I’m a big fan of the audio commentary available on selected DVDs. It’s always interesting to hear the inside scoop on the production of films. Which brings me to my question….
Most channels now offer S.A.P., or an “alt audio” option. Many times this feature is used to simulcast the programming with a Spanish audio track. I’ve wondered why movie channels don’t use this option to broadcast an audio commentary track (using the same audio commentary that’s on the DVD of the movie) I think that a feature like that would be a great way for a movie channel to set itself apart. The Sundance Channel or the Independent Film Channel seem like they would be a perfect place for a feature like that. It’s not like these channels have never run a film with the director’s commentary before. A few years ago, IFC ran the movie Clerks twice in a row. The first time they ran the regular version, and then right afterwards they showed the film with the commentary track by Kevin Smith & cast—I believe it was the same commentary track as the DVD. It was a great treat for film buffs, and it really made me a big fan of the IFC channel.
Does anyone know if any movie channels have every used the S.A.P. option for something like this? Now that most TVs come equipped with this feature, it would be cool if someone would take advantage of it. It would really help them cope with the competition from DVDs.
I know Turner Classic Movies showed “The Wizard of Oz” a couple of times with “Dark Side of the Moon” on the alternate audio. I didn’t see it, but it was an idea I liked.
I think that we should be able to hear commentary tracks with movies on TV. When the huge, multi-million dollar campaign to make this happen starts, count me in!
I’m not familiar with the American “alt audio.” Can you use “alt audio” and still get the main sound in stereo? Can you record both on a VCR?
I suspect one of the answers is no. If you can’t get stereo on main sound the viewers won’t be happy. And I think most people watch the movie first and then re-watch it with the commentary, so if you can’t record the commentary it won’t be very useful. Even if you could, TV stations don’t really care about VCR users - only live viewers are counted in the ratings, IIRC.
In Japan we have a “bilingual” system which transmits two mono sounds instead of one stereo sound. Foreign (American) movies used to be shown in bilingual mode, but in the past few years it’s become common to only transmit the dubbed sound in stereo. Apparently very few people listen to the English, and the rest of the people want the dub in stereo. One of the satellite TV networks here has dual stereo audio, but you can’t record both on a VCR.