DVD Question

Before we begin, I just want to state that I am fairly new to the world of DVDs and am probably not as versed as others when it comes to this. Just figured Id throw in that disclaimer so I can avoid some possible flaming.


Anyway, I recently purchased a copy of Gettysburg on DVD and noticed that the film is on both sides of the DVD. Now, Gettysburg is a long film, approximately 4 hours and 15 minutes, but I was still rather surprised that it was on two sides of the same disc rather than two separate ones. Not only is it a pain in the ass to flip the DVD over halfway into the movie like a cassette, but it seems like we're taking a step backward rather than forward here. I mean, I know Gettysburg is an older DVD, but doesnt flipping a DVD over seem a little archaic considering the technology ? What bothers me even more is that Ive noticed to my chagrin that this is not an isolated incident. I also picked up Goodfellas on DVD and noticed the same thing, which seems even more crazy to me when one considers that Goodfellas in only 2 and a half hours ! WTF ? If the AotC DVD can fit the film plus over three hours of extras on one disc (not including the over 8 hours of extras on the 2nd disc), then surely flipping a DVD over halfway into it is not necassary at all, right ?

Anyway, like I said, Im new to this so I wouldnt be surprised if there is a simple explanation to all of this, but it still seems absoultely ridiculous to me.

 

I'd prefer separate DVD's, too. They make multi-disc DVD players, but none that can flip over a disc.

//sigh

Guess I'll have to get my butt off the couch if I watch Gettysburg. Of course, I'm usually ready for a bathroom break halfway through, anyway.

 

Are you sure that it's not the same movie on both sides? I know on some older DVD's they had the movie on both sides - one was the widescreen version, the other was fullscreen. You had to decide which version you wanted to watch, and make sure that side was up. Is it something like that? It definitely could be. I've never heard of flipping a DVD halfway through a movie. But I don't know for sure, since I don't own any of these movies.



JPK

 

LOL, very true, Hama.


Nevertheless, it still seems rather pointless to me, especially when many other DVDs have hours uopn hours of stuff one one disc.

 

I remember a while ago I was talking to my best friend about this. He told me that back when DVDs were first released, the companies that make DVDs weren't able to compress the entire movie on one side of the disc. That's why movies like Gettysburg, Goodfellas and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves are all dual sided.

Hope that helps ?


And I hate dual sided DVDs as well...anger me so much.

 

That seems to make sense, Padawan915. That was the same theory that my girlfriend and I were tossing around. Hell, its the theory that seems to make the only sense.

 

As JPK said, when it's dual-sided it almost always has the fullscreen version on one side and the widescreen version on the other. Check the very middle of the disc on each side. One side'll say "fullscreen" and the other side'll say "widescreen". Almost all of the initial dvd releases were set-up this way...



"Are we alive, or just breathing?"

 

True Lenny, a lot of earlier DVDs were set up as one side as Fullscreen and one as Widescreen. I know that a bunch of movies including, Blazing Saddles, Batman, and the first Austin Powers were set up like that. However, the first DVDs released in 98 which include Goodfellas, et al are dual sided, b/c the compression wasn't perfected yet.


Edit: Me fail English? That's unpossible!

 

Nah, that's definitely not the case with this particular DVD (although that option would be pretty cool).

 

Yes, it's some of the older DVDs that can't fit on one side. I had rented Pelican Brief a while back, and it took me a while to figure out why it started halfway thru the movie. I had put it in on the wrong side LOL. Very annoying, but the great majority of DVDs out there fit the movie on one side.

Perhaps with Gods and Generals now out, they will repackage Gettysburg, and remaster it onto one disc for a box set?

 

DVD's aren't compressed. What's actually happening is that many longer movies will have data on an entirely different layer (behind the surface one). Hence the term dual-layered.

But remember, DVD's are constantly juggling around the length of the movie, plus whatever else is included, including commentary tracks, high-quality digital audio, and whatnot.

This is why the FOTR EE is on 2 DVD's, there are several commentary tracks in addition to a DTS 6.1, DD 5.1 and DD 2.0 mix.

 

Goodfellas is tops in my pool of "Movies Most Likely To Be Re-released As a Special Edition In The Very Near Future"

 

"If the AotC DVD can fit the film plus over three hours of extras on one disc"

What AOTC DVD did YOU buy?

 

I was thinking the same thing 1stad.

Gettysburg is on 2 sides as that is the way the company wanted it. 4hr of movie will not fit on one dual layered DVD so it needs to be spread over 2 discs like LOTR EE or put on bothe sides of the disc

 

Well the reason they invented dual layered DVDs was to prevent the flipping. This is the reason why if you buy a DVD-R Recorder (to pick a simple format), you cannot fit an entire commercial DVD (for the most part) directly on to another disk. It's a little under half of the size of a dual-layer DVD.

PS: Gettysburg r0x0rz.

 

Das Boot (Director's Cut) is also dual-sided. I think it's just to save money. Cheaper to make a dual-sided DVD than it is to make two DVDs. I don't see why it's a big deal. Just as easy to flip a DVD as it is to put in another one.

 

My copy of "Amadeus" is like that, you have to flip it half way through the movie, but it was made before they came up with the dual layer thing.

Most disks that have the dual layer thing you will sometimes be able to tell when it switches layers. There will be a bit of a pause in the movie. They usually try and put it somewhere where you won't notice it, like during a scene change or if the screen is suddenly totally dark. Some players are smoother about switching layers than others.




- Rupes Out