Runtime of DVD's

[hopeful_monster]

While watching the first three dvd's of Rahxpehon l have (while waiting for the netx lot to be delivered) l noticed that the number of epsiodes on each DVD is different. Volume 1 has five episodes (125 min), but Volume 2 has four epsiodes (100 min), which is fair enough. But 3 only has three epsiodes (75 min), as does 5, but then 6 has four episodes (volumes 4 and 7 haven't arrived yet ... :evil: curse you amazon).
Yet my Ozzie copies of Excel, Nadesico and Cowboy Bebop all have at least 100 minutes (and the odd 125 min), and Robotech Macross saga has 150 min's each.
Why should we fork out for one more DVD just cause we live in Brit cit? Or why should the number of episodes on DVD's be so seemingly random?

 

[Ryo Chan]

i've noticed most dvd's have 3 eps per disk but theres some like escalfowne arc the lad that give u 4-5 at the start then back to 3

 

[valha]

i noticed it was mostly 3 to 4 eps each disc. but thats not all seire eg. like friuts basket with 6 or 7 eps each dvd.

 

[Paul]

4 episodes or above is the best amount. Enough to get into the story and usually good value for money.

Two extremes are Fruits Basket and the R1 release of Gantz. Fruits Basket is a 26 episode series spread over 4 DVDs, averaging 6.5 episodes per disc. Gantz is also a 26 episode series- but only 2 episodes per disc- aka 13 DVD volumes!

 

[Ryo Chan]

i think the 26 eps ons are ok with 3-4 eps a disk

when u get to something like yugioh really u need 6-7 a disk

can't says its impossible anymore either

 

[Mangaminx]

Definately 4 episodes , 3 episodes a disc in my eyes is far to little and frustrating in a series I want to buy. Of course 5 episodes , or 6 & 7 like Fruits Basket is even better.

 

[Martin]

am i the only one who is greedy and thinks at least 5 eps should be crammed onto a disc? if there are loads of extras, the ep number will inevitably go down but the technology exists to cram at least six on sometimes. while more volumes looks good on a shelf, the cost soon adds up.

 

[Rurouni H]

No you aren't greedy

Its not necessarily the extras, it can be the series itself. Take Evangelion for example, stretched across 8 discs, because people will pay more to complete it. On the other hand, you have the newer Slayers collections, weighing in at 4 discs per 26 episode series! It is inevitably because people will pay more to get the popular series they want, and some clever sod in the marketing department has noticed this.

 

[subedii]

Yeah, that's a really irritating rick they pull to get you to pay for at least on more DVD than they have to.

It's irritating when I can go into a high street store and see a season of Futurama going for £20 while a single anime disk costs the same amount. I realise Futurama is a more popular title (and so sells more), but the current anime pricing structure really does seem ridiculous sometimes, especially when they deliberately limit the number of episodes per disc to 3 so that they can get you to buy an extra volume.

Of course, at least it's better than back when VHS was around. I never would have considered becoming an anime fan at those kinds of prices. I'm hoping that when the next format comes out (it looks likely that Blu-Ray may come out on top) the problem of cost will become less and less. Given current resolutions (heck even at high definition resolutions) they ought to be able to put many more episodes on disc.

Whether they'll just raise the price of those releases, however, remains to be seen

 

[Dani]

Anyone see the Get Backers Volume release by ADV? 5 Episodes, 2 episode commentaries, and behind the scenes, and the usually other ADV stuff like clean opening and closing and ADV previews.

That is a high value release!

 

[Miaka-chan]

I don't mind 4 or 5 to a disc, but I feel conned with only 3!
Most series I've been watching recently seem to be made up of 4 or 5 episodes per disc, 12 Kingdoms started with 5, then 4, then 5 again to fit the 45 episodes on 10 discs. The biggest rip off are series like Inuyasha with just 3 episodes per disc and over 150 episodes to eventually release. I don't mind so much with 13 episode series only having 3 per disc. One recent purchase was Seraphim Call, it was the same price as an ordinary DVD but came with 2 discs with all 11 episodes - now that was value for money!!

I have found that certain companies are more generous with the number of episodes per disc than others!

 

[valha]

Anyone see the Get Backers Volume release by ADV? 5 Episodes, 2 episode commentaries, and behind the scenes, and the usually other ADV stuff like clean opening and closing and ADV previews.

That is a high value release!

well Get backers is a 52 ep serie so it would be baka of ADV to only put 3 on a disc as fans would not be happy and not buy it.

 

[Hovis!]

I personally think (depending on the size of the series of course) that four episodes should be the standard per disk, though if it could be done, five (or more) would b fantastic.

I've noticed its only really ADV that do that though.

MVM seem slightly more generous.

 

[hopeful_monster]

Now we just need to get this in to the hands of the right people.

 

[Red XIII]

I personally think (depending on the size of the series of course) that four episodes should be the standard per disk, though if it could be done, five (or more) would b fantastic.
)

I agree, take Full Metal Panic! and Kiddy Grade- at 24 episodes each, they would perfectly fit 6 DVDs with four episodes per disk, but instead FMP is 7 discs and Kiddy Grade is 8. Or, to put it briefly- 4 is reasonable, 5 is a nice suprise, 6-7 is excellent on the rare occasions that it happens.

 

[Colin]

Most UK anime DVDs are the same as the US ones (other than the obvious encoding changes); blaming ADV UK or MVM is rather senseless. The US companies of course choose the number of episodes that will make them the most money. Which, for a business, makes sense.

Besides, before you start complaining about this sort of thing, think about the poor Japanese. Their DVDs, from what I've seen, usually have one or two episodes per disc, few (if any) extras, and cost far more. Look up something like the R.O.D OVA on http://www.amazon.co.jp -- one episode on each of three discs at around £30 each.

 

[Martin]

blimey, i never realised they were so expensive over there. it's bad enough in this country where we may pay up to £20 for a single disc DVD. the ironic thing is, the players themselves can cost as little as £30!

 

[Dani]

Not all Japanese releases are that stingy. Don't use one as a example to typify the entire range.

 

[Colin]

I didn't mean it to seem that this was a typical case -- merely an example of how big the difference can be. On the other hand, I would guess that one episode per release is standard for OVAs, as I gather they are made and released one episode at a time.

I don't know what a typical example would be for a TV series, but from the few I have seen two or three episodes per disc is not uncommon.

 

[kupocake]

5 or more. I know that logically we all want as much as possible on a DVD, but I really feel that 5 episodes should be the standard. After all, there is no technical reason why there can't be 5 or even 6 episodes on every DVD, especially when Anime DVDs are so commonly light on bonus content.

I find 4 episodes just about acceptable, but 3 episodes is just robbery. I don't honestly think i'd buy a 3 episode DVD unless it was at the end of a series or heavily discounted. Futhermore, the way I see it is that if a series is popular enough to justify putting 3 episodes on a single volume, it's popular enough to appear in a box-set which is altogether better value for money and will be worth the wait.

Talking of high priced single episode OAVs, does "Voices of Distant Star" count as a good example of release that's closer to home?