When it comes to television shows on DVD, I have a simple test to determine if the disc mastering company knows what it’s doing: the fast-forward button.

Say you’re watching a show on DVD — no, say you’re watching the second show on the DVD. You’ve just watched the first. You want to dip in for another. The teaser ends, and the opening titles begin. You tap the fast-forward button and you get: what?

On DVDs made by clueful manufacturers, you should jump to the very last portion of the titles, just before the action resumes. Sure, it’s probably the shortest chapter on the disc, but who cares? There are no rules that say chapters must be equidistant.

Sadly, some studios don’t understand this concept. For example, in the series I’ve been watching lately, “Homicide: Life on the Street,” the (S1) discs jump about six minutes in, right in the action and well past the (frankly, somewhat annoying) titles.

No good.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 15th, 2006 at 11:52 pm and is filed under Miscellany.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.