What happened to DVDFile??? (1 Viewer)

[Adam Tyner]

...and even though you're modest enough not to list yourself, Colin , in terms of quality and the level of detail lavished upon each title, I haven't seen a site that approaches DVD Movie Guide.

 

[Bill Hunt]

I've known Pete for years now and, like Ron, I can vouch for the fact that he's a great guy. Back in the early days of the format, it would often be just Pete, Guido Henkel (of DVD Review) and myself showing up all the DVD press events. That was back when DVD was going to be just another "niche" format according to all the "reliable" industry predictions.

As far as DVD File, I spoke with Pete at the Star Wars event and my understanding is that he's left the site to work on his various writing projects (books, etc). I can certainly appreciate that - Pete built File into one of the truly great DVD websites, but it's a tough gig and it wears on you, especially for those of us who were there from the beginning. I think we've all been pursuing other interests to a degree.

All of us at The Bits want to wish Pete the best of luck and tremendous success with his new efforts. We're definitely looking forward to his Friday the 13th commentary.

 

[MarkHarrison]

I usually hit Colin's site first. No other site out there goes into as much detail on the bonus features. You can usually find out how long each feature is and even how many photos or screens of text. Since I always watch the bonus material, I appreciate knowing in advance how much is there.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I didn't post my comments about good sites to troll for compliments, but I do appreciate them!

I'll be interested to see how DVD File moves on without Peter Bracke. I got the impression he was the driving force behind the site and that he did the vast majority of the work. Maybe I was wrong and once they regroup, they'll be fine. While I have serious issues with many of their reviews - mainly Bracke's - I definitely value them as a news source. While I prefer not to rate my site's reviews, I WILL say that we suck when it comes to news - if you're coming to us for that information, you must not know of any other sites!

 

[GeorgePaul]

Peter Bracke's reviews on DVDFile were invariably incisive and intelligent. I would always shake my head in amazement at how many critical points he'd bring up in assessment of extras and sound quality of DVDs that I was simpatico with. His reviews kept me coming back to the site, even if the news wasn't always as up-to-date as some other sites, IMHO. Best of luck to Mr. Peter "Ki-ki-ki Ma-ma-ma" Bracke.

 

[David_Blackwell]

Yep, it is convoluted at times.

 

[Charles de Lauzirika]

I was just at the Arclight theater in Hollywood a couple hours ago and guess who I ran into? None other than Peter M. Bracke himself, along with fellow DVD File veteran Karen Idelson.

He's alive and well and weighing his options. I told him about this thread and he seemed to get a kick out of it.

I truly enjoyed DVD File during Peter's reign...even though I think he took perverse pleasure in misspelling my name every chance he had!

Oh, and hey, Bill. Return my call, will ya? Sheesh, all of these DVD webmasters going crazy...you'd think there was a major DVD release next week or something...

 

[Bill Hunt]

I'm dialing, I'm dialing...!

 

[Paul Hillenbrand]

Interesting how things can change so quickly.

Peter Bracke’s August 1, 2004 announcement of the “Ultimate DVD” book, found at the “Editor’s Desk” link at DVDFile
http://www.dvdfile.com/news/viewpoin...004/08_01.html
2nd to the last paragraph, Peter writes:

 

[Paul.S]

Thx for the telling quote, Paul.

Two weeks later was his last b.o. report.

-p

 

[Yee-Ming]

Interesting to see so many have the same "habit" as I do, i.e. checking HTF, Digitalbits and DVDFile for their information and news on DVDs. Just to say, big thumbs up for the good folk who work hard on these three sites!

I frequent one other forum, but only because that one is locally-based as compared to all these US sites, and you need that for information on local B&M deals and pricing, local availability of stuff, or to buy/sell second-hand stuff.

 

[george kaplan]

What I don't understand is, regardless of what's happening behind the scenes, can't a site that used to post lots of new information almost every day, post even a simple message explaining what's going on, or telling people that the site is undergoing an overhaul or whatever? Just leaving it as it was, last updated 12 days ago, with no indication of what's going on is unprofessional. How long would it take somebody to post such a simple message? I don't know who is, or isn't, going to be running this site in the future, but years of good will and positive image, are going to be washed away by a few weeks of neglect. It won't take long before people who go to dvdfile everyday, start crossing it off their list of sites to visit.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

You're correct - this makes absolutely no sense. Heck, when we know we're going to be dark for a couple of days, we put up a notice explaining that - sites establish a rhythm with readers and if they break that, they need to say why. It's not exactly rocket science.

Perhaps DVD File didn't post a note because they didn't know they'd be down this long. At this point, though, they clearly need to make some sort of statement about the situation, unless they think threads like this add to the mystery and make people love them more...

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Wondering what the slow-down over at DVDfile was about myself. hmmm.


Both Dan and Peter have front-projection systems, yet I find that consistently I comport with Dan's picture quality assessments but not with Peter's...Peter has given many rave reviews to titles that reveal some glaring problems when projected in my system...but Dan's impressions almost always mirror my own. Not to say that my impressions are infalible or that my system is reference quality...but when you see what appear to be obvious problems, it's always odd to hear another reviewer say "the transfer was perfect". Dan is always spot-on in his critique.

Specifically, I remember when I reviewed the Station Agent how the image looked filtered and had some obvious EE...Peter said it was highly detailed, sharp, and had no signs of EE. (???) I was perplexed at how his impressions were so different from my own...and it made me wonder if he still uses a FP system or if he'd been viewing on a HD monitor for that review instead. Then when I slammed Cold Mountain for being so filtered and digitally processed, every other site I read praised the transfer but Dan's comments almost exactly mirrored my own...he was the only other reviewer who saw the problems that I saw...or at least the only reviewer who commented on them.

Now when I review a title I find myself rushing off to DVD file to see if Dan's reviewed it and to see if his impressions reflect my own.

Dan's my boy!

-dave

 

[Doug Schiller]

Weighing his options?
Personal reasons?

It still doesn't make sense to me.

Count me as another long time fan of DVDFile. It used to be an every morning visit until the reviews started trickling in.

As another poster pointed out, I was a little put off by no response or changes when I emailed on glaring errors in their reviews (i.e. they posted that Dawn of the Dead is DTSES in not one, but two reviews)

A simple note is all that is needed that they are taking a break. Sounds like a contract issue and the readers are caught in the middle.

I'm probably the world's biggest Bob Dylan fan but I'm starting to get sick of seeing his mug everytime I visit the site!

I've been around since the beginning and have only scratched one major site off my list (it wasn't mentioned in this "Big" thread). I would hate to do it with File. I just love their writing style and reviews.

Doug

 

[Matt Butler]

So Bill, Is dvdfile done?

 

[GeorgePaul]

The File may not be done, but I'm pretty much done with the File. The lack of news updates, and the fact that the reviews have slowed to a trickle, have pretty much put me off that once great site for good. It sure wasn't Peter Bracke's fault...the site just doesn't seem to have enough support staff.

 

[Michael Allred]

www.dvdfile.com has been my favorite site for news and reviews for a few years now. I checked it every single damn day but yeah, the coma it's currently in has put me off mostly because (as others have said) there has been no explanation. News was always fresh, new reviews were up all the time, etc. I noticed something was up when I kept checking the box office report and the same "Alien vs Predator" bit was there, even though the headline refered to the most recent weekend.

The Digital Bits? I never read it for the reviews to be honest. When I did look, the "latest" reviews were for titles a month or so old but at least the news is current.

I used to write reviews for Link Removed and well, to be frank it's not the same place it used to be. I rarely bother going there any more (I think I looked a few weeks ago.)

Of course there's always HTF....my trusted friend

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

Yeah, I liked DVDFile's reviews as well and have to agree with Michael about TDB's review output. DVDFile read like a more "professional" site, while TDB is significantly more "personal"-- together, I'm happy with them both complementing one another. TDB is a bit more folksy and you get a much stronger sense of who Bill and Todd are there than you ever did from the DVDFile bunch.

Frankly, however, I've been relying on DavisDVD.com and the UK's DVDAnswers for more detailed news advice; with DVDFile apparently in limbo -- and no excuses or explanations made for this -- I'm going to stick with them from now on.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

I used to check dvdfile every day, for new reviews and for news/editorials, what have you.

I don't think I've been to that site in 6 months now. That's not to say that I don't care for it anymore, I don't spend as much time online as I used to, I've found other sites that have become more of a must read.

I check DVDVerdict for reviews, as well as DVDbasin which gives links to reviews from several sites, and I check HTF/TVShowsonDVD.com/The bits for my news and information needs.

DVDFile was one of the first DVD Sites I ever visited and now, I don't know why, but I don't make time for it anymore. I'm sad to see it go if it does, and know that there are still a lot of people that enjoy the site, and I wish it nothing but success regardless of who is running the show.