# Do Not Buy! Boycott All Focus Feature/universal Dvd's!



## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

This movie review on Amazon caught my eye. Not because of the film being reviewed, but the reasons the reviewer gives for not buying this and certain other DVDs. Is a another new (read "BOGUS") DVD technology about to be foist upon us, and if so, how do we fight it?



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> Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
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> ...


Has anyone experienced this type of DVD, or even heard of this DVD technology?


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

Yes, I've seen this. I just FF through everything. Doesn't take long. I think the guy needs a life.


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## homeskillet (Feb 3, 2004)

I have, and it sucks. I paid good money for a DVD, I should be able to view it on my DVD player any way I want to.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

As usual, I'm not so forgiving. Taking away the viewer's *choice* to watch the movie, or choose another menu item first is disrespectful to anyone who chooses to give Universal their money. That should be troubling to _everyone_. What new great new "feature" will they bring to us next?

I can think of a few...

- Universal bug infects your DVD's firmware, preventing you from playing any DVD not distributed by Universal
- subliminal messages prompt you to buy more Universal products
- Hidden phrases urge you to buy Universal stock
- screen flicker rates are auto-adjusted to lull you into a false sense of well-being
- locks disc tray so that Universal DVDs can only be replaced with other Universal DVDs
- false sense of well-being tricks you into giving Universal all your credit card numbers


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## sampatterson (Aug 27, 2002)

I hate them also. They also take up space that could have allowed better pictures quality for the main feature. You can use a DVD player on a computer the doesn't follow the POps (permitted ops flags) which is how a DVD player knows what to allow the user to do (skip, change chapter, etc)


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## ntexasdude (Jan 23, 2005)

I don't think this something really new. I have noticed it before on DVD's I own but I couldn't tell you which ones or from which studio. It's absolutely maddening.   

Of course they've been doing in theaters forever. I remember going to see Lord Of The Rings, Return of the Kings at the theater. The film was 15 minutes late starting and we had to sit through 22 minutes (no exagerration) of previews and ads. So the movie starts *37* minutes after the listed time.  On top of that it was a 3 1/2 hour movie. I was late for an appointment I had afterwards.


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## ntexasdude (Jan 23, 2005)

Chris Blount said:


> Yes, I've seen this. I just FF through everything. Doesn't take long. I think the guy needs a life.


The point is what he's talking about is that the FF button is disabled.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

ntexasdude said:


> ...they've been doing (this) in theaters forever. I remember going to see Lord Of The Rings, Return of the Kings at the theater. The film was 15 minutes late starting and we had to sit through 22 minutes (no exagerration) of previews and ads. So the movie starts *37* minutes after the listed time.  On top of that it was a 3 1/2 hour movie. I was late for an appointment I had afterwards.


I feel your pain, Dude, but years ago I got mad and did something about it. I got Dish, bought a PS DVD player, a widescreen and an a/v receiver and set up my own little home movie theater.

I no longer go out to theaters and haven't in several years. Do you have any idea what is costs to go on a dinner & movie date these days?  The money I save on restaurant meals, tickets and snacks significantly defrays the cost of my HT, the occasional _heavily-discounted_ DVD purchase, and my AAEP Dish sub with _ALL_ four movie packages, plus Dish HD and VOOM.

_(The only thing I miss about going to the movies is the talking, cell-phones and the yucky-squishy theater floors, so I hire strangers with cells to sit behind me and talk. Also, I buy cases of 12 oz. cans of Coke to pour it on my carpets in front of my sectional to complete the theater effect. It's all about simulated realism :grin: )_


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## ntexasdude (Jan 23, 2005)

Pretty funny Nick. :lol: :lol: 

I rarely go to the movies. I probably haven't been to a theater 10 times in the last 20 years. It's just that every so often an epic film comes out that I'd like to see on a giant screen. 

It's much more comfortable in your own abode!

Back to the original topic - it's just flat disgusting. :nono2:


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## Bogy (Mar 23, 2002)

I don't remember which movie it was, but I know my son commented that he was forced to watch all the promos on whatever DVD he was watching yesterday in the car. I know it wasn't one on the above list, and he was making it through the updated boxed set of Star Wars, but I don't know that it was one of those disks.


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## cdru (Dec 4, 2003)

My sons have several Thomas The Train DVDs that not only force you to sit through several minutes of useless promo crap, but also have a several minute intro just to get to the fricking main menu. All the trains have to describe in detail exactly what their function is on the main menu. You can't skip it. If you fast forward through it, it locks up the player until you hit play to return it to normal speed.

I have yet to find a DVD though that I can't rip and select exactly what I want. I don't remember the last time I saw a preview or FBI warning on a movie I own.


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## homeskillet (Feb 3, 2004)

Warning! The Fbi Is Closing In On Your Location. Lol J/k


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## n0qcu (Mar 23, 2002)

Does the affect all dvd players or just newer ones??


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## cdru (Dec 4, 2003)

n0qcu said:


> Does the affect all dvd players or just newer ones??


Should be all players that follow the specs are suppose to not allow you to skip them. Some foreign players ignore the permitted operations flag, or allow you to turn it off much like region encoding or macrovision. I had a CyberHome DVD player that allowed you to ignore them.


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## BFG (Jan 23, 2004)

Yeah right, boycott, lol. Having previews on the DVds are not going to stop me from buying the discs, big deal, get over it.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

BFG said:


> Yeah right, boycott, lol. Having previews on the DVds are not going to stop me from buying the discs, big deal, get over it.


What was that fable about the camel sticking his nose in the tent...?

Re-read my post above, then return the DVD to the store from which you purchased it. Don't be a sucker and pay your hard-earned money to have those Hollyweird idiots insult your intelligence while they rip you off at the same time.

Anyone who puts up with that kind of crap is a crap-_sucker_.


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## HappyGoLucky (Jan 11, 2004)

Just rent the thing at Blockbuster, put it in your computer, rip it, remove all the macrovision and other such crap like this stuff that forces you to watch the previews, burn a copy, and watch the copy you've just made. Yeah, so that's technically illegal. Well, holding me captive to watch something I don't want to watch on a DVD I just paid for should be illegal as well.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

HappyGoLucky said:


> Just rent the thing at Blockbuster...holding me captive to watch something I don't want to watch on a DVD I just paid for should be illegal as well.


Jesus! Happy agrees with me! Is it the Second Coming, or just the _world_ coming to an end?



> ...put it in your computer, rip it, remove all the macrovision and other such crap like this stuff that forces you to watch the previews, burn a copy, and watch the copy you've just made. Yeah, so that's technically illegal...


You can _do that?_


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## BFG (Jan 23, 2004)

It's really just the boycott suggestion that I find dumb. It would never work and you're wasting your time. I don't know how you got the impression that buying a DVD secures your right not to have previews before you get to the menu, because that's not the case. Since DVDs are now the medium of movie watching they are adding previews in the beginning just as if you had a VHS...


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

BFG said:


> It's really just the boycott suggestion that I find dumb. It would never work and you're wasting your time. I don't know how you got the impression that buying a DVD secures your right not to have previews before you get to the menu, because that's not the case. Since DVDs are now the medium of movie watching they are adding previews in the beginning just as if you had a VHS...


Not buying those particular DVDs, and others like them is my right.

I like Happy's idea. Where do I get one of those _rent-rip-slash-burn-die mf_ thingys?


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## BFG (Jan 23, 2004)

I used to have one, but it took a long time and ate my hard drive space quick. Each DVD is about 8 GB so that adds up fast...


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## Bogy (Mar 23, 2002)

BFG said:


> I used to have one, but it took a long time and ate my hard drive space quick. Each DVD is about 8 GB so that adds up fast...


If you burn it you don't have to keep it on your hd.


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## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

The non-skippable flag is part of the DVD specification, and, supposedly, all DVDs produced should include a non-skippable track. It's intended for the FBI warning, but it is abused. Disney started this a few years ago with _The Sixth Sense_ DVDs, but there was enough outrage for Darth Maus to change their policy.


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## kwajr (Apr 7, 2004)

Nick said:


> What was that fable about the camel sticking his nose in the tent...?
> 
> Re-read my post above, then return the DVD to the store from which you purchased it. Don't be a sucker and pay your hard-earned money to have those Hollyweird idiots insult your intelligence while they rip you off at the same time.
> 
> Anyone who puts up with that kind of crap is a crap-_sucker_.


www.dvdshrink.org http://www.dvddecrypter.com/


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## cdru (Dec 4, 2003)

BFG said:


> I used to have one, but it took a long time and ate my hard drive space quick. Each DVD is about 8 GB so that adds up fast...


Rip only the movie and you can get nearly the same quality, full DD audio in under a 1.5 gigs. Depending on the movie and the compressability, you can sometimes get it down sub-1GB.


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## HappyGoLucky (Jan 11, 2004)

Nick said:


> Jesus! Happy agrees with me! Is it the Second Coming, or just the _world_ coming to an end?


Some of us have ---- (synonym of "arrive") more than once already. :sure: 


> You can _do that?_


Yes, with the right software tools, most of them "freeware", you can remove all the FBI warnings and other annoyances, any menus, etc. you desire from a DVD and only copy what you actually want.


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## HappyGoLucky (Jan 11, 2004)

Nick said:


> Not buying those particular DVDs, and others like them is my right.
> 
> I like Happy's idea. Where do I get one of those _rent-rip-slash-burn-die mf_ thingys?


Go to http://www.doom9.org and you will find links to software, detailed "how-to" guides, and helpful forums with lots of info.


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

DVD Shrink is a great program, have no use or Previews, Behind The Scenes Features, Spanish/French Language options, subtitles, etc, just rip, select what you want and reburn.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

HappyGoLucky said:


> Yes, with the right software tools, most of them "freeware", you can remove all the FBI warnings and other annoyances, any menus, etc. you desire from a DVD and only copy what you actually want. Go to http://www.doom9.org and you will find links to software, detailed "how-to" guides, and helpful forums with lots of info.


Good link. Thanks a bunch. 

As an expression of my appreciation, here's a button for you. I've almost worn it out from overuse, but I'm sure you can put it to good use and squeeze out a little more mileage.


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## dfergie (Feb 28, 2003)

t


cdru said:


> Rip only the movie and you can get nearly the same quality, full DD audio in under a 1.5 gigs. Depending on the movie and the compressability, you can sometimes get it down sub-1GB.


 Even with my X1 I keep a movie at at least 4.26 gigs...in my htpc...


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## jrjcd (Apr 23, 2002)

Nick said:


> I feel your pain, Dude, but years ago I got mad and did something
> 
> _(The only thing I miss about going to the movies is the talking, cell-phones and the yucky-squishy theater floors, so I hire strangers with cells to sit behind me and talk. Also, I buy cases of 12 oz. cans of Coke to pour it on my carpets in front of my sectional to complete the theater effect. It's all about simulated realism :grin: )_


Nick, don't forget about the inevitable chair arm falling off in disrepair... :grin:


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## cdru (Dec 4, 2003)

dfergie said:


> t Even with my X1 I keep a movie at at least 4.26 gigs...in my htpc...


It really depends on how much time you want to spend on the encoding and what type of encoding you use. MPEG4-type encodings like WMV, DivX, and XviD generally can get the exact same quality in a fraction of the space. Yeah I can encode it and keep the same bitrate, but why not shrink it down so the relative quality is the same just with a lower bitrate.


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