Animated Menus, I can't stand them but when they preview clips they are unbelievable! (1 Viewer)

[Dave Mack]

True about the trailer for "What.." but I don't HAVE to watch the trailer when I pop in the disc. For someone who rents this and hadn't seen the trailer.... Like putting the Statue of Liberty on "POTA" cover...
BAD...!
D

 

[Romier S]

I'm suprised no one has mentioned what to to me is worse offender of the bunch. The Rocky Horror Picture Show DVD. I love the movie to death and enjoy throwing it in frequently for a viewing but my god I get SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO tired of the 10 year long animated menus.

Do away with them I say. If you want menus with style, that gets you in the mood to watch the movie and that lets you access what you want without a bunch of mumbo jumbo throw in the Saving Private Ryan DVD. To me its a perfect example of how DVD menus should be done.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

What if the "Citizen Kane" menu showed the options on a burning sled that said "Rosebud" on it?

 

[David Lambert]

Jesse! Put a spoiler on that thing!

Geez, you're almost as bad as an animated menu on a DVD... :p)

 

[Ed Vandeweerd]

Animated Menu's add to the Presentation of the DVD in my Oppinion. Case in Point Check out the Menus for STNG Season One. They are Amazing! I do hovever concur that there should be some mechanism to pass by all the gobblilty gook but People need to be given the choice!

 

[David Lambert]

Star Trek: TNG did this, esp. with the last 3 discs in the set. Anyone seeing "Conspiracy" for the first time will get an acute spoiler if they watch the upper right corner for more than a couple of seconds while making their choice from the menu! Sheesh! :rolleyes

This didn't add to the presentation of the DVD, it detracted from the suspense contained within the story.

 

[Sanjay Gupta]

I say banish em darn 'animated menus' or atleast let the user skip the animations.

Sanjay

Member since 1997

 

[Ryan_TD]

The only thing i'll say is bad is the forced trailers that buena vista(disney) puts on dvds.

Those are a big no-no.

If you're afraid that the animated menu's on, say, The Godfather DVD are "Spoiling" the movie for you then auto-program your player to start the movie when you put the disc in or press play twice. I guess then the only argument would be to set your audio settings(which most dvds can do with the remote)

I mean for crying out loud its not as bad as renting a vhs video from blockbuster and sitting through/fast forwarding all the trailers before the movie.

Maybe in addition to separate pan&scan / widscreen dvds for a particular movie they should made separate animated menus/background picture menu dvds...then everyone will be happy

 

[Scott Burke]

Animated menus are my favorite thing about DVD. I could watch them over and over again. I am really disappointed when a studio releases static menus

 

[Dome Vongvises]

This reminds me of the time I made a post about easter eggs. It seems like I'm hanging out at the old folks home.

 

[Mikah Woodward]

I love most animated menus. Matrix, for example, was awesome (if you have already seen the movie, that is. If you havn't, it's one gigantic spoiler).

I just wish that all movies with movie clips in their animated menus had an option to turn the spoilers off. For the first viewing, at least, you really don't want to be spoiled right before the movie begins. Takes some of the fun out, I think.

 

[Aaron Croft]

I like a good animated menu if it is qucik, to the point, and original material not found in the movie. The Planet of the Apes remake had some cool menu's IMHO... Snatch has pretty cool menus...

Just don't make me wait too long, and don't spoil ANYTHING... I swear some people in the movie industry just don't understand anything about movies.. to include a spoiler in the DVD menu or on the cover of the damn movie is such a braindead move...

ACK

LOL - Aaron

 

[Chris Hundley]

Of course from previews we all knew what was going to happen in Independence Day... but the DVD is just hilarious. Select "Directors Cut" and then select "Play Movie". The ship blasts the White House before starting the movie.

This kind of crap is being done more and more. What do they want? We already bought the movie! We are about to watch it! We are about to see their cool special effect! Why the hell would I need to preview it before the movie starts.

I don't mind animated menus, I just don't like spoilers in them (or on covers).

 

[Oscar]

Well, guess what?

I LOVE ´EM

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Do any of you "animated menus are great" folks have any actual responses to the following complaints?
1) Spoiler scenes that you cannot avoid
2) Excessive time lag every time you push a button
Some older titles would let you skip the animations by pressing enter on your remote, but that seems to be far too rare.
I'm proud to say that I've hated these godforsaken abominations ever since they first appeared, even when people were still ooh-ing and ah-ing over their novelty. I've got a bone to pick with Van Ling!
One semi-related thing that also annoys me is when you get to the menu screen that lets you select audio and subtitle options, then takes you either back to the main menu or straight to the movie when you select the audio--then you have to go back to the menu to select the subtitles! Why are so many discs set up this way???
Whine, whine, wah wah wah!!!

 

[Charlie Essmeier]

Solution:

1. Buy a laserdisc player.

2. Insert laserdisc.

3. Press "Play."

4. Watch movie.

Charlie

 

[MaxY]

Charlie,

So I see you think the real film buffs that don't get off on the hokey animated menus and prefer to watch the actual movie should now go get a laser Disc player.

Well Sorry Charlie!!

I have an LD player and have been into HT for over 10 years now and supported the laser Disc format and helped to make the DVD format what it is today so some wise guy can come along and tell me to go back to laser because I don't like long drawn out menus that often spoil the film.

Sorry but your statement is just flat out rude and disrespectful of the people that made Home Theater So accessible.

Max

 

[Jesse Skeen]

My DVD player is ALSO a laserdisc player!

BTW- latest movie-ruining menu is "Not Another Teen Movie", which gives away one of the movie's jokes right away- granted said joke appears rather early in the movie, but I enjoyed seeing it in the movie not expecting it (the "American Beauty" takeoff.)

 

[Steve Christou]

Hey if the menu ain't animated I ain't buying!
NO ANIMATION = NO SALE
Just keeding. If some of you guys don't like them pesky animated menus than there's always video or LDs (or just close your eyes and hit enter on the remote and hope its Play).
Meanwhile the dvd companies will be bringing out ever more spectacular displays of menu animations for me and others to play around with for years to come, ooh I'm so happy!

 

[Jesse Skeen]

I suggest people who like menus get ahold of the free Lexus DVD- it's the closest thing I've seen to a disc containing only menus and no actual program content.