Joe Stuart

DVDs with Commercials that Cannot be Skipped

I was just reading a review of Cheers Season 4 and the review said the DVD had mandatory commercials.

I really hate ANY commercials that preceed a program on DVD, skippable or not. I bought the DVD, so why should be hassled with commercials every time I start up the DVD? And I certainly don't want to see the commercials EVERY time I start the dvd, as I usually watch one episode per viewing.

And the thing is, the commercials are often the same commercials on each season of the DVD (I am specifically referring to Rosanne commercials on the 3rd Rock from the Sun DVDs). I already know I don't want to buy that other show the first time I see it. And of course, when I watch the DVDs several years from now, the products they are advertising will no longer be available.

If they want to include optional previews that can be chosen from the menu, that is admissible.

Is there any way to send a message to the studios that including commercials (especially mandatory ones) is not acceptable?

Would it be possible to note on the TVshowsonDVD's show release information if a DVD has mandatory commercials?

RoryR

Re: DVDs with Commercials that Cannot be Skipped

Its unlikely to change. You pay to see a movie in a Cinema and get commercials, you pay for Cable Stations and get extra commercials. I don't know how much money is "earnt" from advertising on DVDs, considering its self-promotion, but I imagine it could chop a little off the price.

MarkHarrison

Re: DVDs with Commercials that Cannot be Skipped

I guess it's not a great option for this problem, but I have a DVD player (JVC XV-N50BK if I recall correctly) that has a memory function. I currently have it set to remember the last 30 discs. So the first time a disc is put in I have to sit through all the startup crap. But if I put the disc in a week later, it drops me right at the main menu or wherever it was when I last ejected the disc. As long as it's one of the last 30 discs in the player, it will remember where I was.

It's probably not worth picking up a new player to avoid the hassle of unskippable commercials, but if you're ever in the market for a new player, it's an awesome feature to look for in a player.

Andrew Bunk

Re: DVDs with Commercials that Cannot be Skipped

Have you tried hitting Stop then hitting Menu? That used to work for many of the Universal forced trailers.

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LizH

Re: DVDs with Commercials that Cannot be Skipped

Isn't the whole point of buying TV-on-DVD to get AWAY from commercials?

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Joe Stuart

Re: DVDs with Commercials that Cannot be Skipped

First off, thanks for your replies.


Actually, I play DVDs on my computer using WinDVD 7, which is supposed to remember the place on the disk and when I reinsert the disk it should restart at that location. But it only works sporadically.

I have one TV series on DVD that I have been watching, and even though I choose to watch the first episode from the menu, it continues to play all the episodes in order (as if I had chosen play all). So after I watch one episode (which is all I usually watch in a sitting) I either stop the disk or turn off the player and the next time I insert the disk, it starts up again right where I left off.

But with another series, I again choose to watch a single episode and the software drops me back to the main menu after the episode finishes. But after I shutdown the DVD software, it starts the dvd from the beginning with all the commercials.

So, I appreciate what the makers of DVD software and players are doing, but I am unhappy with what the makers of DVDs on TV have been subjecting us to.

Actually I am not currently living in the US, but the country that I live in does have commercials for cell phones and candy and such. Are those types (non-trailer commericals) now being shown in the US? I don't mind the trailers, but I am pretty pissed off that I have to pay to watch a commercial in the theater.

And as for the commericals helping to lower the price, that seems unlikely. The cost of the prodution of the show was already paid for when the show was aired on TV for "free". I cannot believe the cost of creating the DVD is so great that they are adding the advertising to off set costs. Especially as a large number of the commercials are for other DVDs being sold by the same company. They are just doing it as forced free advertising.

So while there are ways around the commercials, including commericals on DVDs detracts from consumers control over what they watch.

And the whole point of this was to ask if TVShowsonDVD could include a notation on their listings for Shows on DVD that have commericals, or at least manditory commercials.

TravisR

Re: DVDs with Commercials that Cannot be Skipped

While Gord posts here, I'm sure you'd see better results by e-mailing him.