Universal's 2nd Wave of BR Flipper Disks - Page 2

You're going to have a long time to wait, since you're asking the studios/others to prove a negative.

Did I miswrite it?  I just reread it and am not sure what you mean.  OR are you just taking a poke at the studios/others' usual stance of denying problems (as much as possible)?

BTW, my coworker/friend informed me last Friday that Toyota is recalling about a decade's worth of Siennas for yet another issue (probably due to the extra scrutiny going on lately).  Just when I thought our 2006 Sienna might escape their recent trend of (discovered) problems, but guess I should just be glad that someone other than the manufacturers is watching our backs (although I'm not happy that either the electronics or the mechanics of our backdoor has malfunctioned recently so that it no longer stays open and is also much harder/heavier to open/lift ).  So much for Toyota's rep for being a model example of reliability among manufacturers (and a big reason for us to choose the Sienna).  Still, my (lack of) confidence in the studios (and others) in this regard came long before Toyota's issues, if anyone's wondering.

And oh, I did just notice that I miswrote the first sentence of the 3rd paragraph in that post though, ie. my rhetorical question about this being "nothing worthy of concern"...

_Man_
Edited by ManW_TheUncool - 4/19/10 at 9:54am

I find this to be common on forums all across the web when someone criticizes a corporate entity.  It always makes me wonder why defense of same is usually so swift and decided. But then again, I'm a big fan of Oliver Stone's JFK.

  Well, in this case at least, I have no reason to believe Carl is some sort of corporate shill or the like -- I've seen him post more than enough me thinks to think otherwise.  Still, that doesn't mean he doesn't have his own personal biases (and might advance them whether consciously or not) just as any of us could have.  

I'm actually more inclined to think the OP might possibly have a not-so-benign hidden agenda than most others in this thread (not that I'm convinced of that though) -- and some (who like the flipper idea) might simply be annoyed at that and responding to that (and any perceived similar posts... like mine perhaps) w/ a suspicious (maybe even hostile) tone as a result.  And although I can understand that kind of response to some extent (as I mentioned earlier), I also don't want our views/opinions on the matter to get trampled and/or marginalized in the process...

_Man_

It was just a general observation. I wasn't specifically calling anyone out by it. Undoubtedly we all have patterns to our perspectives and the way we express them, for better or worse.

What he says goes for me too!

I don't think you miswrote it. But what you're expecting is for the studios to prove that flipper discs don't fail any more often than sets of two separate discs. This could be done over the short term, but showing it in the long term is impossible; non-flippers have simply been around for longer than flippers. If flippers fail, quickly, that can be shown easily enough. But showing they *don't* fail more or less means waiting them out. "There's always the 21st year of shelf life to consider and compare!"

Well, I obviously don't intend to wait 10 years or whatever to decide.   But a couple months (and the small numbers being sold so far) is also nothing meaningful in terms of long term reliability.

I'm not sure what criteria makes sense (yet), but like I also said earlier, under the circumstance, since none of these flippers are being released for titles I consider "must own" so far (or exclusively in the flipper format in the case of the Bourne Trilogy, which I already owned previously), I can wait this out some (like some other folks mentioned), including on how to determine whether it's reliable enough for me.

Maybe I'll feel comfortable enough w/ the combo flipper's reliability a year or two down the line, if I don't hear much of any horror stories about them.  OR maybe the combo flipper will just "die" (or become rarely used) before it ever gets very far so that this issue becomes irrelevant.  Whatever the case, I'd probably still always prefer separates unless something changes a whole lot in my own collecting habits and/or general perspective/outlook.  And I suspect I'm more likely to adopt the on-demand/streaming/download paradigm en masse in the future than prefer combo flippers over separates.

_Man_

Whether you jest here or not, I can definitely say that will NEVER be my position.  I prefer separate discs over "flippers" but I prefer the flexibility of either, when available, over no flexibility.  I ALWAYS prefer to have a "hard copy" to the "streaming" option--so flipper before download for me, please.

Me too.

You may not have that choice in the fairly near future.

Doug

You still have a choice which might mean my days of purchasing movies are over with.





Crawdaddy

I don't like flippers, because the DVD supplied in those two (three) disk Blu-ray make such great movie-themed drink coasters. With a flipper...damn.....no more coasters. If I use a flipper and have the BD side face up, I risk ruining it with a liquid ring. If the BD side is face down for protection, the possibility of scratching it increases enormously. That sucks.  

Come on Universal, help me out here. I really don't want to have to buy drink coasters in addition to my Blu-ray purchases.

I'm curious. Will the foreign releases be the same exact disc? Is there a chance we'll be able to import a single-sided copy of Jackal? It's one of my favorites, but I absolutely despise double-sided discs.

I JUST discovered that they are now making coasters EXCLUSIVELY to hold your drink! I know I know....it sounds crazy, who would want a coaster that ONLY holds a drink. But think of the up side. No more getting out the Windex and cleaning the water spots off of your DVDs. No more water ring of death!!!

www.amazon.com/Lipper-Bamboo-Collection-7-Piece-Coaster/dp/B000F1MER6/ref=sr_1_1



Doug

Who'da thunk? And cheap too!

See I'm thinking the other way now....I'm looking at these bamboo coasters and thinking.....bamboo DVDs!

Doug

I'm not bothered by the flippers at all. If I don't use one of the sides: no problem. If I do have a use for it: more power to the flipper.

If (rarely, very rarely) one of the sides go wrong: that could have happened if they weren't released as flippers as well. And with the same odds. But it didn't happen to me yet (not even on the DVD flippers with the P&S/WS choice, not on the HD DVD combos).


Cees

I think that future is not so near.  It's not decades away, but it isn't happening next year, either.  There are new vinyl releases every year (and they are increasing in number).  At worst, I believe BD will be like vinyl (a niche but still available product).  IF the downloadable version can be burned to a disc that I can play anywhere with EQUAL quality as BD, then it won't matter so much. Second best is a file with BD quality that is not limited to a specific playback device.  A device specific, limited usage version will mean a LOT less money from me to the providers, though.

What could be a decent compromise would be something like the Warner Archive programme.  You have the option of a download or a disc (made to order).  I'd pay a bit extra for the disc (and I suspect enough other people would as well).  

I'll buy flippers....  When they are under $5.  Not before.

Honestly,  what is the big deal about flippers?   We have all purchases DVD's with info on both sides, so what should this be different?   

I think its coming a lot quicker than you might think. Netflix instant view service went from about 10% of their business in 2008 to almost 48% of their business in 2009. Now you can buy TVs with the instant view service built in, no player required. Their films in HD look very good in spite of being only 720p (1080p and 5.1 are coming). And they are getting more and more content for this service with their delayed rental of new releases.

The ultimate goal of the studio is to not have customers owning a physical copy of the movie. They never wanted that, but they went along when it became a revenue stream. Now they are seeing a way to put the genie back in the bottle so to speak. In fact they would prefer that you not even be able to download the film.

Doug

Perhaps in the US.  I'm not convinced it will be as quick elsewhere.  And I don't think they can get that genie back in the bottle all the way.  IF they do, I will be very vocal (probably harmlessly as far as they are concerned) about my displeasure.  I will NOT pay as much to view a film once as I do to own it and see it as often as I like.  I will also be EXTREMELY upset at losing a valuable teaching tool.

I'm in the DVD / Blu-ray authoring & post-production business.  Been at workshops this week & so many continue to just discuss "cloud" ownership as the next big thing.   IE:  you add a "digital" copy to your collection, which follows you around where ever you go.  You access the collection via your password on your mobile, computer, iPad, or whatever device. 

 

Perhaps that will catch on with some.  But however popular it is, I believe both models will exist:  streaming and physical media.  If its available whenever you want anyway, why wouldn't a distributor go ahead and make even more money selling some physical copies while they are at it.   

Edited by David Deeb - 4/21/10 at 9:47pm

I agree with that completely.  There is also content that people clearly desire in pristine and cutting edge AV quality (Avatar) and those they are willing to put up with moderate quality that streaming provides (documentaries).  Personal examples will vary.

I noticed the Bourne movies have UK releases that don't say they're combo format, and they're region free. Those of you that share my hatred for flippers should definitely check around for the titles you want.

 

The U.K. release of the Bourne films do play fine in a region A player. I purchased these from Amazon.uk before the U.S. flippers were even announced, since the U.K. set was about half the cost of the previous U.S. set.

 

I believe the only difference between the U.S. and U.K. transfers is that the latter uses player-generated subtitles for the locations, etc. It wasn't a big deal to me.

Summit is now going to be doing this on at least a few upcoming titles: Ghost Writer and Furry Vengeance

 

Great news. I wish they had been able to do "The Hurt Locker" as a flipper as I would have liked a DVD side to play on my computer. I hope more companies begin adopting the flipper format.