Fed up with Wal-Mart's shift towards Fullscreen (1 Viewer)

Bryan X · Aug 29, 2003

I usually buy all of my DVDs from Super Wal-Mart because it's the only B&M within an hour of me.

I've noticed that each week, more and more space is being given to fullscreen, pushing out widescreen. Even more frustrating is it's getting more and more difficult to get a widescreen copy of some releases.

Today I went there to pick up a copy of Animal House DSP in widescreen. Well, what do you know. They only have fullscreen in stock and won't be getting any widescreen copies.

I made my displeasure known to the clerk (who agreed with me that fullscreen was crap), but since it seems the local managers have little discretion in what is sent to them I don't think it will do any good.

I feel like we are losing the war on this one slowly but surely. :frowning:

Travis_W · Aug 29, 2003

My Wal-Mart is doing the same thing. As long as Widescreen titles are atop the charts I don't think we've lost. You know most people really don't care about the bars, they just don't understand it but they still watch the movie. So studios should focus on the widescreen version and that's it. Once people get used to it then bam, problem solved.

John Alderson · Aug 29, 2003

My Wal-Mart is doing just the opposite--when TTT was released, it was a gigantic pile of WS with hardly any FS within site. So there is hope.

In fact, from where I sit, the WS vs. FS issue is quickly becoming moot, and WS is the winner. You'd be hard pressed to find FS at my local Blockbuster too, for example.

So long as I don't have problems finding WS (and I never have), I'll just feel sorry for those who don't know better, and try to educate them when I can.

Bryan X · Aug 29, 2003

So long as I don't have problems finding WS (and I never have)

That was pretty much how I felt until I couldn't find the WS copy at Wal-Mart. As long as I could find a copy of the WS version there, I was happy, although still annoyed at the ever growing number of FS copies.

But now it's at the point where they are starting to stock ONLY the FS version for some releases.

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WillG · Aug 29, 2003

You'd think that Wal-Mart would see that WS is beating out FS very consistantly in sales even with their own heavy favoritism of FS as a factor. You'd think they would wise up. Yes they do usually carry WS for most new release titles, although not always, but they usually have tons more FS. You would think they would adjust. Hell, even Blockbuster finally admitted that WS is becoming the format of choice and changed their business model accordingly. But we all know Wal-Mart's "We know what's best" Mentality.

I love Costco for DVDs was in there the other day. They had a huge front stack of "The Two Towers" There were 4 sections to the stack. The top 3 were all WS and the only FS was so on the bottom, you would have had to have gotten on your knees to pick one up. They also seem to buy more WS on most DVDs or just WS Period.

Bryan X · Aug 29, 2003

The ironic thing is, is Wal-Mart now carries Direct View and Projection 16:9 widescreen televisions! :confused:

Carl Johnson · Aug 29, 2003

I've never had a problem finding widescreen copies but if and when it happens I'll take my checkbook and shop elsewhere. If Walmart is your only local b&m just register your protest by sending them an email and order your discs from etailers.

MarkHastings · Aug 29, 2003

I feel like we are losing the war on this one slowly but surely.

Wal-Mart doesn't cater toward HT enthusiasts, so I wouldn't see their pro-Fullframe as a hinderance to the OAR movement.

I mean look at Amazons top ten best sellers (right now):

Lord of the Rings II (Widescreen) is #1 and the Fullscreen is #8...That means that there are a LOT of people buying the Fullscreen edition online (even when given a choice).

Wether we like it or not, that should be enough marketing to know that the Fullscreen market is still strong.

The biggest factor is that more people (J6P's) are buying DVD players. Wal-Mart sees this and shifted their business model to cater to them. Yeah it SUCKS, but it's Wal-Mart and buying from them just gives them more money to stock whatever versions they want.

If you want to support the OAR movement, then buy from places that carry widescreens - Stick to online buying, it's truly the better way of doing things and it won't bug you because they usually have the widescreen versions in stock.

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WillG · Aug 29, 2003

Borders is very Pro-OAR, albiet a bit more pricey. But sometimes I don't mind giving the a few extra bucks for that. Plus they have a very wide selection

Ken Chan · Aug 29, 2003

The ironic thing is, is Wal-Mart now carries Direct View and Projection 16:9 widescreen televisions!

No biggee -- they just use stretch mode. The fact that everyone and everything is fat doesn't bother 'em, not like the "black bars"....

//Ken

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Bryan X · Aug 29, 2003

Wal-Mart doesn't cater toward HT enthusiasts, so I wouldn't see their pro-Fullframe as a hinderance to the OAR movement.

While I agree Wal-Mart doesn't cater toward HT enthusiasts, many HT enthusiasts buy from them simply for the fact there may be no other close B&M option. While many HT enthusiasts have a much better theater than myself, I do have a 53" 16:9 HDTV with full DTS and DD5.1 surround and consider myself an enthusiast. However, with no other B&M store clsoe to me that sells DVDs, I don't have much of an option. Yes, I could order online, and I have occasionally. But that is nowhere near as convenient or satisfying to me as browsing the shelves and buying on the spot at a local store.

But whether or not Wal-Mart caters to the HT crowd isn't really the point. HT enthusiasts now probably make up a minority of the total DVD sales now that DVD has gone mainstream. Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world. Wal-Mart sales are greater than the next 5 largest retailers combined! This means that Wal-Mart has a big influence over what companies put out for sale.

For example, Wal-Mart accounts for 15% of all magazine sales. Think about what Wal-Mart just did to Maxxim Magazine when they stopped selling it. You don't think that made other magazines thinking twice about their content?

Wal-Mart's too big of an influence to ignore it's support of FS.

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Rob T · Aug 29, 2003

My Wal-mart usually does a 50/50 split.
Half p&s (or open-matte) and half widescreen.

It all just depends on the area that you're in, I guess.

Malcolm R · Aug 29, 2003

Someone once said that the music and video departments in Wal-Mart are stocked by a third-party distributor and that Wal-Mart itself has little direct control over what they receive or in what quantities, at least on a specific, per-title basis.

I've not usually had a problem finding a WS version at Wal-Mart when there are dual releases. The biggest problem at one of the nearby stores has been they don't seem to get enough copies to meet demand, period. For both "Die Another Day" and "Final Destination 2," Wal-Mart didn't have a copy of either title in any version when I stopped in to buy them. So I just went to the Best Buy across the street and bought my WS copies there.

Given the swing in the sales chart over the past few months even more in favor of widescreen, I'm less worried than I used to be about widescreen disappearing (except for MGM!

).

John Alderson · Aug 29, 2003

At this point, I feel like one needs to be wilfully ignorant to choose FS over WS (for post 1953 films, natch

).

Still, the only place I see any problems about stores sticking with FS over WS has been online in forums like this--in all the stores I go to personally (CC, BB, Wal-Mart, Target, hell even the grocery stores) WS has been dominant for years. Even our Blockbuster never went through a FS phase, they were WS from day one of DVD (there was ONE title they had that was FS only, and they said it was a mistake but they ordered billions of them so they were stuck: Jurassic Park III).

And I live in a town surrounded by farm land--not exactly the mecca for HT enthusiasts (mmm, I can smell those farms now). So over all I am encouraged. I've seen enough people come to embrace WS over the past five years to make me very happy. My wife and her parents will no longer even CONSIDER non-OAR... non-OAR == no sale/rental. That is a 180 degree turnaround from 5 years ago.

Dan Shogren · Aug 29, 2003

They seem to be stocking FULLSCREEN comedies and WIDESCREEN big budget epics. (Like LOTR)

DaveyM · Aug 29, 2003

No widescreen dvd of Animal House at our local Walmart either. I went to K-mart and found the widescreen edition there and it was $13.99 Walmarts fullscreen version was $14.44

Davey M.

Glenn Overholt · Aug 29, 2003

Mark - I think that the on-line sales ratings are all skewed.

If I only buy WS, and go to a store looking for one and not finding it, I'll find it on-line. The next time I'll just get it on-line. The local store won't get my business.

There would be a greater majority of WS on-line buyers vs. on-line FS buyers, because the FS's can get their DVD's at the local stores. Only the studio totals would be a little bit more accurate, but they don't show how many copies are still in the store shelves.

Glenn

Patrick McCart · Aug 29, 2003

Wal-Mart will usually have dual versions. However, I've noticed that they'll occasionally neglect to do this for a title. I've seen only fullscreen versions of Jurassic Park III (not like I'd buy it anyways) and also for Animal House.

The one I went to recently had a ton of the new Animal House DVDs, but only in fullscreen....yet they seemed to have plenty of both for The Two Towers and Chicago.

Dean Kousoulas · Aug 29, 2003

My Wal-Mart is usually 75%/25% in favor of Foolscreen. Sometimes they only stock foolscreen. One new release that comes to mind is There's Something More About Mary. (Shouldn't the real title be, There's Something Less About Mary???)

You know, it's so pathetic how this so called war is being fought over something so stupid. And to think this all could have been avoided if the studios and retailers tried educating people instead of turning them into haters of widescreen. "Black bars? Ugh!"

Let's not even start on the whole Maxim issue. I mean, they won't sell Maxim, but they sell GUNS???

Dean

Jeff Kleist · Aug 29, 2003

They seem to be stocking FULLSCREEN comedies and WIDESCREEN big budget epics. (Like LOTR)

Yeah, that's pretty much the way the market has been hashing out. Widescreen kicks ass on action/adventure/epic while it's closer to 50/50 with "normal" films

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