I am interested in knowing if buying DVDs has gotten anyone into a "collector's" mode or mentality. What I mean by that is, if one of your favorite DVD titles were remastered and re-released as a "special collector's edition," would you buy that video (again)?
As we all know, in mainstream releaes, another edition of a particular title comes out, and now you are faced with spending more money for a "new and improved" version of something you already have (I purchased JFK on laserdisc, then again when the Director's Cut came out, then on DVD, and now a fourth time with the newest collector's edition!).
But if VCA released a director's cut of LATEX [remember this conversation, Steph and Drew???], would you buy it again if you already have the original? What if the original only had minor flaws? What kind of extras would make an old title a new "must buy?" Do the majority of Adult DVD Talkers here collect adult movies in the same way you might collect, say, Oliver Stone films?
Just wanted to know...
Edited by - Diesel on Jan 26 2001
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sonic Deactivated User
1178 Posts 12/99
Posted - Jan 26 2001 : 1:28AM
Hmm..Evil Angel did this. In the beginning..they released only bare bone titles.
Then, they decided to add extras..which for dvd is a plus. Well, for me, it all boils down to image, screw the extras, that is the type of fan that I am.
But then, I heard that that was not the only change, the image was gonna be improved. So I gave in.
The color was so much better. .....................
If the dvd is released again, just for extras or a different look, but same film, then it doesn't matter to me.
To me what counts is the film and that I am getting what the studio feels is the best they put out on the market. Now if they release it with added footage, then hell yeah I don't mind re-purchasing!
For me it really depends if I liked the content of the original release. Would I buy the collector's edition of Toxic Twenty-Somthings 37 if it included the best extras of any DVD produced to date? I doubt it. Would I buy a collector's edition of Dark Angels, DMJ6, Raw or Bliss even if they offered marginally better value? In a hearbeat and would pay a premium for a better product.
To look at this issue from a completely different angle. If studios started releasing collector's editions of titles it would confuse most consumers (and some stores) beyond belief. The term "collector's edition" is thrown around so often that it has little to no meaning in the adult DVD realm. Take Electric Sex for example. It's initial release was the Collector's Edition. I'm sure there are more examples but I just can't think of them at the moment.
I don't know.. a "collector's edition" re-release of a title that already had enough extras such as DMJ 6 wouldn't be on my purchasing list.. in fact, there are relatively few porn titles I would shell out the requisite $ 25 for, let alone twice!! I do think that the new editions of LATEX and SHOCK (if indeed they will come out) should be a good idea, since there really was nothing included at all in the first editions, and these are really premium titles you can watch several times. I for one would be interested in audio commentaries, and making of documentaries.. but no multiple angles please!
In such a case I'd like the studios to give the buyers the opportunity to buy the new edition for a lower price when they prove that they already got the older edition.
Concerning sonic's enthusiasm when it comes to new versions of DVDs with an improved picture I think the studios should exchange old versions for free, since it's obvious they didn't do as good as they could have with the first version and the newer version with an improved picture is just what the buyers could have expected when buying the first version. I think even Evil Angel (or was it Elegant Angel ? Sorry for being confused) replaced older versions of some of their films with newer versions with a better picture quality, so why shouldn't this be standard ? Personally I'd be quite annoyed to buy a film with a medium quality and then seeing the improved version on the shelves a month later with me being expected to pay the same amount again. Reminds me of MS-Windows, but at least they offer updates.
I have also been a bit confused about Nutech's Platinum Edition DVDs. I always wondered if these were better than their other DVDs or if the Platinum Edition was another version of a film that had already been published on DVD.
If a company starded this practice with any regularity, it would probably prevent me from buying ANY of their titles when they first came out. In order to be fair to the consumers, it is only fair to let people know that they intend on releasing a Special Edition at a future date AT THE TIME THAT THE ORIGINAL VERSION IS RELEASED.
This way if someone wants to purchase the standard edition, with he full knowledge that a Special Edition will be released in the future, they can do so without feeling that the studios are taking advantage of them when the release the Special Edition.
An example of this (in mainstream DVD's) is the movie "Dogma". When it was released last year, it was announced that a Special Edition would be released this year. Beause I wanted the movie, I went ahead and bought it. When the SE release date was announced (and now delayed), I pre-ordered that version. Had I bought the first version without knowing that the second version was to be released, I probably would have felt ripped off. However, since I made the decision to buy the first version with the full knowledge that another version was coming, It doesn't bother me that I am purchasing this title twice.
On the other hand, there are sometimes improvements in technologies that allow a better version of a movie to be released than was previously possible. In these cases the studios had no way of knowing that the new technology could make the title better when they first released it, so they couldn't tell anyone that the disc would be re-released.
BAD WIVES is due to be released on a special collector's edition very soon. I would get that one because the current incarnation is so poor (edited from the original tape version, multiple angles, and mediocre visual quality).
Also, deeply flawed releases like SISTER SNATCH (which was incompletely mastered), GIRLS ON FIRE (which looks worse than an 8 year old rental tape), and the early Andrew Blake titles from Caballero deserve to be re-issued, but I doubt that they are on their respective studio's priority list (otherwise, they wouldn't have done such a terrible job in the first place).
I regret that a few Evil Angel titles have some eccentricities (BUTTMAN'S EUROPEAN VACATION has some chapter stop problems), but at least they are constantly striving to admit to and correct any previous flaws. The other companies just don't seem to care.
I would begrudgingly buy a newer version of an existing title if there are improvements, but some DVDs should never have made it past quality control in the first place (I have no idea how VCX could even thing that GIRLS ON FIRE would be acceptable to even the most undiscriminating porn buyers).
I'd have to echo what's already been said... I prefer to have collector's editions of DVDs and will buy the more expensive version if they are released at the same time. But when a situation like Latex comes up, unless there's some compelling reason for me to buy the new version, there's no way I'll pay twice, especially in adult. At least with mainstream DVDs, you can recoup some of the investment by selling the first version on eBay--but with the adult market so flooded, it's hard to get back what you paid by auction.
Anyway, in the case of drastically improved supplemental content (like the difference between the Buena Vista and Criterion versions of Rushmore )) AND when I like the movie a lot, I'll pay for the new edition. In this case, I don't expect the studio to replace the version. However, if this was a Disney-like tactic to squeeze more money out of me, you'd better believe that my future buying behavior toward that studio's releases will change dramatically.
If I like the movie a lot and the quality of the first release is poor, I generally expect that the studio should replace it if they re-release a better version. Two studios who do that are Evil Angel and Ultimate. In that situation, I view the first version as "defective" and eligible for replacement.
And to answer Diesel's question, I don't "collect" adult DVDs like I collect mainstream ones, primarily because I don't think there are that many adult titles that are worthy of being collected...and even fewer that have collector's edition treatment in terms of mastering and extras.
Patience is a virtue, but who wants to be virtuous? 4283 Posts 4/00
Posted - Jan 28 2001 : 9:30PM
It wasn't so much of a rerelease of 6 titles as it was a recall (we did our best to recall all of Buttman's Big Tit Adventures 1 and 4, Big Butt Euro Babes, and Buttman in Budapest.) We also offered an exchange of Face Dance 1 and 2 to anyone who experienced bad audio on their disc. (A very small group of people wouldn't have very good audio.) Finally, the first run of Voyeur 2 had an error on the last chapter. Again, we did a recall (got back over 75% of the copies that were sold), and did the corrected release about 2 months later.
We NEVER expected anyone to buy the 2nd version of any of these discs. It was always intended to be an exchange to show our commitment to try to improve our quality. If the store returned it, shipping was covered by us; if an individual returned it, they were asked to pay shipping to us, we paid shipping of the new disc back. For 6 months, we had the exchange listed on our website. For issues like not being able to rewind into previous chapters on Buttman's European Vacation, we did not feel that it was worth a recall, but once we sell out of the first run of this disc, the next run will not have this error. I don't think it's worth it for us or the consumer to replace the first copy with a new one. At this point, I feel relatively confident that no sites or stores would have anything other than the corrected copies. If you do still have a copy of the 4 Buttman titles that don't have ANY extras on them except for just the chapter menu, email me. We still do the exchange.
If we were ever to intentionally plan 2 versions of a DVD, we would advertise it as much as possible in advance if we knew. The BUDA DVD coming out is planned at this point in time as a 2-disc set which will be a few dollars more than our 1 disc DVDs (the movie alone is 4 hours long as sells as a double VHS). If at any point in time we release a cheaper AND more expensive version of the same DVD, I will do my best to think of this ahead of time.
For me it all comes down to what's been added. I've already duplicated a lot of titles I own on video to DVD, but that's a different situation. I did purchase Seven (mainstream) only to see a Special two-disc version get released later. Now I'm gunshy to purchase some of the earlier released mainstream movies for fear of them being updated in a similar fashion. I think studios should offer some sort of exchange when they release a new edition. Just look at Men in Black. At last count there were three editions available. As far as adult titles go, I would hope the studios would have the courtesy to exchange earlier releases for the new ones if not for free than at least for a modest up-charge.
