Blockbuster Responds! (1 Viewer)

[Sean Moon]

American Pie 2 will be the next dual release, but P&S will be for rental while OAR will be for sale. This announcement should take affect soon, hopefully for AI

 

[JohnS]

Rob Lutter,
Shouldn't that be Home Theater Forum 2.
We won with Warner Bros!

 

[Nigel McN]

Jeremy, I think he is more sceptical of where the mp3 came from.

 

[RogerB]

Going forward with the February buy, we will make every effort to buy the widescreen version

Doesn't say anything about making them available for rental. I was able to BUY, but not RENT, the widescreen version of The Mummy Returns at Blockbuster. I remain skeptical....

 

[Clint B]

I really do hope Blockbuster does stock to beef up their widescreen collection for both rental and purchase. We've obviously proven that a subtantial portion of the DVD buying public will not buy or rent anything other than OAR releases, and if that affects their bottom line, then they will listen to us. I do remain a little skeptical, but this seems to be a great starting point. Widescreen TV's will be the standard (even here in the U.S.!) pretty soon, and it makes sense to prepare for it now.

 

[MichaelPe]

Weird... I guess Blockbuster operates independently here in Canada. All of the copies of DVDs I've seen at the store near my house (e.g. Jurassic Park 3, The Mummy Returns, etc) were available for rental exclusively in widescreen.

 

[David Lambert]

Weird... I guess Blockbuster operates independently here in Canada.

I don't think it's a Canada/USA issue. It's the difference between chain stores and franchise stores. All franchise stores can do what they want. The majority of them have always seen the value of getting widescreen. These are also the ones that don't necessarily have the same sales on the same days as the other chain stores, to highlight another difference.

There are far more chain stores than retail stores, IIRC.

 

[Cliff B]

The Blockbuster in my neighborhood has always stocked OAR releases. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find a pan & scam version of anything they stock (unless the studios released a film in that format only).

 

[Jack Briggs]

This Forum makes us more activistic in our effort, and that the Blockbuster wag called is a very good sign. Well done!

 

[paul_v]

A great victory if it pans out...but why wont the studios just package both version on one DVD? That's the most obvious and practical solution. I'm sure it would be a lot cheaper to the studios if they just had to print up one style case, and press both sides of the DVD versus 2 separate DVDs. I just don't see why studios don't do this more. Releasing two seperate versions does not sound practical at all. Both versions on one disk would also help the retailers with shelf space.

 

[John J Nelson]

P&S and Widescreen on the same disc means less room for extras, DTS etc. I think that separate releases for P&S and Widescreen is the best compromise - you pick the version that suits you. Of course, DTS should always go on the W/S disc
-- J.

 

[AaronMK]

I agree that seperetate releases or two disc sets are preferable. When trying to cram both versions on a single disc, extras and video quality suffer. I would be willing to pay acouple extra dollars title to cover the extra cost of two discs if that is what it took.

Both versions on one disk would also help the retailers with shelf space.

They just order the same number of copies of a title, just divide the order between the OAR and MAR release as they see fit. The last I checked at a major retailer, they had the same amount of shelf space devoted to The Fast and the Furious and The Princess Diaries, but the latter was split between the OAR and MAR releases. I would imagine Blockbuster will take this approach as well if they follow through, and I don't think it will ba an issue for them at all.

 

[RogerB]

I believe paul_v was asking why the studios don't put both versions on one disc USING BOTH SIDES OF THE DISC. Does this practice affect disc space/quality/quantity?

 

[Brian Kidd]

Has anyone in the media gotten a confirmation from Blockbuster yet? Blockbuster is the only store in my immediate area, so I'm forced to rent from them if I want to see things that I wouldn't normally purchase. I just don't want to start celebrating yet if the whole thing turns out to be bogus.

 

[Alex Giese]

I rented American Pie 2 over the weekend from Hollywood Videos and it was in P&S. My friend rented the same movie around the same time from Blockbuster and it was in Widescreen! I was jealous. It must be already happening now.

 

[John_Berger]

I think that separate releases for P&S and Widescreen is the best compromise - you pick the version that suits you.

The only this that matters (or SHOULD anyway) is the version that suits the FILM MAKERS! There are enough VCRs out there and cable airtime that are dedicated to the anti-widescreen crowd that there is no reason to pollute DVD with pan-and-scan.
Where's my battle axe?

 

[Derrick_Ellis]

I noticed no on answered Roger's question. To have both sides of the disk be dual layered (Which is a must to keep the movie and extras on one disc), the disc must be manufactured using the DVD-18 format. This format is very hard to manufacture and duplicate. Here is a run down on the other DVD formats:
Name/Capacity (GB)/Layers/Sides/Comments
DVD-5 / 4.7 / 1 / 1 / Read from one side only
DVD-9 / 8.54 / 2 / 1 / Read from one side only
DVD-10 / 9.4 / 1 / 2 / Read from both sides
DVD-18* / 17.08 / 2 / 2 / 4 layers, read from both sides
DVD-R / 4.7-9.4 / 1 / 1 or 2 Recordable DVD
DVD-RAM / 2.6-5.2 / 1 / 1 or 2 Rewritable DVD
DVD-RW / 4.7 / 1 / 1 or 2 Re-Recordable DVD

 

[Grant B]

As far as I know Blockbuster still requires movies with what they feel is objectional material, to make certain cuts in order to be stocked. Because of their size, they do get their way.

I believe this is censorship and is just as bad (or worse since rarely is the director consulted) as the WS ban.

And it isn't just X or NC-17, they will demand cuts from R movies.

When this stops, I will consider walking into a store.

 

[Scott Strang]

P&S is a disease. Blockbuster is feeding the disease therefore they are our enemy.
Got that axe ready John?

 

[John_Berger]

Got that axe ready John?

Aye, laddie! Ah always have muh axe ready. Tis been a long time since I've got any blood on it, ye ken! Ye just point me to the pan-an'-scanner that needs te lose about 20 pounds of ugly weight (also called their head) an' let me do the rest.
Who's got me kilt?!