Of all the studios putting out DVDs, Paramount is the worst. When you put in the DVDs, you can't skip through the logos, FBI warnings, and such. I hate the way they trap us. Plus the boxed sets are usually overpriced.

That is my opinion. What are yours?

Lloyd :(

It's no secret that Paramount's home entertainment division is an industry joke -- a not particularly funny joke that has cost parent company Viacom billions in lost revenue. Now that the studio is under new management I would expect to see some changes.

Not surprisingly, I'll be the contrarian because I think Paramount is probably the single most reliable company making DVDs.

Paramount has the ABSOLUTE BEST record for releasing widescreen movies in their original aspect ratio with anamorphic enhancement. They are the hands down winner.

Even going back to the earlies days of DVD, when other companies were putting out unenhanced letterbox or pan-and-scam, Paramount was putting out anamorphic widescreen discs. While Universal just released Colossus the Forbin Project in pan/scam, Paramount released CONQUEST OF SPACE from 1955 in anamorphic widescreen. They also released I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTERSPACE in anamorphic widescreen. BUG...anamorphic widescreen. Would Universal or MGM do that? Sony/Columbia pans-and-scams more films now than they did five years ago!

When Paramount announces a release of a widescreen movie, I know that I will get a good transfer with anamorphic enhancement. For me, they are the closest thing to money in the bank. Every other DVD company is a crapshoot.

Sure, they can do things to annoy me. They almost never include trailers. Geez, more often than not, they include nothing at all on their catalogue releases. As for those damn FBI and other warnings, it's minute lost from my otherwise boring life. But it's the movie that matters...I'll put my hand on the bible and swear that no other DVD company on the planet would have given CONQUEST OF SPACE an anamorphic widescreen transfer.

No Paramount ain't the worst.

The House of Mouse has 'em all beat.

Last week, after waiting the better part of twenty years, I finally got a copy of "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind", Hayao Miyazaki's first, and many still think one of, if not his best original feature.

But, to get to the menu, you have to sit through all the warnings, previews of Porco Rosso, the Cat Returns, Nausicaa and Bambi (?!) before the menu even shows up. It won't let you go direct to it, either.

But at least we're getting good American release dubs of Miyazaki's movies at last, and the movie's worth the wait.

If you hit stop and then play the movie should start playing. If the stop function is locked out after all the crap starts just try to hit it before anything starts playing. Several Paramount dvds giuve you the option of going strait to the movie or watching all the promos. I remember watching one once that locked out ALL functions during the promos, even the power button. I disagree with Brent about Paramount in the early days. Every dvd I bought for the first couple years, up to the fall of '99 was letterbox, not 16x9(Deep Impact, Titanic, Escape From LA, Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, Star Trek V, VI, and Generations) the only one that was 16x9 was Star Trek: First Contact. Most have since been reissued with new 16x9 transfers.

Warner Bros. gets my vote for the best track record. I've never run across a widescreen WB dvd that wasn't 16x9 except for three that are just reissues of MGM dvd titles(Viva Las Vegas, How the West Was Won, Dirty Dozen).
One think that ticks me off is that Universal is reissuing earlier letterboxed titles in the UK with new 16x9 transfers but not in region 1. The War Wagon, High Plains Dfifter and Joe Kidd are just three that come to mind.
I recently got a box set of the WB Fu Manchu trilogy from Europe. The dvds were not made by WB but Vengeance of.. and Brides of... are 1.85 anamorphic, while Face of Fu Manchu, which is 2.35, is letterboxed. AAARRGGG!

Why do these companies hold us hostage, while we are trying to see the movie? On Sky Captain DVD, I had to keep hitting next just to get to the menu, because of all the trailers.

Also,when I got the DVD box sets of TOS, I was shocked that they did not have more extras, like bloopers! When I got ST 2 , the TV ad that I really liked was not on it.

First, it's commercials in the movie theaters. Now, it's forcing us to sit through trailers on DVDs. So frustrating. What I do now is start the DVD, then hit the bathroom, gather up snacks, grab some pillows, and the menu should be up by the time I'm ready.

- JJ

First, it's commercials in the movie theaters. Now, it's forcing us to sit through trailers on DVDs. So frustrating. What I do now is start the DVD, then hit the bathroom, gather up snacks, grab some pillows, and the menu should be up by the time I'm ready.

- JJ

Exactly. They put the promos and such on the discs hoping that we're stupid and lazy enough to actually sit there and watch them. They don't account for those of us with intelligence actually finding ways around their "system".

to get to the menu, you have to sit through all the warnings, previews of Porco Rosso, the Cat Returns, Nausicaa and Bambi (?!) before the menu even shows up. It won't let you go direct to it, either.
I don't have that title, but I've never had trouble skipping through their previews by hitting "Next."
It's no secret that Paramount's home entertainment division is an industry joke -- a not particularly funny joke that has cost parent company Viacom billions in lost revenue.
Okay, it is annoying, but I'm curious as to the basis for this assertion. I don't think most people pay the slightest bit of attention to which studio's name is on the box. And even if they did notice, most don't care. And they can conceivably keep me from skipping through their splash screens and previews -- but they cannot force me to watch.

Qapla'

SSB

Why do these companies hold us hostage, while we are trying to see the movie?

The suits like that they can make you at least see a bit of an ad, no matter how much the marketing and production people tell them people hate it.

Also,when I got the DVD box sets of TOS, I was shocked that they did not have more extras, like bloopers! When I got ST 2 , the TV ad that I really liked was not on it.

Gag reels were never part of what the actor was paid for, therefore you have to negotiate and pay all those who appear in them, and some people outright refuse to allow them. Patrick Stewart, Sarah Michelle Gellar (notice how she is NEVER in the gag reels on the DVDs) among others. V: The Miniseries was all set to have (what I hear is hysterical) a gag reel on it, but someone (I hear Diana) wanted $10,000 for it, so it was scuttled. Since gag reels are now a popular extra, they've been worked into the contracts on a lot of shows, the same as shows buying the DVD rights to music (though they don't always have the spare cash for that)

As far as trailers and TV spots, they get the lowest priority, so when you need disc space, they're the first to go. Other times, even on recent films, there is licensed music that they don't want to pay for again for a trailer.

As far as the cost on the Trek DVDs, it's mostly having to do with the royalty structure Trek is under. The breakdown I've been told is that for every $90 (wholesale price) Trek set, $10 is going to the cast, $10 to Roddenberry, and another $10 is split on various other payments including Berman, Pillar, Braga, Taylor on the series they created. Right there it's 1/3 of your $$ gone before you even get to disc production. Fox had the same issue with X-Files, which has sold far better than the Trek sets, and only recently reduced them to $99 SRP.

I have TOS bloopers on VHS, so at least I have it, but on DVD would have been better.

Here in Canada the recent 2-disc anamorphic Trek DVD sets have been dirt cheap - you can usually get then for less than $15 at any Wal Mart.

Huzz

Here in Canada the recent 2-disc anamorphic Trek DVD sets have been dirt cheap - you can usually get then for less than $15 at any Wal Mart.
Same here -- if you strike while the iron is hot, meaning usually the day of release. This seems to hold true for most semi-major releases and up. I picked up the new Platinum edition of Bambi Tuesday. It was marked at $19.99 or some such, but rang up at $15 and change.

Qapla'

SSB

Okay, it is annoying, but I'm curious as to the basis for this assertion...

My point is that Paramount's short-sighted, go-slow DVD policy has kept many of their best titles off the market ("Reds" being a prime example). The good news is the studio can expect a much needed boost in profits once those titles hit the shelves.