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LV426
15-01-2002, 15:14
Found this over at michaeldvd.com.au:

Blockbuster asking for 4:3 DVDs? - by Shane L

There has been a rumour spreading about Blockbuster putting pressure on the movie studios to make DVDs in 4:3 formats in preference to 16:9 due to supposed "consumer demand".
After contacting Blockbuster in Australia about the benefits of widescreen formatting (where relevant), their response was as below:

I'm not sure where you would have heard that Blockbuster put in a request to major studios that supply their films on DVD for them to supply them in Pan and Scan or Full Frame formats instead of Widescreen 16:9, but nothing could be further from the truth. I think a friend mentioned he had heard that rumour on the internet, but I can assure you that it simply isn't the case.

I couldn't agree with you more that Widescreen is here to stay and is a vastly superior format. In fact, I personally have gone out and purchased a Widescreen television to take advantage of the enhanced experience and I "strongly encourage" studios to offer the "Widescreen" viewing option whenever possible.

The good news is that Blockbuster has exactly the same position as you do and I share your belief that as the public becomes better educated on the benefits of Widescreen they will share your view.

Regards,

Phil McNutt
Director of Product
Blockbuster Australia

So, good news for the Aussies. I wonder if the same views exist here and in the US.
Chris
15-01-2002, 17:21
The US Blockbuster widescreen petition worked (it had almost 20000 signitures), they have now (within the last few days) agreed to start stocking widescreen versions of dvds as well.

Blockbuster has always put pressure on the US studios, Blockbuster US forced the US studios not to use rental windows (blockbuster US have worked out they can make more money with non-rental window releases because it's a lot cheaper for them to get stock)
DarkAvenger
15-01-2002, 18:00
So why have Blockbuster UK been so keen to push for rental windows in Britain or is it just the case that the movie companies have decided on this. Personally I have never rented a movie on DVD and I don't intend to because like VHS before it the discs would have been through so many machines they would be scratched to hell.
OtNife
15-01-2002, 18:16
Originally posted by DarkAvenger
Personally I have never rented a movie on DVD and I don't intend to because like VHS before it the discs would have been through so many machines they would be scratched to hell.

A few scratches on a DVD will in 99% of all cases have no affect whatsoever on the quality of viewing (in my experience). I say rent them with confidence.

I reckon rental DVDs will stay on the shelves much longer than their VHS counterparts. When was the last time a DVD player 'chewed up' a disc?! :)

I heard a VHS cassette diminishes in quality every time it's viewed. Digital media will in theory last for ever...
phlebas
15-01-2002, 18:38
I've rented quite a few discs and never had a problem - much better than crappy VHS that has been through goodness knows how many dirty heads.
adamvbarker
15-01-2002, 18:49
VHS rental tapes will slowly decrease in quality the more they're watched. But a damaged dvd will either not work at all or will have serious glitches (in which case you go and get your money back) - it won't have any decrease in picture quality from having been watched a lot. That's also, of course what makes them worth buying and keeping.
It's also possible to see damage to a dvd, but not to a vhs tape.
I've never found a damaged dvd from Blockbusters.
stephen
16-01-2002, 12:30
Originally posted by OtNife


A few scratches on a DVD will in 99% of all cases have no affect whatsoever on the quality of viewing (in my experience). I say rent them with confidence.

I reckon rental DVDs will stay on the shelves much longer than their VHS counterparts. When was the last time a DVD player 'chewed up' a disc?! :)

I heard a VHS cassette diminishes in quality every time it's viewed. Digital media will in theory last for ever...

The trouble with rental DVDs is the morons who rent them and cover them in finger marks and scratches. I had to spend a while polishing the disk last time I rented one.
thespook
16-01-2002, 13:10
I've only had one bad experience with DVD Rental, I rented 13th Warrior ages ago and it had about 2secs of garbled rubbish on it. When I looked at the underside of the disk - it had a scratch on it so big It looked like it had deflected a bullet:) So they are fairly robust:)
RoboCop4
16-01-2002, 16:04
Originally posted by adamvbarker
I've never found a damaged dvd from Blockbusters.

Funnily enough, the few ex-rental DVDs I have bought from Blockbusters have been a better quality than some of their new discs. I recently wanted to get the Romancing the Stone / Jewel of the Nile set in their sale, but was so appalled by the amount of surface damage to each disc that I changed my mind. :rolleyes: