I am the proud new owner of a new DVD player, and yes, I know about Netflix (seems like that’s the first question people ask, so I thought I’d take care of that right now.) In reading the manual that came with it, I see that it has the capability of showing different angles, if they’re available on the DVD. When I first read that, I thought to myself “Hey, that’s cool, but I bet next to no DVD’s actually include more than one angle.”
Since then, I’ve heard and read that there are often different angles on a DVD. Is this true? If so, how do I tell if they’re there? Putting “Gladiator” in and hitting the “Angle” button just puts some sort of cryptic message on the screen that equates to “Forget it, buddy, there’s only one angle here.”
The multiple angles are usually only for certain sections of the DVD. Like a particular extra or scene or something. An indicator should show up somewhere, either on the screen or on the front-panel display of the player. The best way to describe the indicator on mine is… an angle symbol. Like a V on it’s side with an arc drawn thru each side’s midpoint.
So yeah, it should be pretty obvious, but since it’s pretty rare still, you don’t see the obvious signs much.
Not true, I found at least one review of “Men In Black” that states that they included multiple angles in one scene. But multi-angled porn… now there’s an interesting thought…
The James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, if I recall correctly, uses the multi-angle feature to allow you to switch (in certain scenes) to a view containing production storyboard drawings of the initial concepts for the sequence.
The Mallrats DVD also uses the multi-angle feature to open a window on the screen so that you can see Kevin Smith and the gang as they recorded the audio commentary.
I’m sure there are more multi-angle discs in my collection somewhere, but those two spring immediately to mind…
And hey: the idea behind DVD porn isn’t to have a great cinematic experience. DVD porn exists because sometimes you have to tape “Battlebots” AND jostle the elder at the same time.
I think that some of Metallica’s DVD have multiple angles - so you can watch the drummer do his stuff while the rest of the band are busy suing Napster
I have two porn DVDs with multiple angles, and I think the feature sucks. It doesn’t even change instantaneously… I hit the button, and 2 seconds later the angle changes (something with the way it buffers the picture). It’s also only available at certain points in the movie (a vivid video icon appears on the screen). In fact, I’ve decided that DVD porn in general sucks. I’ve never heard of a DVD non-porn movie that actually shows a different angle of the same scene. They seem to use it for other things instead, as mentioned above.
http://www.Netflix.com is an on-line DVD rental place. For $20/month, you give 'em a list of DVD’s and they send 3 at a time out. You can get up to 8 at a time for more $$ per month. I’ve just got my first round, and it works pretty well. They come with postage-paid mailers, so when you’re done watching them, you just stick 'em in the mailer and put it in the mailbox. When they receive it, they send out the next one on your list. There are no late fees - you can keep the movies as long as you want. If you’re like me, and live in a town where the best rental store is a Blockbuster with lines out the door and clueless high school students behind the register, it’s a godsend.
I just signed up for netflix yesterday. I can’t wait to get my first 3 movies. I forsee problems with movies being in stock though… half the ones on my list are out of stock.
Like a V on it’s side with an arc drawn thru each side’s midpoint.