Widescreen Vs Pan & Scan (1 Viewer)

[Derek Baker]

I have a question :
What are the technical limitations on including both a widescreen & P&S version of a film on any DVD release?
Using the Wonka disc as an example...by adding the OAR version of the film to the DVD - how would this effect the amount of special features, transfer bit rate, etc ?
Would all this fit onto a dual-layer disc? Im trying to find logic for Warner Bros pushing P&S (Maybe there is none!)
------------------

 

[Michael Reuben]

What are the technical limitations on including both a widescreen & P&S version of a film on any DVD release?

It all boils down to space. There's a finite amount on a disc. Many of the early Warner releases (and many current MGM releases) have P&S on one side, widescreen on the other. Those discs generally have few special features, limited audio options, and, depending on the film, a subpar image.
(Someone will no doubt mention "on the fly" panning and scanning. Based on releases to date, it appears to be more of a theory than a genuine option.)
M.

 

[JeremyErwin]

Most modern discs are single sided/dual layer, with a capacity of 8.5 GB. Most of the early disks were single layer (4.7 GB per side).
Because most people hate flipping over the DVD in the middle of the movie, the single layer format essentially capped the maximum size of the movie to 4.7 GB. When dual layer discs came out, the studios started encoding their movies at hgher bitrates, with greater detail and fewer artifacts.
Today, a film such as "Almost Famous" is more than 7.8 GB. The film itself is 5.8 GB. Were the studios to rerelease it as a hybrid, image quality would suffer, as neither version could be longer than 4.7 GB, unless the studios used a dual layer/dual sided disc (17 GB capacity), which is somewhat expensive.
------------------

 

[Chris Bardon]

Or they could just release a 2 disc set (like Universal has done with their UEs). Not only does this give you both versions on dual layer discs, but they can advertise it as having-oh my god....2 DISCS! If it has 2 discs, it must be good...surely better than all of those one disc releases...