Customer Reviews

Doug Pratt's DVD-Video Guide

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This is one of the very few books available for DVD review.( the only other book I know is a special issue from Widescreen Review but it is not as complete ) Mr. Pratt uses the same format as his previous book-"Leaserdisc Review". As a LD & DVD collector,I find his book rather useful but sometimes hard to read. His review style is very good which generally cover 4 areas; film, video quality, audio quality and bonus feature. But for some titles, Mr. Pratt is too polite and not aggressive enough to point out the poor quality of transfer or problem of the source materials. It would be nice if he can add a rating summary at the end of each title ( give 1-5 star rating for the 4 parts mentioned above ). Adding picture of DVD cover would make the presentation more attractive but it may require too much work. I will be happy if he can add rating for each review especially on quality of transfer. Most collectors like myself, know exactly what movies to get, and we can find out bonus features information on the back of DVD box or product listing on web pages. What we do not know and eager to find out is the quality of video and audio. I admire and appreciate Mr. Pratt's dedication to make this book available for us. Thanks.

I have an old "Rating the Movies" by the editors of Consumer Guide & Jay Brown, first Copyright 1982. Each review had a short synopsis to allow for maxium reviews. Doug Pratt goes on about things I couldn't care less about, limiting the number of available entries. These two references have about the same number of pages, although the Consumer Guide version is 8 1/2 by 11 allowing for even more entries. Further, Doug's version includes foriegn films and Adult movies. Waste of space in my eyes. Seems to me these days quality fades.

I have to admit, I am not technologically inclined but after reading this book, anyone can understand DVD video. I learned much and it made me think further about purchasing the whole DVD setup.