Poll: Should companies stop selling a separte Widescreen & Fullscreen versions of DVD (1 Viewer)

[Don_Limey]

I say an EMPHATIC YES. After Tuesday's Target debacle with the FULLSCREEN ONLY of HAPPY GILMORE SET, I believe all companies should stop this & merge both versions on one DVD disc whether it be a dual layer disc or a flip disc like I have noticed that some companies tend to do on certain films. I notice it more though on your top blockbuster films (2 separate versions sold), your Shrek 2's & Spiderman 2's but since 2002 it has gone up. What do you think. Myself I am a widescreen fan all the way & refuse to watch, buy or accept a DVD in fullscreen that is also available in widescreen, I do make some exceptions of some films in fullscreen only like Can't Buy Me Love.

 

[Shane Martin]

I would say Yes but unfortunately they are a business and business make money off this kind of stuff. As long as there is a decent market for fullscreen, they will keep making them.

Merging both versions or a flip disc causes more issues than it fixes. Usually when they merge you get lower picture quality. No thanks.

 

[Ernest Rister]

I don't mind flippers for fullscreen/widescreen, I do mind slapping both versions on one side because of image quality issues. I also don't care if a company issues a fullscreen DVD just so long as a widescreen version with the same features is also available.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

I seem to have been agreeing with you a lot these past 2 or so days Ernest, and I feel the same way about this.

I could care less if a foolscreen DVD is released, the only time I pay attention is when it is the only version that is released.

Edit: Oh, and I have to make sure that I mention that I agree with those...keep that abomination on its own disc, please.

 

[BrentWW]

Don,

Like Shane I do agree there should be one release, but unfortunately companies are more likely to go with the 2 releases.

I'm not sure it's the fact that there are separate widescreen and fullscreen releases, but that there are stores out there who seem to push the fullscreen on customers. Target and Walmart always seem to have an abundance of fullscreen and only a few, if any widescreen.

Then there are the people who actually do prefer fullscreen. Despite losing picture some people do hate "those black bars." If you release widescreen only movies, especially those appealing to kids, you may lose out on a large buying audience.

Perhaps an ideal solution would be a Shrek-like release...the first 2 disc release that is. With that release, there was one disc that had the fullscreen version with some special features, then a 2nd disc that had widescreen with some other features (including DTS I believe.) This plan would certainly eliminate some of the confusion. But again, it's doubtful companies would go for it.

 

[Ted Todorov]

NO, NO, NO! Ideally, there shouldn't be a foolscreen DVD at all, but if they are going to release it, please do it separately.

I don't want to waste my space or sacrifice quality or lose extras for a useless P&S version of the film.

If Target doesn't carry widescreen DON'T SHOP THERE! DeepDiscountDVD and its many on-line competitors are there waiting to serve you with the OAR DVDs...

Ted

 

[Shawn_KE]

No.

We should be able to choose the version we want.

 

[Matt Czyz]

As long as the OAR is offered, I don't care *what* other versions there are.

 

[Don_Limey]

I guess my rant was more based on the stores. I They should equally stock both wide & full. Brent your idea about the 2 disc like Shrek, Elf & Finding Nemo is a great idea. So far I have heard good responses on this thread.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Agreed. No point lowering the quality of the proper presentation to accomodate those who don't know any better.

 

[James L White]

keep the foolscreen version off my disk!!!!!!!

separate fine, on the same DVD- bad

 

[Kenneth Bova]

It's not uncommon to see fullscreen as the only option in certain stores, but I cannot think of one store that stocks widescreen exclusively. Doesn't this skew sales somewhat? If the studios want to manufacture fullscreen discs to appease people who hate black bars, then why allow stores such as Wal Mart to not stock the widescreen copies? Isn't it all about equal representation?

DVD should never have taken that step back to fullscreen. That's what VHS is for. It's all about evolution. So, yes. The companies should stop selling separate versions and only sell widescreen. As elitist as that sounds, it would eliminate fullscreen only releases, right?

 

[Patrick McCart]

No.

There's no harm as long as studios either do OAR-only or both pan & scan plus OAR. That way, everyone is happy (even if they're seeing the wrong compositions).

If a store doesn't carry both, simply buy elsewhere. It's a good reason to buy on cheaper online stores. I've been able to buy every one of my dual release titles (like Indiana Jones) in a store... in fact, most from Wal-Mart.

I feel that having both versions on the same disc is a waste, too. I'm not going to need the P&S version of The Producers or Who Framed Roger Rabbit!

 

[Michael Reuben]

What Ted said, and then some.

M.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

How does putting one version on each side lower the quality? If you use a DVD-18, you get the equivalent of a dual-layer disc on each side and you can just pretend the foolscreen version isn't there. The only disc I have that uses a DVD-18 for both versions is "Bandits", and it has the exact same content on each side with one containing the widescreen version and foolscreen on the other, which comes out the same as it would have been if they'd released separate versions only you get them both together.
I can count on one hand the discs I have where quality obviously suffers for the sake of including both versions. All of these are older titles, most from Warner where each version got a single-layer side such as "All The President's Men". They wouldn't put out a movie that long on a single layer these days. The first release of "Annie" is rather lacking since they decided to put both versions on one dual-layer side (which is still preferable to the new improved special edition which drops the widescreen version entirely), but shorter movies can do this without sacrificing the bitrate.
When DVD was introduced, one of the main ideas was to include BOTH widescreen and pan&scan formats on every disc, essentially putting an end to the controversy by satisfying everyone. Putting out separate releases just makes it more difficult to get the titles you want, as you always have to check and make sure you're getting the right one. Then you also run into problems with some stores stocking only one version, and the sales figures for each version get watched nervously as a "contest" to see what more people prefer. Companies make it even more confusing to the uneducated by labeling the pan and scan versions as "Full Screen", which 99% of the time is a false statement. I work for a retailer taking phone orders, and while I try to discourage people from buying foolscreen releases and advise them that the term is misleading, it's hard to convince them when it says "Full Screen" right there on the cover. At least on the releases that include both versions, you have the comfort of knowing that they'll be able to compare and see the difference for themselves, and hopefully come around to watching the correct version. In a nutshell, separate releases must STOP!
Going a bit off topic, I think the phasing-out of VHS is happening prematurely. Customers still ask for movies on VHS that are only available on DVD, many have gotten DVD players simply because they can't find movies on VHS anymore but couldn't care less about the quality difference of the formats. These people are the reason why companies put out foolscreen releases, or in some cases no widescreen version at all! DVD already took out the laserdisc market, it was doing well enough before it took out VHS. They should keep VHS around for the people who don't care about quality and want everything to fill their screen.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Which are more expensive to manufacture, more prone to errors, and (like all double-sided discs) a PITA to handle.

M.

 

[GarySchrock]

DVD-18's should be banned from the face of the planet. Just way too easy to scratch when trying to get them out of those stupid plastic trays digipacs use.

I'd rather have separate releases, although I honestly don't know why stores are ordering as many full screen copies as they do. I've never seen significant numbers of full-screen copies missing from a shelf, and it's not that uncommon to go into those stores and find the widescreen copies just completely gone. Eventually you have to wake up and look at the numbers, and I honestly doubt they're pointing to full-screen being a dominant factor.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

I don't know the cost of manufacturing DVD-18s, but Universal has put out several releases on that format for under $20 list. "Bandits" (from MGM) currently lists for $14.99. I don't think they'd price them that low if the discs were expensive to manufacture. I've never had a problem handling them either, but that wouldn't even be a concern if one side just had the foolscreen version. You could put as many fingerprints on it as you wanted, or print a label and stick it over that side.
It's a much bigger PITA to have to double-check and make sure you're getting the right version or the store even HAVING the right version, or on the retail side getting customers to buy the right version. There's a lot of customers who don't even pay attention either way- once at Best Buy I saw a guy buy one movie in widescreen and the other in foolscreen- he probably just picked whichever was first on the shelf!

 

[Michael Reuben]

And these are the people whose buying habits should dictate how films get released on DVD? I don't think so.

M.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

I've said the same thing every time I've gone into a Wal-Mart store, but look where we are now