News No Enhanced Commentary On Star Trek Beyond DVD/Blu-ray

[Lance]

Studios want and expect people to move away from physical media towards digital downloads and streaming--and it's happening and accelerating. This is a growing trend and Paramount is not alone. For instance, at least in Canada, if you want a digital copy of a MCU movie, you have to buy the 3-D blu-ray. Regular one doesn't have it. Sucks, but studios really want to move people to streaming and PPV.

Sadly this is true. The irony is that I don't think the market is quite as there as the hyperbole suggests. I still think physical media is viable with the populace, seriously the market is still there for people wanting to own media on disc, but the industry itself has spun this thing about "the death of physical media" and is using strong arm tactics like this to make it a self fulfilling prophecy. Truth is the studios all actually want consumers to give up physical media because it's easier for the studios to control usage rights with streaming.

 

[Ovation]

Sadly this is true. The irony is that I don't think the market is quite as there as the hyperbole suggests. I still think physical media is viable with the populace, seriously the market is still there for people wanting to own media on disc, but the industry itself has spun this thing about "the death of physical media" and is using strong arm tactics like this to make it a self fulfilling prophecy. Truth is the studios all actually want consumers to give up physical media because it's easier for the studios to control usage rights with streaming.

Studios have been trying to find ways to reclaim control over movies since the emergence of VCRs. Pushing for streaming and PPV on demand is their best option for regaining control.

 

[JWPlatt]

Human nature is to find ways around a problem when we feel we are being treated unfairly - real or perceived. There is probably a market cap imposed by flock behavior which will eventually limit purchases and increase "illegal" copying. They might want to look at that cap in order to maximize their profits while maintaining their facade of consumer-friendliness to avoid overt rebellion.

 

[Khan 2.0]

does anyone actually listen to commentaries? I find they really spoil the movie/lessen the impact and are just annoying even after umpteen viewings of the film. (quite often they just bantering, making jokes, not providing much insight..and when they are discussing a scene it usually runs over into another important scene that they don't discuss .)

if I want to learn about the making of it i'll watch a doc or read stuff

 

[DonIago]

I love listening to the commentaries myself. How would it lessen the impact of the film any more than watching a documentary?

Perhaps the cream of the crop for commentaries was just about any commentary track Roger Ebert made. His passion for film is clear in his words, never mind that the guy was a living encyclopedia of film.

 

[Khan 2.0]

I love listening to the commentaries myself. How would it lessen the impact of the film any more than watching a documentary?
.

for me I just like the movie to be 'the movie'. and any making of stuff separate. of course id prefer the commentary to be there as an option (but probably wouldn't bother with it. tbh I didn't even realise my STID blu didnt have it until I read about it recently)

 

[Lance]

Studios have been trying to find ways to reclaim control over movies since the emergence of VCRs. Pushing for streaming and PPV on demand is their best option for regaining control.

It does take the power out of the consumers hands though, which is largely why I've resisted it. But sadly like you say it is on a trend, largely because the studios are pushing it so aggressively.

I actually wonder if they're shooting themselves in the foot ultimately. I think streaming really exists in the consumer space previously occupied by rentals, and that a separate market for buying discs should by rights be able to work in conjunction with it, maximizing potential profits all round. In theory this is how they should be approaching things, like 4K discs. Blockbuster video being a thing didn't harm video sales any, it was just a different arm of the marketing beast. But the studios really have been going gun-ho on railroading consumers towards non-physical media, precisely because it gives them greater ownership on things like usage rights, as well as cutting out the middlemen (which naturally maximizes their return of investment of course, the less money you spend on things like manufacturing costs, the more profit you can make.)

Through observation, I've concluded that many consumers still like the physical media, but when they walk into stores but can't find the product, then of course they end up going the streaming route instead. Which artificially feeds the numbers that show the 'death' of physical media, giving studios more reason to push streaming services hard. We're all being played for mugs.

 

[eyeresist]

does anyone actually listen to commentaries? I find they really spoil the movie/lessen the impact and are just annoying even after umpteen viewings of the film. (quite often they just bantering, making jokes, not providing much insight..and when they are discussing a scene it usually runs over into another important scene that they don't discuss .)

Um, no-one is forcing you to listen to any commentary. If you think they are, you are not using your dvd/blu player properly.
There are indeed some sucky commentaries (particularly the actor-based ones), but I enjoy listening to the good ones, with smart people giving insight into all sorts of areas of the creative process, and having fun along the way. Sometimes it's more enjoyable than the actual movie/show.

 

[JWPlatt]

Um, no-one is forcing you to listen to any commentary.

Their mere existence on the same media spoil it for everyone whether they listen to it or not. Because the commentary police are known to show up with warrants and Clockwork Orange people with commentaries.

 

[stardream]

I love listening to the commentaries myself. How would it lessen the impact of the film any more than watching a documentary?

Perhaps the cream of the crop for commentaries was just about any commentary track Roger Ebert made. His passion for film is clear in his words, never mind that the guy was a living encyclopedia of film.

Watching the cast commentary for Lord of the Rings is one of my favorite things ever.

 

[MakeshiftPython]

I would love to see the reaction if Paramount threw everything together in one release, and charged $60-80 for it. I'm sure everyone would be happy.

Actually, I think they would be happier if the studio compiled the film and special features together in a two-disc set at a reasonable price.

Like how it used to be done. But I guess that's asking too much.

 

[BillJ]

The name of the game is to make money. If Target, Best Buy, Amazon, Wal-Mart and iTunes all want unique versions to sell, why should Paramount say no?

 

[JWPlatt]

It's a tough point to argue. They probably shouldn't - as a for-profit company. It would be up to the artists' contracts designed with the customer in mind, or the customer response itself which would determine the more benevolent and acceptable behavior. The internet effect sometimes imposes good behavior upon companies, and complaints like ours are heard if not ignored to a point.

It has also been suggested that there were existing contracts in place which could not be altered even if Paramount agreed with all the complaints about fracturing the STID and this release, but that's probably giving too much benefit of the doubt.

 

[Trekkin]

Not to derail the conversations about evils of big business, but may I just note that there are many ways to watch HD ITunes/UV digital downloads from the comfort of your La-Z-Boy, on your big-ass surround-sound entertainment system?

'I don't want to go to the effort of setting it up' =/= 'I can't.'

 

[JWPlatt]

Right. When people feel abused, they'll go elsewhere to get it for free when they otherwise would have paid a reasonable price for reasonable goods. Companies are aware there is a balance to reasonable expectations between them and their customers. Not all companies are able to retain and deploy the wisdom.

 

[Harvey]

Sadly this is true. The irony is that I don't think the market is quite as there as the hyperbole suggests. I still think physical media is viable with the populace, seriously the market is still there for people wanting to own media on disc, but the industry itself has spun this thing about "the death of physical media" and is using strong arm tactics like this to make it a self fulfilling prophecy. Truth is the studios all actually want consumers to give up physical media because it's easier for the studios to control usage rights with streaming.

The major studios aren't putting less effort into physical media because they want the physical media market to decline. They're putting less effort into it because the physical media market HAS declined -- dramatically, and it continues to decline each year.

There certainly IS a market there for physical media (I should know; I work in home video sales!), but it is simply not the mass market that existed before the recession -- it's a niche, collector-driven market.

 

[JWPlatt]

There certainly IS a market there for physical media (I should know; I work in home video sales!), but it is simply not the mass market that existed before the recession -- it's a niche, collector-driven market.

If the studios know this, they're not acting like it - such as with Hobbit UCE, STID and now STB - unless they are intentionally pissing off the collectors.

 

[Harvey]

Those sets certainly aren't how I'd approach those properties if I were in charge. The Hobbit set makes the least sense to me. It's priced for serious collectors, but the content seems like sometthing you'd aim at a more casual buyer.

On the other hand, offering multiple retail exclusives may well have guaranteed better and wider placement on store shelves for Star Trek Beyond. In that case, since it's te first home video release of a recent tentpole, Paramount is obviously shooting for the mass market (such as there is for home video) rather than collectors.

 

[eyeresist]

The major studios aren't putting less effort into physical media because they want the physical media market to decline. They're putting less effort into it because the physical media market HAS declined -- dramatically, and it continues to decline each year.
There certainly IS a market there for physical media (I should know; I work in home video sales!), but it is simply not the mass market that existed before the recession -- it's a niche, collector-driven market.

Thing is, that's not an argument for not putting the commentary on the DVD. There will be a DVD release, there will be a commentary, and it would cost virtually nothing to put the commentary on the DVD, so there must be a definite policy reason for not doing it. It is, of course, a questionable reason - "We will put the movie out in this format, but we will hobble the product in order to reduce demand for it."

The only logic I can see to it is that they want to drive up double-dip purchases, but they're doing it the wrong way round: forcing buyers of the hardcopy version to "upgrade" to the cheaper online version. It would make more sense to mass market a bare-bones streaming/download version, then upsell fans and collectors to the hard copy with a bunch of extra bells and whistles (as they do with music and video games).

 

[seigezunt]

what about deleted scenes? are they pulling an STID on those too?