Software Reviews
Dear Gary:
Over the last couple of years, I have noted with dismay that the number of movies on videodisc being reviewed have decreased noticeably. The movie reviews—that is, the quality of the movies transferred to disc—are one of the main reasons I have subscribed to Widescreen Review for the last 16 years.
Now, the decrease in itself is bad enough. On top of that, I now see that WSR is making claims on the front cover that are untrue. This most recent issue claims to have “Over 40 discs reviewed,” yet I count only 23 titles reviewed. After a count, it is apparent that you are including both the DVD and Blu-ray™ of the same movie as separate reviews (exactly 40, not “Over 40” as claimed). So, although “over 40 discs reviewed” may be close to accurate, it’s not really the truth, and I find that to be deceptive advertising. There are only 23 movies or documentaries reviewed, and that is pretty pitiful for a magazine that is supposed to be the leader in the industry.
It has been obvious from the very beginning that many of the Blu-ray titles being released are of sub-standard quality for the format, and your reviewers have said as much in their reviews. I want to see more movies being reviewed for picture and sound quality, so that I can see if they are “the best they can be” (as your mantra goes), so I can decide if I want to spend my money on them. The software producers have to be pressured, where necessary, to produce better quality DVDs and Blu-ray Discs™. Bad reviews and lower sales will do that. Otherwise, they take our money for substandard product, weather the complaints, and then make us buy it again after they fix it!
Ken Wilson, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada
Editor-In-Chief and Publisher Gary Reber Comments:
Editor-In-Chief and Publisher Gary Reber Comments: Ken, you are correct, while the number of discs reviewed comprise both DVD and Blu-ray Disc versions, and the actual title content may be in the twenties, the sad reality is that the titles being released are not exactly winner––either content or performance worthy.
The other restraint that we have is there is limited page space for the reviews, in order for us to balance the magazine’s content with technical articles, equipment reviews, and editorial. Furthermore, we are still in the mode of reviewing both DVD and Blu-ray Disc versions of the same title.
When I started Widescreen Review, the high-tech performance format was LaserDisc, and I stuck to LaserDisc reviews exclusively. And at that time there were a lot of LaserDisc releases that deserved coverage. When DVD was introduced, this format shared the review space with LaserDisc until eventually LaserDisc releases were no longer supported by the studios. Likewise D-VHS D-Theater titles were reviewed along with DVD until such time the studios stop their support for D-Theater.
The transition from DVD to Blu-ray Disc has been slower than that from LaserDisc to DVD. HD DVD was a third format that contributed to this slow transition. Even the projections for Blu-ray Disc do not appear as strong as the format’s supporters and us would like, or for that matter, fans of high-definition optical disc. The prediction is that by 2010, some 40 percent of optical disc dollar volume will be from high-definition Blu-ray Disc. That leaves 60 percent to DVD. It also means that the best titles will continue to be simultaneously released on both disc formats.
We have not too many choices going forth. We can continue as we have and review two disc formats of the same title or limit our reviews to Blu-ray Disc content and hope that the releases will be at a significantly higher volume. Another option is to reduce the number of titles and devote more review space to each title, either DVD/Blu-ray or Blu-ray Disc exclusively.
Managing Editor Danny Richelieu Comments: Thank you for the letter. This is a subject we have had many internal debates about since the beginning of the format war. Do we carve out a larger percentage of our total page space to dedicate to disc reviews, removing pages from equipment reviews and technology articles, or do we trim down the total number of titles we review? We decided to choose the latter, maintaining a consistent percentage of the total editorial space in the magazine for the disc reviews, even though it means we are forced to review fewer titles. And while there are only 20 to 25 individual titles reviewed, it still takes nearly the same amount of work and editorial space as if we were reviewing 40.
As Gary pointed out, we have options going forward with this. We can continue as is, reviewing between 20 and 25 individual DVD titles and their Blu-ray Disc counterparts in the current number of pages; we can expand our DVD and Blu-ray Disc coverage to include more individual titles reviewed to the detriment of our coverage of equipment, home theatre news, technology articles, and interviews; we can stop reviewing DVDs completely and only cover Blu-ray Discs.
There is one other option, though. We begin reviewing more DVDs and Blu-ray Discs than the 23 individual titles—40 discs—that we currently print and post the additional reviewed titles each month on our Web site. While we will be reviewing more titles, they will not be printed in the magazine because of space limitations. We can include a list of the titles reviewed online during the month in the magazine, even including their picture, sound, and critics’ composite ratings for quick reference, but the full reviews will only be posted online.
We put together this magazine for you, so let us know what you would like us to do. Would you read reviews if they were only posted on our Web site? Do you think we should be spending more of our editorial space on disc reviews? E-mail me at danny@widescreenreview.com and/or editorgary@widescreen review.com and let us know how you feel. Or, if you can think of another option, we would love to hear that as well.
You can E-mail Widescreen Review @ maito:editorgary@widescreenreview.com