I guess everyone will have to decide whether it's worth it to them having the film on DVD in some format, or if they'd rather not have it at all (and these title are unlikely to ever see a traditional manufactured DVD release).  The whole point of the Warner Archive offering is to make available some of the titles that people have requested, but for which there isn't high enough demand to warrant a full-scale manufacturing run. 

Of course this "special order" option carries a premium cost (as does any "special order" of anything you buy anywhere).  Making these to order, WB is not able to take advantage of any economies of scale in the manufacturing process that they could with normally distributed titles.  I actually think $20 is very reasonable if it were something I really wanted (I still recall paying over $100 for some special edition laser discs, so $20 is really chump change for a title that is otherwise unavailable for purchase).

Most regular bare bones DVD releases carry an MSRP of at least $19.99 or higher.  The fact that we can now get a special order DVD of an otherwise unavailable title for the same price seems like a good deal to me.  I'm quite pleasantly surprised the cost isn't significantly higher.

Those expecting these discs to look and operate the same as a traditionally manufactured DVD are bound to be disappointed. But, for me, it's more about the content than the presentation when it comes to titles that would otherwise remain locked in the vaults and off limits to film fans.

Quoting mdnitoil:

Quote:
I hear you.  My concern is that I could create a better mpeg compression than these guys are doing.  I don't have any complaints about imperfect prints.  I fully understand that it doesn't make economic sense to restore every last film.  But, it shouldn't be asking much to take the print you do have and actually do a decent encoding job on it.  Based on what I've been reading, Warner seems to have farmed this out to a bunch of startup goofballs who have about as much understanding of video compression as my grandmother.  If folks think that's worth spending a premium price on, more power to them.  I think I'll wait and see if something better doesn't come along.

Have to agree.  I've burned a lot of DVDs over the last couple of years, and if it's done right, they are at least as good as the commercially made stuff you can get in the bargain bins, maybe even a tad better.  And it doesn't cost $20 to make one.  I ordered a couple of these titles from WB before I knew about the fact they were DVD-R format (shame on me for not reading more closely), and they had better be at least as good as what I can do myself or WB is going to hear about it.

Quoting Rifter:

Quote:
Have to agree.  I've burned a lot of DVDs over the last couple of years, and if it's done right, they are at least as good as the commercially made stuff you can get in the bargain bins, maybe even a tad better.

I really don't understand that. DVD-R's simply use dyes to burn the data and are more susceptible to errors and age degradation over the years, whereas commercial DVD's are physically pitted discs and typically have a longer expected lifespan.

So, do these even come with covers in a keepcase, or just a disc in an envelope?

This would be a pretty good idea if the price point was about $5. Even $10 would be reasonable, but $20 and what I've been hearing about the transfers and lack of any time or thought for even chapter stops...yipes.

As for store bought being better. Physically I can see that, but I have a few downloads burned that look a lot better than the real discs. Childs Play HD2DVD compared to the old MGM version was laughable. If you set them side by side and asked someone who knew nothing about the dvd of the movie, which was a boot and what was on sale legally, not one would guess right. It stills looks better than the new SE, just doesn't have the nice extras! Maybe the menus on the real were better.

Follow up report:

Today I got one of the WB Archive titles I ordered, "A Distant Trumpet."  In physical appearance, it comes very close to a commercial DVD.  The top of the disc has a printed label that at first glance looks like any DVD bought in a store.  The data side is purplish in color, indicating a dye-based disc rather than pressed.

I have not yet watched the movie itself, but checked out the menu (simple but no more so than bargain DVDs), and watched the original trailer for the movie.  The video quality was excellent, as was the sound. There was also a very professionally done advertisement for the WB Archive website and operation. While I expect the video quality to vary somewhat due to the condition of the film used to create these discs, I was pleasantly surprised at what I've seen so far.

The other title I ordered was a pre-order, so I'll have to wait for further checks. The price may be a tad high, but considering that we will never be able to get some of these films any other way, bearable.


Addendum:  Just finished watching the movie.  Absolutely top notch.  Excellent picture and color, very good sound (left, center, right Dolby).  No artifacting, skips, jerks, or smearing.  Impossible to distinguish from any other DVD by watching with regard to quality.

@ Katatonia, Thanks for the code. I planing to order Doc Savage myself and the DI with Jack Webb maybe Al Capone with Rod Stieiger.

Rory

Quoting Katatonia:

Quote:
I broke down and ordered Doc Savage: Man of Bronze yesterday. It was only $15.59 with the 25% off coupon and free UPS shipping, which was certainly better than full price.

I'm not sure the coupon has been posted in this thread yet, but it's XB392 and good for ordering up to 5 titles.

Kat:

What are you trying to do to me.      

Skip

@Dr. Pavlov, Also looking to get Lepke and Rage with George C. Scott.

Rory