Quoting Grendell:

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Quoting TheMadMartian:

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Actually, it seems that it is you who does't get it.  We all understand that this practice bothers you.  We all understand that you want it to bother us as well.  Unfortunately, it doesn't and, for whatever reason, you just can't accept that.

You're right, I don't. It's not that I can't accept it (I actually expect it pretty much from this community), I just can't understand it.

I wonder what consumer rights could be taken from someone like you in order to actually "bother" you.

The problem is that we haven't had any 'rights' taken from us.
Quoting Grendell:

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Why is it I get the impression that if you were in a situation where an enemy occupied your country, you would be one of the ones to help the enemy by jostling for a position where you help them maintain control. Not saying you would, just that I get that impression... not just from you, but from a lot of others here as well.

And will you appologise to everybody for this insulting comment? 

Things I think are a low blow from studios:

- terrible films
- re-releasing stripped versions for sale under the same UPC (as GSyren said)
- charging the same amount for a DVR disc as an actual DVD

Things I don't think are a low blow from studios:

- stripped rental discs


I mean, let's look at this from the studios point of view.  For the sake of this argument, I'm going to pretend to be a studio.  I've just made a film, and it was a big box office hit.  Lots of people loved it.  So, comes time for the DVD release...

I want people to buy my movie.  So I'm going to release it with special features: commentary, featurettes, an interview with that cast member everyone thinks is hot, etc.  On the blu-ray I'll put even more of them and that uber-HD audio mix for the home theatre enthusiast.  Maybe I'll release a special edition with a cool package for the folks who like that.  Cause, you know what - I want people to buy it.

I don't really want people to rent my movie.  I view Redbox and its ilk as competitors and I dislike them.  But, I know that not everyone got to see my movie in the theatre, and that some of them will likely buy my film after they rent it.  So I will release my film to the rental companies, but I'm going to strip it down.  I want people to come and buy my film, so I'm going to reserve all the special stuff for my purchasing customers.

What you seem to be saying, Grendell, is that people should get the same value no matter what they pay. 

As far as the used market goes, I may be in perhaps the best situation to argue it.  I buy and sell used DVDs all day long in my shop.  Most of my customers - the Joe Six-packs of town - do not care about special features.  They want to watch the movie and they don't want to pay a lot of money.  I buy ex-rental discs all the time.  The kind you're talking about have a big banner across the front that says "rental" or "rental copy".  People buy them from the rental shop and later sell them to me.  I put them in my cheaper section.  The good release I put in my more expensive section.  Yes, I charge more for the two-disc special edition than I do the rental copy.  Because the people who want that copy, and they aren't numerous, are willing to pay for it, and Joe Six-pack is not.  Joe Six-pack wants to pay $5 and watch the film, not $10 to have the special features. 

Also, I have bought - especially recently - a number of DVDs off Amazon's used marketplace.  Now, admittedly, most of what I've bought is indie films, foreign films and silent films, all of which I think I'm lucky to get on DVD at all and aren't going to have a separate rental release.  That's only a fixture of mainstream films.  But there's nothing more to the release of The Student of Prague (either version) or Eyes of the Mummy.  There's only the film, nothing more.  If I did buy a mainstream film on Amazon and got a "rental only" copy and that wasn't in the description, I would send it back.  But that's the fault of the seller, not the studio. 

You get what you pay for; you do not get the same value no matter what.  I've learned that with shoes.  It's the same for DVDs.

@ Danae...well said. 

this whole topic of stripped releases makes me think of say George Lucas and his Star Wars Trilogy.

over the years how many seperate differnat releases have come of his films.. including Videotape..?

Each and every new rerelease always always adds something new something added that the previous editon didn't have ..  i.e.
Pan and scan / letter box  / dolby stereo / 5.1 DDS / added  commentary behind the scenes / extra scenes added new digital release / better resolution / bluray /  etc etc ..

so studios have every right to sell and distribute stripped verisons the trick is to be aware of them and make your buying decsion .. and in the case of the triolgy examples I'm sure I bought over .. 5 versions .

and now there appears to a 3d version in the forecast ..