09-12-2003, 08:21 PM
After an annoyingly vague and and general reviews for sets I'm interested in, I thought I'd like to point out some good things that will benefit everyone.
I'll just jump into it.
-In terms of video. Simply saying 'very good' and leaving it at that isn't good enough. If there was any pixelation, compression blocks, or and other video defects be specific on them. It's ok not to know what source it's from (VHS, DVD, etc.) but if you do know, do tell about it.
Say if all the openings and ending are there, and if they appear before every episode or not.
Does the video look to dark? Is it too bright, over saturated, or color bleeding? Does it exist through all of the movie/show, or just areas?
--Audio
This is okay not to be able to say much about, you can't get very descriptive. But if there is something such as pops or hisses, instead of mentioning it once, say how long it lasts, and how noticable it is.
Usually audio isn't every really a problem, but it can be and depending on how it's wrong, be descriptive on it.
---Subtitles
Everything is on them. The grammer is important, the punctuations can be, and the numbers of sentence breaks are too.
Even go into the font. You can tell how old a release is (and in general it's quality) by the font sometimes. When someone says AV used an ugly typewrter block font, and the subtitle rating was low, I know EXACTLY what type of translations they mean.
Say if sentences are broken into two lines, if names are correct, the colors of the subtitles (I hate white. Really hate it.)
Timing is another issue. If translations are perfect but timing is way off, that can ruin a set very badly.
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Others::
Menus-
Describe the menus. What language, movies or not? How good was it?
Chapter Points-
Everyone hates one chapter point an episode. Does this set have them? Or is there more, and how many more? Are they well placed or may as well be done at random?
Extras-
Are there any? They're always fun, and it's always nice to know if a set has them.
Packaging-
How good did it look? Was there incorrect information, blurry spots, and other abnormalities?
Was it a gatefold, or individual DVDs? Was there reversable covers? What language was it all in?
---------------------------------------
Another annoying thing is when you have a set, but don't review it. On trade lists, people have many titles not yet reviewed, but they've watched before. Reviewing helps everyone, and can save people from a bad buy, or lead them to a good one. Take 10 minutes out of your day to help other people for years (?) to come.
I admit, when I was a beginner, I didn't write very good reviews. But I've gone back and edited them, and even added screenshots to at least 4/5th of all the DVDs I still have. My Level is really high now (Mysterious God is my username), and now people can get a glimpse at what they're gonna be buying or staying away from.
'k, can anyone tell I was bored?
Just keep it in mind next time you review.
I'll just jump into it.
-In terms of video. Simply saying 'very good' and leaving it at that isn't good enough. If there was any pixelation, compression blocks, or and other video defects be specific on them. It's ok not to know what source it's from (VHS, DVD, etc.) but if you do know, do tell about it.
Say if all the openings and ending are there, and if they appear before every episode or not.
Does the video look to dark? Is it too bright, over saturated, or color bleeding? Does it exist through all of the movie/show, or just areas?
--Audio
This is okay not to be able to say much about, you can't get very descriptive. But if there is something such as pops or hisses, instead of mentioning it once, say how long it lasts, and how noticable it is.
Usually audio isn't every really a problem, but it can be and depending on how it's wrong, be descriptive on it.
---Subtitles
Everything is on them. The grammer is important, the punctuations can be, and the numbers of sentence breaks are too.
Even go into the font. You can tell how old a release is (and in general it's quality) by the font sometimes. When someone says AV used an ugly typewrter block font, and the subtitle rating was low, I know EXACTLY what type of translations they mean.
Say if sentences are broken into two lines, if names are correct, the colors of the subtitles (I hate white. Really hate it.)
Timing is another issue. If translations are perfect but timing is way off, that can ruin a set very badly.
---------
Others::
Menus-
Describe the menus. What language, movies or not? How good was it?
Chapter Points-
Everyone hates one chapter point an episode. Does this set have them? Or is there more, and how many more? Are they well placed or may as well be done at random?
Extras-
Are there any? They're always fun, and it's always nice to know if a set has them.Packaging-
How good did it look? Was there incorrect information, blurry spots, and other abnormalities?
Was it a gatefold, or individual DVDs? Was there reversable covers? What language was it all in?
---------------------------------------
Another annoying thing is when you have a set, but don't review it. On trade lists, people have many titles not yet reviewed, but they've watched before. Reviewing helps everyone, and can save people from a bad buy, or lead them to a good one. Take 10 minutes out of your day to help other people for years (?) to come.
I admit, when I was a beginner, I didn't write very good reviews. But I've gone back and edited them, and even added screenshots to at least 4/5th of all the DVDs I still have. My Level is really high now (Mysterious God is my username), and now people can get a glimpse at what they're gonna be buying or staying away from.
'k, can anyone tell I was bored?
Just keep it in mind next time you review.