A Letter To Their "Editor"
The following letter was sent to Buena Vista Home Video in response to the many inquiries (it began with only two) WSR has received in regard to problems with the new Dinosaur disc. It should also be noted that we have received many calls and letters in the last few weeks asking us about problems with new DVDs not playing in certain players. Dear Buena Vista Home Entertainment: In regard to my phone call earlier today, here are the two questions that you asked me to submit via e-mail: First, on the movie disc in the two-disc Collector’s Edition of Dinosaur (Catalog #21924), I experienced a problem with being unable to pause or fast forward through the movie particularly in the beginning chapters (sort of like the way your forced ads/trailers used to be!). Different players...fresh batteries in the remotes...did nothing to change this. Sometimes, if I completely removed the disc from the player, put it back in and started it over, I COULD pause and fast forward. I have had two subscribers write with this same concern, so it’s not just this disc. I wondered if it had to do with the feature where you can highlight an icon and receive "dino" facts during the film, but I didn’t have that engaged, and I’ve not experienced this problem with other discs that include this feature. Can you let me know what the problem is? Laurie Sevano Story & Special Features Review Editor Widescreen Review Second, why was the decision made to not have any forced, up-front ads/trailers before the menu on the movie disc in the two-disc set, but to have these annoyances on the single-disc set? I receive letters/e-mails every week about this policy of placing these ads (they’re not always trailers—ads for games, Web sites and theme parks) before the menu, and I’ve written about it many times in the magazine—not favorably. Most everyone likes to see the trailers, but our readers, at least, want the choice of when to view them. Making them fast-forwardable is not the answer in their or my eyes—and you know, many children would not be able to get by them. But having these forced ads up front on the single disc and not on the pricier collector’s edition made several of our readers speak of elitism. Here’s a quote from one of our readers in regard to special sets versus "mass market" discs: "It appears Disney has decided it wants two ‘classes’ of customers. To be treated decently and have the money you spend to be respected, you have to buy the ‘deluxe’ package." He is not alone in his sentiment, and I can not imagine Buena Vista or Disney would want this type of reputation.
Laurie Sevano Story & Special Features Review Editor Widescreen Review
Robert Chapek, President Of Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Here is their response: Dear Journalist, Buena Vista Home Entertainment is aware of and very concerned about the DVD hardware/software incompatibility issues that the home entertainment industry currently is experiencing. Like other studios, we have been working diligently to minimize such problems and will continue aggressively to eliminate these problems in the future. We believe any solution ultimately will require a partnership between hardware and software manufacturers. In the meantime, we will ensure that all of our consumers are 100% satisfied with any product that is affected by these issues. The Walt Disney Company is committed to its consumers and fans to deliver a quality of excellence across all formats that is synonymous with its name.
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