Anyone feel a bit letdown by Shout! Select? (1 Viewer)

[Malcolm R]

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Needless to say I'm guessing you won't be looking at too many Warner Archive TV titles with that type of threshold.  Correct?  Not that I think $1 an episode is a bad target price.  It's not realistic for all the older shows I'm interested in (especially the split season sets from CBS/P), but if one waits it's definitely possible for a majority of releases.

 

 

Gary "I like the sentiment, but with some programs/companies it's just not going to happen" O. 

I purchased Night Court S4 through Warner Archives, but only after I found a coupon code. I think I paid about $26 for 24 episodes? I haven't seen anything since that I had to have from WA, and they don't seem to be releasing Night Court S5.

 

[Gary OS]

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Originally Posted by Malcolm R

I purchased Night Court S4 through Warner Archives, but only after I found a coupon code. I think I paid about $26 for 24 episodes? I haven't seen anything since that I had to have from WA, and they don't seem to be releasing Night Court S5.

Definitely not a bad buy when you consider the source (WBA). Kudos on that one. The Cheyenne S2 sets they released come out to about $4 per episode, although one might be able to get them for $3 per episode if they really bargain hunted using coupons and such. The F.B.I. set is coming in at about $2.50 per episode, so that's at least a move in the right direction. I'd like to see the program get the price down to at least under $2 per episode for an hour long show. Getting those at $1 per is a pipe dream, I'm sure. It's different for a 1/2 hour show like Night Court. But if they can find a way to get those prices down to just a little under the $2.00 per episode threshold I'd be more apt to pick them up. And when I say just under $2 per, I'm including shipping and tax in that price. For instance, if I could get the half season F.B.I. set for $29.99 out the door, so to speak, then I'd think about it. And before it happens, please don't anyone come in here and tell me about paying $100 for an episode on VHS 25 years ago. Thanks.



Gary "the $1 per episode target works for 1/2 hour shows great, but it's definitely harder to make that work with older 1 hour shows unless you are talking Big Lots deals" O.

 

[TravisR]

And before it happens, please don't anyone come in here and tell me about paying $100 for an episode on VHS 25 years ago.

Just because you have one arbitrarily set price that you want to pay doesn't mean that others can't say that they're willing to pay more. I'm not turning down something I want because it's going to cost me, say, $2 an episode when a little over a decade ago I was paying $4 or $5 an episode.

 

[Gary OS]

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Originally Posted by TravisR



Gary "unbelievable" O.

 

[Mr. Papagiorgio]

Over the last 8 months (December-July), there have been only 3 real tv series releases by Shout! Select (not counting the Mystery Science re-releases or the Transformers sets that will be at retail down the road). That is pretty poor. Shout! Select charges a significant premium over what retail prices would be. If it leads to series getting completed, that is fine, but a lot of these shows that had more than one volume to go still aren't getting completed, which just leads to a lot of customer loss of interest in their program.

 

[Gary OS]

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Originally Posted by Mr. Papagiorgio

Over the last 8 months (December-July), there have been only 3 real tv series releases by Shout! Select.

There's been a slowdown across the board with classic TV on DVD from every studio and company. So that's not a surprise. Plus, I think one has to look at Shout's entire output since they are still releasing retail DVD sets. They haven't gone exclusively to Select titles so this is a bit misleading, IMHO.



Gary "I'm still very excited about several Shout titles coming later this year" O.

 

[Berkshires]

Too funny:

Originally Posted by Gary OS

I'm not turning down something I want because it's going to cost me, say, $2 an episode when a little over a decade ago I was paying $4 or $5 an episode.

Seriously, four minutes! Not only are they WILLING to tell you about paying $100 for an episode on VHS 25 years ago, they're actually WAITING, sitting there right now, poised over their keyboards, ready to POUNCE at a moment's notice!


Somehow, "LOL" just doesn't say enough!

 

[Jack P]

I won't mention the value as opposed to paying for an episode on VHS 20 years ago, but I will note that when movies on DVD still cost the equivalent of $15-20 for the equivalent of two to four episodes of a classic TV program, that's why I can't get bent out of shape even over those charging at split season rates. And I do maintain that WB Archive titles are no different than the base price of MGM MOD titles that have been TV series. But ultimately it's whether one company is releasing a Grail title or not that's going to determine what our attitude is about these projects and because "The FBI" happens to be my biggest Grail title, that makes WB automatically elevated to the highest possible level in my book.

 

[Gary OS]

Originally Posted by Berkshires


Thanks for noting the timing. It really was funny.



Gary "if people think I'm trying to say what others should and shouldn't pay for dvds they aren't reading my posts" O.

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack P

I won't mention the value as opposed to paying for an episode on VHS 20 years ago, but I will note that when movies on DVD still cost the equivalent of $15-20 for the equivalent of two to four episodes of a classic TV program, that's why I can't get bent out of shape even over those charging at split season rates. And I do maintain that WB Archive titles are no different than the base price of MGM MOD titles that have been TV series. But ultimately it's whether one company is releasing a Grail title or not that's going to determine what our attitude is about these projects and because "The FBI" happens to be my biggest Grail title, that makes WB automatically elevated to the highest possible level in my book.

I agree that it's all about Grail shows. Most everyone is willing to pay more when its on our "must own" lists. And if the WB Archives releases something that approaches "grail" level for me I'll definitely consider buying it regardless of their current price point. I freely admit I'd pay the F.B.I. price for a half set release of the first season of Dr. Kildare (and I'd basically only be doing it for one episode).


Gary "you'll never get an argument from me on that point, Jack" O.

 

[TravisR]

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Wow.  I'm stunned you are going to twist what I said and go that route.  I thought most regulars here would know what I was talking about and not go overboard with it.  Whatever.  Gary "unbelievable" O.

You said how people point out that they used to pay much more for a TV show than what anyone would pay today and that's undeniably true. I'm sure I'm not the only person here who remembers paying $5 or $10 or $20 an episode for a handful of episodes on VHS, laserdisc or even DVD so those people are probably somewhat less concerned when they have to pay more than today's normal price for something they want. It doesn't mean that they're right and you're wrong. It just means that you have your price but others may be comfortable with paying more because they remember paying much more than that. Gary, you're a very knowledgeable, passionate and friendly guy but just because I disagree with you doesn't mean that I'm attacking you.

 

[Jeff Willis]

You said how people point out that they used to pay much more for a TV show than what anyone would pay today and that's undeniably true. I'm sure I'm not the only person here who remembers paying $5 or $10 or $20 an episode for a handful of episodes on VHS, laserdisc or even DVD so those people are probably somewhat less concerned when they have to pay more than today's normal price. It doesn't mean that they're right and you're wrong. It just means that you have your price and others may be comfortable with paying more. Gary, you're a very knowledgeable, passionate and friendly guy but just because I disagree with you, I'm not attacking you.

That is a point but I don't know too many consumers that want to return to the old days of pricing in this hobby of ours. The market usually dictates pricepoints. Prices back then don't influence my spending decisions but perhaps there are some here that are influenced by the prices of years ago as it relates to what they are willing to pay in today's market.

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravisR

You said how people point out that they used to pay much more for a TV show than what anyone would pay today and that's undeniably true. I'm sure I'm not the only person here who remembers paying $5 or $10 or $20 an episode for a handful of episodes on VHS, laserdisc or even DVD so those people are probably somewhat less concerned when they have to pay more than today's normal price. It doesn't mean that they're right and you're wrong. It just means that you have your price and others may be comfortable with paying more. Gary, you're a very knowledgeable, passionate and friendly guy but just because I disagree with you, I'm not attacking you.

OK, we're cool. I was really only thinking about one well known poster on these boards who will often "slap our hands" whenever any comment is made about cost because he used to pay $100 for one VHS. That was just my attempt to head him off at the pass should he feel inclined to chastise my post. I've been more than willing to pay the same type of prices you are referring to in the past with different releases so I'm not a cheapskate whining for ultra low prices. And I still pay the going rate, and then some, on certain releases. I know I could wait for the latest Rawhide or Perry Mason release to drop drastically in price and get closer to the $1 per episode price point. A price point, just for the record, that I didn't introduce into the discussion. Just saying. But I still occasionally pre-order things like that and pay a higher price because I love those series and don't at all mind paying those prices. Bottom line, I wasn't trying to tell anyone else what is or isn't a good or appropriate price point. Not at all. Sorry if it came off that way.



Gary "just glad to have so many series on my shelves and didn't have to go bankrupt doing it" O.

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Willis

That is a point but I don't know too many consumers that want to return to the old days of pricing in this hobby of ours. The market usually dictates pricepoints. Prices back then don't influence my spending decisions but perhaps there are some here that are influenced by the prices of years ago as it relates to what they are willing to pay in today's market.

Excellent point, Jeff. One that I concur with 100%.



Gary "I wouldn't own 1/10 of what I do today, in terms of home entertainment via dvd, if I had to pay the prices of yesteryear for them" O.

 

[TravisR]

Bottom line, I wasn't trying to tell anyone else what is or isn't a good or appropriate price point.  Not at all.  Sorry if it came off that way.

No problem. I was probably jumping the gun or reading too much into things anyway and I apologize for doing that.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

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Excellent point, Jeff.  One that I concur with 100%.

 

 

Gary "I wouldn't own 1/10 of what I do today, in terms of home entertainment via dvd, if I had to pay the prices of yesteryear for them" O.

Same here. I will happily say "don't complain about 30-40 bucks a set, some of us were paying over a hundred for Star Trek and Buffy a little under a decade ago", but I also realize that if prices were still at that level, I wouldn't have half the stuff I have, and most of it probably wouldn't have been released, anyway.

Agree with all of the posts recently here, Gary, Steve, Jack, Glen, William. Considering what a lot of us have seen released, it's mostly all good for me too. We all have our lists out there, stalled shows, unreleased, but the TV/DVD boom lasted a while and, just my take on this, there were a lot of shows that made the cut while the market was flowing at a good rate of releases, that I'd not predicted ever seeing available on DVD.

I think that most of us saw the majority of the shows we absolutely, positively couldn't live without released long ago. Sure, there are still some shows we'd like to see released that haven't made it out yet, or are stalled out. But, for the most part, the big ones are complete and sitting on our shelves. Now, many of us are using the cheap prices to start to branch out and explore new series.

 

[Professor Echo]

I just paid $43 for the 1963 UK/US series ESPIONAGE, 24 hour long episodes. I wouldn't say it was a "Grail show," but I watched a single episode many years ago at the Museum formerly known as the Museum Of TV & Radio in Beverly Hills (the only episode they had in their library) and loved it. I have been curious about the series ever since, as I am about anything and everything spy related from the 60's. I never ever thought I would get a chance to see the entire series. It's the most I have paid for a DVD set in awhile, but it was something I really wanted and I waited for it to go on sale at Amazon UK.


As everyone has pointed out and I am just reiterating, so much goes into considering price points. If something will somehow benefit, enhance your life, but isn't a necessity, how much is it ultimately worth to you?


And it's getting a series like this which makes me look at the glass and can't help but see it half-full.

 

[ToddR2]

There's nothing wrong with maintaining a bit of perspective with regards to price. It is much cheaper now to own an episode of a given show, assuming that it is available. We ARE spoiled now, even with the slowdown in releases. Glen stated the point well in his post above. I'd GLADLY pay $5 per remastered, uncut, unsped episode for the missing 39 Naked City episodes, the last season of Route 66, all of The Defenders, NYPD, Bus Stop, etc. , but this is not realistic pricing for the average casual collector. Shane, that is a most vague way of summarizing the state of available releases. The collector of quality TV on DVD is missing many titles, even accounting for those titles that are stalled. "The big ones" that you speak of are not neccessarily quality vintage TV, only popular vintage TV. There is often a VAST difference.

 

[smithb]

A couple of years back I saw an episode of Peter Gunn (never had seen an episode prior) and decided I wanted it. I had read that the UK release was better quality then the R1 A&E, and after searching around I found a steal on Season 2 for $16 US shipped. I was exceited and continued searching for Season 1. Well Season 1 was a tough find, and when I finally found a copy it was for $50 US shipped. Needless to say I picked it up and never looked back. I have no problem searching out the bargains, but some times you just have to have something. I like your list Todd. I have all the Naked City episodes released (had to buy when already OOP) and I'm capturing the remaining off RTV right now. Waiting on the last season of Route 66. Would really like The Defenders, but I have to wonder if there are even any decent prints around. Never seen Bus Stop. I have to say all the just mentioned were/are all new to me. I find it really amazing the caliber of these drama's, but yet how so few are actually released or really even known by the majority. I'm 50 so they are before my time but i watched plenty of reruns in the 60's and was a bit of a TV junkie and if not for here I never would have heard of some of these titles. And I'm sure there are more drama gems that will never get released. I also really enjoyed "Man with a Camera", some really good episodes in that one season.

 

[vnisanian2001]

I've officially had it with Shout! Factory. I hate how they have the nerve to call M.A.S.K. on DVD "The Complete Series" when in reality, it's only the first season. Even tvshowsondvd.com considers both seasons the complete series. It's horrible things like these that leave me thinking to believe that this company cannot be trusted at all. And yes, they do contradict themselves over and over and over again. Sad and embarrassing that this company has been caught lying many times. Everything from the syndicated prints on Father Knows Best season 1, to the Rhoda season 1 debacle, to their not checking for music rights issues in Werewolf, to the encoding issues with All in the Family S7, Mad About You S5, and Rhoda S4. And anything else? I lost count. I've finally opened my eyes. I'm disappointed in them, VERY DISAPPOINTED.