd only just received the film the day they wanted it on the shelf. Oftentimes, Blockbuster's left hand doesn't know what it's right hand is doing. :/:

As to what you said about the P/S discs looking like crap on W/S sets, I agree. I'm going to be upgrading to a 52" W/S monitor in a week or two, and I'll be damned if I'm going to put up with the grey bars on the side of my set when I could be watching the film the way it was shot. I've resolved to just buy the movie at BestBuy and get it in W/S, rather than use my employee discount on a lesser version of the film.

Of course, I could be an ass and buy a P/S copy at work, than exchange it at Best Buy for a W/S copy - but I probably won't.

As I said, long term, Blockbuster is hurting the industry, not guiding it.

I can just see it now a couple years in the future when people are complaining about those grey bars on the side of their TV screens when those P/S movies don't fill the whole screen............

As for breaking street dates, I heard Blockbuster's excuses for Signs and thats a load of bull. All kinds of mom and pop shops regularly break street. It's been going on for years.

Blockbuster is just trying to set a precendent for getting away with hurting the competition and grabbing extra dollars from weekend rentals that they would have lost to other chains or mom and pop shops. They know they can get away with it.

[Kai]

thing is tho.. they are just following a pattern set down by the music industry...

remember the days of vinyl?

often, (Using Iron Maiden here as an example), you'd get a 7inch, 12inch, 12inch extended (in a poster bag), picture disk, cut to shape picture disk and a remix...

at one point I had 4 copies of the Trooper.. but never did get that cut to shape disk.. *sigh*

this with DVD's don't really suprise me. right now, I've got a policy I follow.. less important movies, (bone collector, italian job etc) I still buy on video cos of the costs atm... they are dirt cheap

important stuff, (ATOC, the Abyss etc), I get on DVD.

as for special edtions, super edtions etc... I tend to wait a bit after I got stung on the Mummy Returns and Shrek... I got those and a few days later the specials came out.. so I wait, see what comes then buy...

you may say, we the public should complain or stop buying to send the companies a msg about this.. but it won't work. they are not actually listening to the customers.. they are just listening to the accountants.. plus.. there's enough out there that will still keep on buying and end up with 5 copies of the Terminator or 8 copies of Star Wars....

[/end]

Wait...there's a "Special Edition" of The Mummy Returns?! I know of the "Collectors Edition" of The Mummy Returns, but never heard or seen a "Special Edition". The SE of Shrek came out the day the movie was released so I don't see how you could've gotten stung on that unless you got the VHS...

[Kai]

got Shrek the day it came out on DVD... then last month we got the white boxed edition..

as for the Mummy Returns... I got that.. then 3 days later.. they had the 4 disk set of the Mummy and the Mummy returns...

Ohh, THAT.

I have to agree on what has been said about the DVD market, you really have to be selective as to WHAT to buy and not get caught in the trap, as far as every thing going to HDTV the goverment claims they want the FM TV frequincies for "other purposes" but really... is this not a simple case of history repeating itself??
When the Roman empire was in decline the goverment simply diverted the peoples attention with the gladitorial games.... is this not what the goverment of today is doing with HDTV???

[Lee]

Necro posting bad...