Is OAR in jeopardy?

[chlngr1970]

Could this signify trouble in DVD land?

[quote]From the IMDB:[b]
More DVD Buyers Prefer Full-screen Over Letterbox


Buyers of DVD movies are increasingly opting for full-screen ("pan and scan") versions of movies over widescreen ("letterbox" format), according to the online edition of Video Business magazine . Citing studio research, Corie Tappin, MGM's senior VP of marketing, told the publication: "It has been very skewed to widescreen. In the beginning it was 80/20, but now it's 55/45." Video Business also reported that sales of the full-screen version of Disney's Remember the Titans and 102 Dalmatians surpassed widescreen sales.


j

------------------
Co-Moderator
Software Forum
~Rather than question the wisdom, question your own lack of understanding!~
My DVD Tracker page

[SeanL]

After the Episode 1 announcement, nothing can tarnish this day! Even distressing news like that.

------------------
Sean

What if there were no hypothetical questions?

[This message has been edited by SeanL (edited 06-19-2001).]

[Taxi]

It's all gonna be a moot point in a few years when everybody's TVs are widescreen.

Widescreen survived on LD for years, when there was even LESS support for it. DVD will only help strengthen the market for widescreen presentation, no the other way around.

------------------
Taxi - DVDFile Forum Administrator
Eleven plus two = Twelve plus one

[Chris in OC]

This sounds fishy to me, especially since most DVDs of theatrical films are released in either WS or dual-format. Sounds like someone's got a separate agenda here.

[TheJeffy]

Well unfortunately the studios that have tried to please everyone by releasing seperate versions are apparently succeeding now in misleading the uneducated and continuing the trend of films being chopped for video release, as well as giving folks an excuse to remain uneducated.

I think sales of Matrix, Fight Club, any number of discs that have been widescreen only proves that people will buy the movies they want to own, and they will sell well in widescreen.

I have nothing against what Warner, MGM, Columbia, Anchor Bay, and others have done by offering a pan & scan version on the same disc...but when you offer a seperate version of the disc for sale, the uneducated are going to remain uneducated and we'll get results like this.

I guess what I'm saying is, consumers shouldn't have been given the choice of seperate versions in regards to aspect ratio. It was a bad idea to offer that choice in my opinion.

The average consumer coming from years of pan & scan VHS who has the attitude of 'hating those black bars' they've seen on some movies will of course choose the pan & scan version on DVD. However, a great percentage of those folks would buy the disc even if it's widescreen only and they'd learn to get used to it, even start preferring widescreen.

I'm sure major new releases will always be available widescreen, but what if some studios use this as an excuse to save money on older stuff by putting out an old pan & scan master because they think (or know) it will sell?

[Chris in OC]

Originally posted by TheJeffy:
I have nothing against what Warner, MGM, Columbia, Anchor Bay, and others have done by offering a pan & scan version on the same disc...but when you offer a seperate version of the disc for sale, the uneducated are going to remain uneducated and we'll get results like this.

I also wonder how much of Video Business's "data" comes from stores that stock only P/S versions, or just carry a few WS copies buried in the back of the rack? I've never checked out Wal-Mart's DVD department (and don't plan to, since I can't stand the store), but might they and other general retailers be guilty of this kind of merchandising? Just curious.

Anyway, it's best to keep in mind the following, said by Benjamin Disraeli if I remember correctly:

"There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damnable lies, and statistics."

[Damian]

Originally posted by Chris in OC:
This sounds fishy to me, especially since most DVDs of theatrical films are released in either WS or dual-format. Sounds like someone's got a separate agenda here.

Actually, from what I've seen most new releases are NOT in dual format anylonger. It's been a long time since I picked up a newer movie on DVD, that was in dual format.
So this being the case, I can see where people would get upset at only having widescreen format. Not everybody has a 16x9 television and even less have a big screen of some sort so watching a letterboxed movie on a 29" television would kinda suck for most people.




------------------
"They're us....we're them!"
-Damian

[egman]

I agree with taxi on this one. Sure, maybe the preference is full screen right now, but what happens a few years down the line when when most of use make the switch from NTSC to HD. Then you'll here complaints about the black bars on the sides of the screen. A really smart company will make sure they will be prepared for that transistion. My parents are not big on widescreen, and sometimes they do complain about it. But they soon stop complaining once they get into the film. They get used to it.

I've learned not to trust how stats are used. Anybody can support their claim with the same set of statistics. We have to look at the big picture. What are these stats actually counting? Sales or stock? How are companies selling product? Is preference being given to a particualr screen format through the stocking or are the products packaged in a way that would favor a particular format? There are a lot of varibles here, and I would be happy to have all the possiblites adressed in a scientific fashion.

[saraswati]

i think that the people who are buying P&S probably just don't know. they see the movie on the shelf, they pick it up, take it home, watch, enjoy. there's no mention of widescreen, so they don't even think about it. they just naturaly gravitate to the prettier box without thinking to look for a widescreen version, because they are just ignorant.

this is the way i lived most of my life. i didn't know about the evils of panning and scanning. i didn't know you could even get widescreen versions of films until a friend accidentally bought a widescreen copy of Titanic on VHS.

and most people who go into blockbuster or whatever are equally uninitiated. it's not just the "annoying black boxes" thing, it's also that many of these people just don't know better. this is why we must evangelize all the new-to-dvd masses. this is why, when your friend comes home with his new player and a copy of The Matrix, you must first give them the "letterbox good, pan & scan bad" lecture, and then you must watch their DVD with them, on the widescreen side, and provide examples of how much better it is. the more people we convert to letterbox-fiends, the less likely it is that dvd will go right back to pan & scan.

------------------
"Crap, lousy ceiling!"

[Miggy]

TV size is no excuse! I used to watch letterbox on my Hitachi 20" TV

Miggy, the Thief

[manigrasso]

I could nevr afford a LD player when they were the HT aficonado's best friend. About 2 years BEFORE DVD came out, I was on my honeymoon in London, where I saw a PAL VHA tape of Pulp Foction widescreen. I bought it, and transferred it to NTSC, because I just KNEW something this cool would never be the norm in the States. Sure, Columbia/Tristar released a few tapes widescreen to test the waters in the early nineties, but nobody apparently gave a shit.

A few months later, I walk into a Suncoast and see...a WIDESCREEN section! My God, what the Hell have I been doing with my eyes that I never notices THIS before!

That's when I started trying to always buy movies widescreen. I bought some movies that were aboslute shite because they were in widescrreen (Baron Blood & Spider Baby, anyone?)

By the time I could afford to graduate to a Laser Disc player, DVDs had been introduced and I suspected they would become popular, so I opted to go that route.

What is my point? Nothing, I just wanted you all to know my life story as it pertains to DVD. Next week: The Pizza wars: Do I order from Domino's or Poppa John's?

Actually my point was I was seeking out widescreen on VHS, and enough people were doing the same thing to have Suncoast, and other stores, start a widescreen section. In fact, I'd say the only thing that really killed the widescreen VHS movement...was DVD.

I DO believe the separate releases could confuse some customers. I DO believe certain stores might intentionaly more P&S, or ONLY P&S, because they believe it's what customers want, or the manager of the department feels it's what THEY want, so the public must feel the same way (ain't it a kick in the head when you find out the guy selling electronics to a home theatre buff doesn't give a rat'saa ass about OAR?). And the conspiracy theorist in me believes that certain studios WANT you to buy P&S so they CAN sell it to you in widescreen a few years down the road when widescreen TVS become more affordable. If DVD is as resilient as they're suppsoed to be, your disc will never ear out, snap, or get eaten. It's the only way to get your entertainment dollar twice, short of having drunk frineds se your DVD as a coaster or for skeet shooting.

But what ultimately matters to me is if *I* can get the movies *I* want in anamorphic widescreen. AND that we're not charged extra for this "privilege." Otherwise I don't care what other people do with their discs or free time.

[Drexl]

Parents should talk with their kids about the dangers of sex, drugs, and pan & scan.

[This message has been edited by Drexl (edited 06-23-2001).]