Page 1 of 1

So will BMG get the clue?

Posted: Nov 17th 2002, 11:36 am
by Calhoun07
Considering that Jason Rosenfield was basically laughed at for his idea to get MSCL on DVD based on sales of the single 3 episode DVD and now that it is out, it is doing pretty well for itself in sales, I see. Last time I checked it was ranked at #44 at amazon.com, which isn't too shabby, that reprensents quite a few units being sold. And that's not saying how many have sold at other sites. So is BMG eating crow now?

I also know that Jason talked about other great shows just sitting in their vaults not doing anything, not making money off of syndication or on VHS sales, that would make for great season sets. Now that Jason is no longer part of BMG (as far as I know from reading the interview with him at thedigitalbits.com), will anybody else at BMG see the sales numbers for MSCL and wake from their slumber and start releasing more product on DVD? And hopefully get somebody over seeing the projects that will make sure they are handled with loving care? Given the apparent influx of studios releasing TV shows on DVD all of a sudden, I am probably more interested in seeing what else BMG might have in store for us than any other studio out there.

Re: So will BMG get the clue?

Posted: Nov 17th 2002, 11:43 am
by Jason R
BMG does not have many shows in their vaults for the US market. Bertelsmann does own some European properties, so perhaps they will reelease some of that stuff on DVD.

I had made a case for BMG to acquire shows from production companies that didn't have their own distribution, but it takes a behemoth like BMG a very long time to actually make any decisions.

The only show that is currently in their vaults (at BMG Special Products) is Eerie, Indiana.

My regret with BMG is that they never truly believed that there would be a market for this, and they could have easily recorded a commentary track to place on the discs. So, when it comes to comments about the set, I am totally in agreement that it sucks that they did not produce their own extras.

However, as for video quality, you know my opinion about that already. It is not as easy as running a master through digital noise reduction. These effects all leave artifacts of their own. A show that wash filmed on 16mm and transfered to video for editing is simply going to have limitations. Cop out? Maybe. But it didn't stop people from watching the show in the first place.
Calhoun07 wrote:Considering that Jason Rosenfield was basically laughed at for his idea to get MSCL on DVD based on sales of the single 3 episode DVD and now that it is out, it is doing pretty well for itself in sales, I see. Last time I checked it was ranked at #44 at amazon.com, which isn't too shabby, that reprensents quite a few units being sold. And that's not saying how many have sold at other sites. So is BMG eating crow now?

I also know that Jason talked about other great shows just sitting in their vaults not doing anything, not making money off of syndication or on VHS sales, that would make for great season sets. Now that Jason is no longer part of BMG (as far as I know from reading the interview with him at thedigitalbits.com), will anybody else at BMG see the sales numbers for MSCL and wake from their slumber and start releasing more product on DVD? And hopefully get somebody over seeing the projects that will make sure they are handled with loving care? Given the apparent influx of studios releasing TV shows on DVD all of a sudden, I am probably more interested in seeing what else BMG might have in store for us than any other studio out there.

Posted: Nov 17th 2002, 11:45 am
by Calhoun07
Well, since I have a region free Malata DVD player, the fact that the the most of their properties are not for the US market does not bother me! Let them bring them out in the UK then, I will still buy them! :)

Posted: Nov 18th 2002, 11:56 am
by fnordboy
Calhoun07 wrote:Well, since I have a region free Malata DVD player, the fact that the the most of their properties are not for the US market does not bother me! Let them bring them out in the UK then, I will still buy them! :)
ditto, release the things somewhere. I will buy them regardless of region.

The main reason i bought a region free was for Futurama, which was only released in the UK as R2. Plus i wanted to get that sweet special ed. of Battle Royale in the UK ;) .

Modded JVC region free here.