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"Special" features...
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DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile Registrantwintermute115
What Would Batman Do?
Registered: May 25, 2007
United States Posts: 176
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I've lost count of the number of times I've seen "interactive menus"* or "scene selection" listed as a special feature, but I just picked up Predator (EAN 024543-010852), and the marketing boffins clearly wanted to make this sound feature-laden. If only they'd actually put some special features on there, they might not have had to do this:
Quote:
BONUS FEATURES
Anamorphic Widescreen (Aspect Ration 1.85:1)
Interactive Menus
Scene Selection
Original Theatrical Trailer
Audio: DTS English; English 5.1 Surround; English Dolby Surround; French Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English; Spanish


I kid you not. They actually list the fact that the movie has a freaking audio track as a "bonus feature". While I would like to believe that I now own the most egregious example of feature padding, I'm sure someone out there can beat it...


*You mean, I can interact with the menus? Like, maybe I can select an option, and the system will respond to that selection? Wow.
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantStar Contributorm.cellophane
tonight's the night...
Registered: March 13, 2007
Reputation: High Rating
United States Posts: 3,480
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Quoting wintermute115:
Quote:
I kid you not. They actually list the fact that the movie has a freaking audio track as a "bonus feature". While I would like to believe that I now own the most egregious example of feature padding, I'm sure someone out there can beat it...

The first Disney animated releases advertised "full color artwork on disc" as a special feature. 

Quoting wintermute115:
Quote:
*You mean, I can interact with the menus? Like, maybe I can select an option, and the system will respond to that selection? Wow.

When a disc doesn't have this feature, then it does seem special on other discs. You can find this on public domain titles for sure, but the most mainstream release I've found it on is Universal's Missing:



It was a Best Picture nominee at the Oscars in 1981 with 3 other nominations, winning for Adapted Screenplay. Universal puts it out without a menu (thankfully anamorphic).
...James

"People fake a lot of human interactions, but I feel like I fake them all, and I fake them very well. That’s my burden, I guess." ~ Dexter Morgan
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar Contributormarcelb7
Registered: Oct. 16, 2000
Registered: March 13, 2007
Reputation: Great Rating
Netherlands Posts: 767
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You probably haven't seen some of the dvds released in the Netherlands. On some "the best scenes can be selected separately"! And ofcourse the ever popular "suitable for all tv-formats" (meaning it's a crappy 4:3 P&S image).

Actually, there is one company now who doesn't even bother to put a menu on almost all of their discs anymore. Insert disc, sit through (non-skippable) trailers, watch movie. And at the end of the movie the disc (and your player) shuts down. It's a flipping videotape, but on a disc! I'm surprised they didn't put "please rewind" on the cover.
Company's name is RCV. I think it's an acronym for Really Crappy Videos, but I might be wrong 
 Last edited: by marcelb7
DVD Profiler Unlimited Registrantfalcon2099
Member Since: Dec 4, 2002
Registered: May 29, 2007
Canada Posts: 189
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Quoting marcelb7:
Quote:
You probably haven't seen some of the dvds released in the Netherlands. On some "the best scenes can be selected separately"! And ofcourse the ever popular "suitable for all tv-formats" (meaning it's a crappy 4:3 P&S image).

Actually, there is one company now who doesn't even bother to put a menu on almost all of their discs anymore. Insert disc, sit through (non-skippable) trailers, watch movie. And at the end of the movie the disc (and your player) shuts down. It's a flipping videotape, but on a disc! I'm surprised they didn't put "please rewind" on the cover.
Company's name is RCV. I think it's an acronym for Really Crappy Videos, but I might be wrong 


Ironically enough it's also V-C-R backwards... LOL               
Peter

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 Last edited: by falcon2099
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar Contributorbigdaddyhorse
Registered: June 21, 2007
Reputation: Great Rating
United States Posts: 2,621
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MGM/Sony was doing this with budget titles for a while. The menus would be one static page with "play" as the only opition, and not even a still photo in the background.
I literally can make better menus with Nero, just doing the quickest layout and at least bring in poster art for the BG, insted of some silly default color screen. If I want to make nice looking menu I open up TMPGE and get jiggy. Takes a lot more time, but looks great. Best is when you throw a disc in the player and some not-as-tech-savy friends ask you when that movie came out cuz the menu looks professional. That makes it all worthwhile.
Someday I'm going to invest in a better program to get partial-motion menus and cursors that don't have to be squares to move around the screen. I know they exist, but they are 'pensive.
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile Registrantwintermute115
What Would Batman Do?
Registered: May 25, 2007
United States Posts: 176
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Quoting bigdaddyhorse:
Quote:
MGM/Sony was doing this with budget titles for a while. The menus would be one static page with "play" as the only opition, and not even a still photo in the background.

Well, that is still interactive.

Admittedly, the possible interactions are limited, but a non-interactive menu would simply be one that didn't respond to your choices, as if you were mashing your finger onto the contents page of a book...
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorDaddy DVD
Lost in Translation
Registered: March 14, 2007
Netherlands Posts: 2,366
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Quoting marcelb7:
Quote:
It's a flipping videotape, but on a disc! I'm surprised they didn't put "please rewind" on the cover.

You need to buy this machine for these DVDs.
Martin Zuidervliet

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DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorRaymondG
Registered: July 7, 2007
Netherlands Posts: 284
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Quoting wintermute115:
Quote:
Quoting bigdaddyhorse:
Quote:
MGM/Sony was doing this with budget titles for a while. The menus would be one static page with "play" as the only opition, and not even a still photo in the background.

Well, that is still interactive.

Admittedly, the possible interactions are limited, but a non-interactive menu would simply be one that didn't respond to your choices, as if you were mashing your finger onto the contents page of a book...



Rofl   

And what about all those RCV Special Editions with on the second disc a photo gallery and a few trailers (with more then 2 GB of free space on the first disc  )
Or a featurette which consists of scenes takes directly from the movie, only now in 4:3 with DD 2.0 

After just looking through my Region 1 titles, I noticed that most of em have Widescreen and Dolby Digital <> in the Special Features listing. You americans certainly know ow to pimp stuff up 
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 Last edited: by RaymondG
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile Registrantkdh1949
Have Gun Will Travel
Registered: March 13, 2007
Reputation: High Rating
United States Posts: 2,394
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Maybe any David Lynch title that has interactive menus could count them as a special feature -- since Lynch doesn't even like chapter stops in his films.
Another Ken (not Ken Cole)
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DVD Profiler user since June 15, 2001
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar Contributormarcelb7
Registered: Oct. 16, 2000
Registered: March 13, 2007
Reputation: Great Rating
Netherlands Posts: 767
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Quoting falcon2099:
Quote:
Ironically enough it's also V-C-R backwards... LOL               

Now, why didn't I see that before... 
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