Decreasing quality of Disney DVDs: Laziness or a subtle ploy

[ichabod]

It's something I've been pondering for a couple of months now, so i thought I'd finally start a thread.

So my argument, could Disney be deliberately releasing DVDs that just aren't that good? I mean look at DVDs released when DVDs were still in their early days, when VHS still ruled the roost like "Atantis the Lost Empire", "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", "Tron" or The Vault Disney series. The word packed to the brim barely covers it, whereas these days 2 disc are rarer, I mean Brother Bear's 2 disc was inferior to that of New Groove and Atlantis and Chicken Little (which was more financially succesful than either of the previous 3 mentioned, only gets treated to a (rather so-so) 1 disc DVD.

The Platinum lines have decreased somewhat in terms of features also, the grandeur of "Snow White" and "Aladdin", was not mirrored in the recent additions of "Lady and the Tramp" and "Cinderella". Granted the features present were nice and imformative, but there are 1 disc DVDs with I've seen with more features.

Also with titles such as "Remember the Titans", "Tarzan", "The Emperor's New Groove and "Dumbo" being rereleased with new editions, that are missing features that were present on previous editions, the excuse that "Disney couldn't be bothered" can't be used, because they have the material, sitting there waiting to be used.

Finally a large annoyance with Disney purists was the substandard transfer qualities on the latest wave of Treasures being far below the previous waves.

So, I've outlined 4 cases (which you pretty much already knew).

But now, I'll ask "Do you think this could all have been deliberate?"

"Why?" you might ask, "Why would Disney deliberately not do their best to fill a DVD and make consumers and fans happy?"

Well, we all know that the next chapter in the history of digital videodiscs is beginning, Blu-ray and HD-DVD and there has been many who have (including many on this forum) who have stated that they are happy enough with DVDs and the fact that Blu-ray has a greater capacity and a higher picture quality doesn't bother them.
I know that I can state that if the Blu-ray editions of Disney titles, contained the same bonus features (or same quantity of bonus features) I would not buy and would be happy enough with the current DVD edition.

Now if Disney are sitting thinking to themselves "Uh oh, how are we going to convince people to rebuy the same title in 10 years time?"

Maybe the answer to that, is that by releasing DVDs with fewer bonus features leaving people slightly disappointed now, when Blu-ray discs are released, i.e. a Blu-ray edition of "Cinderella" comes with 4 audio commentaries, a 2 hour documentary and the "Make Cinderella's Dress CGI Virtual Reality RPG," the added bonus features will be enough for a lot of people to rebuy (I know I would given the added incentive, excluding the game of course ).

Also when the shorts on the Treasures series come round for rerelease with cartoons such as "In the Bag" correctly framed, cleaned up and with an anamorphoc transfer and "No Sail" looking half way decent, again there is incentive for people to rebuy.

We know that Disney have "Stitched" us before with "Lilo and Stitch," a 1 disc was released which sold millions, then a 2 disc gets released a couple of years later which many will rebuy so, people will have 2 copies.

I truly believe that Disney are playing the sneaky retail character with "Narnia" too. I find it worrying that the planned edition contains nothing in the way of deleted scenes, also the fact that Adamson proclaimed to the world, "An extended edition is coming!" and was then gagged and Disney got on the defence stating there would be no extended edition seems a bit odd, and I think that Disney may be planning to "Stitch" us again. The 2 disc "Narnia" comes out now, it sells 50 million copies and then just in time for Christmas alog comes a 4 disc extended edition, which many will buy as well!

So decreasing quality of Disney DVDs, laziness or subtle ploy?

Your thoughts?

[kbehm29]

Wow - I can tell you've put a lot of thought into this!

Well, your theory could be correct. I doubt we'll ever know for sure.

Disney could also be trying to make a quick buck off people who don't already own the DVD in it's better format. For example, I don't own the 60th Anniversary Edition of Dumbo...so I will be buying the new release. To be honest, I would probably buy it even if I did have the 60th AE. Why? Because although DVD's are much more durable than VHS, you still get dirt and minor scratches on the DVD (sometimes....but I'm usually really careful with the Disney ones) and also the cover gets shelf-wear. I am one who doesn't mind re-buying my DVD collection every 5-10 years to keep it looking "new" and having the newest version.

With my old DVD's that I've "replaced"....if the bonus features are better, I usually keep it in my collection right next to the new version. If the new DVD is the same or better - I give the old one to my mom to add to her collection for when my kids visit her.

Your theory could be right - they're saving the "big bang" versions for when Blu-ray is a hot commodity - I'm sure they'll do the whole "First time on Blu-ray disc!" advertising. But you know - we probably won't get a 2-disc Special Edition with Blu-ray because the storage capacity is already so high. BUT I hope they do make the most out of that space and jam-pack it with bonus features, both NEW and OLD. That would truly be an incentive for people to buy who already have the regular DVD version.

[2099net]

The flaw with the "push for Blu Ray" theory is that the fact that the next format is High Definition should be a big enough incentive to upgrade as it is.

If they put all their time and effort into special features for the first waves of HD format released, how are they going to get people to upgrade again, 5 years from now?

[kbehm29]

The flaw with the "push for Blu Ray" theory is that the fact that the next format is High Definition should be a big enough incentive to upgrade as it is.

Not for a lot of people. If you read any of the Blu-Ray or HD threads on this board, you'll see that a ton of people are not interested in upgrading. What ichabod is saying - including jam-packed bonus features with the Blu-Ray release - might be the extra incentive people need to upgrade. I think it's a valid theory, just one that's hard to prove.

Edited to say that high-def SHOULD be enough incentive....but a lot of people just aren't interested, or have just upgraded to plain DVD.

[2099net]

I can tell you now, the studios, including Disney, aren't going to be short sighted enough to put all their "treasures" onto a disc when only a fraction of their potential customers even has compatible players.

It may generate revenue now, but the whole reason Disney etc have stopped doing super dooper "special editions" (at least until the 3rd or 4th release in most cases) is because they're realised that providing a definitive release first of all is not financially beneficial to give people a version which they won't want to upgrade. The studios have come to depend on a steady 3-5 year cycle for their re-releases. That's why they're removing stuff now. The old edition is out of print, and the new edition means that new purchasers are potential re-purchases in a few years time.

Unlike Sony for example who have Columbia and Tri-Star films, Disney has no vested interest in selling Blu-Ray hardware, or indeed discs (although it could be argued that the fact that piracy will be harder will be seen as a plus point). So I don't think Disney will be anywhere close to even attempting to push the new technology to its limits.

[PixarFan]

Hmmm...the more I think about it, it makes sense.

Actually, when you first mentioned it, ichabod, for a brief second I found myself thinking, "Yes! A better version for Disney DVDs could be coming!" And then I stopped myself, realizing that if what you said is true, then Disney already succeeded in their plan, because it made me excited. Now, I do get 2099net's point about Disney not showing much interest in Blu-Ray, but they weren't showing interest in DVDs when they first came along. I'm sure Disney will be keeping a very close watch on the success of Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. If they're successful, who knows what may be in store...

Hummm.......

[2099net]

What I mean is, Disney's only interest is in selling films, not hardware. But as well as that, they don't want everyone to rush out and buy an "all-singing all-dancing" version of say, Cars as soon as it's released on Blu Ray, because that equals no more sales of Cars to that customer. And unlike Sony, Disney couldn't really care if they sell Cars on DVD or Blu-Ray at this moment in time*

The whole lack of special features thing is because in the dim and distant days of DVD, the studios had little faith in the concept and thought they would have similar take-up and customer expectations as Laser Disc did. They copied the LD template for their early DVD releases.

I'm sorry to say, but as DVD became the sales breakthrough it is today, the studios stopped thinking about "elite" purchasers, and thought about mainstream purchasers, and dumbed the format down, as well as realising the potential of repeat sales, something which generally didn't happen with VHS.

* Although like I say, they may have a slight preference for the next-gen formats due to greater anti-piracy measures, both physical and programatic.

[kbehm29]

I'm sorry to say, but as DVD became the sales breakthrough it is today, the studios stopped thinking about "elite" purchasers, and thought about mainstream purchasers, and dumbed the format down, as well as realising the potential of repeat sales, something which generally didn't happen with VHS.

That makes complete sense, when you think about it that way.

In that case, I wish they would do the double-release thing like they're doing with The Chronicles of Narnia and have the 2-disc "deluxe" version. Similar to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Polar Express. Have one version for the mainstream purchasers and another for the avid collector and true lovers of the film. Yet, that still doesn't help the repeat sales angle, either.

I'm not sure there is a solution to get the complete versions we want.

[creid]

I have pondered why the Disney has limited the extras on the latest releases. My thoughts:

1) In 2001, Disney was marketing their movies as an upgrade (compared to VHS) and felt it needed to a huge splash of extras to sell. Also, the studios could charge more for a DVD than VHS which allowed studios to have extra budgets. Now they realize everyone has DVD and will buy it even if they have the VHS. This goes along with the Disney wants to limit the material so people will rebuy the next generation of Blue-Ray releases.

2) The prices on DVDs are falling so the budgets for extras have been lowered. Just look any TV show series with MSRP $30 or less, they generally don't have extras. (This does not answer why Tarzan shrunk to a one-discer.)

3) In 2001, home video was a nice profit center for studios which might have kept the executives watching the home video divisions closely. However with the DVD explosion and decreasing movie attendence, executives are relying on home video divisions to make their bottom line. Therefore, they will watch the home video divisions more and increase their pressure for more profits there which might force the budgets for extras to decrease.

4) Lastly, studios have been riding the wave of releasing their vast libraries to the public and make loads of money. However, these libraries of marketable movies is becoming empty, that studios are preparing for lowering home video sales by lowering the extra material budgets for this lowering sales. (Just compare the DVD releases in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. 2006 is by far the weakest in terms of movies never released on DVD.)

5) Studios have realized bonus material is great but does not sell the movie. Most people buy a DVD for the movie and bonus material is a nice to get.

Just my thoughts

[Super Leviathan]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Edge Enhancement/Haloing in the recently-released Howl's Moving Castle in this thread , pehaps ones of the most blatant quality snafus done in a Disney DVD.

That having been said, i'd say The Dimishing Quality in Disney's DVD's could be a combination of both Laziness, and a Marketing ploy.

[reyquila]

That's called pure profit!!! I think there is nothing wrong with it!!!

[DisneZ]

All great and probable analysis aside, Disney and especially the HE division, is 100% purely profit driven as opposed to customer driven. Not to say those 2 things somethimes don't coincide but i think all specific product offerings can be deduced to either costs or present and future sales strategies for optimal sales.

The whole OOP tactic stinks if you ask me. Virtually any movie is obtainable on DVD except for Disney OOP's.
I also think "disc capacity" plays no part a lot of times when deciding to bring out a 2 -disc or one disc set. Often i see just the movie on the first disc and not an enormous amount of extras on the second discs, while I've also seen both combined on one disc versions.

Or look at the combipacks: a number of classics and then one sequel to a classic instead of the classic itself.

So anyway, i think a lot of the theories mentioned could well be so, but whatever the product-outcome, you can bet there's a cost driven decision or sales-strategy behind it (i don't think it's out of lazines or disinterest!)


Lucky for me i'm only interested in the movie and a good "making of" (story, art, voicecast and score)

[Karushifa]

The whole OOP tactic stinks if you ask me. Virtually any movie is obtainable on DVD except for Disney OOP's.

It was even worse when videotape (Beta or VHS) was the only format, and there was nothing like eBay to allow fans to buy their favorite movies that were "in the vault" but previously released on home video...back then it was a big deal to get a Disney classic on tape when they released it, otherwise you might have had to wait a while for the next release. Now it's just a nuisance since you can go to any of a number of third-party sites and buy an OOP DVD.