The Next Generation of DVDs Need More Content
Does anyone really watch all of the special features that come with today’s DVDs? Personally, I don’t. Now maybe you do. Maybe you really like those “behind the scenes” clips or the “making of” mini-movies. But I don’t get very excited about them. You see, I want special features that are actually, well, special.
If I just watched a mediocre movie, I don’t care how it was made. “Not well” would be my guess. In fact, a movie has to have some really amazing bonus features for me to even bother putting in the second disk. I realize that part of this is due to storage constraints on the medium itself. But between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD all that is about to change.
In the future I want the following special features on my bonus disks:
1. The iPod version of the movie I just watched
2. High resolution pictures and production art from the movie that I can download to my computer
3. A copy of any song that appeared in the movie
And I don’t think any of my requests are all that out of hand. The first one, including an iPod scaled version of the movie on the DVD, seems rather obvious to me. If I liked this movie enough to buy it so I could watch it on my TV, I might just want to watch it on my iPod as well.
As for the pictures, this isn’t so much of an essential requirement as a bit of wishful thinking. I have seen numerous movie posters that I thought were quite exceptional. And I would readily put them on my desktop if I could only find a high resolution image of it. However, I don’t have time always to scour Google or Bit Torrent for it, so I am left with my original boring background. This seems to be so easy, why isn’t it already a feature?
Keeping in mind how crazy the RIAA is I don’t think this dream will come true any time soon, however I can still wish upon my lucky star, right? Including the music from a film would be a nice touch, though certainly not a deal breaker for this consumer. It would just save me the time of having to download it off the Net.
Now, I don’t expect these three things to be free (especially the music) and so I think it only reasonable for the movie studios to increase the cost of their products to cover these extra costs. However, since there are some consumers who might not want all of these features a good solution would be to offer a standard version and then this extended version with “real” bonus features.
It may be a dream that will never come true, but it is still a good dream. And one I hope will soon be realized. Till then, its back to Google.
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What, you want extras that are actually worth the extra money you are paying for the “SE” DVD? No way James, such “Extras” make viable products you are expected to pay for again. And again. And again.
When I bought the SE version of Donny Darko on DVD it came complete with the full soundtrack. But guess what it was missing?Right, the one track off the OST you would actually care for, Gary Jules “Mad World”.
“When I bought the SE version of Donny Darko on DVD it came complete with the full soundtrack. But guess what it was missing?Right, the one track off the OST you would actually care for, Gary Jules “Mad World”.”
...And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad… ;-]
Well, this story is more sad than funny. The song’s great… Anyway, what did you do about it? ;-]
“Keeping in mind how crazy the RIAA is I don’t think this dream will come true any time soon”
Any time soon? It will NEVER happen! They won’t give you free music even if you pay for it. ;-]
The other part which will never happen: iPod compatible versions.
They are already selling new movies “Now on DVD and PSP”. Translation: “You WILL buy it twice!”
Here’s a realistic expectation which might happen: “Widescreen AND Fullscreen versions on each movie.” I like widescreen, my wife hates the black bars at the top and bottom. I offered to compromise by buying a 42” Plasma widescreen TV. She counteroffered with “no”
(and of course there would have been the bars on the left and right for non-widescreen contant)
Some early DVDs had both versions on one disk, but then they went “Oh wait, we could sell these separately!” and that was that.
It’s a trap of its making for the studios that “bonus” has come to mean “required” material for DVD releases. It’s great for me as a fan of movies, but it’s a real hinderence for me as a filmmaker. In a lot of ways, it’s like David Copperfield releasing a DVD of his show with video clips that show the DVD audience how he does all of his tricks. The audience might THINK they want to know, but really they don’t and they’re better off not knowing.
On the other hand, I think the bonus materials James mentions are truly “bonus” materials. They don’t spoil the illusion but complement the audience’s experience by extending the entertainment value of the movie itself.
That said, none of these will happen (unfortunately) for reasons to numerous to mention, but all of them having to do with an entangled web of money.
The possible exception being movie scores, which do sometimes appear in some mega editions of DVDs (my super d of E.T. had one).
luomat, “Fullscreen” or Pan&Scan; versions of originally widescreen content (even if just “open matte”) are one of the ..issues.. of home video that never should have been. Missing half of the visual content just to fill the screen, thereby obscuring the artistic intention seems pretty counterproductive.
Alternative suggestion to please your wife: Front projection! No more bars
@Frosty Grin: Got me the Gary Jules CD instead of the Soundtrack
To include 1 movie worth watching on every VHS tape would have been perfectly enough for my taste. However, the number of movies worth watching on every VHS tape, is, on an average, probably around 0.05. This should help put that discussion into perspective.
Now we’re being shipped region coded DVD data storage for movies, and they threaten with yet another format for even more of I don’t know what. So I look at that figure of 0.05 and realize that since the arrival of DVD, it has dropped to 0.02 worthwhile movies for every movie DVD offered.
So, no, I don’t need that stuff on iPod video format or any other format. Presales IMDB checking is what is really important, and an indication when in time they’ll sell a particular movie for less than 5 bucks, and mind you, I don’t care if it’s only in 2 or 3 or maybe 6 years. You can bet that I have some old movies to watch until then