vhs movie $88.99?!?

Anyone see what reel.com is selling the south pakr movie on VHS for?

$88.99?!?!? get out of here. i wouldnt pay that much for a movie on vhs...

comedy central had no say in it.

amy holden: "you've got a weird thing for canadian melodrama." banky: "i've got a weird thing for girls who say aboot."

since you're most likely not a video store owner then no one expects you too.

the video will go sell thru in a few months.

sorry, but you didn't break this story, so there's no reason for no one to believe you.

amy holden: "you've got a weird thing for canadian melodrama." banky: "i've got a weird thing for girls who say aboot."

"AMYSA" wrote in message news:[email]...

vhs...

too.

newsgroup? get outta here!

yeah, ill bet that you have a dvd player. you own the goddamn movie, and you just LOOVE people like me.

SJC

yep...i do have a dvd player and no, i don't yet own the movie. since it didn't have any extra goodies on it, i didn't rush right out. maybe i'll get if for christmas...if not, i'll buy it later.

but, thanks for asking.

amy holden: "you've got a weird thing for canadian melodrama." banky: "i've got a weird thing for girls who say aboot."

If you're really a fan, you should buy a DVD player and get the friggin' DVD copy. Otherwise, wait a few months for the cheap, uncrisp, pan-and-scan VHS version.

�����������~��~����������������������
LeEsPaM  �  Some Guy

"It was Keyser Soze, Agent Kujan, I mean the Devil himself. How do you shoot the Devil in the back? What if you miss?" -- Verbal Kint, THE USUAL SUSPECTS

So?. I live in the US too, but I don't have a DVD. Besides, the US isn't the only country with DVDs. I'm sure Japan has them too.

And what is up with this maniacal patriotism of yours? Seriously dude, you need to lay off the cough syrup.

-Toni

furplay wrote:

And the UK

The Pacifist

Toni wrote in message ...

"I smell a green-eyed monster....." -- Dr. Evil

furplay wrote:

Hrmmmm.....green eyed monster eh? Perhaps. I'm just sick and tired of people saying, "Just buy a DVD player" as if it's sooooooooo affordable and won't take a huge chunk out of my meager bank account, meager like many people are, I'm sure. College students (like me) on financial aid who get no monetary support from their parents (because they're unable to contribute) and have to work have to be careful with their money.

I just think it's ridiculous to hold off selling this movie on VHS, making it available only to some people. In doing so, they've created two groups- the "haves" (of DVD players) and "have nots" (w/o DVD players). I don't understand why other movies out there that have recently been released are available for sale on both DVD and VHS at affordable prices.

-Toni

Ever hear of going to a pawn shop? They tend to have a lot of players at low prices (got a brand-new one for $179 because the previous owner bought it new at Best Buy, took it to the pawn shop, and resold it at a loss because he's a gambling git who wanted to make some more quick cash to piss away). Ever hear of online places like eBay? Jeez! You don't HAVE to buy everything at Sears at those full retail prices, you know.

Perhaps they were only able to make just enough to meet the overwhelming demand of the rental chains (you buy one copy. Blockbuster orders several THOUSAND copies. Which one do you think they'll listen to first?). Once the rush is over, the manufacturers will have had enough time to catch up and have copies available for straight purchase.

What's your rush? You think Y2K is gonna shut down the world, and if you don't see the movie NOW, you may never?

(snip)

Free enterprise really sucks, doesn't it? Keep in mind we're not discussing the necessities of life, e.g., food, clothing, TV, etc.

Bill Lynch :-)

then buying this movie shouldn't be a big priority to you.

i'm just baffled that people don't understand the concept of why some movies go straight to sell thru, some take a few months and some never get there at all. dvd is an issue unto itself...a few years ago there was NO cheap option when movies first came out on home video.

just like both baseketball and orgazmo were? cannibal still hasn't dropped in price (unless i blinked and missed that one). granted, i do think it's a little weird that they didn't release "south park" priced to sell...especially here at christmas when it would no doubt give "wild wild west" a run for it's money. but, they opted not to. it's not some new. it'll be on video for sale soon (and the previously viewed vids will be up well before that, i'm sure)...i can't figure out why we're being so impatient here. i mean, i have a dvd player and i haven't bought a copy of the movie yet. it's not the end of the world.

oh my...

and you probably won't. i'm sorry, but it's a business decision. the number of movies that come our priced for sale are far out numbered by those that hit the market for 100+ bucks.

rent it, copy it, and when it comes out for sale on vhs (which it WILL) buy it.

amy

holden: "you've got a weird thing for canadian melodrama." banky: "i've got a weird thing for girls who say aboot."

I think I've been misunderstood here. I'm not bitching that I don't have a DVD player because it means that I can't see the movie. Hell, I've had a copy of this movie for months already, so it's definitely NOT a priority. What I was commenting on was that I just think it's strange to have this movie available in one format, but not the other, while other movies out there that were recently released are available in both formats. The next thing that I found annoying are when people who do have DVDs telling those who don't to just go get one- problem solved. Sure, there's places like eBay (and I thank furplay for giving me that idea) but still- paying 20.00$ for a VHS copy is more feasible for VCR-owners than paying 200.00$ for a DVD player, and another 20.00$ for the DVD itself.

-Toni

AMYSA wrote:

You can get Cannibal on DVD for about $20 :)

The Pacifist

AMYSA wrote in message ...

from

to

movies go

all.

when

it

in

little

here at

money.

(and

and i

for

of

the

it.

next month you can...or did they move the date up when i wasn't paying attention? :-)

amy (off to check...) holden: "you've got a weird thing for canadian melodrama." banky: "i've got a weird thing for girls who say aboot."

Jan 11th...and I got it for like $15!

Toni wrote in message ...

people

take a

sure.

from

to be

it

understand

for

VERY GOOD POINT :-)

Don't you mean "seeishly"?

Or was is seaouesly?

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Dave wrote:

Hmmm how about "zheiously"?

-Toni

furplay wrote in message ...

Are you saying that only america have DVD players? I hate to break it to your patriotic ass, but most countries do, dumbass. I come from Australia. DO we have DVD players? YES! SO does the UK, Japan, NZ, Canada, Russia, Germany, and MANY others.

Don't think that america is superior to everybody else. Australia has everything that america does, and quite frankly, Australia is a better place to live to me. It is not over-crowded, it has much less crime and drugs than the US, and it is a bit more laid-back.

Any aussies in this Newsgroup? I'm sure they'd agree.

I may be going a little off-topic here, but That f*cking dumb Bart vs. Australia episode of the simpsons destroyed australia's image in the US, making people think that there are kangaroos hopping through the street and people living in holes and corporal punishment. That is absolutely NOT TRUE, i'm sure that Matt Groening did little or no research on Australia before he crapped up that shitty episode.

If anybody who had bad thoughts about australia took the time to visit here, i'm sure they would change their mind.

Well, it seems that SOME people have'nt, as can be read on this NG.

Not to extent that the US does, I'd expect. Asia still is putting out stuff on VCD.

I kinda laffed my arse off seeing angry Aussies hurling cans of Foster's at Bart as he made his getaway. :)

Speaking of Foster's, if you thought that that Simpson's ep was offensive, then you'd shit bricks if you ever laid eyes on the US-aired adverts your own brewing company is showing here.

Exept for the legal bordellos (we have some in Nevada too, so why bother flying overseas when the airfare to Vegas is cheaper?), who cares?

Hee-hee-yeah! Hey, "Mite!" You almost got Frank Zappa, but you blew it! He was ready to move all of the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen down there. He'd heard about your clean air and clean water. Then he heard about your xenophobic laws banning the employment of anyone who is not an Aussie for any kind of work if a qualified Aussie is available. That meant he couldn't use the musicians and engineers he wanted because they were US citizens and not Aussies. So fuck Australia! He was ready to set up "Musical Bauhaus I" and you guys blew it!

furplay wrote in message ...

That's because they can't use VHS. Something to do with the temperature warping the tape......Some of them have DVDs, but thanks to region encoding, most great films are on Region 1 or 2, and they have like Region 4 or something which won't play them....

The Pacifist

I think you need a booting.

Stevo wrote:

Those dumbass Fosters commercials have done more harm to Australia's image in the minds of Americans than anything Groening could have conjured up on his wmost Australia-hatingest day.

Some drunk pushing two other drunks in a wheelbarrow: Australian for Designated Driver. A big oaf smashes his head into a door and it falls in: Australian for Locksmith.

Offended yet? This is merely the tip of the iceburg.

True or not, it doesn't matter. It was funny.

Enough fecal references, it was a fabulous episode. From the equipment the US Gubmint used to reverse the coriolis flow in the toilets, to Bart humming the Star Spangled banner and waving his "Don't Tread on Me" painted ass in the faces of those who would attempt to punish him for his mischieviousness, I found nothing that any but the thinnest skinned Australians, or those without a Simpsons frame of reference, could be offended about.

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Shut up Leespam, stop talking crap.

Best Wishes,

Millasur ~ Total South Park Webmaster http://www.totalsouthpark.com - Your #1 for South Park on the Net! http://server3.ezboard.com/btotalsouthparkmessageboard91994 - Totalsouthpark.com Message Board

It's not Comedy Central. The creators of your favorite TV show are the greedy ones here.

And I'm starting to feel reeeeeally good about the bootleg CD I got for free a few months ago.

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Dave wrote:

Same here dude! :-)

-Toni

and it's not even just them...paramount, i'm sure, played a much bigger part in making the decision on this one than matt, trey and co. did.

amy holden: "you've got a weird thing for canadian melodrama." banky: "i've got a weird thing for girls who say aboot."

Its the Spanish version if you notice "S.J.C." wrote in message news:p4V14.4847$[email]...

That's what the rental stores always pay for their copies. When it is released properly to the general public, it will go down in price....

In the UK the rental stores pay about �50 ($75) for their videos

The Pacifist

S.J.C. wrote in message ...

This is just the way things are. VHS allways hits at that stupid high price so the rental places can make money. DVD does not got that "sell through pricing" junk, for now anyway.

VHS has been this way for as far back as I can remember, sure isn't new.

Don't look at it like a big "fuck you" to VHS owners, look at it like a "bonus" for DVD owners.

The way I see it, it is a MASSIVE f*ck-you to all the VHS owners like me and most other people. It is a bonus for DVD owners, but then again, a DVD player costs over $300 US dollars, and alot of average families with VCRs either don't want to or can't fork out 300 bucks for one.

But then again, Paramount, or whoever is responsible for the shocking price of South Park: Bigger longer and Uncut, is trying to rip off those same average people who don't own DVDs by selling it for nearly the price of a Sony Playstation. 90 FREAKING BUCKS!

So this is exactly what SJC said, paramount are basically saying "Fuck you VHS owners, buy a DVD player, or we'll charge you $90 for what you want on VHS"

Shame on you, Paramount. Just because the MAJORITY of people don't own DVDs doesn't mean you have to rip us off.

Actually, VHS is itself a giant "f*ck you" to nearly anyone who owns it. We're right on the doorstep of being able to record a TV program onto a hard disc (TiVo and Replay are good examples) and then simply "exporting" it to a recordable DVD format. I'm already recording as much as I can in S-VHS these days, since when everything goes to digital, I want to at least have the best possible quality video when I need to convert to either D-VHS or DVD-R.

I did'nt. WalMart sells them for less than $200 now and then.

AND the VHS does'nt come with trailers, widescreen, OR in alternate French. How's THAT make you feel?

For the cost of a couple of VHS copies, you can buy a DVD player.

I'm sure they're paying as much attention to the "f*ck you"s as well as they did when the pulled that "Not Without My Anus" gag.

-- Me

"There will never be peace until God's house and God's people are given their rightful place of leadership at the top of the world. How can there be peace when drunkards, drug dealers, communists, atheists, New Age worshipers of Satan, secular humanists, oppressive dictators, greedy money changers, revolutionary assassins, adulterers, and homosexuals are on top.....there is absolutely no way that government can operate successfully unless led by godly men and women operating under the laws of the God of Jacob." -- Pat Robertson in his 1991 book The New World Order

[WHACK!] - With all the extra shit you mentioned (like a DVD burner, DVD-SVHS format conversion and SVHS equipment) it would cost probably up to $1000 to be able to record your own DVD's. Now thats ALOT for something that a VHS can do very inexpensively.

[WHACK WHACK!] - 200 bucks for the cheapass brand probably. And your saying an everyday person would want to fork out that much for something that they can't even record TV shows on? VHS does all that, but you'd have to spend $#x27;s on extra shit to record DVD's (see above). even 200 dollars is too much for some people

[WHACK] - I'm sure most people could do without dubbed french or trailers. Should someone spend $300 on some things they'd probably never use?

[WHHHAAACCCKKK!] - Does that answer my question? Why the hell should paramount rip off people just because they don't WANT to pay 300 for a DVD. That videotape should cost no more that $15 like the rest of the tapes do.

[WHACK!] - Paramount weren't involved in the NWMA gag, that was matt and trey, paramount were only involved in the movie. You do look a little bit stupid now :-)

Anyway, your obviously a DVD person, BUT DOES ANY OF YOUR ARGUMENT OVER HOW GOOD DVD IS ACTUALLY ANSWER WHY PARAMOUNT IS RIPPING OFF ALL VHS OWNERS?

except that when most tapes are first released they DON'T cost 15 bucks. look around...just because "wild, wild west" was released to sell don't mean that that is the norm.

and what was your argument prior to dvd's?

amy

holden: "you've got a weird thing for canadian melodrama." banky: "i've got a weird thing for girls who say aboot."

ALL new tech-goodies are expensive at first, then go down in price as more and more are sold (exept for computers, which always seem to hover around the same 1K mark, regardless of how many are sold).

For any of you who have an SVHS machine, do this simple little experiment. Record one minute of programming at SVHS mode, EP speed (something like the Weather Channel will do, since it has lots of text on the screen). Then, put the machine on pause, reset the VCR to record at just plain old VHS mode, and record a minute's worth of that. Now, play the tape back and notice the dif between the two.

VHS -- 260 lines of resolution SVHS -- 400 lines of resolution DVD -- 500 lines of resolution

Sometimes the trailers contain stuff that the movie itself did'nt show.

DVD also has room for extra stuff (the DVDs for "Lost In Space" and "Saving Private Ryan" has all sorts of sh*t that it's poor cousin doesn't have).

Paramount is'nt evil for doing a SP VHS at $80 for the first couple of months. Waiting for Roddenberry to croak off and then putting a bunch of talentless suits in charge of the Trek francise (result: Voyager) is the true workings of the Evil Power�

No, I guess they're doing it just to piss YOU off personally. What bastards.

-- me

"Gore vs. Bush... the same choice I have to face in selecting my pay-per-view movies every night."

As long as they stay away from Kenny, all things will be fine. ;)

furplay wrote in message news:[email]...

heh heh heh.....

Wanna continue your *We are so great* rant?

PAL has a better resolution than ALL of the above!

Better than 500 lines? Doubtful.

furplay wrote in message ...

And as a red-blooded Merkin Male I've got a multi-system TV so I can watch all the PAL (and SECAM) I wanna watch! Though why I would wanna watch some ferrner shit is beyond me. Yeehaw! Respect my authoritiey!

Jeremiah

What's a Merkin?

-Toni

Jeremiah Kristal wrote:

It's a toupee for the pubic area (maybe the chest, too?).

Bill Lynch

Also short for "American" (as I had coined it).

Depends on who you ask.

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_232.html http://homepages.picknowl.com.au/elvin/merkin.html

But I think the answer you're looking for is that Merkin is slang for American, usually meant to imply a "down home" or "Southern Redneck" connotation. Generally, "Merkins" are more backwards and less world wise than "Americans".

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Ahhhh I see. And I take it that these "Merkins" would most likely sport those oh-so-wonderful Mullet hairstyles.

-Toni

Dave wrote:

Toni wrote in message ...

For those who don't know what a mullet is: http://www.mulletsgalore.com/

Jeremiah the anti-mullet

For those who don't know what a Jeremiah is:

http://members.aol.com/oniy1chris/bullfrog.wav

Dave wrote:

ROTFLOL! Good one Dave!

-Toni

furplay wrote in message news:[email]...

Regardless..

Check your facts.

Isn't this *exactly* the kind of thing geeks love to argue about?

Bill Lynch :-)

What's with the fucking WHACK. Ya cheapo

Stevo wrote in message ...

that

Not always.....

Not if they're French........Besides, the DVD itself doesn't cost $300.

VHS has trailers too, but for other movies, and they put them at the start, forcing you to watch them or skip past.....

That's the copy for the rental stores. A general public release should follow shortly.....

Yes. Not many places (with the exception of Blockbuster) rent DVDs. Before DVD, the $90 VHS would come out, then the $20 VHS. Now because DVD misses out the first option, you accuse Paramount of being too expensive.....

The Pacifist

The Pacifist wrote:

Not always, but it is for some people.

Try a few months. That's not exactly "shortly".

Point is- why not release the movie in both formats at the same time, like other movies are?

-Toni

this is a serious question...have you listened to what some people here have said or are you just enjoying arguing with people who tell you to just buy a dvd player and shut up?

just because a few movies go straight to sell thru doesn't mean that that is the norm. most of the movies for sale at your friendly neighborhood media play or suncoast were originally released at a rental price.

i don't know why, of all films, south park wasn't immediately priced to buy...but, it wasn't. and there is nothing the least bit abnormal about that. no one is being punished and no one is being rewarded for shelling out 200 bucks for a dvd player.

amy holden: "you've got a weird thing for canadian melodrama." banky: "i've got a weird thing for girls who say aboot."

AMYSA wrote:

No, I don't enjoy arguing with people about this. I just try to point out that it's a lot cheaper for VCR owners to get a VHS copy rather than buy a DVD player first and then get a copy of the movie they want that isn't available on VHS for an affordable price.

It doesn't seem like a few to me. In the past, before DVDs came out, what I've noticed is that when a movie comes out for rental, almost at the same time (give or take a couple of weeks) it also comes out available for sale to the general public.

Yeah, I know about that. I know that the rental price is really high, about 100$.

But what if they start doing this for other movies in the future? I dunno.......I guess I really shouldn't care about the whole thing. I guess I just got riled up when the people who do have DVD players say things like, "Just go buy a DVD player" as if it's no big deal *shrug*

-Toni

This is a serious question. Do you really think the answer is for people to be forced to go out and blow a few hundred dollars for an opportunity to see a movie? What if Micro$oft put out a new OS, but they said your crappy PC can't handle it so you have to go upgrade your processor and buy more memory and a bigger hard drive? Would you blindly fork over your hard-earned cash like just another lemming? Or would you question the reasons behind their excluding older PCs from running their software? Might the phrase "greedy scumbags" come into play at some point?

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nope. and i haven't once said that in this thread. actually, i assumed that the original people who told her to "shut up and buy a dvd player" were just fucking with her anyway, so i ignored that whole thing. the only point i've been trying to make is that it has nothing to do with dvd people vs. vhs people...that and to point out again and again (and again) that just because the latest adam sandler goes straight to sell thru doesn't mean that a majority of films do.

amy holden: "you've got a weird thing for canadian melodrama." banky: "i've got a weird thing for girls who say aboot."

No, but you questioned Toni on their behalf.

Perhaps not, but it certainly has plenty to do with "the industry" forcing the latest technology on the public. That's the part I object to.

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Dave wrote:

Exactly. Consider this: what if, back in the 80's when CD players first started coming out, certain record companies decided to start releasing music first in CD format, and then a few months later release it in the form of audio cassettes?

-Toni

True- it's not a completely accurate analogy, but the main point remains. It doesn't matter if the VHS version will be for sale to the general public in a few months. It doesn't matter if they can rent it on VHS in the meantime. It's a matter of principle. People who own both a DVD and VCR don't understand the frustration because they have both players, so it's no big deal to them.

Say Paramount decides to continue doing this for other movies. Sure- non DVD owners can rent the VHS copy in the meantime as much as they want, but what about those who want to own a copy? To them, having to wait 6 months just seems unfair. It's a poor marketing tactic IMO. The industry can push for an increase in DVD sales through other methods if they choose, rather than purposefully delaying the release of movies in VHS format. As you have seen in just this newsgroup alone, it leads to a lot of pissed off (and confused) people.

-Toni

AMYSA wrote:

Toni wrote...

just seems

increase in DVD sales

release of

leads to a lot of

EXACTLY!!!

Paramount should not get involved with trying to phase out VHS. As i mentioned earlier in this thread, paramount have basically said "Fuck you VHS owners, buy a DVD player at big cost or we'll slap a $90 price tag on your fav movie instead of a $20 one".

Don't lay that Video rental price bullcrap on us again. I'm sure the SP: BLU copies for sale at Amazon aren't aimed at Blockbuster video store owners. Every video store buys their tapes direct from a regional wholesaler or their parent company (eg. Blockbuster video), NOT from Amazon or Reel.com. Sites like Amazon and Reel are aimed at regular internet surfers looking to buy something online, not video store owners.

Don't forget, Video stores rent out DVDs too. Are paramount gonna bring the price up to $100 for the DVD for 'rental' and then bring the price back down in 6 months?? HELL NO!!!

But do paramount do it for VHS's? HELL YES!!!

See? It is all Biased towards DVD owners and massively unfair for the VAST majority of people who own VHS machines.

they aren't.

no, they aren't. it's a service for people who are willing to pay the 100 buck price. if you'll notice, amazon is one of the very few places that you can buy rental priced videos. that's not necessarily for movies like BLU that will be sell thru next year...it's for movies that stand little chance of EVER going sell thru.

okay agent mulder, you win.

amy (officially bowing out of this conversation...) holden: "you've got a weird thing for canadian melodrama." banky: "i've got a weird thing for girls who say aboot."

Sure they are, albeit indirectly, due to the practices they employ.

Right. Overcharging the hell out of a video so people will buy the cheaper DVD copy is a "service".

You're the one consistently opposing popular belief.

So who you calling Mulder?

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I wasn't gonna get involved....but it's this or work, so forgive me.....

Different market have different pricing. The industry has been doing this for *at least* 13 years. Before there was DVD, there was LaserDisc, and it was slick and much better than VHS and movies would come out on LaserDisc at $29 while they were $100 on VHS. It was exactly the same pricing scheme, movies with rental demand were very expensive on VHS until 6 months after release, but cheap on LD. The only difference was that LD players were expensive so there wasn't enough of a market to drive LD rental stores. (In general, I know some specialty shops rented LD movies.)

BLU

They *have* to set the prices that way if they want to charge video stores that much, and they DO want to charge the rental shops that much. If they price it at $120 for rental and $30 for everyone else, every Blockbuster around is going to put in a pre-order to Amazon for 40 copies or tell the local Sam Goody they'll buy 40 if they're available right at midnight (wink wink nudge nudge). Sure Paramount could just sell 'em for $30 to everyone but then you have stockholders wondering what happened that that extra $50million in revenue.

down

Video stores rent DVD because the demand is there, and not all video stores offer DVD rental. My local video store is a real movie-buff place and their DVD section has maybe 1/4 as many titles as foreign VHS films. DVD is growing in popularity, but I would bet that less than 2% of the actual copies in a video store are DVD.

No, it's biased towards rental. DVD just happens to be the niche market that gets a bonus. Same as LD used to be. In fact 8mm used to have similar pricing as DVD does now, it's all market share.

Jeremiah owns 2 dvd players, so nyah!

Jeremiah Kristal wrote:

If the idea is to promote rental, then why didn''t Paramount do the same thing for DVDs? Just have the movie available for rental in both formats at first, with the astronomical price, and then 6 months later have both formats at a lower price?

-Toni

Toni wrote in message ...

VAST

similar

thing

first,

For some reason the studios have decided that VHS is the rental format and DVD is the library format. I know that it's much harder for video stores to get DVDs than VHS, and I expect the studios are trying to discourage DVD rentals, though that's really what drove the VHS market. (Oh, and porn, but DVD already has that covered.)

Jeremiah

And when DVD finally flicks VHS off the planet (or at least outta the rental stores) the movie studios will prolly do the same price thing to DVD. I bet the studios would have done the same thing to LD if it had kicked VHS to the side.

Damn, I only own one DVD player.

No wonder. This whole mess isn't an issue to you, because you own at least one DVD player. SO you probably don't know how the VHS people feel being forced to pay a huge sum for a Tape that you want while DVD owners get a so called "BoNuS".

Brian Barjenbruch wrote:

Oh please. You know damn well that if you were in the same situation, you'd be complaining too.

-Toni

Brian Barjenbruch wrote:

What's a 16:9 TV?

-Toni

A wide ratio TV....you can watch anamorphic DVDs on them and have less "black space" on letterboxed movies + higher resolution.

(snip)

Toni, please, I AM in the same situation - I don't own a DVD player. I have better things to piss & moan about.

Bill Lynch

But that's a subjective opinion.

To Toni, this may well be the "better thing to piss and moan about".

Me, I was pissed and slowly getting over it, but my pissedness (?) will surely flare up again soon as I just found out that the entire Seinfeld collection will be released on DVD some time next year. If the SP movie doesn't make me run out and buy one, the 20+ discs in the Seinfeld collection will surely do the trick.

Especially because they will NOT be made available in VHS format. At any price.

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Dave wrote:

Now *that* is really, really fucking weak. I guess that's the true way to screw over non-DVD owners- to not make what you want available in VHS, period.

-Toni

No one's getting screwed....95% of VHS movies are priced for rental at first....usually only kiddie movies and feel-good-chick flicks like "You've Got Mail" are priced for sale right off the bat. I thin the reason DVDs are so cheap and priced for sale right away is because they've sorta taken over Laserdisc's role as the "priced for sale" collectors archival medium. Anyway, I feel screwed that some stuff is available on VHS and not on DVD! Where the fuck is my Cats Don't Dance DVD dammit!!!!

Oh, and you are welcome to come over and watch South Park DVD in French Toni! hehehe.

Greg

Greg! Haven't see you post in here in like, 10 million years! I dunno about watching SP:BLU in French though....it's gotta be kinda strange hehehe. But I'd still like to come over and watch it on a bigger screen, nontheless one of these days.

-Toni

Dilpimp wrote:

Well, for some reason my newsgroup reading motherfucker thing wasn't picking this up anymore, but now it is! WoRd!

Greg

The Jim Carrey films sure aint kiddie flicks, but they got priced for sale right off the bat. Same with the bond films (although there ARE people who collect the complete set of bond films).

But Jim Carrey movies have super mass appeal and can sell thru like mad. Although, I don't think Truman Show was priced for sale right away....

Personally, I think South Park SHOULD have been priced for sale....but I'm sure there's all sortsa marketting dude logic as to why it's not. In the mean time, go buy the letterboxed version of Iron Giant!

Greg

I've discovered, by the way, that the video of SP-BLU is NOT treated with Macrovision or any of those other lame-ass, weak copy-protection devices. Given a choice between paying nearly $100 for a videotape or renting it for $3.95 and copying it, well, I think the choice is a no-brainer.

Dude, It is, Paramount always hides copyright protection on its tapes, Including SP:BLU (i tried copying it, and the picture jumped, and faded) THEY JUST DONT TELL YOU THERE IS MACROVISION OR OTHER COPYGUARDS

Guys, please, give it a rest. If there were no DVD, SP:BLU would probably still be $100 - to spur the rental business. Aren't you guys paying attention, or are you convinced that the 1st item on every agenda at Paramount is how to screw you personally? There's nothing morally wrong with pricing a video tape at $100 or $1000, nor is there anything morally good about pricing it at $10 or $1.50, it's just business. Please, time for a chill pill.

Bill Lynch

William Lynch wrote:

But it would be available for rental, and for public purchase, as it has been for years and years.

It's extremely bad business.

-Toni

Dude I'm still paying for that DVD while working a crappy job. I'm one of the shmucks who bought a DVD player after pre-ordering SP and Cannibal. Now I love the thing. Its just a matter of getting to watch it since it's in the living room until I get a new TV. KyleIke13~ <A HREF="http://kyleike.8m.com">Lyrics Page</A> <A HREF="http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/macau/1068">Tree Huggin' Hippie Crap!</A> "Oh no! I'm not SANE YET!" ~ Kyle

VHS cannot be called "obsolete" just yet. It still does the job, and to be able to record a your favourite episode of South Park from the TV onto a DVD would cost you about $700 worth of extra shit like DVD burners and PC TV Tuners.

Most people use VHS's for recording TV shows and watching them. I have every single episode of South Park recorded on VHS. What a shame, you can't record onto a DVD. Every time you want a new thing to watch on your DVD player from the store, it will cost you another $25 just to buy a SP episode.

You'll have to have ALOT of money if you wanna have a DVD collection of all the South Park Episodes like I do on VHS. If you look at it that way, DVD isn't all it's cracked up to be.

$700? I wish, last time I looked DVD-R burners were around $4000. VHS *is* obsolete, wheather we still need it or not is irrelevant. LP records and cassette tapes still do the job "just fine" sure doesnt make 'em any less obsolete.

I have almost every single epp myself, some is still on VHS, season one is on DVD. You seem to be implying that you cannot have both.

Personally I think SP is good enough to have pristine copys of it, no "bugs", commercials, etc etc. When you look at the SP VHS versus the DVD you will see that the DVD version is actually cheaper to buy, although I still have no clue why this is.

Except for it's current lack of recordability (or at least the lack of a SANE price for it) DVD is superior in every other way to VHS.

they do...and they did before dvd's were invented.

amy (about to bow out...) holden: "you've got a weird thing for canadian melodrama." banky: "i've got a weird thing for girls who say aboot."

But they never used to market the $100+ video to the general public before now.

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Dave wrote:

Fuck it......there's no point in continuing this thread. DVD owners will never understand because it's no big deal to them.

-Toni

Dave wrote in message ...

Yes they did. Almost all popular movies have come out at $100 or more at initial video release. It's been this way for the past 8-10 years that I've paid attention to the pricing. You may not have noticed it, but it's been like this since Southpark was nothing but Jesus vs. Frosty.

Jeremiah

Oh?

Oh.

Ok. So I'm wrong.

But the propinquity of the release of the movie and the aggressive holiday season advertising has resulted in plenty of ill feelings. But these sorts of things never create the backlash one would hope the situation warranted. And millions of people will receive DVD players for Christmas.

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But thats the thing though, the companys have been doing this with VHS since way back when. Some people here act like they just started doing this to push DVD and that just isn't the case. I guess everyone would be happier if us DVD owners got the same treatment? Misery loves company I guess.

I would never just tell someone "just go out and get a DVD player" I will tell people to "just go out and get a little patienence" though.

I do understnd the need now own SP:BLU NOW, but.............

"Mark R." wrote:

Perhaps to lesser-known movies, non-blockbusters, if you may. I personally have noticed that for years and years, when a movie comes out for rental, it's available for sale to the general public at relatively around the same time, give or take a few weeks.

At this point, it doesn't have to do with the South Park movie anymore. It's a matter of principle.

-Toni

Your right, I also don't think the current price structure is fair to non DVD owners. Maybe we can talk Gates into sprining for a DVD player for everyone for Christmas? Heard he was now worth 90 Billion, I think he could afford it.

<snip all DVD vs VHS debate>

You know, I was telling my mom the other day that I hope my hubby gets me a DVD player for XMas, but it's too expensive for our budget. Then she reminded me of the 80s....how VCR's used to be this expensive, but once they really became popular, the price dropped on em.

Lesley

"Every turkey dies, not every turkey truly lives." - Chef

You can get DVD players for under $200 now BTW. Def not the greatest DVD players under the sun but they still will give you a better image than VHS.

I actually remember when Cable TV was a new thing and you could buy 45 records. Kinda scary since I'm only 30. Damn, tech sure has changed, all I need now is a holodeck and I'll be happy. :)

Don't know about the rest of you but I think a holodeck Southpark proggy could be a lot of fun.

"Mark R." wrote:

I think a holodeck in general would be super sweet :-)

-Toni

Come back in 6 months.

Bill Lynch <G>

Yeahbut DVD *IS* a better option than VHS. Just wait till we have DVD-R and DVD-RW. Guarantee it wont take as long as CD-R and CD-RW did.

The *only* thing VHS is better than is nothing, heck it wase'nt even as good as Betamax.

So when a new episode of South Park airs on Wednesday, but you know you won't be anywhere near a TV when that show is on, what would you use that's better than VHS to get the job done?

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Er...I'd program the VCR? <g>

That may be *your* preferred method, but good luck trying to find a single other person who feels that waiting patiently for another airing of a TV show is superior to watching the show on tape at their convenience.

BTW, South Park may have been a bad example. Replace it with any of the thousands of other shows and televised events that will *not* be aired again a couple of days later, and see if you think any differently.

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I would just tape it on VHS, you can own both it's OK. VHS will do until DVD-R and DVD-RW arrives to the masses. I did say VHS was better than nothing. VHS if fine for "time shifting" but generally if I tape something it's to add it to my collection and for long term arcival purposes VHS (and any other magnetic tape) is junk.

???? What does patience have to do with wanting to watch a TV show, or even a live sporting event or something of national or personal importance, that will air only once at a time I will not be near a television?

Whether or not a show will be released on video is the non-issue. The issue is your statement.

I'll continue to assert that this is a ridiculous remark.

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<snip>

They did, it was called Win'95.

Howard Wilson II wrote:

Holy shit!!! I've finally gotten a new computer (away with the 486 with Win 3.1), and it's obsolete within a week of getting it. No wonder I stuck with the old one for so freaking long.

Damn Microsoft.... Lesley

"Every turkey dies, not every turkey truly lives." - Chef

The troublesome one said...

My new computer has got the clocks, it rocks But it was obsolete before I opened the box.

You say you've had your desktop for over a week? Throw that junk away, man, it's an antique!

Your laptop is a month old? Well that's great If you can use a nice heavy paperweight.

"It's All About The Pentiums" - "Weird Al" Yankovic

Tirya

[email] wrote:

(snip)

"What kind of chip you got in there, A Dorito?"

"Your system boots up in what, A day and a half?"

No one tops Weird Al.

Bill Lynch

I saw him in concert a few weeks ago. It was sweet.

No. Beyond sweet.

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Dave said...

Ain't *that* the truth!!

Tirya (been to two RWS concerts so far, hoping they come back this way in Y2K!!)

LOL, and at $200 for a Win2k upgrade they can keep the damn thing.

Howard Wilson II :

Gawd, this is the wrong place to start this, but strictly speaking, Win2K isn't geared toward the consumer market. If your every goal is to run out in mid-February and buy Win2K for your home, then you're making a mistake. Win2K is really for the corporate world. (In fact, there is another consumer edition of the Win9x kernal OS due out next year, code-named Millennium.)

-Jack

Oh, you mean like Win95? SOP for M$.

Bill Lynch :-)

that

Why don't you sell your CD Player then......you can't record on that......

The Pacifist

Mine does. :)

I was expecting that he didn't have a CD-writer like us........

After all, if he thinks that way about technology, he'd be lucky to have a Walkman.....

The Pacifist

furplay wrote in message ...

to

that......

But that was only cause I'm a magnavox brat. I've seen others for as low as $150.

I just got one for $142.50 plus tax at Circuit City - $154 total. At least with DVD yuu can skip to different part of a movie, just like skipping to different tracks on a CD.

--- Willie Westwood

The way I see it, it is a MASSIVE f*ck-you to all the VHS owners like me and most other people. It is a bonus for DVD owners, but then again, a DVD player costs over $300 US dollars, and alot of average families with VCRs either don't want to or can't fork out 300 bucks for one.

But then again, Paramount, or whoever is responsible for the shocking price of South Park: Bigger longer and Uncut, is trying to rip off those same average people who don't own DVDs by selling it for nearly the price of a Sony Playstation. 90 FREAKING BUCKS!

So this is exactly what SJC said, paramount are basically saying "Fuck you VHS owners, buy a DVD player, or we'll charge you $90 for what you want on VHS"

Shame on you, Paramount. Just because the MAJORITY of people don't own DVDs doesn't mean you have to rip us off.

and

All new videos start at this price or higher...wait a week or so -- the price will drop to a reasonable price! The high price is geared more toward video store owners, not the average person.

Why not just fucking wait until Tower Records has a few used rental copies for sale??

Actually that's not quite right: It used to be that all new videos were in that range, but starting with Batman the studios realized that for some titles it was more profitable to release the film right away at a consumer-friendly price.

Now the decision is made on a film-by-film basis. (And given that, I'm surprised that they made the decision on SP:BLU the way they did.)

But it's not a matter of waiting a week. It's a matter of waiting something between three months and a year; the studios have to guarantee the video store owners a certain time window of "rental-only" pricing to induce them to pay that price.

I agree on that, but there are DVD drives for less than $300, I saw one @ like $170 this morning in the adds.

But still, I agree that it is a ripoff to charge that much for a vhs tape.

Sincerely,

JbB

Stevo wrote in message news:[email]...

and

price

DVDs

Dvd players are under 200.00 if you check around..... This time next year, they'll be about 125-150.... Chill out....The SP movie'll still be around ....