Let's play priorities

[jb523]

Just as a matter of curiousity, I'd like to see what people's priorities are for common dvd complaints. If you could fix the following issues with dvd, what order would you fix them in?

[*]making sure that titles come out on the originally announced release date[*]eliminating Motion Artifacting[*]eliminating Edge enhancement[*]making sure that all dvd's are available in the original or director's chosen aspect ratio[*]eliminating flippers[*]making sure that all dvd's made use of whatever available materials there are for special features (trailers, documentaries, production stills, etc.)[*]day & date release for all titles with VHS[*]anamorphic widescreen where applicable[*]5.1 soundtrack where available, and re-mixed 5.1 soundtracks available alongside original soundtracks for older titles[*]RSDL for optimal image quality on all titles[*]foreign language dubbings and subtitles [*]all single disc titles priced at $25 or below[*]all titles in a universal case (amaray, alpha, snapper) of your choice[*]keeping the original grain and making it artifact-free, or eliminating it (if you prefer grain-free images).[*]making decent-quality players available for under $100.[*]not letting titles go out of print.[*]making box sets available of a director's entire oeuvre or series (like Star Trek)[*]make impending the release of enormously popular titles (Star Wars, Jaws, Lion King, et al)[*]accelerating the release of catalogue titles[/list=a]


That's all I can think of, please add stuff in between, if it comes to mind


[This message has been edited by jb523 (edited 01-24-2000).]

Whoa, a tough one for sure.

D
E
I
H
J
B
C
N
F
M
L
R
S
P
Q
A
G
O
K

Si

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"I have a bad feeling about this..."

Visit my John Williams website at http://homes.arealcity.com/sithlordsi/

[Taxi]

H: I think we've made it clear that anamorphic is the ONLY way to go.
B,C,N: I'd group all these together and call it, Superior Image Quality A must have for all DVDs.
I: Good sound is a must. So is 5.1.
D: Important to distinguish that widescreen isn't the most important thing, but instead Original Aspect Ratio. In other words, if a movie is shot at 1.85:1, that's the aspect ratio I want the DVD to be in.
R and S: Very important. Not higher than image quality and sound (we don't want another Titanic!) but very important.
E and J: No flippers, use RDSL when needed to keep a good image.
K: All releases should contain at least subtitles in all languages that are spoken in the region the DVD is released in. Conversely, don't put in languages that aren't native in a region, at the expense of image quality/other features.
F: For me, specials are cool. I want 'em.
G: I"m willing to sacrifice Day and Date (Within a month or two) to get F above.
L: The price has got to be right.
A
M: I dont' have too many case issues. Snappers/Amrays are fine.
O: This will happen by itself.
P
Q: Box sets are nice, but as long as R and S above are met, I'll be happy.
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Taxi
DVDFile Moderator

Good Lord! This is a tough call.
1) H (I hope I won't have to be yelling about this one this time next year)
2) E (when applicable, and how about players to play both sides? Laserdiscs have them.)
3) I
4) F
5) B, C, J, and N should all be grouped as one thing.
6) R, but only if all the above are included.
7) You forgot Smooth Layer Changes. The software and hardware people are all responsible for this one.
8) You also forgot 5.1 as the default track unless the movie is not originally 5.1 sound.
9) The rest are somewhat less important to me.

[DJRobX]

For me, it's:

B,J) Artifacting (banding more than motion artifacts) is the single most obnoxious element of DVD. It can completely ruin my viewing expereince.

I) I admit it, I'm a schmuck for a 5.1 mix, especially if it was an old movie that has been remastered really well (Halloween blew me away)

E) Call it an unreasonable pet peeve, but I refused to buy a laserdisc player because of movies often spanned more than one disc. I absolutely do not like my movie experience interrupted. Heck, I'm currently unhappy with how layer-changing is handled on all set-top DVD players since I know it can be done better through buffering.

D) I always want the original aspect ratio available.

L) I don't know whether it's necessary to keep all movies "Below $25", but I would say it's important to keep the prices reasonable on the discs.

Q) While on the surface this doesn't sound important, I find myself avoiding some titles in fear of a box set (Friday the 13th for example). I would rather studios announce their intentions one way or the other for this sort of thing.

F) Special features are really great, don't get me wrong, but I really don't require them in order to enjoy a disc. I do however, expect to get what I pay for. I don't want to pay $39.95 for a disc with no features!

H) Having an HDTV set I really do appreciate anamorphic widescreen, but I've seen some very high quality non-anamorphic discs. For me, it's quality (item B) over pixel quantity.

A, G, R, S) I'm not particularly impatient when it comes to movie releases, though I don't want DVDs ignored or skipped altogether when there's a VHS version being released.

K) I speak English, so this isn't a huge priority for me. These features are always welcome, of course. They're great for learning other languages...

M) I'm perfectly happy with the current DVD casing (except for those PolyGram cases that are fortunately scarce)

N) I don't really know what this means, I would prefer eliminated grain if it means an overall better picture.

O) This is inevitable .. but not a priority for me since I already have a DVD player :/

P) This is also inevitable, if I want it I'd better buy it.

[Dehrian]

D: if they can't get this right, I won't buy the disc. Period.
E & J: this is a big issue for me.
M: another biggie.
S: can't stress this importantly enough. I love the old stuff.
K: Just last night I was watching Anchor Bay's The Ipcress File, which was still a good disc, but was sorely lacking an English subtitle track. It needed one. Even if it's an English language film, if the accents are different than what you're used to, or if the dialogue is grainy and difficult due to the film's age, a subtitle track should be mandatory.
H: I don't have a widescreen TV yet, but someday I will have an HDTV, and I want to be prepared.
L: ideally, this would be perfect. The icing on the cake, so to speak.
G: nice, but not essential.
I: again, don't even have a surround setup, so this isn't something that concerns me greatly at the moment. Probably won't for several years.
O: I already have a player, so this isn't a great concern of mine. Also, the format's already a success, so I don't see this as being essential. Would be nice, though, for low income families.
R: I'm having fun watching obscure stuff right now. I can wait for the Jurassic Park's and the Star Wars'.
C: not something I usually notice, anyway.
F: I'm more for taking care of the film itself. The extras are nice, but I generally only watch them once; it's the film itself that will bring me back to the disc, so take the space to make the film look its best; if there's extra room, sure, give me some extras.
N: see C.
B: see N.
P: this can be annoying, but it's not a huge thing.
A: take your time, for God's sake, and get it right. Just make the wait worth it.
Q: generally not worth talking about, as they rarely feature a break in price to make worthwhile.

[TampaFlyer]

My comments (just in A-Z order):

A- I'd rather have them done right than rushed to meet a deadline.
B- of course
C- Why is the 'enhancement' done anyway?
D- a must (will not buy it otherwise)
E- already happened (Are there any NEW flipper titles?)
F,H- good
G- I don't care when the VHS comes out, since I don't buy them. See A.
I- OK only if the original soundtrack is also there. Otherwise, how can you demand D but want the sound monkeyed with?
J- depends on the length/complexity of the material. I would add "Improve the layer-switching feature so it works well on all machines"
K- good, but doesn't affect whether I buy it
(Give me English + the original language if it differs. I haven't watched enough foreign films to know if I prefer dubbing or subtitles. "Life is Beautiful" is one that was done right- original Italian + English + optional subtitles.)
L- good, but already true (If you disagree, you're shopping at the wrong place!)
M- good, but likely won't happen since Warner owns the snapper "technology". I don't think we'd all agree on which is best. The plastic keepcases look better on the shelf & would seem to do a better job of protecting the disc than cardboard does, but at least the disc can be easily removed & inserted into the snapper without bending it. I've also yet to get a snapper with a broken hub, unlike the others. For the best solution, I would take the plastic cases & change the hub to match the snapper's. The second-best hub is the one that looks like a $. (I can never remember what's alpha & what's Amaray without looking at one.)
N- artistic decision
O- Will happen eventually, unfortunately. Welcome to P&S-only world!
P- Won't happen, due to expired rights, poor sales of some titles, & other reasons. Books, tapes, CDs, etc. go OOP all the time. DVD will be no different.
Q- Already happening. Good idea, but all titles in the box should be available separately (no Alien disc 5 fiascos), & the box should cost less than buying separate discs.
R- Up to those who own the titles.
S- I think the studios are already going full-steam ahead in this area. The format isn't 3 years old yet, & there are over 5000 titles. No other format has had such a fast rollout.