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Title: Universal is revivng is Vault Series MOD program after a year absence. Post by: claws on February 08, 2011, 02:48:14 AM Quote "Universal Studios Home Entertainment Feb. 2 said it is adding titles to its Universal Vault Series available through Amazon.com’s DVD manufacturing-on-demand service, CreateSpace. The on-demand disc manufacturing process allows studios to release catalog titles based on actual market demands instead of projections, thereby reducing the percentage of returns and production run costs. The new titles available only on DVD include: Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife (1938) starring Claudette Colbert and Gary Cooper; Cool as Ice (1991), starring Vanilla Ice in his motion-picture debut; Crackers (1984), with Donald Sutherland, Sean Penn, Jack Warden and Christine Baranski; Here Come the Waves (1944), a musical comedy with Bing Crosby and Betty Hutton; It Ain’t Hay (1943), a rare early film from comedy legends Bud Abbott and Lou Costello; The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002), a documentary following the rise and fall of legendary Hollywood producer Robert Evans; and McHale’s Navy (1964), a comedy inspired by the popular TV series with Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway. Other titles include The Other Side of the Mountain (1975), starring Marilyn Hassett and Beau Bridges; The Other Side of the Mountain Part II (1978), with Marilyn Hassett and continuing the inspirational story of a critically injured world-class skier; The Public Eye (1992), starring Joe Pesci, Barbara Hershey and Stanley Tucci; Scott Joplin (1977), with Billy Dee Williams, Art Carney and Clifton Davis; The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968), a rare comedy featuring Paul Newman; Sometimes a Great Notion (1971), Paul Newman’s directorial debut, also showcasing Henry Fonda and Lee Remick; Waikiki Holiday (1937), with Bing Crosby, Bob Burns and Martha Raye; and We’re Not Dressing (1934), a classic musical comedy starring Bing Crosby and Carole Lombard, along with the George Burns and Gracie Allen. Other titles currently available as part of the Universal Vault Series include A Bronx Tale, Pure Luck, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, Kitten With a Whip and The List of Adrian Messenger. “We are very pleased to continue our relationship with Universal Studios Home Entertainment in bringing sought-after films from the past to DVD and ensuring that they are widely available to fans and film aficionados,” said Libby Johnson McKee, managing director of CreateSpace. “Via our unique on-demand solution, Universal and other studios are bringing a host of classic screen gems to vibrant new life.” Last year, CreateSpace improved its Cover Creator software, allowing content owners to build professional cover and disc face artwork for their DVDs." Source: http://www.homemediamagazine.com/universal/universal-expands-demand-dvd-slate-21876 Title: Re: Universal is revivng is Vault Series MOD program after a year absence. Post by: Rev. Powell on February 08, 2011, 11:31:48 AM Thanks for the notice claws. I don't understand why more studios don't do this with their languishing back catalogs. With all the delivery options available today there's almost no excuse for anything to ever go "out of print."
Title: Re: Universal is revivng is Vault Series MOD program after a year absence. Post by: Andrew on February 08, 2011, 11:37:05 AM Great news! I hate it when films go out of print, and become difficult (or expensive) to track down. I bought the "Kitten With a Whip" DVD some time ago, and it's quite a good print of the film.
Title: Re: Universal is revivng is Vault Series MOD program after a year absence. Post by: Jim H on February 08, 2011, 05:30:26 PM While I love the concept of these, I must admit I find it immensely frustrating to think of buying a movie on DVD-Rs. Both because I have some older players that don't like them (they play them, just not as well as pressed discs) and because DVD-Rs don't have nearly the shelf life of pressed discs. Maybe if they didn't charge so much I'd be more inclined to buy them, but the last time I looked the on-demand studio titles were like $15-$20 a pop.
Wish they could do like a limited pressed run, but I suspect the warehouse storage cost is the issue here, not the pressing costs. Title: Re: Universal is revivng is Vault Series MOD program after a year absence. Post by: Umaril The Unfeathered on February 08, 2011, 09:23:22 PM While I love the concept of these, I must admit I find it immensely frustrating to think of buying a movie on DVD-Rs. Both because I have some older players that don't like them (they play them, just not as well as pressed discs) and because DVD-Rs don't have nearly the shelf life of pressed discs. Maybe if they didn't charge so much I'd be more inclined to buy them, but the last time I looked the on-demand studio titles were like $15-$20 a pop. Wish they could do like a limited pressed run, but I suspect the warehouse storage cost is the issue here, not the pressing costs. Well, I guess I must have an exceptional DVD-R then, my copy of Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark worls just as well now as it did when I got it 7 years ago. Either that or I must have gotten it from a reliable dealer at Chiller Theatre. $15-$20 a pop for on-demand? Get REAL, Universal! :hatred: Title: Re: Universal is revivng is Vault Series MOD program after a year absence. Post by: Raffine on February 10, 2011, 02:17:53 PM There is some complaints on the Amazon site about the poor quality print used for THE AMAZING SHRINKING MAN DVD, but it's explained at the Classic Horror Forum this movie apparently has never looked good quality-wise. It seems they originally videotaped the effects sequences (or something) and the film has looked 'off' since it was released. I saw it at the theater during its initial run and I recall it looking washed out and fuzzy then.
Title: Re: Universal is revivng is Vault Series MOD program after a year absence. Post by: Jim H on February 12, 2011, 03:40:48 AM While I love the concept of these, I must admit I find it immensely frustrating to think of buying a movie on DVD-Rs. Both because I have some older players that don't like them (they play them, just not as well as pressed discs) and because DVD-Rs don't have nearly the shelf life of pressed discs. Maybe if they didn't charge so much I'd be more inclined to buy them, but the last time I looked the on-demand studio titles were like $15-$20 a pop. Wish they could do like a limited pressed run, but I suspect the warehouse storage cost is the issue here, not the pressing costs. Well, I guess I must have an exceptional DVD-R then, my copy of Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark worls just as well now as it did when I got it 7 years ago. Either that or I must have gotten it from a reliable dealer at Chiller Theatre. $15-$20 a pop for on-demand? Get REAL, Universal! :hatred: If you run a scan on the disc, there will be more errors than when it was new. The error correction on DVD-Rs is good, but over time they build up and eventually become unplayable. It's just a matter of time. It is thought the same thing happens even to the best pressed DVDs as well, it will just take FAAAAR longer. Shelf life of good quality DVD-Rs (which yours probably is) is likely in the 15-30 year range. Basically, I want to know if I buy a movie, other people will be able to inherit it later. Thing is though, it is difficult to know how good the media used is in these sorts of programs. I personally have lesser quality CD-Rs from around 2001ish that became unplayable in about 5 years. I've also seen some lesser quality DVD-Rs go bad in that same time frame. My average-to-good media is still playable though, some of which is 6-7 years old. Title: Re: Universal is revivng is Vault Series MOD program after a year absence. Post by: Umaril The Unfeathered on February 12, 2011, 11:47:53 AM While I love the concept of these, I must admit I find it immensely frustrating to think of buying a movie on DVD-Rs. Both because I have some older players that don't like them (they play them, just not as well as pressed discs) and because DVD-Rs don't have nearly the shelf life of pressed discs. Maybe if they didn't charge so much I'd be more inclined to buy them, but the last time I looked the on-demand studio titles were like $15-$20 a pop. Wish they could do like a limited pressed run, but I suspect the warehouse storage cost is the issue here, not the pressing costs. Well, I guess I must have an exceptional DVD-R then, my copy of Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark worls just as well now as it did when I got it 7 years ago. Either that or I must have gotten it from a reliable dealer at Chiller Theatre. $15-$20 a pop for on-demand? Get REAL, Universal! :hatred: If you run a scan on the disc, there will be more errors than when it was new. The error correction on DVD-Rs is good, but over time they build up and eventually become unplayable. It's just a matter of time. It is thought the same thing happens even to the best pressed DVDs as well, it will just take FAAAAR longer. Shelf life of good quality DVD-Rs (which yours probably is) is likely in the 15-30 year range. Basically, I want to know if I buy a movie, other people will be able to inherit it later. So DVD's and DVD-R's degrade and eventually load themselves up with errors? Well THAT really bites....at least it's nice to know that I have time to possibly transfer it to another disc and hopefully do so with a new slate with little or no errors. At least I hope there won't be any more errors once it's transferred to a new disc. Thing is though, it is difficult to know how good the media used is in these sorts of programs. I personally have lesser quality CD-Rs from around 2001ish that became unplayable in about 5 years. I've also seen some lesser quality DVD-Rs go bad in that same time frame. My average-to-good media is still playable though, some of which is 6-7 years old. Makin'a good point here...I have CD R-W's that I can no longer view after 5 or 6 years, perhaps because of the same thing, natural errors due to cheapo discs. Too bad too, I had some nice mini movies of Samantha 38G from an all natural website... :bluesad: Title: Re: Universal is revivng is Vault Series MOD program after a year absence. Post by: Jim H on February 14, 2011, 01:56:28 PM Yeah, if you reburn a Dvd r before it becomes unplayable, it is good as new. That is what I do every few years with my most important backup discs. Also RW discs go bad MUCH faster than R like 1/4th the time.
On another note supposedly the best quality dvd rd can last close to a century, but I'm skeptical of that. |