Feedback about Premiere Issue of DVD ETC. Magazine (1 Viewer)

[terry malibu]

Jack, thanks for your comments and yes the book will evolve and hit it's stride. Thanks for your support.

Mike, the problem you are having finding the mag is being repeated all over the country....that is, we are selling out everywhere.
One chain of 20 stores on the west coast drew over 1500 copies and are down to less than 100 in just over 2 weeks on sale.
Do you have a Tower Records in your area? They drew their copies late and you might find it there.

Let me know....

Terry

 

[terry malibu]

Mike, you can try Hippo's on Stuyvesant in Albany, they may have it as well.
Terry

 

[Brian E]

Terry, thanks for answering my questions. I may still give you a try. I'm not necessarily opposed to a hardware mag, especially if it were to focus on stuff for the guy who want decent stuff but doesn't have $10,000 to spend on his set up. I guess with the name of your mag I just wasn't sure what it was. The name sounded like one thing while the comments here made it sound like another thing. I hope I can find a copy to "review" myself before the subscription offer expires. So far I've seen it nowhere that I've been.

you wouldn't happen to have a website with a few sample articles and reviews would you?


Regards

 

[terry malibu]

Hi Brian,
We will be launching an online version but it will not be up for another week or two.
Try your local Barnes and Noble and Borders. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) we have been selling out at many locations. You cam also try Hi Fi Sound, Needle Doctor and Stereoland in the Twin Cities area, they may have copies on hand.
Terry

 

[David Lambert]

What I found most interesting was your comment regarding Star Trek TNG...you see the writer is a dyed in the wool Trekkie...I mean this is a guy who got married in full Star Trek dress at the Star Trek expo in Las Vegas!(

He sure doesn't come across that way! Was he trying to come across as non-prejudiced?
At this point I have to wonder if this isn't a WRITING issue, but instead perhaps an EDITING issue?...

 

[MaxY]

Terry,
I would like to Apologize if I came off as being Hard on the magazine. I was simply trying to steer it toward being more content oriented. I wanted it to be something that HTF could be proud of.
As for writing reviews, in skool my skills leaned more towards match and sciences and would freely admit I am far from a good reviewer and likely would not even enjoy my own reviews.
Again as I said earlier in this thread, I know there are problems with first issue magazines. I had hoped they could be corrected.
The one thing that bothered me was your saying it was a magazine not aimed at enthusiasts, but the fact is if a guy/gal subscribes to your magazine or picks it it more then just once or twice, then that is exactly what they are.
I am not saying the mag need to be overly technical, only that it needs to be more informative on the subjects it does tackle. It needs to add something and not just techy stuff, but in DVD reviews real discussion on the programing on the disc. In Hardware reviews more then just a recap of what the manufactuer had to say about it and it's features.
I also am not saying that you should buy speakers on specs, but including frequency response is far from being overly technical and surely would help people figure out where the speakers fit into the scheme of things.
I URGE everyone to go out and buy an issue and take advantage of Terry being here and then to let him know honestly what you think needs to improve or change. He might not do what you say, but it is to his credit that at least he is here listening.
Max

 

[MaxY]

Dave,
I am not saying not to include a re-cap of features from the back of the box but to include more then Just that.


Oh and to Whom it may concern...

If you think that my being involved with another forum somehow makes me less a Home Theater Forum member that is sad, because I have been a proud member of HTF for a long long time and you should note the member since date on the side of my posts. Yes I may moderate on another site, but I have always felt a part of this forum and have always been active here. Please excuse me if I feel like I am a member here after being here for so long.

Max

 

[terry malibu]

Hi Max,
I think we can best put this as agreeing to disagree on the enthusiast thing. I do not believe that someone who buys a magazine 2 or 3 or even 6 times is necessarily an enthusiast. I subscribe to Road and Track, and I assure you I am not an auto Enthusiast, in fact I have not been under the hood of my car, EVER!
The bottom line is that we are working to create is a magazine that works for our readers on multiple levels..it's not easy to do, but it needs doing! There are a a lot of poorly informed people out there buying Mimtek DVD players at their local drugstore who need our help and YOUR help!
You need to give us an opportunity to find our track and I think you will find an interesting, entertaining magazine.
Thanks for all your input....
Terry

 

[David Lambert]

There are a a lot of poorly informed people out there buying Mimtek DVD players at their local drugstore who need our help and YOUR help!

Hey! One of my 3 players is a Mintek!

 

[terry malibu]

Hi Dave,
I suppose the problem we have here is the definition of enthusiast, and levels thereof.
Just because I subscribe to a magazine, it does not make me an enthusiast. I enjoy cars and like to keep up with whats new. I am getting ready to buy a Mini-Cooper not because I am an enthusiast, but because it appeals to me and I like the package.
It's really just a matter of degrees and yes, I do hope more people become enthusiasts because DVD and HT are a terrific source of entertainment and that is the story we are trying to promote.
Oh, and sorry to hear about the Mintek...I believe they have a shot for that now!
Just kidding! Now who's being condescending!
Hope it works well for you....but I am curious??? What made you decide to buy the machine? I can only think price.....

Terry

 

[MaxY]

Terry,
Not sure of David's reasons for the Mintek, but I do believe that there was a way of taking a super cheap DVD Player like that and converting into a Multi-region player that even converts PAL -> NTSC. I am not sure if it was the Mintek or not but I do know it was several of the low priced units in it's class.

Max

 

[terry malibu]

Thanks Max...I lok forward to David's reply to see if that is, indeed the reason he bought it...maybe there's a story here???
Oh, and I appreciate your honesty regarding writing reviews...but please keep the feedback coming!

Terry

 

[David Lambert]

I bought the Mintek because it was a cheap extra player ($89.99) for the bedroom that did a couple of things my main Panasonic does NOT do (zoom, karaoke). I was quite wary, but researched the particular model thoroughly and didn't find any real complaints. I can say that I have had it since last Christmas and we've all (especially my 4-year-old-son!) given it a rough workout, with absolutely zero problems.
I believe that the cheapo ones you guys are thinking of are the Apex models, right down to the region-coding thingy. I would not touch one of those with YOUR discs!

 

[Steve Phillips]

I picked up the first issue. I wasn't that impressed, but maybe things will improve. Based on that first issue, I wouldn't consider subscribing. I will probably thumb through the next one at the store to decide if I would buy another.

 

[terry malibu]

Hi Steve,
Diiferent strokes for different folks...
So tell me, what were you expecting and what was it that did not impress you?
Was it Quality?
Not enough software?
It would be a big help if you could be more specific.

Thanks,
Terry

 

[Bjorn Olav Nyberg]

I must admit I have not checked out this thread before now. (but I have participated in the polls) I live in Norway, and because I suspected the magazine would maybe not get distribution over here, I more or less took a conscious decision not to get worked up about it... that said; I also got the impression this magazine would focus mostly on software, and even go a little in depth (the last presumption was something I made for the sole fact that they chose an enthusiast site for participation) but I guess that particular dead horse does not need any more beating for the moment
Terry, you probably did hit the nail straight on the head regarding the definition of enthusiasts... Max definitively is a whole lot more enthusiastic than most enthusiasts Check out his DVD collection, that collection probably cost more than a Mini cooper
The one thing that really caught my attention when I browsed through the thread was this quote by Terry Malibu:

And as for the DVD magazines in the UK....you have to understand the magazine business in that part of the world to understand their success....needless to say, software magazines do not and will not succeed in the USA, for a # of reasons which if you want me to get into it, you will need to ask.

I have to say I was intrigued by this statement, and really wonder why that is so? I do not by any means understand the magazine business in any country, including Norway, but I would figure that any magazine that deals with a theme a great number of people spend a major part of their spare time on, would have more than a fair chance of success, and DVD software definitively are a hobby for a great number of people, including the US. As it has been made clear to us, DVD ETC is not the magazine to deal with this, and that is OK. Personally I would buy a R1 exclusive DVD software magazine if I knew of one. I did buy the mentioned UK magazines for a while, but as they dealt so much with R2 and I prefer R1, I finally ended up with web sites only. The R1 exclusive DVD software web sites seem to be doing great though. I understand the major reason why web sites do better than print for DVD software, is because they are sooner to bring the latest news online, which do give them an advantage over print, but for reviews, I personally do not see that big a difference, I much prefer a printed magazine to web sites, availability is the only issue for me. so I can not really understand why such a magazine can succeed in the UK but not in the US, but then again, I am closer to the UK If you would care to comment briefly I would very much appreciate it!

 

[Todd Schnell]

First I want to say thanks DVD ETC for sending me a copy of your magazine.
Its nice to see Terry here taking part in this thread.

I also was lucky enough to be surfing & find the first 10 to reply thread.

Some thoughts in no particular order.

This is a nice quality magazine & well laid out.
Similar to Sound & Vision imo.

The Directors Cut Sam I Am is an interesting read & a nice feature that I think the mag should do as a regular feature.

I must say I really expected much more DVD software content with deeper reviews included.

I do enjoy hardware reviews & including in the mag is a good thing, but I found myself wanting much more in depth descriptions of performance.
Reviewing products at price ranges across the board is also a wise choice.

Its interesting to see what products are on the horizon in the Premiering section.
I would like to see the retail price included here.
This would ad least give a ball park figure as to what I may have to pay for said product.

I can see the cable 2002 being a benefit for those newbies who just don't know what's what in cables.

Its cool seeing the HTF represented here.

I did not realize going in to this mag that it was geared more to the general consumer.
Perhaps I missed this info?
I was expecting a hard core DVD mag.

I do think DVD ETC. has a good chance at succeeding with its intended audience.
As it stands the offer to HTF members is a hard bargain to pass up.

However for me I was looking for something much more geared to the HT enthusiast.
I will keep an eye out on future issues that may change my mind, but at this point the magazine is not something I am looking for.

Todd