DVD pet peeve (1 Viewer)

[DaViD Boulet]

Not being able to switch audio tracks on the fly is a bit of an annoyance but but I never gave it much thought cause I assumed that it was to keep J6P from frying his speakers by playing a DTS track on a non compatible system.

Just realized that this makes no practical sense:

DVDs have the DTS bitsream output disabled by default...and the user has to go into the "setup" of their DVD player to enable the DTS output to their receiver.

Absolutely no need for the consumer to be "protected" by disabling the audio-change-on-the-fly feature as far as DTS incomptibility issues go.

And as I said earlier, most discs that disable on-the-fly changing don't even have a DTS bitstream!

dave

 

[Cees Alons]

The Shaker

I'm even more anal: I don't shake (because I would help scratching someone else's DVD ). I slowly move and tilt it, to establish the same.

BTW some loose inserts almost sound like a floating disc (an UFO, actually - they are live and well and exist inside some DVD cases!).

Cees

 

[Josh Steinberg]

That brings me to another pet peeve - I hate when they replace optical subtitles that were originally burned into the print with player generated subtitles. I understand using them on certain releases (for instance, on foreign films, thus giving the viewer the option between a subtitled version of the original audio or a dub track) but I see no need for it when only a few lines are spoken in another language. "Annie Hall" is a good example of this; there's a scene with Woody Allen and Diane Keaton talking to each other, and the scene is subtitled translating what they're actually saying into what they actually mean. It's a great little joke that plays up the differences between men and women, but the player generated subtitle thing nearly kills it. And, if you decide you want to watch the entire film with English subtitles (as I often do), then you only get the subtitle of what they're speaking onscreen, and not the subtitle that Woody Allen meant to appear to coincide with their dialogue. Absolutely horrendous DVD authoring choice, and no reason for it.

As far as I know, there are no subtitles of foreign languages in "American Pie," yet I still can't switch between the movie audio and the commentary without going back to the menu. Universal seems to do this for all of their discs, and I can't think of any reason why this would be desirable.

I feel that if I've paid to purchase the DVD, I should be able to watch it any way I want, and that includes switching options on the fly.

 

[STLMIKE]

The discs coming loose inside and getting scratched is a major issue. I've also found that the snap closures on Amaray cases are getting more and more prone to not closing.

Also, those infernal packages like what ST-TNG was in -- fully unfolded, it took up the whole couch. (DS9 is easier to use, but seems flimsy.)

And while the T2 Extreme metal case is cool looking, it is a PAIN to get the disc out.

I'm also a shaker when I buy...

Mike

 

[Ron Reda]

BTW some loose inserts almost sound like a floating disc

My technique has gotten so good that I can now tell the difference between the two! Dang, I need help...:b

 

[Ron Reda]

The sticker that's along the opening edge of the snapper has little cut-outs that cause the sticker to split into multiple pieces when being removed.

Ugh, I forgot about those...they ARE the worst!

 

[Adam_Garris]

I'm very anal about picking my DVDs. First thing I check for is to make sure the plastic isn't wrinkled. Next I make sure the DVD cover is even as well as being completely inside the plastic. Then I gently tilt the case to make sure it's not a floater. All in all, it takes an extra minute or two and does involve checking many different DVDs, but I wouldn't do it any other way.

 

[Cees Alons]

Adam,

That sounds exactly like me. And if a choice is left, do you then choose the one that has the artwork the most symmetrical?
(Do you also adjust the artwork later, when the paper appears to be shifted, i.e. more to the front or the back, and/or up or down?).

Cees

 

[Adam_Garris]

Cees, I thought I was the only one :b

That sounds exactly like me. And if a choice is left, do you then choose the one that has the artwork the most symmetrical?(Do you also adjust the artwork later, when the paper appears to be shifted, i.e. more to the front or the back, and/or up or down?).

Guilty as charged. I will go through as many DVDs as it takes (if that means every DVD than so be it (I did that with Sure Thing just last week)) to find the best available choice. Then when I get home I can shift it to my hearts content and make the artwork as symmetrical as possible.

Another thing I will do is if all of the covers are wrinkled (like GoNY was for me at BestBuy, but perfectly flat when I saw it somewhere else ) I will buy the DVD that has the artwork with best symmetry and replace the case when I get home.

One more thing I've noticed lately, on a couple DVDs the plastic isn't coming completely off the spine. The plastic appears to be extra tight on the spine area and that seems to be the problem. DVDs that I have recently noticed this happening with include Miller's Crossing and Valley Girl. Anyone else know what I'm talking about?

 

[Cees Alons]

Yes! As if there's glue between the wrapping plastic and the plastic on the spine (almost at the middle). When occasionally you try to shift a case out of it's wrapper so it can go in again, that makes it impossible now.

Also, the "safety" stickers now often have a stickier glue. My ususual way of removing it without damaging the plastic has almost become worthless. Miller's Crossing was guilty of that one too.

Cees

 

[Ted Ehlers]

I hate DVDs that contain elves, subliterate action stars, or "wacky" gangsters. But I guess that's more of a content complaint.

 

[Adam_Garris]

the "safety" stickers now often have a stickier glue

If by "safety" stickers you mean the ones for security on the top, bottom, and side I know exactly what you mean. Lately, unless I pull it off quick enough, it leaves a residue on the plastic. When this happens, I take the sticker I just peeled off and use it to get the residue off.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I thought I was the only one that did that! Of course, for ugly adhesive, nothing comes close to the sweepstakes sticker on the original release of Shrek!

 

[Cees Alons]

I take the sticker I just peeled off and use it to get the residue off.

Yes, absolutely the best technique!

Cees

 

[TommyT]

That's my preferred method. However, if you have some patience, peeling the sticker off very slowly works. The problem I've run into here is that often the glue is very sticky & the sticker is a weak paper & it tears easily so now you have 2 stickers to peel off!

What irks me to no end is Warner Bros snap cases (a travestly to begin with...) with edge stickers attached for security. Ya gotta be careful not to wreck the cover art. I wish WB would stop using this packaging type.

 

[Jonathan Dagmar]

I'm fed up with Alliance atlantice producing cheap, shoddelly consructed packaging that looks like the US version, but isnt.

Pulp Fiction Collectors Edition. WHat a joke.

I also cant stand when the little plastic securtiy tag thing is attached UNDERNEATH, the plastic disc holders on cardboard cases. Boogie Nights and Almost famous are both guilty of this.

I have actualy had my fill of bilingual covers by now. I just dont understand why it has become the trend with DVD, it NEVER happened with VHS, it still doesnt happen with CDs, why oh why?

Stupid spoiled Quebec. Can you imagine if Americans were subjected to haveing spanish on every single DVD release?

 

[Jeff D Han]

Yeah, Jonathan, I also don't like to have to jump
through hoops to get the anti-theft tags off of
the packaging. It was a royal pain in the ass to
remove the tag from the case of The Two Towers EE.
It wasn't underneath the disc holders, but it must
have been super-glued to the plastic. I obsess about
removing the tags immediately after opening the
case.

Some other annoyances-

Lengthy menues
Forced trailers (Universal)
noticeable layer changes (there are some DVDs
that have terrible pauses in the middle of
conversations- the latest Casablanca)
Easter eggs (I don't have the patience to look
for a feature that I would like to see without
playing a game to get to it)
Snapper cases (if Warner Brothers insists on giving
us these f**king things, then we should be able to
get the plastic refill when the disc hub breaks)

 

[Jonathan Dagmar]

I concur of the forced trailers. I didn;t mind of VHS, because theres really no other way to do them on that fromat.

But there is no excuse for doing it with a DVD.

 

[Kai Zas]

You should see my Two Towers box :frowning:

On the FotR they used snot to stick the advertisement to the back of the box. Not so with my TT box. No. They had to use a different kind of glue. One that held so well, that now I have torn paper all over the back of my box. Believe me, I was being carefull to get it all of in one try. It ripped. The box is ruined. Maybe I should get some label-off to remove the rest of the glue and paper, but I'm worried the rest of the (cardboard) box can't take it. Plus, I don't want my dvd collection to smell like oranges. Bastards. Why didn't they stick with the snot?

This also happend on some of my TNG boxes. In the end, I kept the advertisements on.

DS9 came in plastic boxes. Better for glue removal, true, but this time they found something else to annoy me. I opend my season 7 to inspect the discs. When I wanted to put the box back into the plastic sleeve, it wouldn't fit. Took me a minute to notice the stupid black piece of anti-theft plastic on the bottom. I HAD to remove it before I could fit the box back in.

You'd think online retailers could have some sort of deal not to have those in there, right? The same with the advertisements on the back. I know what's in the box, I know that it's a great deal and I know it's the first time ever that I could own this great collectors set. I've already bought the thing!

I just read that online shopping increased with 42% in the states this year. Let's hope that dvd makers start catering to the online stores soon.

Oh... and then there's the chapter stops. I watch a lot of tv-on-dvd, so after a while, you start skipping the theme tunes. It's been a problem on all Star Trek sets so far. A few episodes don't have a chapterstop after the opening credits. You skip ahead, don't notice it right away, until after half a minute or so, you notice the title of the ep didn't appear and the story seems to have advanced quite a bit from the opening "cliffhanger". Is it so hard to be a bit more carefull with these things? We are talking about a lot of boxes being sold here.

 

[Jonathan Dagmar]

Arggh, I can completely relate to the boxes for both the FoTR and TT Extended cuts. Alliance had to stick this stupid pointless piece of paper onto the top and back of the box, with superglure. I did manage to get them off without too much damage, but the tops of the boxes are al scuffed up from me rubbing to get the glue off.

I have since been informed by y dear mother than a little dab of essential oil of grapefruit (which is not really oily at all) will take the glue off. I tired it on my back to the future box, which had a nasty patch of strong glue that was collecting hair and dust, and low and behold it works like a charm, cam off darn near instantly, with no damage to the paper. Very very gentle, and very recomended.
(and no, it didnt make it smell like grapegruit, at least only very slightly, which I am sure will disipate in a few hours.)