Magazine Poll: (1 Viewer)

[David_D_C]

1. releases that aren't in original aspect ratio

2. messy layer changes

3. non-intuitive menus

4. lack of DTS

5. non-standard and/or cardboard cases ie: X-Men and Moulan Rouge

6. calling Pan & Scan "Full Screen"

 

[John Stone]

1. Non-OAR releases.

2. Non-anamorphic widescreen releases.

3. Snapper cases.

4. Audio tracks that can't be switched on the fly.

5. Lack of time elapsed/time remaining display (many supplements lack this "feature").

6. FBI warnings, trailers and other material at the beginning of the disc.

7. Slow menus/elaborate menu animations that can't be bypassed.

8. Security stickers.

9. "Best of" box sets. We want box sets of complete seasons.

10. Edge enhancement.

 

[MartinTeller]

1) DVDs without an OAR option

2) DVDs without original audio option: 5.1 and DTS are all well and good, but I want to hear it the way the director made it, without Joe Blow from the local junior college of sound design second guessing him.

3) Non-sequential non-season TV releases: *cough* South Park *cough*

4) Over-animated menus: I shouldn't have to wait 3 minutes before I can select "Play Movie"

5) Deafening studio intros: I'm now conditioned to dial the volume WAY down when inserting new discs from certain studios

6) Supplements without timecodes: when I sit down to watch that documentary, I want to know if I'm committing myself to 10 minutes or 90 minutes.

7) Poorly organized still galleries: don't make me flip through 200+ pictures without some kind of organization... give me thumbnails, or put them in distinct categories. See Snow White for an excellent example of how to do still galleries the RIGHT way.

8) No booklet: I know it's a silly thing to complain about, but darn it, I love to read through the little booklet after watching a movie.

9) Snapper cases: no place for a booklet (see above), they get caught on other discs when you pull them off the shelf, and they just look cheap.

10) Extra-lengthy text supplements: don't get me wrong!! I LOVE having any extra info. But I hate READing the TV unless it's subtitles on a foreign film. How hard would it be to hire a cheap actor to read them aloud over a series of stills?

EDIT: After reading (and being horrified by) some other people's answers, I want to clarify #9. I LOVE special packaging. Please, PLEASE do not stop making beautiful cases like the ones we have for Fight Club, Boogie Nights, Sixth Sense, Lawrence of Arabia, Wicker Man, etc. Not all my DVDs have to look exactly alike. I applaud originality and going the extra mile to make a DVD unique. My only objection is to snapper cases.

 

[Rain]

1. Releases that are not in their original aspect ratios

2. Poor transfers

3. Non-anamorphic widescreen titles

4. Subtitles: Translation-only subs on foreign films should be optional, as they are not an inherent part of the film; Subs that are an inherent part of the film (like Annie Hall) should be burned in as originally intended.

5. Censorship (ie. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?)

6. Lack of original soundtracks

7. Bad layer changes (ie. poorly placed)

8. Intros before the film that you can't skip past.

9. Inability to switch audio tracks or turn subs on/off while the movie is playing.

10. Menus that take forever to give you the option to play the movie. I don't buy DVDs to watch the menu for 5 minutes.

Why should the studios pay attention to us?

It is people like us that made the DVD format successful in the first place. It is people like us who spend many dollars buying DVDs and supporting the industry. Though the studios may pander to the uneducated by releasing non-OAR DVDs and the like, what they are forgetting is that the people who want that sort of thing are not buying as many DVDs (by a long shot) as we are. Plus, it has been my experience that once they realize why DVDs are widescreen in the first place, most people do come around to supporting OAR. I don't think there are too many of us here who couldn't tell you of at least one such success story. DVD is a great home video format and should be used properly to preserve the intentions of the artists who made the films.

 

[Oliver Kopp]

1. Pan & Scan

2. no english subtitles in the movie / documentaries

3. moviespoilers in the menuanimations

4. non-skipable, long menuanimations everytime I make a selection

5. loud menus

6. no "play all" function when there are a dozend 30 seconds to 2 minutes making of or interview clips.

7. "best of" or "themed" sets of TV shows

8. Scene Selection and Interactive menus listed as bonus features

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Things that annoy me:

1.Lack of theatrical aspect ratio presentation

2.Lack of anamorphic transfers for aspect ratios 1.66:1 or wider

3. Video defects: edge enhancement, excessive DVNR, poor source material, rehashing old transfers

4. Excessive menu navigation or animations

5. Cardboard packaging (snappers)

6. High prices

7. Rereleases - do it right the first time

8. Not using original poster art for the covers/inconsistent spine art across series

9. Poor quality control: missing/malfunctioning subtitles, using wrong masters, obvious video/audio defects

10. Not enough catalogue releases

 

[Steve Russell]

1. Stuff we are forced to watch - my skip button should work.

2. Multiple releases - I've gotten burned by this several times. Flipper Seven, DTS X-files, etc...

3.Bad locations for layer changes.

4. 5.1 audio should be the default. Every reciever sold today(except stereo models) has 5.1 capability. The 5.1 can be downconverted by the player depending on hookup options.

5. More DTS. Most of the recievers sold now have DTS.

6. Complex/confusing/poorly designed menus

7. Lack of older catalog titles - We have 3 versions of the mummy(ultimate, WS, and PS) yet there are a lot of older titles that could be released instead of multiples of the same titles.

8. High prices - okay, volume has brought down the hardware prices.Why not the software. The blanks and materials have probably gotten cheaper. Why not the end products?

 

[Bjorn Olav Nyberg]

Not the original aspect ratio

Bad transfers

No anamorphic enhancement on wide material (including 1.66:1)

Multiple editions with different extras (This includes regional differences)

Lack of english subtitles, for the movie and extras including commentary. And I want player generated subtitles, not closed captions.

Spoilers on cover or in menus

Edge enhancement

Advertisement, including forced and/or non-skippable trailers. Why not put them in a menu? I will still watch them, but in that case I will be happy. Maybe that sounds illogical to some, but that is how it is.

Menus that do more than I tell it to. F. ex. Jumping back to main menu after selecting audio track or subtitle (Paramount), or even worse, start the movie (USA) or scene selections that automatically select the portion you highlight without pressing select (MGM)

Stickers on covers, particularly if they leave glue, or even worse, rip the cover.

 

[Bill J]

1. Not in OAR

2. Snappers

3. Non-anamorphic releases

4. Confusing menus

5. Lack of trailers

6. Bare-bones releases for classic films

7. Rereleases of 2-disc sets as 1-disc sets

8. Subtitles that aren't burned in

9. Intros that you can't skip

10. Bad layer changes

 

[Daniel _J_K]

Pan & Scan

Edge Enhancement

 

[Rob T]

1. non-OAR

2. non-anamorphic

3. no (or barely any) extras

4. pan & scan only releases

5. Snappers

6. Bad transfers

7. High prices

8. Rereleases

9. best of box sets

10. Case hubs that make it hard to remove the disc

 

[Iain Lambert]

1) Finding the Widescreen release when its done as two seperate releases (and then finding that its more expensive than the butchered pan and scan release)!

2) Those overly long animated menus - I want to watch the film, not the menu.

3) Generally taking far too long to get to the film (slow FBI warnings, adverts etc.)

4) Those Warner snappers. They are a different size to normal boxes, and mark really easily.

5) Hiding the features 'white rabbit' style, so you have to watch the film again with the remote to hand, rather than just choosing them from a menu.

6) The clear plastic trays that Fox used for Moulin Rouge and New Line used for the Seven Platinum edition look great, but always (really always - I've yet to have one survive) arrive with a broken hub. Please choose something more sturdy for titles that are so clearly aimed at collectors!

7) (and most importantly) Spoilers on the cover or in the menu. I hate having to tell friends to look away from the screen while I'm in the menu because they haven't seen it yet - and its not just catalog titles like Planet Of The Apes; The Perfect Storm is just one example of a (then) new release that shows the ending as a dramatic menu backdrop.

 

[Paul W]

My pet peeves:

1- No OAR available

2- 1.66:1 not anamorphically enhanced

3- Snapper cases (time for that WB subsidiary to invent something better!)

4- Cases where the center hub breaks

5- Showing menu selection with a color change only (on menus where there are only two items, it is difficult to tell which item is actually selected).

6- Lack of support for DTS

7- Bad sound mixes

8- Studios that don't test the functionality of their software (Holy Grail anyone?)

9- Difficult to navigate chapter menus (Pink Floyd the Wall?)

10- Edge enhancement (or other halo artifacts)!!!!! Somebody get those telecine operators a 30" monitor, please!

Oh, and this one goes to . . .

11- Player generated subtitles (If you can't do it right, don't substitute player generated subtitles when you forget to burn them in!)

 

[Dave Morton]

I agree with everything everyone listed.

 

[John Berggren]

1) MAR. No film should be presented in any version save for it's original without the original being available. It concerns me that support for other-than-OAR is growing at the studios.

2) Snapper Cases. They suck. Keepcases are a perfect container for DVD. Snapper cases are cheap and easily damaged.

3) Non-Anamorphic transfers. Lately I've only had to suffer non-anamorphic transfers on independent releases. I feel that if it's worth the effort to put on DVD, it's worth the expense to enhance it.

4) Television Series release in R1. R2 seems to have it all, TV series released in short order after their original broadcast - in broadcast order, generally in season-by-season boxed sets. Fox does this right. Warner is hit or (usually) miss. Paramount has it going on with Star Trek. However for every one series that's announced or available, there are ten that I'd like to own.

5) The spectre of rental pricing. It hasn't come forth yet, but it seems forever looming on the horizon. Don't give into blockbuster. I would prefer to continue buying my discs and renting them (occasionally) from the local mom and pop rental outlet.

6) Poorly placed layer changes. Fade to black. Fade to white. I don't care where you put it, but I have yet to see a film that didn't have an ideal layer-change location. Between dialogue or on a character's face is a BAD PLACE for a layer change.

7) Modified content. The most obvious examples would be Fantasia and Roger Rabbit. Films should be available as they were made, regardless of changing soceital mores. This includes Song of the South and even Leni Riefenstahl films. Historical perspective on commentary tracks can do a much better job of dissaproving of "the old ways" than sweeping them under the carpet.

8) Not so special editions. Several people involved in making films are willing to create and contribute bonus content for DVD releases as a part of their overall contribution to the film. There are actors, directors, producers (etc) who care so much about the film that they are working on that they'd do anything to support a DVD release. It's a shame to see a bare bones release on most any film.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

1. Snapper cases as noted in almost ALL the posts
2. Using other than the two piece retainer to hold the dvd, all others are a real PAIN to remove the dvd.
3. Not using the better sound tracks on the Extras provided on the disc.
4. FBI warnings, these could be placed on the INSIDE of the cover? and not within the disk? or even a logo indicating such information on the disk art work
5. Soundtracks, put the money into restoring them as best as possible, as well as the transfer of course.
6. NO flipper disks, those are just asking for bad handling practice, use two disks when needed.
7. Remo Williams would be nice
Short list...
G2

 

[Grant B]

1.Commericals -ok for free tv,not for buying

2. forced menus

3. DVD ROM stuff on the 1st disc

4. Multiple crappy versions- -not years apart but months!

5.Inferior to Laserdisc Sound - If DVDs are so great, why do they sound so Bad compared to LDs!

6. A 2nd disc with barely enough data for a CD ROM

7. 2 disc sets you are forced to buy - Sometimes I want just the movie

 

[Jesse Skeen]

Just a few more here:

SECURITY STICKERS- especially ones on snapper cases! I don't hate snapper cases, but I just had one get messed up peeling the sticker off of it!

Reluctance to use uncompressed PCM sound on non-multichannel soundtracks (el-cheapo label Simitar did it on almost everything they put out, why can't everyone else?)

Multi-volume sets that don't use the discs' full storage space, instead spreading it out to several discs unnecessarily, also DVD-18's still not being commonplace (I think storage capacity is cooler than 'full-color disc art')

Bad-quality analog videotape sources- I know companies like Madacy can't afford to use top-notch restored prints, but using what looks like VHS tape source complete with dropouts is embarrassing!

 

[Nate Anderson]

1. Full-Screen only releases

2. Non-Anamorphic transfers.

3. No trailers, especially for the movie.

 

[AaronMK]

1. P&S only releases

2. Poor support by certian retail and rental outlets of OAR releases when their are seperate OAR and P&S releases

3. The fact that people do not know how to handle discs, resulting in rentals that freeze my player

4. Snappers

5. Froced trailers and FBI warnings.

6. Menus that force you to watch an animation with each transition

7. Receiving a rattler in the mail.

8. 2-disc sets being downgraded to single disc releases

9. Constant rereleases (Just do it right the first time)

10. No Indiana Jones or original Star Wars Trilogy