by Jeff McNeal, editor - The BIG Picture
July 28, 1998
You've got to admire the simple genius behind the compact disc. Back in the early '80's, when the audio compact disc was introduced, understanding and appreciating the new technology was easy. The CD player was simple to use and understand.
Well, simple to use, at least.
The whole concept of a laser beam reading pits of "0's" and "1's" to somehow reproduce sound was a foreign concept that even today I don't try to fully understand. Frankly, I've got other things to occupy my thoughts. All I care about is that it works.
One of the most attractive aspects of the CD is that its basic operation is a breeze. You push the play button and the music plays.
Anyone can master the use of a CD player. It's intuitive.
You can skip around to different tracks if you want to -- you can even repeat tracks or program favorite tracks to play, etc. But the fundamental operation remains the same. The format of the software content is identical and consistent from disc to disc. Simple. Elegant. No surprises. Is it any wonder CD's are everywhere?
In order for DVD to really penetrate the mainstream, I believe that the studios involved must quickly get their respective acts together and adopt some consistent software standards to achieve the same kind of widespread success that CD now enjoys. I say quickly because the confusion factor that Divx introduces with its national rollout in September will only make things worse. For all the evils that Divx embodies, you've got to give them credit where credit is due: Their format appears rock-solid consistent from disc to disc.
Unfortunately, DVD software content is anything but consistent. I'm not going to go on a rant about the general transfer quality of individual movie titles -- that was the subject of my first editorial. This time, I want to concentrate on the mechanics.
I've always felt that DVD has a really strong marketing advantage that is fairly obvious: It looks just like a compact disc.. As more and more Americans are becoming aware of DVD, this built-in comfort factor is going to become increasingly important when VHS owners contemplate taking the plunge into the digital video age.
The problem is, although it looks like a compact disc, DVD is a lot trickier to master than it needs to be. More difficult than it should be. Believe me when I say this: Joe Consumer does not want to fiddle around with audio setup selections or "full", "standard", "wide" or "zoom" settings when they hit that play button. Joe doesn't want to see a stretched out menu or theatrical trailer when the feature itself looks fine and fills his screen. Joe consumer wants to sit down, press a button and watch a movie - not fumble around with his remote control(s) for three minutes for each disc he puts in, getting all the settings right.
And what's with the varying default startups? I can think of nothing more off-putting than to see a giant copyright warning frozen on my screen for thirty seconds as I sit in my home theater with family, friends and neighbors waiting for the feature to begin. Icchh. Although I personally prefer to launch right into the feature after the studio banner (as in Warner Bro and MGM titles), a straight launch into the menu seems to be the preference by most and if that's the preference, well then by golly THAT should be the standard and all DVD's should start this way. It's an evolution, baby. Let's keep moving forward and define the standards.
It's ironic that while certain DVD format standards were adopted that are technical in nature and transparent to the end-user (RSDL, compression methods, etc.), no standards were set for the benefit of the end users.
"What we have here... is a failure to communicate."
Hardware manufactures have already sensed this dilemma and have incorporated features into their second and third generation machines that help with some issues, but not all. For example, one newer model automatically defaults to the DD 5.1 audio setting on Columbia discs, so instead of having to manually set the audio each time, DD 5.1 becomes the default and not Dolby Surround. Which brings up an interesting point. Why does Columbia choose to default to an older, inferior audio technology, while embracing the latest forward-thinking video technology? (anamorphic, i.e. 16:9 enhancement) This inconsistent approach to DVD authoring makes no sense to me. DD 5.1 should be the default audio setup. It will still play on Prologic receivers and amps, but might encourage owners of those setups to upgrade to DD 5.1.
While we're on the subject of anamorphic transfers , The BIG Picture salutes the studios that are consistently and/or increasingly providing their content in enhanced form. After all, 16:9 enhancement provides the best possible picture and raises our enjoyment of home theater to its fullest potential using DVD. I believe that ALL DVD content should be presented in a 16:9 enhanced format. I'd also like to see menus and trailers that are formatted the same way, so that once your system is set up, there's no need to go tinkering around, unless you desire to. Wanting to tinker is one thing. Having to is quite another.
The current mish-mash of audio and video formatting is a two-edged sword. The good part about it is that it provides us early adopting techno-kings with more flexibility and choices. The bad part about it is that the varying standards can only add more confusion to an already confused consumer. And when people are confused about a product, they tend to back away from it until the product is no longer confusing to them.
In the latest tracking of our DVD opinion poll, a whopping 93% of respondents say that 16:9 enhancement is either important to them now, or will be in the future. The BIG Picture calls upon all DVD content providers -- particularly the major players -- to go the extra mile and make the effort to provide 16:9 enhancement to all future releases. The tedius setup hassles that drain the batteries in my remote control will disappear and the overall quality of the content will improve dramatically. The fact that literally all of Columbia Tri-Star's and most of Warner Brother's titles look great is no accident. They're all 16:9 enhanced. Get the picture?
Warner and Columbia are also the studios earning the most from DVD sales. Good. Keep rewarding them with your dollars. Eventually, the others might finally see the green, if they don't first see the light.
While we're at it, let's see if all studios can adopt the universally accepted (pun intended) information grid -- like the ones on the back of Universal's boxes. They're full of good information, easy to see and easy to follow. No surprises. They make sense.
As for the great packaging debate -- the Amaray keepcase is without question, the preferred standard, with 67% of respondents opting for it. Here's my way of thinking about it, though: I understand that Warner owns the snapper design. If Warner Brothers is making an extra nickel, dime, dollar or whatever for every snapper case they sell... well then that's fine with me. Although I personally prefer keepcases, getting and using snappers is a small price for me to pay in order to support a studio that just dramatically lowered their DVD prices for me. If they can defer part of their loss in increased packaging revenue, then that's fine by me. It really is. I mean, Warner Brothers could wrap their DVD's in cellophane and wax paper if they wanted to and I'd still buy their titles.
But listen, Mr. Lieberfarb, if Warner can get by without the revenue from snapper production and sales, why not give up the ghost and use keepcases like everyone else? I think most of us would rather pay the extra .50 or dollar or whatever to receive Warner titles in keepcases that we can, uh... keep. Tell you what. Just include the cover art in a brown paper bag with the DVD and I'll buy my own blank keepcases, but let's make DVD consistent from both a software and packaging standpoint. Once the standards are firmly set in place, the confusion will subside and there will be no more barriers from open DVD gaining wide and rapid acceptance in the consumer home electronics marketplace.
That's my opinion -- what's yours? Post your comments in The BIG Picture Forum.
Jeff McNeal, Editor
The BIG Picture
PREVIOUS EDITORIALS
DVD Quality Control: Who's watching the gate?
Chipping Away at DIVX: One blow at a time.
DVD Video Retailers: Where's the beef?
Copyright 1998, by Jeff McNeal Productions. Click here to see our legal notice.