Tim wrote:
On Thu, 2005-10-27 at 09:47 -0600, Robin Laing wrote:
Customer demands for these features on DVD's is the issue.
I really question all these "the customer demanded it" answers to
things. How many people really told Fox/MGM/Paramount/UA/etc. that they
want fancy menus on DVDs? I think that's just a fantasy in the
marketdroid's head.
What do you think people would say if they were asked if they wanted to
easily just sit down and watch a movie, or had to click through a few
screens for a few minutes before they could watch a movie. I know what
my answer would be, amd the answer of lots more people that I know,
particularly the few that only barely understand that they've got to put
a disc in the player *and* put the TV on the right channel/video input
to watch the disc, never mind having to faff about pushing more buttons.
It's like the glossy crap we get from banks in our mail. I really don't
believe the PR bulldust that most of their customers actually told them
we want them to do that. I doubt that even any customers told them
that.
I don't like the DVD's that have all the ad's that cannot be skipped
but then I use the time to get the popcorn and do other things
(someone mention beer :) ) that allow me to just sit and enjoy. Isn't
this what most people do during the commercials?
Puts disc in, it starts doing something.
Goes away, gets food.
Comes back, finds it 10 minutes into movie.
Tries to go back to start of movie, lands at a menu that makes you click
through four slow pages, and watch two even slower, and
un-fast-forwardable, lots of gumph before you can watch the movie.
We paid good money for a sadistic disc that abuses us in this way?
I would like to just put the DVD in and play it but from market
surveys, customers want all the extras. It was one of the features
that pushed DVD sales way over video cassettes. Heck, many people
that I talk to about DVD's spend more time talking about the extras.
Why do all the dual DVD or sets sell so well? In many cases it is the
extras.
And the other option is to rip the DVD and make a backup the way you
want. I am looking at making a movie server for my home system.
I admit that there are times that all the crud in the front is a real
pain. Especially unskippable commercials.
--
Robin Laing
