Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: DVD "Security" Devices

This is topic DVD "Security" Devices in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-25-2004, 04:43 PM:

Ever notice when you buy or steal a DVD that there is tons upon tons of hard-to-remove tape on the box? Then there is that security thing inside of the box that also must be removed. Studios still feel that DVD boxes are not enough of a pain in the ass, though. They've taken it a step further... check it out:

Now they are putting little plastic tabs which must be unswitched and opened before you can even open the box.

Here they are in the open position. You can twist them off and discard them.

My question for all of this is WHY? Why do the studios want us to have a hell of a time to get into the box? It can't be to prevent piracy, since the DVD itself is authentic. It can't be to prevent theft, since a thief would just steal the whole box instead of just the disc anyway. And who wants just the disc? The box is usually better than the movie! Why are there 3 pieces of tape on many DVD boxes? Why are plastic switches there now? I have never seen any retailer "deactivate" the little magnetic sticker that is inside the DVD box by rubbing it on something. I just pay for it and leave and no alarms go off.

Movie studios suck ass.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 12-25-2004, 07:03 PM:

The most obnoxious part of DVD packaging is sealing all 3 sides with ultra-sticky tape that's not easy to remove. A market has sprung up for devices like The Claw just so people can open their DVDs without struggling.

Most stores don't seem to use those internal security devices. The only one I can think of around here that does for sure is Suncoast Video.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 12-25-2004, 08:39 PM:

Those internal (magnetic?) strips are used by most of the bookstores and record stores that I frequent. They have a device at the checkout counter that deactivates (demagnetizes?) them. The ones that go in books and vinyl tend to be thin strips; the ones used in CDs and DVDs are sometimes thick (about the thickness of two credit cards) stickers.

I don't understand those extra tab things, though, nor do I understand those stupid stickers that go on the top of CD cases that are nearly impossible to remove without a knife.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-25-2004, 09:04 PM:

I hate the stickers too. I also hate the stupid DVD trays where there's a rim all the way around the disk making it impossible to get your fingers under the disk, and then you have to bend the disk in half tryiing to get it off the damn center spindle.

The tray design used in CD jewel boxes is perfect and has been a success for over 20 years. Why don't they quit trying to invent new stuff when they have a device that works fine already?

Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 12-25-2004, 09:12 PM:

I imagine the stickers and other devices are there to prevent people from swapping discs or just plain taking the discs out of the case, therefore circumventing electronic security devices. But yes, I agree, they are a pain.

To me though the tabs seem like a way to keep the case closed. After a while the internal 'latches' on those cases can wear out, making them hard to keep closed.

Course I haven't dealt with the new style case myself so it could very well be poorly implemented.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-26-2004, 12:51 AM:

I've never had an issue where a case would have a hard time staying closed. Also, the packaging recommends that you twist them off and discard them, so that's clearly not their purpose.

It's official: Movie studios only employ morons. I can't wait to see what stupidity they think up for the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray cases. Do you have to go to college to become as stupid as a movie studio employee?

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 12-26-2004, 01:30 AM:

Ah, the tabs. I first came across them when I bought Mullan: SE. After I removed the two layers of celephane, the slip-sleve and the 7 pieces of tape, I tried to open the case. What happened next scared the **** out of me. As I made the quick open-the-dvd-case-motion, the two weak clips came flying off at me, one nearly missing my eye.

The packaging did not contain any warning or advice about them.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-26-2004, 06:22 AM:

The sticky tape round three surfaces of the case has pissed me off too whenever I've bought DVDs in or ordered them from the States, though I haven't come across one with the tabs yet. Presumably it's just a matter of time. But even that is marginally less annoying than what happens here, which is that the entire package comes shrink wrapped in cellophane. Furthermore, someone clearly spent a lot of money on the research and development necessary to ensure that this cellophane simply cannot be broken with a human fingernail!

quote: Mike Blakesley
The tray design used in CD jewel boxes is perfect and has been a success for over 20 years.

Sorry, I don't agree - many is the time I've bought a CD and inflicted serious injuries on myself breaking through the cellophane wrap, only to discover one or more segments of the pressure device which holds the disc in the tray shattered and the disc loose inside. I've also bought DVDs which weren't pressed into the holders properly, with the result that they've been shaken around in the much larger tray and scratched the playing surface.

Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 12-26-2004, 10:32 AM:

I found out last how much of a PITA the clip hinges are. After using a razor knife to slit the security tape around teh top, bottom and front of the case.. I pulled the cellophane off only to find that the damn thing wouldn't open. Stoopid clips..

Stoopid clips BLOW.

The razor knife trick works pretty well tho.. Like the above posted link... [thumbsup]

Posted by Adam Wilbert (Member # 1184) on 12-26-2004, 04:39 PM:

I got the Lord Of the Rings Special Edition Trilogy for christmas, and each movie had one of those magnetic strips inside. They were so deep in the packaging that they were too far from any outer surface to de-activate. My brother was instructed to "just keep walking" when the alarms went off when he left the store!

Posted by Christian Volpi (Member # 2370) on 12-26-2004, 04:54 PM:

Just rent the dvd and burn it. That's what I do. I don't have to fight with shit!

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-26-2004, 05:01 PM:

quote:
My brother was instructed to "just keep walking" when the alarms went off when he left the store!

That's what happens whever I go to Media Play. I don't know why they just don't turn the alarms off. As far as renting them and burning them, I would rather have the full bitrate dual layer version instead of the recompressed video that was already compressed in the first place. I could live without all of the menus, FBI warnings, Spanish audio tracks (who speaks Spanish anymore besides California and Texas, anyway?), interviews with the moron directors/producers/actors (who cares what they have to say? If they had anything important to say they'd be rich!... oh wait) and all that.

Posted by Adam Wilbert (Member # 1184) on 12-26-2004, 07:36 PM:

...or you could get yerself one of those fancy Sony dual layer DVD+-RW/+-R/CD units and pirate dvds in all their full compression glory. Granted, the blank media will probably come in a plastic clamshell with tabs and will have stickers on all three sides of the case too...

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 12-26-2004, 11:17 PM:

quote:
Just rent the dvd and burn it. That's what I do. I don't have to fight with shit!

Yes, but if you rent from Blockbastard, they have that stupid added yellow "clip" on the bottom that you have to slide or pry or pick at before you get them open. Some kind of antitheft device. And what's even more annoying is that when they sell the "previously viewed" DVDs, they don't put them in the original cases! They leave them in the shitty rental ones with the yellow clasp. What do they do with the original cases anyway? Methinks imma go dumpster dive myself a blockbuster! [thumbsup]

quote: Adam Wilbert
...or you could get yerself one of those fancy Sony dual layer DVD+-RW/+-R/CD units and pirate dvds in all their full compression glory.

I got a dual layer burner in my computer but the problem is that the discs are still about $15 each...

=TMP=

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-26-2004, 11:39 PM:

Most Blockbusters do indeed throw the original cases away. My friend manages a store and gave me a crate of these empty cases once. I uses them for all of my Xbox games because I hate the green cases they normally come in (too "Fisher Price" for me) and I also use them for DVD-Rs. Time for me to get more crates of empty cases. Too bad my friend is so hard to get in contact with. I should just show up at his store and demand the cases.

Posted by Barry Martin (Member # 1376) on 12-26-2004, 11:46 PM:

From my working at retail stores I can tell you any type of recorded media is the item most often stolen. DVD, CD, games, software, etc. Granted most of these items don't cost as much as say PDAs, cell phones, cameras, portable DVD players, etc. but there wouldn't be a day I worked where at least a 5-10 recorded media items were lifted. I think the tabs make more sense than the tape for theft deterrent. It is really simple to take a razor and cut through the tape starting from one end of the case to the other. I found a pen knife one day and we used it to show how quickly someone could make off with a disc, less than 10 seconds.

As for the tags inside the cases used to set off door alarms, people would occasionally get told to go ahead and walk on after setting it off but only when it was slow and the door man saw they purchased. Of course, they could have bought something cheap and hid a bunch of discs in there pocket so the door man is supposed to check receipts on everyone that buzzes the door, but even then all you're preventing is someone slipping something extra in their bag, they could still have it on their person. So you need to catch the person picking the item up, removing it from casing, stashing it on themselves, and then passing the last point of sale. Sometimes they would wait for the person to buzz the door instead of just taking them right after the registers just to have extra cause to ask them to empty their pockets, handbag, etc.

I'm all for anti-theft, it doesn't bug me to slice open a package but the bad news is there are always going to people wanting something for nothing and willing to risk jail/prison to get it. What I hate is the places that are so lazy about security that they keep their video games/software locked in glass and you have to hunt someone down to get a copy.

Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 12-27-2004, 10:59 PM:

quote: Joe Redifer
I have never seen any retailer "deactivate" the little magnetic sticker that is inside the DVD box by rubbing it on something.

Depending on the system they may be deactivating and you would never know it. the simple task of running the item under the led bar scanner often is the same motion to deactivate the device, usually hidden underneath.

What is to come is radio tags. The tags are never deactivated, instead, they are tracked. Once purchased, the item in question is safe to leave the store, but the tag is still active. In fact, with the radio tag system, once you step through the door, they can tell what items you just tried to steal. They would know exactly what they were looking for, and what copy it was.

Aaaah technology.... love it..

ciao baby

dave

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 12-27-2004, 11:29 PM:

Have you ever been to Wal-Mart when the cashier scanned the item and you hear a "Boing!!" sound as the item is scanned?

That's the sound of the security tag being deactivated.

Those security tags are RFID devices. Radio Frequency tags.
When you walk through the funky gates, an electric field is produced. (Imagine a radio antenna inside the gates.) The field incuces a current in anything made of metal within range. Inside the security tag is a strip of metal which is the right size and shape to emit a field of a certain frequency when it's induced by the gates. A receiving antenna picks up said field and sets off an alarm whenever it's of the right frequency.

Usually, the sensor tags are made of two pieces of metal, connected by a "cat whisker" of metal. The whisker acts as a bridge between the two metal parts. When the bridge is intact, the resonant frequency of the tag is one value. IF the bridge is broken, the tag's value is nullified or cut in half. When the tag is passed over the "deactivator" (hidden beneath the surface of the counter) an electric field is produced which burns out that link as if it was a fuse. Resonant frequency is nullified. Tag won't set off the detector.

Here's your lesson in how to steal:

Take a sharp knife or, better still, a razor blade and cut through the tag. It will be deactivated.

If it's one of those square tags with what looks like an aluminum foil spiral inside, cut radially from the center to the edge.

If it's a flat foil sticker with two dots on it, cut lengthwise between the dots.

If it's a rectangular plastic thing, cut through the plastic, into the metal foil inside, crosswise at a diagonal.

You will sever the metal foil pieces inside and change their resonant frequency enough that the detector won't go off.

Oh! And, just so you know... Getting caught tampering with a security tag carries the same penalty as shoplifting in most places.

And, another thing... Don't let the cashier "double stack" items on the deactivator. She MUST pass each item over the plate ONE AT A TIME! -- Even if you bought two identical items! The power of the electric field produced by the deactivator is enough to "blow the fuse" inside ONE sensor tag but not two. If she passes two or more tags over the plate, NEITHER tag will be deactivated.

Wait! Forget I told you that! LET the cashier do that! Then when the alarm goes off and the security guard chases you across the parking lot you can sue the store for false arrest and defamation of character!

[Big Grin]

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 12-28-2004, 12:39 AM:

quote: Dave Williams
What is to come is radio tags. The tags are never deactivated, instead, they are tracked.

I read an article where Wal-Mart will be implementing this technology for two other reasons besides security: One was so you can push an entire cart of stuff thru the cash register area and it will scan all the items at once allowing you to consume even more voraciously than you have in the past.

Second was so the item(s) can be tracked along with consumer spending and use. Imagine a DVD with a little RF thing hidden in it, and the retailer knowing whose house you're taking it to to watch. [eyes]

Here's a link to an article about it:
from the Boston Globe

=TMP=

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-28-2004, 12:46 AM:

If what Thomas says is true, that should make the lines go exponentially faster. Just wheel on up and suddenly you have a total. Not like I ever go to Wal*Mart or anything. They suck ass.

Why doesn't everyone just use cases like Best Buy does for videogames? A giant plastic case goes around the game and the cashier must open it with a special fun-to-use tool. They only do this for games, and not for regular DVDs (which come in the same cases). This way there would be no need for tape and plastic clips.

Posted by Barry Martin (Member # 1376) on 12-29-2004, 12:30 AM:

Joe, those cases are always easy to open through various techniques. You can take the brutal approach with a pair of snips and just rip it apart if you have time (ie hiding in the bathroom) and you can also rig up your own "tool" or better yet steal one some time from a register that is not in use and nobody is watching. Those are the tough ones to beat. The idiocy I witnessed before leaving Best Buy was the change to magnetic lock cases. Nobody could tell me why, but they implemented this switch and those things are ridiculously easy to open. Any magnet will do it and because the case is clear it's obvious where to put the magnet. In fact, we usually found stolen games in the Home Audio section next to a sub woofer that someone had taken the panel off of and just used that magnet to unlock the case. [Roll Eyes]

As far as DVDs coming in those cases, for one thing you would be able to store a lot less DVDs on shelves with that added width and that would be a large labor increase paying someone to case the DVDs as well as the games...the games were a pain in the arse as it was!

Randy, they don't always make the "boing" sound. Most of the time the ones I've seen installed in counters do this to let the cashier know it's been deactivated, but I have also seen scanner guns and countertop pads that you just slide the area that is tagged over and it deactivates without a sound. This is why most of the time the theft deterrent is placed on the other side of the UPC or near to it so that when a cashier scans the UPC the gun deactivates the device as well.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-29-2004, 01:59 AM:

I agree that they can be open by anyone determined to do so, but I still think that putting 3 pieces of tape inside the shrinkwrap and little plastic latches would be easier for a thief with a razor blade to get into than the boxes. So eliminate the consumer-unfriendly tape and latches and resort to the stupid plastic Best Buy boxes.

Posted by Barry Martin (Member # 1376) on 12-29-2004, 02:43 PM:

I agree it's easy for anyone set out to do it too, so I guess my solution would be screw the extra cost of tape and tabs, stick with the shrink wrap, and make sure the store actually has undercover loss prevention. The two things I thought ridiculous at the Best Buy I worked (and at all as I've been told) is they don't have those sensors for the security devices at the entry to the bathroom hallway, which would make a HUGE impact on people taking stuff in there to steal it. And they didn't have loss prevention walking the store. The LP guys are door greeters and receipt checkers. Even paying one person per shift to wander the store would seem to be a huge help against the large dollar amount of theft each store faces. [Roll Eyes]

They also have a small amount of camera coverage for all parts of the store compared to department stores like Sears, JC Penney, etc AND they don't have anyone really watching them. The front door man can check cameras one or 4 at a time on a small TV, and they record so when they do catch someone stealing they can go back for the evidence, but I've seen some of these stores with security rooms with 1 or 2 guys just watching cameras all day AND undercover LP detectives walking around on top of the security that you see at a Best Buy, Sam Goody, etc.

Posted by Eric Webb (Member # 2772) on 12-30-2004, 03:08 AM:

Previous Post
________________________________________________________________
That's what happens whever I go to Media Play. I don't know why they just don't turn the alarms off. As far as renting them and burning them, I would rather have the full bitrate dual layer version instead of the recompressed video that was already compressed in the first place. I could live without all of the menus, FBI warnings, Spanish audio tracks (who speaks Spanish anymore besides California and Texas, anyway?), interviews with the moron directors/producers/actors (who cares what they have to say? If they had anything important to say they'd be rich!... oh wait) and all that.
___________________________________________________________

You can use DVD Shrink to edit out the menues and previews and extra features
Also another fact its free

Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 12-30-2004, 10:22 AM:

quote: Eric Webb was the last to post
I would rather have the full bitrate dual layer version instead of the recompressed video that was already compressed in the first place.

The deal with compressing video is the same deal with compressing audio. You can only put so much on to one space without losing integrity.

With audio compression, if you use a gread encoder, you end up with no discernable loss between original and compressed copy. Yes you can find loss using several different engineering methods, but if you do it right, you cannot tell the difference between the two. I personally use the fraunhoffer encoder with a dual pass vbr high encoding rate. It gives me an average of 1.1 mb per minute of music, and no one can ever tell the difference. There are no digital artifacts that can be heard.

On to video encoding, you have the same philosophy on space versus file size here. Using 5.1 DD audio, you can compress about 2 hours and 15 minutes of video on to one single sided dvd blank, regardless of its original file size. If the sound is 2 channel stereo, you can do about 2 hours and 30 minutes, and if the sound is 5.1 DTS, you can get about 1 hour and 50 minutes, safely.

This is of course dependent on your ripper and encoder. As the above mentioned dvdshrink, it can if you select properly, to do a dual pass vbr with adaptive error compensation, using comparative models between encoded file to original file to increase picure integrity.

Its all in the method used.

ciao baby

dave

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-30-2004, 12:09 PM:

quote: Leo Enticknap
Sorry, I don't agree - many is the time I've bought a CD and inflicted serious injuries on myself breaking through the cellophane wrap, only to discover one or more segments of the pressure device which holds the disc in the tray shattered and the disc loose inside.

The cellophane wrap has nothing to do with the tray design. [Smile]

As for the little pressure fingers breaking: That does happen in about 1 of 1000 cases, but it's easy to replace the inside tray for about 50 cents. And, even if it is shattered, the disk can't move more than 1/4" in any direction, so the playing surface is still protected.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-30-2004, 06:13 PM:

Are we talking CD cases now? I hate those cases! Some cases the fingers do break off quite easily, letting the disc spin and fly around freely inside. Finding replacements is tough because some CDs use clear trays, others white trays, and some of them black (dark grey) trays. And then there are the tabs that hold the front part of the case on. Those are made from the weakest possible plastic as well. DVD boxes are better than CD cases in every way EXCEPT being able to get the DVD out on certain DVD cases. I agree that there is no reason to have a wall around the entire disc.

Posted by Josh Jones (Member # 447) on 12-31-2004, 05:48 AM:

I dont so much mind the wall around the disk, so long as they leave an indent for you to stick your finger under the disk and pry it out.

JJ

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-31-2004, 01:15 PM:

Joe: You must be loopy from the altitude. DVD cases are too tall and too thick. There's no reason they couldn't be exactly the same size as CD cases. I think most consumers are savvy enough that they'd be able to tell the difference between the differnt types of media in their collection. Well, at least more than half of them would.

Although I do agree about the small tabs that hold the front cover of a CD case. They suck. But I haven't come up with a better idea yet so I'll live with it. (Besides I have 20-year-old cases that still work fine, so I guess being gentle with stuff is the key.)

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-31-2004, 06:17 PM:

I like the size and shape of DVD cases. They are perfect for videogames and movies which need to have screenshots and artwork on them. If you don't like the size of them because they take up too much space, well then you just collect too much stuff.

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 01-01-2005, 10:25 AM:

Terminological clarification.

A few days ago, Randy said, "Those security tags are RFID devices. Radio Frequency tags. When you walk through the funky gates, an electric field is produced. (Imagine a radio antenna inside the gates.) The field incuces a current in anything made of metal within range. Inside the security tag is a strip of metal which is the right size and shape to emit a field of a certain frequency when it's induced by the gates. A receiving antenna picks up said field and sets off an alarm whenever it's of the right frequency."

This technology is not RFID, it has some other name.

RFID technology is much more recent, and it involves a radiofrequency field at a particular frequency that excites energy in the tag, which powers an extremely small microchip which then emits a radio signal on a different frequency, which is picked up by a receiving antenna. That radio signal is actually a unique number, and could be used to, say, uniquely identify a single can of Coke within a store (assuming that Coke had RFID tags, which it does not yet, but might in the future).

--jhawk

Posted by Tao Yue (Member # 836) on 01-01-2005, 12:03 PM:

Here's a site with some overview on EM vs RF vs RFID security devices:

http://www.shopbrodart.com/site_pages/h2guides/text_guides/security_systems/

EM tags are the metal strips that most libraries use, in the library world they're generically known as tattle-tape (a 3M trademark but on the road to aspirin).

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 01-01-2005, 03:12 PM:

Mike -- Actually, DVDs did used to come in CD Jewel cases. Some of the early Universal titles released around 1998 came in jewel cases that were slightly thicker than normal, and clear on the inside under the disc. (I think DivX discs came like that too, Universal being one of the studios supporting the format). Later they decided to move to the other cases to set DVDs apart from CDs and allow more space for screenshots, and something close to the dimensions of the poster.

So while they *can* make them smaller, get more shelf space, etc. that would leave little room for info, or it would have to be printed smaller. Think of some of the old record albums on CD where instead of resizing the cover(s) properly, they just shrank the LP jacket to CD size so you can't even read the back. [Wink]

=TMP=

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 01-01-2005, 04:21 PM:

quote: Thomas Procyk
I read an article where Wal-Mart will be implementing this technology for two other reasons besides security: One was so you can push an entire cart of stuff thru the cash register area and it will scan all the items at once allowing you to consume even more voraciously than you have in the past.

Second was so the item(s) can be tracked along with consumer spending and use. Imagine a DVD with a little RF thing hidden in it, and the retailer knowing whose house you're taking it to to watch.

RFID is not as powerful as all that.
The RFID tags work more like a radio frequency sonar. A unit in the immediate vicinity (not more than a few hundred feet away i believe) would be able to "excite" and pick up the signal of an RFID tag.
RFID tags cannot be used to track a product out of the store. I figure the product could be found much in the same way wardriving could find an open wi-fi access point, but what's the use? All the RFID tag should have is some basic info about the product, such as UPC code, ISBN, etc.

The "magnetic" security tags found in most of the dvd's are commonly called "chicklettes". When hit with a magnetic field the two plates smash together released small crystals which disrupt how they react to the "scanners" standing at doorways in retail stores.

As for the great case debate...
...I hate those goddamn plstic tabs!!! Useless!
I didn't realise they were there once and almost snapped a case trying to get to the dvd goodness...

As for compressed video...DVD is good because it has so many features VHS doesn't have, but I can't stand the compressed picture! AGH!

And damn anyone who buys "full screen"...

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 01-01-2005, 07:20 PM:

You're right. I mixed my letters up again. I should have said, "EM" instead of "RFID".

My brain doesn't work right sometimes... but you all probably new that already. [Wink]

I don't worry about CD or DVD cases breaking on me. I just take all the AOL disks that come in the mail, throw the disks away, pull all the labels out of them and save the empty cases for when I want a "spare". They are so thoughtful about making sure I have all the spare cases I need. [Smile]

Truthfully, it doesn't matter what kind of case a disk... any disk... comes in. The size and shape of a case is just a trick to make you think that the disk inside has more "value". People tend to think that movies are "bigger" and "more valuable" than a music CD. Therefore, the cases movies come in have to be "bigger-looking" and "more valuable-looking than a music CD case.

People wouldn't buy a DVD that came in a music CD case because it doesn't look "big" enough.

It's the same reason why the price of buying an "album" went up with the advent of CDs. There's a psychological value to having a "digital" music player. It simply MUST be more valuable just because it is "digital". We should have to pay MORE for a "digital" copy of the music! It has nothing to do with the fact that it's actually CHEAPER to produce music on a CD.

That concept carries over to movies, just on a grander scale.

It's all bullshit just like everything else in Hollywood.

Posted by James Faber (Member # 2796) on 01-01-2005, 11:50 PM:

CD cases suck. One of the major problems I have CD cases, is that sometimes the top part of the hinge will break off, so every time you want to open the case, you have to actually remove the entire front portion of the case. DVD cases, however are one solid piece, and not held on by a small bump in the plasic...Plus, they don't crack when you step on them, which happens frequently on the mess that is my floor.

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 01-03-2005, 01:06 AM:

quote: Randy Stankey
People tend to think that movies are "bigger" and "more valuable" than a music CD. Therefore, the cases movies come in have to be "bigger-looking" and "more valuable-looking than a music CD case.

Ironically, more DVDs are reasonably-priced than CDs, even music DVDs by the same artists. $19.99 list price for 2-3 hours of music with a multichannel sound mix plus visuals and possibly some extra material is a bargain; $18.98 for up to 80 minutes of 2-channel audio with nothing else is a slap in the face. I haven't bought any CDs in a long time, but I've bought a lot of music DVDs lately.
A DVD packaging trend that is pissing me off lately is having them come with cardboard slipcases with NO shrinkwrap over them, with a shrinkwrapped case inside. I like to save the cardboard slipcovers, but titles that use them I have to buy at stores that don't use price tags since the stores that do will stick them directly on the cardboard.