best/favorite/easiest to use DVD player..

[Robin Laing]

Tim wrote:
> On Thu, 2005-10-27 at 09:47 -0600, Robin Laing wrote:
> 
> 
>>Customer demands for these features on DVD's is the issue.
> 
> 
> I really question all these "the customer demanded it" answers to
> things.  How many people really told Fox/MGM/Paramount/UA/etc. that they
> want fancy menus on DVDs?  I think that's just a fantasy in the
> marketdroid's head.
> 
> What do you think people would say if they were asked if they wanted to
> easily just sit down and watch a movie, or had to click through a few
> screens for a few minutes before they could watch a movie.  I know what
> my answer would be, amd the answer of lots more people that I know,
> particularly the few that only barely understand that they've got to put
> a disc in the player *and* put the TV on the right channel/video input
> to watch the disc, never mind having to faff about pushing more buttons.
> 
> It's like the glossy crap we get from banks in our mail.  I really don't
> believe the PR bulldust that most of their customers actually told them
> we want them to do that.  I doubt that even any customers told them
> that.
> 
> 
>>I don't like the DVD's that have all the ad's that cannot be skipped
>>but then I use the time to get the popcorn and do other things
>>(someone mention beer :) ) that allow me to just sit and enjoy.  Isn't
>>this what most people do during the commercials?
> 
> 
> Puts disc in, it starts doing something.
> Goes away, gets food.
> Comes back, finds it 10 minutes into movie.
> Tries to go back to start of movie, lands at a menu that makes you click
> through four slow pages, and watch two even slower, and
> un-fast-forwardable, lots of gumph before you can watch the movie.
> 
> We paid good money for a sadistic disc that abuses us in this way?
> 

I would like to just put the DVD in and play it but from market 
surveys, customers want all the extras.  It was one of the features 
that pushed DVD sales way over video cassettes.  Heck, many people 
that I talk to about DVD's spend more time talking about the extras. 
Why do all the dual DVD or sets sell so well?  In many cases it is the 
extras.

And the other option is to rip the DVD and make a backup the way you 
want.  I am looking at making a movie server for my home system.

I admit that there are times that all the crud in the front is a real 
pain.  Especially unskippable commercials.
-- 
Robin Laing