Man I hate those "lock-tabs" (1 Viewer)

[Eric_B_C]

I have one DVD with them on. Therefore I always forget them, and nearly rip my finger nails off trying to open the case before I remember.

 

[jason:g]

I have just received my first DVD case with those lock tabs.
It's the Criterion Collection "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissoi"

 

[Chris Bardon]

I was wondering what the hell was up with those tabs. I noticed that the case for "where the buffalo roam" had these on it. Not really a big deal for me.

I did notice that when I was going through the games bargain bin at a wal-mart the other day, there were a bunch of open cases in there with discs missing. If putting a couple of plastic tabs on a case makes DVDs cheaper, then I'm all for it!

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Most titles with those tabs come with instructions to twist them off, after which they work like normal keepcases and look just fine. I usually leave them on. I have yet to injure myself due to forgetting that the case has lock tabs.

Regards,

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

Of course that's the problem. So far there is no indication that they are preventing theft, thus the added tabs only add to the cost (although by only a couple pennies per disc on average)

I have been scanning industry reports and so far when comparing DVD releases with and without tabs there has not been a measurable difference in the percentage of "lost" discs. However, releases with slip-covers appear to on average to have lower loss rates when compared to similar types of titles without slip-covers. This is the primary reason we are seeing more and more titles being released with slip-covers than ever before, despite the fact that slip-covers are quite costly and can end up being more than the entire per disc manufacturing cost without a slip-cover.

Depending on the source and quantity, slip-covers cost roughly between $0.20 and $1 each. The typical manufacturing cost for a studio release, not including a slip-cover is under $0.75 per disc. For a major release, the cost can drop below $0.50 per disc.

Now before anyone gets too upset wondering why they are paying $20 for a $0.50 DVD, keep in mind there are a lot of other costs that effect DVD prices including production, art design, shipping, and of course retail mark up.

That said, studios like Warner are still able to turn a profit selling the same titles in Asia for under $5 that sell for as much as $20 here. It’s bad enough that Asian bootleggers steal from the studios, but oddly enough because of that, and because the studios are forced to compete with the bootleggers, folks in those markets get authentic DVDs for a lot less than we can here where bootlegging is kept to a minimum.

So instead, we have to pay a premium for DVDs, and hassle over the various security devices that in some cases have not even been proven to make a difference.

It is not fun to be punished for being moral.