Annoyance of studios leaving out liner notes thread (1 Viewer)

[ChristopherBlig]

A big trend amongst three studios recently (Warner, Universal and the always dreaded Paramount) have not included a nice section of liner notes for their DVD product. I always like the chapter listings with the amusing photos or still frames of pics and creativity, but with this loss, some titles are looking a lot cheaper in value than they should. In other words many titles that should have a quality release are being reduced to cheap Charley, Blockbuster rental releases, even the newer ones. This is a sad trend that I hope reverses itself. Is there a reason for the other end to have section marks? The loss of it makes for a lesser outing by any studio. Thanks to MGM, Columbia/Tri-Star, New Line, Fox and the always reliable Criterion for ignoring the lesser release and including some fine liner notes and chapter listings for their DVD product...I would love to hear thoughts on this subject for, against, by all...

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

I'm not sure exactly how I feel about inserts. I certainly understand why there has been a steady movement away from including inserts in DVD packaging over the last few years as even a simple two page insert accounts for over 30% of a DVDs manufacturing cost, not including the cost of production.

I've been collecting DVDs from their inception and not once have I ever used an insert to jump to a chapter, nor have I cared one way or the other over any stills printed on inserts as they are always fairly low quality and for me do not add any value to the DVD.

On the other hand, I often enjoy the multi-page inserts that include insights into the film and the film makers. In fact I prefer them to the onscreen text production notes that are often included on DVDs.

While it took a while for me to get used to seeing high profile releases like Gangs of New York being released without an insert, I guess I'd just as well have studios not include them if it means they can be more competitive in their pricing. This is especially true if they aren't going to also offer some valuable production notes in the inserts.

 

[Ocean Phoenix]

I don't see what the big deal is about liner notes. One of the DVDs that I have (Terminator 2: The Ultimate Edition) has many many pages of liner notes with information on the movie, and I got bored with them pretty fast. I couldn't even finish reading them. I would rather watch behind the scenes featurettes or listen to audio commentary to get insight into the making of the movie. And I don't think chapter listings in a booklet are necessary when they can be found on the "chapter selction" menu of the DVD.

 

[Thomas T]

I've never understood the fascination with inserts. I don't even look at the inserts that some of my DVDs have. I just open the case and pop the disc into the player.

 

[Douglas R]

I totally agree with Christopher. I very much miss inserts and their absence does make the DVD look cheap. Good liner notes are also something you can refer to at leisure.

 

[Drew Salzan]

It's true that I rarely refer to the inserts for chapter listings or any other information. My disappointment when there is an insert lacking is purely due to the fact that it changes the aesthetics of the packaging, a small price to pay if it keeps the cost down.

Could it possibly be true that the inserts account for 30% of the cost of manufacturing?

 

[MikeEckman]

This is how I am too. I have over 450 DVDs and probably 2/3rds of them have inserts, and of those, I've probably flipped through a handful a couple times, but thats it. I couldn't care less. Apparently the studios are feeling the same way.

I'm not saying I want to see them go, I just don't care.

 

[John Watson]

When VOD takes over, they'll leave out the disk too

Personally, it's the lazy cheap-cheap-cheap angle that always frustrates me. Tho most of the cards as some have said have very little info on them.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Go the Brit route: print double-sided covers, with relevant information (chapter list, notes, whatver) on the inside, and use a transparent (or near-tranparent) casing such that the inside of the cover is legible through the case.

This has been the case with all my football season-review DVDs (they usually print all the results of the matches), and IIRC Coupling S3.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

I like that approach. Inserts don't get lost.