The producers of movies on video have lost touch with their audience and are making it hard for them to enjoy a film. It’s problem that earns the DVD and Blu-ray manufacturers The Whiner of the Week award.
Let’s say you’ve worked a busy day and want to relax by watching a movie. You pop in the disc with the expectation that you’ll be able to momentarily enjoy the film. But instead of munching on some popcorn and sipping a delightful beverage, you have to mow through a bunch of stuff. Here’s what I’m talking about:
- Anti-piracy warnings from both the FBI and Interpol: Usually you can’t fast-forward or skip these warnings. Have these messages ever stopped illegal copying?
- Previews: Why do we need previews on these discs anymore? All the previews are online. I know that we have previews at movie theaters. Part of that is to give people a chance to settle down before a film, something you don’t need to worry about at home. Putting previews on DVDs and Blu-ray discs is like advertising rotary phones at an iPhone announcement.
- Charitable pitches: There are plenty of hours in the day where I’m happy to listen to charitable pitches. I’m doubtful that anyone is putting the disc on pause to make a donation. Unless the charity or issue is tied directly to the film, I’m not looking to find out more.
- Pre-film credits: Just when you think the movie is about to begin, you have to sit through the credits for the distributors of the film, the producers of the DVD (a sister division of the distributor), and the various companies that produced the movie. In the past, these were simple text announcements. Now everyone has to have some sort of animated ego driven proclamation to tell me that their company is called, Leaky Faucet Productions.
As I mentioned, some of these pre-film ads can’t be skipped. And it’s a pain to have to fast-forward the others. Perhaps I need to reduce my caffeine intake but is it good business sense to annoy your customers prior to them (hopefully) enjoying your product?
DVDs and Blu-ray movies can be great because of the additional content, like behind the scenes features, that viewers receive. But you don’t want to dine at a restaurant that makes you wait a long time before you get your first bite of food.
