Guess It's Harder Than I Thought To Operate A DVD/Blu-ray forum... (1 Viewer)

[Dick]

I used to go to DVD Drive-In frequently, as they offer(ed) an in-depth and up-to-date review board of genre titles. Right now they seem to be functioning with a skeleton crew. Their latest "coming soon" announcement (as of 7-31) is for HORROR OF PARTY BEACH from last month. Completely missing from the list are THE CHANGELING, announced ages ago, REVENGE OF THE CREATURE (and the whole CREATURE and INVISIBLE MAN Legacy sets), and several more major titles. Just seems like they're kinda giving up.

What this tells me is that running a site such as theirs takes a lot of commitment and constant updating. I like(d) Drive-In, and I hope they can survive and hire on new reviewers (or, rather, entice more reviewers to volunteer) to keep it more timely. But this all makes me more appreciative of Home Theater Forum, which is always completely current and mostly ahead of other sites in terms of inside information, announcements and reviews, as it attracts the likes of Hollywood personnel and those with amazing technical knowledge into our discussions here, while welcoming those (like me) who are here to learn and contribute what little we are able to offer without ridicule. Many thanks to all the admins and reviewers here who must spend about 25 hours a day keeping us so well-informed.

Long live HTF!

 

[CarlosMeat]

What I find is that high quality reviews are a difficult thing to produce since so many parameters must be considered and watching films becomes a job. I was involved, briefly, as a reviewer on another site and I began to hate it rather quickly simply because my hobby and place I recharged from the real world got flipped into just another responsibility.

As you, I have the greatest respect for folks who supply us with reviews.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

That site seems to get all of their information from press releases and I don’t think NBCUniversal and Kino are supplying them with the information. I noticed our recent restoration of THE MAZE was completely MIA on that website.

 

[J. Casey]

On top of that, they may not get as many screeners as other sites in terms of their reviews. It is a small operation but has a loyal following.

 

[Dick]

Completely missing from the list are THE CHANGELING, announced ages ago, REVENGE OF THE CREATURE (and the whole CREATURE and INVISIBLE MAN Legacy sets). Just seems like they're kinda giving up.

THE CHANGELING was just reviewed on the DVD Drive-In site yesterday (8/1). Still a lot of catching-up to do.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Thanks for the kind words!

The reviews do take a little time to write, and I try to do a little research for all of the titles so that it’s hopefully an informed and useful opinion. I wish I could get them cranked out faster but no matter what I do to try to work faster, they always seem to take about the same amount of time.

It’s always very rewarding when I see that people have read the review posts. I don’t ask or expect everyone to agree with my opinion of the film but it’s always gratifying when the review sparks a nice discussion.

 

[Randy Korstick]

Concerning DVD Drive-in I have been following the site since the Laserdisc and very early DVD days 1996-97. The owners now have 3 separate facebook groups that they run: A Drive in page, A Hammer on Blu Ray page and a Horror on Blu Ray page. They have tons of posts by members of the groups and themselves daily. They probably don't get that much traffic anymore on the DVD Drive-in page and they share the reviews there on Facebook so that's probably why the site doesn't get as much attention. Social Media has kind of replaced these genre specific sites.
The same thing just happened to the very long running TVOnDVD website. They shut down and transitioned to a Facebook page.

 

[TonyD]

Thanks for the kind words!

The reviews do take a little time to write, and I try to do a little research for all of the titles so that it’s hopefully an informed and useful opinion. I wish I could get them cranked out faster but no matter what I do to try to work faster, they always seem to take about the same amount of time.

It’s always very rewarding when I see that people have read the review posts. I don’t ask or expect everyone to agree with my opinion of the film but it’s always gratifying when the review sparks a nice discussion.

.
So that Drive-in site is yours?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

No, sorry for any confusion, I was just talking about my experience writing reviews for HTF.

 

[Mark Booth]

I know some sites have paid reviewers on staff, some even full-time. How does it work here at HTF? Josh, are you paid or volunteer?

Mark

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I read a rumor that HTF reviewers are jetted all over the globe for premieres and lavish parties. I read it on the Internet, so it must be true.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I used to go to DVD Drive-In frequently, as they offer(ed) an in-depth and up-to-date review board of genre titles. Right now they seem to be functioning with a skeleton crew. Their latest "coming soon" announcement (as of 7-31) is for HORROR OF PARTY BEACH from last month. Completely missing from the list are THE CHANGELING, announced ages ago, REVENGE OF THE CREATURE (and the whole CREATURE and INVISIBLE MAN Legacy sets), and several more major titles. Just seems like they're kinda giving up.

What this tells me is that running a site such as theirs takes a lot of commitment and constant updating. I like(d) Drive-In, and I hope they can survive and hire on new reviewers (or, rather, entice more reviewers to volunteer) to keep it more timely. But this all makes me more appreciative of Home Theater Forum, which is always completely current and mostly ahead of other sites in terms of inside information, announcements and reviews, as it attracts the likes of Hollywood personnel and those with amazing technical knowledge into our discussions here, while welcoming those (like me) who are here to learn and contribute what little we are able to offer without ridicule. Many thanks to all the admins and reviewers here who must spend about 25 hours a day keeping us so well-informed.

Long live HTF!

It’s posts like this that remind all of us how much HTF has been and continues to be a labor of love for Ron, Parker, and co. Also, huge thanks to Dave Upton and all the moderators and reviewers, past and present. And last, but not least... Turkey Knapp.

 

[Mike Frezon]

And last, but not least... Turkey Knapp.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I know some sites have paid reviewers on staff, some even full-time. How does it work here at HTF? Josh, are you paid or volunteer?

Mark

Volunteer, but happy to be doing it.