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Daily News Archive - Sept. 98

9/24 - Dreamworks finally announces!!

   Just when I thought my day couldn't get better, it has been brought to my attention that Dreamworks has finally announced support of the Open DVD format. I'm sure you've all heard this by now, but this is very important to all of us that have DVD players. This means absolutely no exclusive titles for DIVX, which was the only thing they had going for them (not much of a positive). So, if all of you DVD lovers feel like letting out a holler, feel free to run out your doors and jump around in your lawn like a mad man or woman. DVD now has added momentum heading into the holiday season. It will be in more demand than ever as consumers gear up for gift giving. The numbers will keep going up, and hopefully, DIVX will be just another failed technology.

    Speaking of DIVX, Bill Hunt of the Digital Bits and Steve Tannehill of the DVD Resource Page both have an interesting look at the training videos for DIVX salespersons at Circuit City. What I find whimsical is that they still claim they have exclusivity with Paramount and Fox!! I don't know what they're smoking, but Paramount and Foz announced months before the video was made. Oh well, the format won't go anywhere anyways, so I'm not worried.

    Now, my attention is turned to this: When will Saving Private Ryan come to DVD? I'm really looking forward to that film as it is my favorite movie other than Braveheart, which I also hope to see soon on DVD!

    My roommate is going to be out of town this weekend, so I'll probably be able to finish that Sphere review that I started a while ago. No promises, but I may even get the Palmetto review posted!!

    Just a brief note on my absence over the past week: It's been a really busy week. I'd actually consider it to be one of the busiest weeks of my life. Tests, papers, computer programs.....AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! Oh well. I made it through. If anything new happens, I'll keep you posted.

9/20 - Brief Update

    With the arrival of the weekend DVD news tends to slow down. This weekend is no different. However, the DVD Week issue keeps growing as we speak. A website is being designed to deal with this issue only and the designer is saying it should be up by Monday. Once he gets it posted, I will let you know the address. Not much else has gone on this weekend, but when something happens, I'll keep you posted.

9/18 - DVD Week & Jim Taylor's FAQ arrives -

   Okay...here's the deal. About a day or two ago, Steve Tannehill of The DVD Resource Page posted an interesting comment in his daily column. This is how it read:

It is going to be really, really interesting these next couple of   weeks. Meanwhile, once the ads for Divx start hitting nationwide newspapers, let's all gear up for a day where we all go out and buy an Open DVD. Heck, let's declare Open DVD Week and see if we can purchase DVD's for one week in record numbers just to get our point across: we don't want Divx.

    Now, interesting enough, this idea really took off in his DVD Forum that he has included on his page. Right now, it appears as if Open DVD week will coincide with Paramount's initial releases. I will post more information on this topic as it comes in.

    Also, you might want to take a look at the newly updated FAQ page. I spoke with Jim Taylor, and he is allowing me to mirror his FAQ on this site. If you've never heard of it, Jim Taylor's FAQ is the best that you will find. He covers almost every DVD question and updates the FAQ quite frequently, so if you have a question, feel free to ask him.

    There are some exciting things that will be going on in the world of DVD over the next few weeks, so stay tuned!!

9/17 - Commentary on Fox Announcements

   With the announcement of The Mask of Zorro on DVD, let me just say I was a little excited. Speilberg has finally partially entered the DVD market, leaving DIVX in the dusk ( which speaking of DIVX, check out Bill Hunt's Digital Bits page for some really interesting news on the current state of DIVX). Much to my dismay, Fox has officially announced their first titles and their features, and to tell you the truth, I won't even consider buying anything from Fox. I mean, take a look at the features. It may include Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. It might have additional sound tracks and closed captioning. Seriously, I think the people over at Fox need to take a look at what is out on the market today.

    Take Warner Bros. for example. They've released the most and probably done the best work with their titles. Titles such as Sphere and U.S. Marshals are chalk full of special features, plus the normal things you see with DVD, and they sell for a SRP of $19.95!! Now that is a bargain!! Fox on the other hand offers mediocre titles, no gripping special features, and they may not even have Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Oh, and the best part is that they have them at bargain prices -- $34.98!! Boy oh boy!! Where do I get in line?

    Now this, in my opinion is a very serious problem for DVD. As DVD tries to become the standard of the future, Fox and Paramount, for the longest time, had  been holding them back with their exclusivity to DIVX. Since  they've both joined the Open DVD camp, excitement has been looming over the possibilities. Finally, a chance for DVD to make some really serious commotion. Paramount looks to be on the right track. Fox...well, let's just say we're all very disappointed. I can just see the insane $150 price tag for Star Wars on DVD when they do finally release it. Oh, pardon me, let me correct that. If they release it. Right now, it sounds as if they aren't even planning on a release of Star Wars anytime soon. There again, Fox is holding the format back. The release of the Star Wars Trilogy alone would sell half a million DVD players. I mean, who doesn't want to see Star Wars with crystal clear picture and brilliant Dolby Digital sound? But Fox doesn't seem to take any real interest in the format, almost as if they still think DIVX will be the wave of the future.

    So what are us DVD enthusiasts to do? Well, it's simple. Don't buy their titles. Send them a friendly letter. Send them a friendly e-mail. Tell them that what they're releasing won't cut it with the true DVD fans. I know I won't buy Home Alone 3 or Hope Floats with no special features at the collector's edition price of $34.98(Those movies are lackluster at best anyways, in my opinion).

    In closing, I have a message for the Fox Home Video department: Take a look around you and see what you're missing. Profits for Warner Bros. were pretty good considering it was the first year of the format. Just think of what you could do with your extensive library of titles and even your newer Blockbusters. I'll tell you I'm looking forward to The X-Files: Fight the Future on DVD, but if it is at the price of 34.98 and doesn't include Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, I won't buy it( I haven't even mentioned the fact that they don't appear to contain the 16 x 9 feature for widescreen DVD's. Who wants to buy a whole new collection when the world switches to widescreen TVs?). So shape up, lower prices, increase the amount features, include the standards with most DVDs (Dolby Digital 5.1, subtitles, different language audio tracks, etc.), and you have yourself a booming market with unlimited possibilities. The DVD enthusiasts expect nothing less.

9/15 - Mask of Zorro on DVD!

   In perhaps the biggest news since Paramount and Fox decided to join the Open DVD format, Colubia-Tristar announced the release of The Mask of Zorro DVD. It will have an SRP of $24.95, and will include a trailer and a special "Making of" documentary. Of course, we all know the association of this film with Steven Spielberg. Perhaps this is just a set up for him to allow Amblin and Dreamworks SKG to enter the DVD market. Whatever it is, I'm certainly glad that Spielberg finally decided to try the format, and hopefully Amblin and Dreamworks will soon follow.

9/14 - Laserviews announces several new titles

    Most of you already know this by now, but Laserviews has listed several announcements from companies as to their new releases. Highlights among these: Casablanca, A Fish Called Wanda(You gotta love those Monty Python boys), Tomorrow Never Dies: Special Edition, Spies Like Us, and even a confirmation of the release of three South Park DVDs. Also, the Speilberg rumors continue to circulate as he seems to be getting closer and closer to his impending DVD announcement. Speilberg titles by Christmas?...

    Also, an interesting tidbit as Universal has lowered the price of the Godzilla: Special Edition DVD from an SRP of $29.99 to $24.99. It may not have been the greatest movie of the summer, but I'm looking forward to this one on DVD. The sound will be cool, which is enough to persuade me buy this one. As for now, that's all the news that is fit to print.

9/13 - Another quick update:

    No incredibly ground-breaking news on the DVD front today, but it's a weekend so what did you expect. In the meantime, I used some time this weekend to watch one of my unwatched DVDs in my collection: Sphere. Now, I know I told you all that I was going to do a review of Palmetto, but my roommate, my friends, and I decided we wanted to watch Sphere instead. That is why I now have a partial review of Sphere up right now. If you haven't seen the movie, I would strongly recommend it. For now, enjoy this current review, and I'll get the rest of it done soon.

9/10 - Just a brief update:

    Just a quick note today. Check out my rumors page for an interesting tidbit on Titanic. I also have the page for Palmetto up. The review isn't there just yet, but a summary of the disc and its features is(complete with pictures!). The review should be up by this weekend. Enjoy!

9/9 - Quantum Leap to hit DVD!!! --

Laserviews has announced that the pilot episode for Quantum Leap will in fact be released to DVD. Although there is no certain release date for this disc, it has been confirmed. If you can't tell, I'm really excited about this. Quantum Leap is probably my favorite television shows of all time. Now, if they'd only release Sliders on DVD...

Image also announces Dances With Wolves --

Finally!! The buzz about this movie has been going around for quite some time now. It was only a matter of time before they released it, and from what I hear, it's loaded with special features. It will have the Digital 5.1 track, and a special audio commentary by Kevin Costner and Producer Jim Wilson. Yes it will also be 16 x 9 enhanced. For more information, visit Image Entertainment On-line at http://www.image-entertainment.com. You can also view the full press release on Bill Hunt's Digital Bits page.

Speilberg Close to Open DVD? --

Check out my rumors page for the story on this one. Let's just hope that this rumor soon becomes reality!!

FAQ Up and Running!!

  Today, I spent a majority of my time creating an FAQ section for my site. Just click the FAQ on the sidebar or right here to access the page. The review of Palmetto should come, most likely, late on Friday evening if everything goes according to plan.

DVD Place is Here!!!

   Hello and welcome to the newest DVD related website on the internet. I know what you're thinking. "This is just another one of those DVD preaching, Anti-DIVX banner toting website. Great, just what we needed!!"...Well...You're right!! With DVD, you can't get enough of a good thing!!

About this page

    First off, let me introduce myself. I am Brett Simmonds, and I am a currently a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln under the college of engineering and technology. Now, this is actually one of my first experiences with authoring a webpage, so things may be a little rough around the edges at first. Over time, however, my knowledge of web building will grow, and hopefully, so will this site. Over the next few months you can expect several things. First off, as you see on the side links, I'll provide information on DVD related topics, and will have a score full of reviews. If all goes well, this page will expand along with the audience. So once again:

WELCOME TO DVD PLACE!!!

First Things First...