- Joined: May 2001
- Post Count: 3,319
Quote:
| This must be how bankruptcy starts. |
Spend money to remanufacture discs (and covers) that benefits not one customer. Brilliant!
If anyone thinks this is not to sell HD widescreen transfers, please note Slimy released dual layer CD/SA-CD discs with the redbook layer intentional futz with, too make the SA-CD sound even better by comparison.
Sick (and NOT the good kind).
Movies are: "The Greatest Artform".
HD should be for EVERYONE!
- Joined: April 2000
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I don't think any actual humans work at Sony.
STOP THE MADNESS! STOP THE BUTCHERING AND ABANDONMENT OF TV SHOWS ON DVD!
My DVD List at DVD Aficionado, Now Featuring Blu-Ray
- Joined: March 2001
- Post Count: 3,515
Quote:
| SONY PICTURES PRESS RELEASE: We don't know what the fuck we're doing! |
Quote:
| I don't think any actual humans work at Sony. |
If your goal is to get heard by Sony and to have a rep answer your questions, you might want to start by acting in a civil manor.
On the other hand, if your goal is to just insult a company based on something you do not like or even understand then by all means ignore the suggestion.
Admission Ticket...
$7Small Popcorn......
$3Medium Soda.......
$2Seeing Branagh's
Hamletin 70mm @ the great historic
Paramount Theatre...
PRICELESS!
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Robert Crawford
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| SONY PICTURES PRESS RELEASE: We don't know what the fuck we're doing! |
| I don't think any actual humans work at Sony. |
I have empathy for those that are frustrated by Sony's actions regarding some of their dvd releases. However, comments such as those quoted above reflects poorly moreso on those that made them than it does with Sony. Lets try to keep our perspective while expressing our displeasure in a mature manner with Sony or any other studio.
Crawdaddy
G.W. McLintock: Camille, you're on your own.
- Joined: January 2003
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Quote:
If your goal is to get heard by Sony and to have a rep answer your questions, you might want to start by acting in a civil manor.
On the other hand, if your goal is to just insult a company based on something you do not like or even understand then by all means ignore the suggestion. |
With all due respect, this issue is not new. It's been going on for awhile. There has been plenty of time to be civil and plenty of time for Sony to respond to our concenrs. There are other threads on this subject and there has been no attention to them given by any Sony rep. So why not express extreme displeasure toward Sony. Columbia/Sony has been notorious about not responding to customer feedback so why disagree with Matthew about his comment?
STOP HIM! He's supposed to die!
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Robert Crawford
- Crawdaddy
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- Joined: December 1998
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- Post Count: 17,142
| People don't disagree about the issue but some of the anger could be expressed better. |
Yes, very much so.
| The HTF is probably the most civil and professional forum on the Internet to discuss and I hope it stays that way. |
Thank you for the compliment and such environment is difficult to sustain at times, but is well worth the effort. This flies in the opposite direction of what some might think they can do on the faceless internet, but the HTF Staff will continue to encourage civil and professional posting behavior on this forum. Furthermore, just because Sony doesn't respond on this forum, doesn't mean that they don't read the comments posted here because from my personal experience with them, I know that they read this forum on a regular basis. However, comments that can taken as insulting will most likely not result in a positive outcome. Our goal should be convincing Sony to change some of their bad practices when it comes to their dvd releases without suggesting to the world that they're not intelligent nor human at all.
Crawdaddy
G.W. McLintock: Camille, you're on your own.
- Joined: April 2000
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Okay then,
—Why has Sony not responded to any consumer complaint in the last few years with anything other than a form letter?
—Why has Sony continued to continue the business practices that have made their home video division turn from one of the most respected to one of the most despised in the business?
Quite frankly, I have given up all hope of hearing from them or seeing a turnaround.
STOP THE MADNESS! STOP THE BUTCHERING AND ABANDONMENT OF TV SHOWS ON DVD!
My DVD List at DVD Aficionado, Now Featuring Blu-Ray
- Joined: January 1999
- Location: The Land of Oranges, Mickey Mouse, and foreclosures
- Post Count: 6,204
Quote:
| Furthermore, just because Sony doesn't respond on this forum, doesn't mean that they don't read the comments posted here because from my personal experience with them, I know that they read this forum on a regular basis. However, comments that can taken as insulting will most likely not result in a positive outcome. Our goal should be convincing Sony to change some of their bad practices when it comes to their dvd releases without suggesting to the world that they're not intelligent nor human at all. |
I sure hope that nobody from Sony reads this thread. It could have been productive, but it's devolved into name-calling.
I'm going to try and get in touch with my contacts there again. Stay tuned. . .
"How wonderful it will be to have a leader unburdened by the twin horrors of knowledge and experience." -- Mr. Wick
- Joined: March 1999
- Post Count: 796
Quote:
| They would have to take it back and give me a refund if it isn't as advertised, right? |
Technically, yes. But, by the same reasoning, DVDs listing "full screen" are subject to false advertising claims when a wide screen television is involved. Or when cable services like HBO advertise "uncut, unedited presentations", when up to half of the picture has been cropped off....
Peace... Derek
One sub to rumble them all. One sub to shake them. One sub to humble them all. And in the darkness break them.
Louvre attendant: Sacre bleu! ze frame on ze Mona Lisa broke and ze only one left iz too small. Andre, bring me ze scissors!
- Joined: April 1999
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They have now issued a new notice dated May 20th, with the same wording as the one quoted previously with a few more titles added. Additional titles being "converted" to foolscreen only include:
Anaconda
John Carpenter's Vampires (the SECOND John Carpenter movie to get the shaft! This includes a commentary also)
The Man From Laramie
Maximum Risk
Money Train
Picnic
Most of these titles are 2.35 on top of that. Strangely enough, a couple more titles are actually losing the foolscreen versions, most of which are 1.85:
Fools Rush In
Homegrown
It Could Happen To You
Jabberwocky
Saving Silverman
Sex, Lies & Videotape
True Believer
While this obviously isn't as big a loss, it's still very puzzling, as they are still using the same widescreen transfers from the older discs so the extra space isn't being replaced with anything else, and if they feel there really are that many people who don't like widescreen this won't win them any fans on that side either.
The pricing doesn't seem to be consistent either- while the first titles they did this with were dropped to $9.99 list price (selling for $5.50 at Wal-Mart), some of these later ones are still listed at $14.99 and going between $7.50 and $10 at Wal-Mart and similar stores. They can't be saving that much money by doing this, and they must have gotten a number of returns by now as well.
Home video oddities, old commercials and other junk: http://www.youtube.com/user/eyeh8nbc
- Joined: April 1999
- Location: Sacramento, CA
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| Unless you have no other option, I would avoid trying to obtain the "old" dual version releases via online retailers, despite what the product descriptions say. |
Well, if you do get the "converted" version, you can just send that back to Sony Pictures in Culver City, as apparently they haven't gotten enough returns yet to see what they're doing.
Home video oddities, old commercials and other junk: http://www.youtube.com/user/eyeh8nbc
- Joined: January 2003
- Post Count: 4,493
Quote:
| I'm assuming it's cheaper for them to re-issue these discs using a single-layer/single side disc...so maybe this is a cost-motivated decision. |
I think it is also got to be Wal*Mart motivated as well. You have a bunch of stagnant catalog titles that probably aren't flying off the shelves at the regular B&Ms and Wal*Mart is pretty well known among DVD owners for their $5.50 bin. Columbia wants to drop costs by going to DVD-5 from a DVD-10 so that Wal*Mart will buy large quatities of the titles for the bin (or other reduced price racks) So then it becomes which side to keep? And since they many are probably mostly destined for the Wal*Mart bin, they keep the P&S to make them happy (If you work for a company that supplies Wal*Mart you will know that whatever Wal*Mart wants, Wal*Mart gets). However, the DVDs where they are actually keeping the Widescreen transfer over the Full Screen brings some mystery into all of this.
STOP HIM! He's supposed to die!
- Joined: April 1999
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I don't think it costs THAT much more to manufacture a DVD-10 than a DVD-5, in fact many single-layer titles actually DO have something stamped on the labeled side. Being the media geek that I am, I discovered early on that most DVD-5 titles manufactured by Warner (WAMO) actually have the same program material stamped on both sides, and is playable if you were to clean off the printing with rubbing alcohol. I have also found about 45 minutes of color bars on the label side of discs made by Crest National and a couple other companies. Discs manufactured by Sony have a "dummy" side usually stamped in the middle as "DVXX", with no data on it but there is a physical side still there.
I think dual-layer discs are more complicated than a single layer disc with any number of sides, they were certainly used on a lot less titles in the beginning than they are now. However the Sony titles that have WS and FS on the same side have remained unchanged even after price drops. If the disc format issue is a factor in anything, I suspect the people currently in charge want to phase out 2-sided discs, as someone from the company essentially said that many customers are too stupid to figure out which side is which, in response to the question why "Castle Keep" was put out with only a pan and scan transfer.
Home video oddities, old commercials and other junk: http://www.youtube.com/user/eyeh8nbc
- Joined: January 2003
- Post Count: 4,493
Quote:
| In a way, the reaction from some of the main personalities here is more disheartening than Sony's scissors. |
There may be some in here that a more free with their voicing their opinions than others, with all due respect, at the other end there are those with the some high horse mentality of "keeping it civil" which is good in most cases, but I can't blame people in here for the more abrasive comments they make toward Sony and this Ridiculous practice. If this was the first we were seeing of this and the first words out of people were "Sony Sucks!" and the like, I would say that would be inappropriate. But, as I said, this is not new, it's been happening for awhile with no signs of abatement. So, I kind of feel like the time for being civil on this issue has passed. I really don't think saying "pretty please with sugar on top" or "I'll be your best friend" is going to change their decisions anyway.
As Robert has stated, this forum is supposed to hold a certain standard of decorum, so I will respect that. I would not classify some of the negativity as disheartening as I understand the frustration this is causing to others.
STOP HIM! He's supposed to die!
- Joined: April 1999
- Location: Sacramento, CA
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I forgot to mention those 2 being available as Superbits- I would sort of understand them downgrading the other discs to get people to buy the higher-priced Superbit discs, but obviously not ALL of these titles have Superbit issues (Superbit 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up?)
They've made their packaging more vague as well- the new covers of The Fan and Stepmom say "1.33 Full Frame" with no mention of it being formatted to fit any screen. These are both pan and scan transfers of 2.35 movies, but there's nothing on the cover indicating that now. The "Full Frame" notice is also on the back cover of their Partridge Family box set, but of course that was made for TV and isn't MAR'd, so they're making it harder to tell exactly what you're getting.
Home video oddities, old commercials and other junk: http://www.youtube.com/user/eyeh8nbc
