- Joined
- Jul 3, 1997
- Messages
- 66,794
- Real Name
- Ronald Epstein
This is for discussion pertaining to this article:
Is DVD Giving Way to Mass-Market Demands?
Is DVD Giving Way to Mass-Market Demands?
The only reason pan-and-scan DVD transfers are outselling their widescreen counterparts is because the studios have offered the public a choice.
I don't have a problem with offering people a choice. As long as OAR is available to me, I don't care if they release pan and scan versions separately or on the same disc. (I think that MGM's recent releases on DVD-14s are well done.)
I agree 100% that OAR is better. But not everyone does. There are people (I've met some of them) who understand the difference and prefer pan and scan. Who are we to say that their taste is wrong?
I didn't care for some so-called "good" recent movies like American Beauty and Saving Private Ryan. On the other hand, I enjoy some so-called "bad" movies like Mallrats and Army of Darkness. Should I not be allowed to buy Superman IV since it is almost universally agreed that the movie is inferior to A Beautiful Mind? Should I be punished for my "bad" taste?
Like I said, I will not buy anything that is not OAR. As some have said, "No OAR = No Sale." However, I have no problem with offering "the misguided" their copies of pan and scan movies.
Consumer choice is always a good thing. It sets a dangerous precedent to say that only one option should be available.
I'm all for making both versions available. That way, everybody can be happy.
-Kelly
P.S. I realize that the movies I mentioned make me sound like a buffoon. Rest assured, I also have and enjoy movies like Citizen Kane, Chinatown, and The Godfather.
What I hope you find is that the overall quality of the DVD is so far above the LD that you'll want the format to succeed as a replacement for VHS distibution of movies. DVD should become the next mass market medium. The next niche product, that would take the posistion that LD now holds, has yet to come along.
My two cents.
Kevin C.