# Fox, Paramount, Warner - respect your DVD customers! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 18, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313 "2006-05-18T20:50:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/21 "2006-05-19T15:46:00Z")
> [@Bites When Provoked](#): > > What I can’t forgive is slack-ass editing which means I have to sit through or manually speed through the credits every.single.time. What about discs where you have no choice but to sit through the FBI Warning, Previews, The Following Commentary. . ., etc. Fast Forward doesn’t work, the menu button doesn’t work. Fuck it, I _bought_ the goddamned DVD, I don’t need to see that shit over and over. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/22 "2006-05-19T15:47:10Z")
> [@Andros\_X](#): > > By and large, I have avoided this kind of thing. That’s going to be impossible to do, however, when Fox releases the new version of the first Star Wars trilogy, which will have both the uber-deluxe-ultra-mega-Special Edition and the original cut. “Original cut” as in the original 1977, 1980 and 1983 versions? How can I possibly have missed this? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/23 "2006-05-19T20:41:36Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > What about discs where you have no choice but to sit through the FBI Warning, Previews, The Following Commentary. . ., etc. Fast Forward doesn’t work, the menu button doesn’t work. Fuck it, I _bought_ the goddamned DVD, I don’t need to see that shit over and over. My sentiments precisely! I’ve got an _Outer Limits_ disc on at the moment, and I forgot about their “disable the menu button” trick … so I got five Dire Copyright Warnings screens, in three different languages, before I could get to the next episode. (And I’m lucky, at that; I sat through all the copyright warnings on one Region 2 disc, once. _Twenty-eight_ different languages … ) Why do the major DVD manufacturers feel this is necessary? I _respect_ copyright and intellectual property rights, you can tell this by the way I _pay for the bloody DVDs_. Smaller DVD companies don’t seem to find this necessary. And it doesn’t happen with other products … I have several hundred books around here, all of which have copyright information on one easily-ignored front page. I bought a chicken and mushroom pie from the Co-Op, this afternoon, and they somehow managed to sell it to me without making me watch an informative video on the evils of shoplifting first … But with the big media companies, I can’t get away from these effing copyright warnings, which say, to me: “Oh, you paid honest money for our product, did you? _WELL, WE THINK YOU’RE A LOW-DOWN NO-GOOD LOUSY THIEF!_” Bah, I say, bah. And likewise tchah. A pox and a murrain on 'em all. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/24 "2006-05-19T21:10:29Z")
> [@Bites When Provoked](#): > > What I can’t forgive is slack-ass editing which means I have to sit through or manually speed through the credits every.single.time. Ugh, tell me about it. I have one DVD which is really weird about this (It’s a six-ep series, but it’s divided into 12 parts, I have no idea why). If I try to chapter skip through the opening of an episode, I’ll get thrown into the mid-point of it–so in ep 2 (parts 3 & 4) if I try to skip the opening, I wind up halfway through, at the beginning of what’s listed as part 4. The really stupid part? If I go to the scene selection screen and pick part 3, I’ll wind up at the beginning of the episode, right after the credits. It’s a good series, but the DVD is screwy. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/25 "2006-05-19T21:45:00Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > I’ve given up hope that the pilot of _Twin Peaks_, or anything past episode 7, will ever be made available on DVD. The pilot is available as an import. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/26 "2006-05-19T21:51:21Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > I’ve given up hope that the pilot of _Twin Peaks_, or anything past episode 7, will ever be made available on DVD. You should really go more into this, because it’s probably the most incompetent handling of a DVD release ever made. _Twin Peaks_, for those who don’t know the series, is a _mystery_. But the brilliant TV producers couldn’t get the rights for the Pilot ep, so they released an incomplete season 1, missing all the backstory and setup contained in the first episode. And there’s a _lot_ to miss in an episode of _Twin Peaks_. The pilot ep has been released, standalone, but only in Europe, IIRC. And now they won’t release Season 2 because Season 1 sold so poorly. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/27 "2006-05-19T22:10:18Z")
> [@iamthewalrus(:3=](#): > > The pilot ep has been released, standalone, but only in Europe, IIRC. Mine is from I think Hong Kong. > [@iatw](#): > > And now they won’t release Season 2 because Season 1 sold so poorly. I thought the latest story was that Paramount was in the process of putting together season sets because the rights have finally reverted. ---
**Author:** ![Mame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/858c86/32.png) [@Mame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mame)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/28 "2006-05-20T05:26:14Z")
(tap,tap…is this thing on…tap) Ready? All together… “They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky…” for gods sake, I can find Petticoat Junction on DVD! The entire bloody Andy Griffiths show is on DVD. But not one of the best TV comedies ever. No, they release the Munsters. It’s just not fair. SULK. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/29 "2006-05-20T10:58:53Z")
> [@Steve Wright](#): > > Why do the major DVD manufacturers feel this is necessary? I _respect_ copyright and intellectual property rights, you can tell this by the way I _pay for the bloody DVDs_. Exactly. The argument is that the people who illegally copy DVDs also buy/rent them first, to have something to copy _from_. My reply: is anybody such a naive numbskull that they think a pirate is going to rent a DVD with intent to copy, see the warnings and change their mind? ---
**Author:** ![beebee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47774/32.png) [@beebee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beebee)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/30 "2006-05-20T15:12:20Z")
this why i own 1 share of stock of paramount, 1 of warner and 1 share of several other companies. i write and bitch to them as a stockholder. at least they answer me now. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/31 "2007-02-11T04:26:27Z")
I know reviving dead threads is bad form, but I wish to un-pit Fox from this OP. Fox, [this](http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=6895) is the perfect way to treat the loyal fans. Class act, guys. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/32 "2007-02-11T06:48:44Z")
[QUOTE=Max Torque] Yep, double-dipping is getting outrageous, and it’s not just with TV shows. Seems like the latest thing for the studios to do is release a movie on DVD with what _seems_ to be their full, “I’m happy with this the way it is” version, and then smack you about 8 months later with some super-duper extra-special edition. I’m looking at you, **Sin City** and **Napoleon Dynamite**. [/QUOTE] I don’t know if I should be angry or happy about the release of **Flags of our Fathers** this week. I’m annoyed that they released it with zero (that’s right - zero) special features of any kind. However, I’m happy that they made it so goddamn obvious that they’ll later release a “collectors edition” so I can know to skip this one right out of the gate. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/33 "2007-02-11T07:03:32Z")
[QUOTE=Bites When Provoked] I Take Buffy, for example. I buy the entire series. (Do you know how many episodes that is? I don’t either, but it’s a LOT.) Instead of having the chapter finish directly after the credits, however, they have it finish about another minute or two after that - so if you go ‘fwd chapter’ you miss out part of the episode. [/QUOTE] Not to mention that they bowdlerized _Touched_… not that I am big on W/K, but it’s the principle, gosh darnit. PS, sorry for any typos I haven’t noticed, I have the brightness on my screen turned waaaay down because I am being kept up by a migraine and can barely see anything. (file under: you know you are addicted to the Dope when…) ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/34 "2007-02-11T07:18:16Z")
[QUOTE=Priceguy] Exactly. The argument is that the people who illegally copy DVDs also buy/rent them first, to have something to copy _from_. My reply: is anybody such a naive numbskull that they think a pirate is going to rent a DVD with intent to copy, see the warnings and change their mind? [/QUOTE] Jeez, my room mate and I were sitting through one of those commercials on a DVD I had just brought home from the store. My response? “Man, I already own this, and I feel like downloading this movie from the internet just to SPITE these guys.” 🆒 Seriously, that kind of stuff just pisses me the hell off. Like when you have to sit through the commercials in the movie theater too. I’m surprised the concession stands don’t make me watch a video telling me about how I shouldn’t sneak in food from outside. While we’re talking about crummy DVD releases, let’s talk about Due South, shall we? One of the greatest cop shows ever made, it told the epic tale of a Canadian Mountie who lives in Chicago (it makes sense if you watch the show) and helps his friend, a Chicago detective, solve various crimes and right wrongs. Anyhow, I loved this show. They finally release it on DVD in the US, and Atlantis apparently decided to give the DVD rights to the lowest bidder. The box art for EVERY SINGLE SEASON is identical, with Paul Gross and David Marciano on the cover… _even though David Marciano isn’t even in the last season of the show!_ Callum Keith Rennie, the co-star in the third and final season, gets totally shafted, only mentioned in the fine print on the back of the box, even though he’s the only one of the three actors who even still shows up on TV in the US as far as I can tell. And don’t even get me started on the “Fruit roll up” style DVD case they use, where all the DVDs are on one long sheet that folds up into the box. I freaking hate those, cause they suck at keeping the discs in place, and guarantee that they’ll get scuffed on each other if any of them falls off. Oh, and the DVDs are all identical in appearance, except for a number identifying which disc you’re holding. I’m really glad that Alliance Atlantis and Echo Bridge Entertainment spent less money on these DVDs than they did on tipping the pizza guy. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/35 "2007-02-11T07:29:01Z")
[QUOTE=kung fu lola] Not to mention that they bowdlerized _Touched_… not that I am big on W/K, but it’s the principle, gosh darnit. [/QUOTE] They did? What got nuked? ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/36 "2007-02-11T08:02:15Z")
[QUOTE=Seven] Their double-dipping is back firing on this DVD customer. I’ve about 450-475 DVD’s in my collection. I’m pretty much stopped buying movies when they first come out because \*_I know_ the studio will release the extra special version later - remixed, mastered, audio tracks and extras. If I really want to see the movie before the second release I _might_ rent it. [/QUOTE] I’m the same way. I never buy new release, full price dvds. 90% of the time I buy the blowout sale dvds and used dvds. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/37 "2007-02-11T08:35:04Z")
I suppose the point is that enough people buy the DVDs that it is financially in the company’s (short term) interest to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/38 "2007-02-11T13:49:20Z")
[QUOTE=Priceguy] “Original cut” as in the original 1977, 1980 and 1983 versions? How can I possibly have missed this? [/QUOTE] Original, IIRC, as not even cleaned up and remastered. So, consider it a warning. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/39 "2007-02-11T14:01:13Z")
[QUOTE=h.sapiens] I’ve given up hope that the pilot of _Twin Peaks_, or anything past episode 7, will ever be made available on DVD. [/QUOTE] The release date looks like April 3 or 10 depending on what way the wind blows when you check. [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/Twin-Peaks-Second-Season/dp/B000M3439E/sr=8-1/qid=1171202304/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-7524320-4196910?ie=UTF8&s=dvd) is taking pre-orders for it now. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313/40 "2007-02-11T14:11:20Z")
[QUOTE=Giraffe] You had me until you mentioned that you buy Night Court on DVD. I mean, come on, _Night Court_? Were they all out of “Welcome Back, Kotter” and “Laverne and Shirley”? 😛 [/QUOTE] You’ve got to be kidding, right? _Night Court_ kicked ass. Remember John Astin? “But I’m all better now!” Or “Dan Fielding was-a mammal!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-paramount-warner-respect-your-dvd-customers/357313.md?page=3)