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Buster Blader 126 wrote:

There are some of us who simply want to get it right away. To some of those who've been purchasing singles, the notion of a half-set is nice since they'd be only paying $100-120 for a set, vs. $180, $190 if they got an artbox. And that's just comparing retail prices - deals can be had if one can find them.

Hmm, I suppose half sets might be the best compromise for serving many different types of fans with a single product. We can't reasonably expect every show that comes out to be released in every possible format. Quick but not quickest. Mostly complete but not totally complete. Cheap but not cheapest. Some extras but not all the extras. Fewer things to track down and buy but not the least. If this is the medicine it takes for the anime industry to stay healthy in a rough economy I'm OK with it.

ryoga79 wrote:

I admit to being one of the people who would rather have a set without a dub. Just a personal preference, the dub audio track will never get used so if I have a chance to get it cheaper and faster then I'm all for it.

I also prefer subs, but I prefer all my anime to have dubs for one major reason. I can actually convince other people to watch them. There's no point trying to get some people who aren't used to to reading subtitles to do it. They just refuse. Also, there are kids like my young niece and nephew who can't read fast enough yet. I plan on helping indoctrinate the next generation of fans and dubs really help.

There was no mention in that interview about the sub-par video quality of funimations discs and how the QC department can possibly think their video is acceptable With the grainy fuzzy noise, edge enhancement and banding that effects most if not all of their titles.
I've come to the conclusion that either their authoring equipment isn't up to the task, they don't have the experience, they don't care, or every single master they get from Japan is of low quality

Also Do they ever compare their dvd quality against other US anime companies that do a better job and work out why that is?

Well, I never watch sub tracks but I don't mind paying extra for them. Plus, I know some people prefer them and others, like the deaf, need them.

informative article.

1. Having worked in QC I can see how a Ginza-type character fit in, lol. And why she gets looks.

2. No questions on physical bonus items? Does Clarine handle decisions on that too?

omoikane wrote:

2. No questions on physical bonus items? Does Clarine handle decisions on that too?

You know, this question didn't dawn on me until you mentioned it just now. I'll definitely keep it in mind for future interviews. My guess would be Clarine doesn't know *too* much about physical bonus items, since she is involved strictly with the DVD production.

edzieba wrote:

Nice way to skirt the issue on DVD pricing. Why not just come out and SAY that the licensing cost increases from the rightsholders are keeping the prices inflated?

Because licensing costs have shrunk over the past year? And its not like when the Japanese companies have released things over here themselves that they've been any cheaper.

PetrifiedJello wrote:

Since this time, I've noticed an increase in price. It's now June, and I do understand the economic woes is partially to blame.

But I was stunned to see the second season of School Rumble was broken into two parts. At first, I figured they were episodes released that way from Japan.

Having read up on the info here at ANN, this stunned expression turned to a bit of anger, truthfully. I wasn't happy to see the second season part 2 was released 2 months of the first. BestBuy had both for $45 each. That's $90 for a complete second season when I had just purchased the first season for $40.

That was an immediate non-purchase. $50, I'm okay with. It's relatively new and I really enjoyed it. But for $40 more? It wasn't that great of a series for me.

I'd rather wait for the 2 months to get it all for $50. But if the new price tier is going to be $100 for a series, well, this is going to alienate many who struggle to pay for it now, regardless how much cheaper it is today compared to the VHS days.

No, prices aren't increasing. You're comparing the second release of the School Rumble: Season 1 against the first release of Season 2. Season 1 had already had some of the costs offset by the singles release ($30*6)... the more appropriate comparison is $180 for the first release of Season 1 and $120 for Season 2. As you can see prices have not increased Razz

. I've been buying anime DVDs for over 7 years and over the past year and a half or so the price I pay per episode's worth of content has decreased drastically.

krelyan wrote:

I've been buying anime DVDs for over 7 years and over the past year and a half or so the price I pay per episode's worth of content has decreased drastically.

I'll second that. I remember a number of years back when I purchased the 8 disc set of Tenchi Universe and I managed to find it new online for $120 and I was so excited that I got such a good price on it. Those old boxes used to go for $160-$180, and that was the "box set deal" price. Buying those 8 DVDs individually at the $30/volume MSRP sticker price (and it was far more common back then to find anime at retail for no discouted price) cost over $200.

edzieba wrote:

Geez, DigiBeta? Still? No wonder there are so many nasty-looking licensed dvds. coughMangleEntcough
Nice way to skirt the issue on DVD pricing. Why not just come out and SAY that the licensing cost increases from the rightsholders are keeping the prices inflated?

What's wrong with DigiBeta? The only downside I know of is the 90-minute limit per tape. Would another digital videotape format be better? Name it. It's not like DVDs are high-def, and there have been crappily mastered Blu-rays that look worse than the DVD version.

As for DVD prices, "mainstream" titles sell in the millions or upper hundreds of thousands. R1 anime sells in the tens of thousands. Do the math.

edzieba wrote:

Geez, DigiBeta? Still? No wonder there are so many nasty-looking licensed dvds. coughMangleEntcough

WTF are you talking about? Digibeta is still the highest quality SD tape format. Even R2s use it for authoring.

You sure you're not thinking of D2, the composite digital format? A lot of DVDs were mastered on that format in the early days, and those do indeed look like ass.

jsevakis wrote:

SD tape format

Was my exclaimation. Yes, modern discs (for the most part) are better than the Dark Days of D2, but they're still generally poorer than the R2J, even moreso than the bitrate drop would have you expect. Things like needless oversharpening (SAC), complete telecine fail (almost every Funi release, but Fumoffu is a good example), random edge-cropping, and so on. A quick google will turn up scads of comparisons between R1s and R2Js. And R2UK discs are even worse due to the framerate difference.
Plus, it's still a tape-based SD format. It maybe the best tape-based SD format, but that's like saying that Laserdisc is the best disc-based analogue format: technically correct, but still below-par in the days of high-bitrate HD. I'm sure a good chunk of the problem may lie with the licenseholders, but surely they can be persuaded that better masters are needed.

edzieba wrote:

Plus, it's still a tape-based SD format. It maybe the best tape-based SD format, but that's like saying that Laserdisc is the best disc-based analogue format: technically correct, but still below-par in the days of high-bitrate HD.

How is an HD master going to make SD DVDs better? For a lot of digitally animated TV series, there is no HD master. Older stuff that was filmed on 16mm might look better, but not by much. Movies and OVAs would probably see the most improvement, but honestly given that anime on Blu-ray is a niche within a niche, do you really think the R1 companies can justify the costs right now for all but a handful of titles?

Ah this article answered my burning question as to why they only do commentaries on one episode. ^^ It would be expensive indeed.

And I still don't get why people go on a "sub-only" crusade. Some of us don't like staring at the lower quarter of screens through the episodes. Others (namely me) are just so nearsighted we have to sit 3 feet infront the TV (or computer) . Unless they're the big yellow subs.

For people who complain about what kind of master video that Funimation get, maybe they should get some capital and start own video authoring company. They sound like they're too smart to make everything better than a licensed company. Why do we have to put up with spoiled people who demand highest quality, but don't want to spend a dime?

I haven't seen Funimation's version of "Chevalier" yet. Does anyone know if they cleaned up the production credit scene? ADV version had this half-ass credit. It seems like companies are doing half-ass credits for various titles. I remember watching Speed Grapher and it has most confusing production staff credit. What the heck is "2D graphic artist" anyway? Is it another fancy way to label animators?

I don't mind the pricing at all, as long as it doesn't get to outrageous.

I saw School Rumbled mentioned a few times earlier on and us in the U.S. should be happy to pay $70 (dvdpacific example) for this two parter. Japan for example paid the U.S. equivalent of $540 for 9 discs covering between 1-3 episodes.

And it was the same for them with Season 1.

Japan = $1080 for two seasons of School Rumble or
U.S. Retail price = $190 for two seasons?

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Forum - View topicChicks On Anime - Producing a DVD

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Chicks On Anime - Producing a DVD