Forum - View topicSentai Filmworks to Phase Out DVDs by 2019
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EricJ2
Posts: 4016 |
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When I bought my PS3 back in '08, there was no "other Blu-ray player". PS3 was almost literally the only one that worked, at least for a three-figure price.
Particularly for 90's shows that were originally aired on videotape source, like Viz's horrendous Sailor Moon Blu-upgrade, rather than shows that were on film stock, like VIz's not-too-bad Ranma 1/2 Blu-upgrade. But yes, jumping into page 4, I applaud most of the posters here for reading the article and being aware that Sentai was phasing out DVD, not "physical disk". Which just about any other naive folk would immediately knee-jerk assume upon reading the headline. And while DVD is better for TV reruns (if you can't upgrade them from film stock), let's be honest, nobody's bought any other kind of DVD in the last nine years if the Blu-ray was available. (Like Sentai's graphic says, if you're still watching DVD disks on a wide HDTV flatscreen set in 2017...."DOPE". ) It's already a confusion that's throwing off the studios' "DVD sales are dead!" strategizing and propaganda to sell digital, in that most Hollywood studios are still technologically stuck in 2010, think Blu-ray is still a "Small techie niche that's not taking hold" (evidently we're still wondering whether HDDVD will win ), and continue to measure DVD-only sales numbers at Wal-mart, FYE and Target, who barely even sell retail disks anymore...And those they do are usually the $10 checkout-counter variety, while the majority of Blu customers tend to go for online discounts.
Do people still believe this? I remember, during the '08 Format War, having to carefully explain to people that, yes, you could watch both disks on the same player, just that now you had the fancy new one as well. That's what made the PS3--and now the PS4--such a one-stop black box, since it could play the games and stream Netflix and Crunchyroll as well. You pretty much just hooked one thing up to your TV, and were set for life.
IOW, sounds like they're not going to do a Viz Sailor Moon, and respect the original source-print material, but that they're finally phasing out dual releases, and jamming a long-deserved stake in the heart of Blu/DVD "Combo sets". Which were originally invented (by Disney) back in 2008 when nobody who wanted a Blu player had bought one yet, but we're also nine years past that stage. |
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Top Gun
Posts: 4563 |
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Interesting news. If it doesn't affect any series that only have SD materials available, I'm fine with it. These days I'll always go Blu-ray given the choice, and I've double-dipped on who knows how many series I own older DVDs for. Given the preference, I prefer FUNi's method of combo packs, though to be fair I almost never use the DVDs exclusively; I guess it's more of a safety blanket at this point than anything else. I wouldn't overly mind if they wound up foregoing those in favor of some sort of digital offering, so long as it wasn't exclusive to the festering pile of garbage that is iTunes.
Honestly the part that has me scratching my head the most is how any home-media purchaser can still be without some sort of Blu-ray player in the year 2017. Like, a basic stand-alone player could be had for the price of a single anime series (less even, if you're talking about Sentai's slightly-pricey offerings) for the past few years now. Then there's the PS3, current-gen consoles, a dedicated drive for your PC...I mean come on. I love old tech as much as anyone, but there's a difference between that and just being a Luddite. |
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BlueRex666
Posts: 233 Location: El Paso, TX |
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Seriously, I don't see the big difference between a DVD and Blu-Ray. As long as I own a copy I don't care!
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar Posts: 16935 |
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Beyond some simply preferring them for whatever their reason. Silly people, how dare they have a personal preference to how they view their hobby right? Totally illogical. I always laugh when some try and force their own personal preferences onto others under the guise of those preferences somehow being absolute truth. Some of the arguments here really seem no different than those by people who claim show X is "obviously" better than show Y or watching shows in lnguage X is better than Y as if their preferences are truth that invalidates the opinions of others. |
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Ggultra2764
Subscriber
Posts: 3862 Location: New York state. |
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I guess this isn't surprising since high-end distributors like Pony Canyon and Aniplex have been selling most or all of their releases only in Blu-Ray format for a while now. I still got DVD releases of Sentai titles for the most part thanks to the cheaper price. Suppose I'll have to get used to going Blu-Ray or nothing within the next year or so with Sentai.
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FlowerAiko
Posts: 218 |
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I haven't bought a DVD in ages. Blu rays look nicer and the subtitles aren't unbelievably ugly. This makes total sense, especially from a business standpoint, since I doubt Sentai makes much from just selling DVDs, as most people I know who still collect physical media only collect blu rays anyway. They may still keep them in their LEs to change more of them though. Every single LE I own that came with a DVD remains untouched.
And to those worrying about buying a blu ray player, if you have a PS3 or a PS4, those are blu ray players. |
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relyat08
Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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I understand where you're coming from, but I feel like the fact that this is a technical debate, at least in some part, gives more credence to the BD>DVD argument. Blu-rays are technically better than DVDs. They have greater capacity, better video quality, etc. Anyway, I don't mean to start an argument, but I don't think this is all that similar to debating favorite anime or language, which is pretty inherently subjective. In most cases it's not a debate over opinion here, but over technical values. You can prefer one over the other for non-technical reasons, but I think most who buy BD do so because it's a higher quality viewing experience, not because they think the case looks cooler, or something. No one needs to be a jerk about it though, of course. |
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mangamuscle
Posts: 2658 Location: Mexico |
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Now that everyone has vented their personal pet peeves, let me vent mine
I am all for progress, blu-ray means high definition and discs that will last a century, not a decade. It also means there are only three regions (instead of the 6 for DVDs), so technically a blu-ray release by Sentai can be bought and played in my blu-ray disc. I wont ask for a spanish dub, but for crying out loud *blood pouring from eyes* it would be so hard to add spanish subtitles? Let's take for example Monster Musume, probably the biggest hit Sentai has had in a long time. When it was first streamed, it was streamed in latinamerica so it means there were spanish subtitles available. Would it have been so hard to include them in the blu-ray release? Think at least about the 12% inside that USA that have spanish as their first language, we latinos like anime also. Also, think about latinamerica as little china, we might not be rich but we have lots of young people that might buy your discs if you at least include the spanish subtitles used on the web stream. |
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xchampion
Posts: 370 Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho |
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Thank you. I was about to say the same thing. Blu-ray vs DVD from a technical argument isnt even a debate. Ill compare it to the previous general of the video format. As an example no one said VHS is better than DVD because its obvious it was an inferior technology. Now you could say you preferred to watch VHS over DVD but that doesn't make it a better format. The same applies to Blu-ray vs DVD. |
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Hoppy800
Posts: 3331 |
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While I already have a BD player, I used to just have a PS3 as my primary BD player for the longest time but I have a standalone since 3D was in style (my god that didn't last long). My concern is that many anime I like from the late 90's and very early 2000's are DVD only save for a few like CCS and Sister Princess.
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PurpleWarrior13
Posts: 2024 |
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I'm not sure I like the idea of an SD-BD. If a particular show I want has no HD masters, I would prefer to just buy it on DVD. My Blu-ray player already upscales the picture to where it can look somewhat decent. I don't think my player upscales SD bonus features on Blu-ray discs, but that might not be the case with SD-BDs if they're encoded differently.
Anyway, niche media collectors have been making the switch for a long time. This isn't just with anime, but classic horror fans have long embraced Blu-ray over DVD. It's at the point where Scream Factory doesn't really release DVD editions anymore (the occasional combo pack notwithstanding).
Sailor Moon also aired from an edited film source (16mm, just like Ranma). It's just that the existing scan is very old. Ranma was lucky to get a brand new HD scan in Japan, which Viz replicated for their release. |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4070 |
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Again, if Sentai wants to sell only BDs then they better make it so we can finally turn off... and on while playing dubs... the damn subtitles. Otherwise, Region A Japan BDs are still obviously better than Region A NA ones We all know why this is and one day Japan will have to grow up about it. "But BDs can only hold 2-3 episodes at first because the shows are so massive!". Last edited by Animegomaniac on Mon Sep 18, 2017 11:34 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Top Gun
Posts: 4563 |
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Honestly, as much as people keep touting Blu-ray's largely increased video quality, I think the audio is every bit as much of a selling point, if not more. True lossless tracks? Yes please.
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Kazemon15
Posts: 400 |
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I like how everyone just ignores this major concern for deaf and hard of hearing fans. I stopped buying anything Sentai because of this SOLE reason. Add closed caption, subtitles for the hearing impaired, SOMETHING...to be able to watch a BD with dub and subtitles on. It sucks, no matter how many emails I send to Sentai about this, it's mostly ignored. They used to be my favorite company...but now, screw them. I wont pay a cent until I can watch the product I bought with dub with subtitles on. |
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Mr. Oshawott
Posts: 6773 |
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So it seems that DVDs are starting to see their days numbered...
I say this is a good thing, since that now means that the latest and, perhaps, earlier shows can be seen in a higher quality (albeit slightly). |
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