Simpsons DVDs Discontinued

[ZariusTwo]

http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwir...n-dvd-20150408

Commentaries will continue to be made though.

The indomitable animated franchise will not release any further seasons to DVD. What that means for the future of physical media.

You don't have to look too hard for signs of the slow death of physical media, but here's a particularly cromulent one: "Simpsons" showrunner Al Jean said today that the show will not be releasing any further seasons on DVD.

Fox has released 18 season of "The Simpsons" on DVD — Seasons 1-17 and 20 — and several on Blu-ray, and that, for the forseeable future, is that. Given the much-touted launch of the online "Simpsons World" portal last year, it's not entirely surprising that Fox is choosing to cut bait on physical media, but if a show with as loyal a fanbase as "The Simpsons" can't put up the necessary sales, that doesn't bode well for other shows either. FX has scaled back home video releases for its own shows as well, downgrading "The Americans" and "Louie" from Blu-ray to DVD-only and pushing viewers towards streaming the shows on Amazon Prime, where the visual quality is at least on a par with DVD, if not approaching Blu-ray.

Jean said that he and "The Simpsons" crew will continue to record the elaborate group commentaries — a highlight of the DVDs — and that they should be available through "Simpsons World." And he did not rule out a series-encompassing DVD or Blu-ray set once "The Simpsons" has completed its run. But the launch of "Simpsons World" illustrates the trade-offs in the switch between formats. Yes, you can access any episode you want whenever you want, but the months it took FX to follow through on their initial promise to allow viewers the option of watching the episodes in their original aspect ratio illustrates the shift in control from owner to provider, from buyer to seller. At least, Jean promises, "Simpsons World" won't be charging extra for commentaries, deleted scenes or any other added content. He wrote, "I don't think The Simpsons should ever ask for money without providing you a cheap toy."

[BubblyShell22]

That's a shame for those of us who can't watch on "Simpsons World." Then again, you could always watch them on FXX anyway. Whatever.

[Leo656]

Horse sh*t. Predictable horse sh*t, but still horse sh*t.

At least put out Seasons 18 and 19, for f*ck's sake. I could somewhat understand stopping at Season 20 and everyone who collects them having the first 20 seasons, that's one thing, but to just leave out two whole seasons for "Eh, don't give a sh*t" reasons is just plain stupid. It's not like they're gonna go broke printing them and enough people would still probably buy them to make it worth it.

Ten years from now, everything is going to be on the internet and every time you want to watch something, they're gonna charge a buck and change to your credit card. Those without credit cards or stable internet connections simply won't be able to watch shows. And we continue on the path of "Nobody owns anything, you just rent it for a little while," and anyone who doesn't have the means can simply go f*** themselves. Because unless you can be tracked electronically by corporations, or feel like handing out your credit information every time you want to watch goddamn TV, You Don't Count.

Yay.

[The Stryker]

Who would honestly spend money on any of the seasons past 10 anyway?

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by The Stryker

Who would honestly spend money on any of the seasons past 10 anyway?

Completionists.

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by cylonsklingonsdaleksohmy

completionists.

there are limits!

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by The Stryker

there are limits!

You do understand the definition of the word "completionist", right?

[CyberCubed]

I stopped collecting Simpsons DVDs at Season 10. I pretend the Simpsons Movie is the "series finale" and leave it at that.

All you need is the first 10 seasons, the movie, and maybe a small handful of good episodes from the following seasons that you can cherry-pick online and that's it.

[BubblyShell22]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Horse sh*t. Predictable horse sh*t, but still horse sh*t.

At least put out Seasons 18 and 19, for f*ck's sake. I could somewhat understand stopping at Season 20 and everyone who collects them having the first 20 seasons, that's one thing, but to just leave out two whole seasons for "Eh, don't give a sh*t" reasons is just plain stupid. It's not like they're gonna go broke printing them and enough people would still probably buy them to make it worth it.

Ten years from now, everything is going to be on the internet and every time you want to watch something, they're gonna charge a buck and change to your credit card. Those without credit cards or stable internet connections simply won't be able to watch shows. And we continue on the path of "Nobody owns anything, you just rent it for a little while," and anyone who doesn't have the means can simply go f*** themselves. Because unless you can be tracked electronically by corporations, or feel like handing out your credit information every time you want to watch goddamn TV, You Don't Count.

Yay.

Yep, you've hit the nail on the head for those who want to collect all of the seasons on DVD. And even if you get a complete box set, that's going to cost even more if you've got twenty plus seasons over a number of discs. So, yeah, this is stupid, especially as the show is still going.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

It used to be you bought your VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray and you owned it. You owned a high-quality product. Over time, the edges of the case might get scratched, the paper inside might get a little worn, the disc ended up being a bit scratched... but that's what made it yours, dammit, and it wasn't like anybody else's in that fashion.

Now they put ridiculously compressed copies of episodes on iTunes, Amazon, etc. for ridiculous amounts of money and even then you have to wait for it to download, and if you're streaming I hope to God you have decent internet speed.

Instead of wisely keeping the high-quality material on physical media and putting lesser quality copies on online stores, companies are phasing out physical media... but keeping the material on web stores low-quality.

Physical media ALWAYS trumps digital in terms of quality and character, NO MATTER WHAT. That crappy iPod you'll replace in a year anyway can't even be compared to a CD jewel case or a vinyl sleeve.

And your film collection "in the cloud" is nowhere as impressive as a shelf of films and TV shows collected over years, maybe even decades.

And in terms of video and audio quality - Digital HD may be better than a DVD in terms of video, but I'm sure the DVD has better audio quality (the 2012 TMNT show has stereo on iTunes. Its DVD has 5.1 surround @448kbps. That's a HUGE difference). And a Blu-ray is far more impressive than anything bought on iTunes.

Anything you buy on iTunes or Amazon pales in comparison to the audio quality of CD or even a vinyl. iTunes files are loud, compressed, and poor-sounding because they're mastered to be that way. CDs are better in terms of audio quality, and vinyl physically isn't able to be that loud, so that's nice.

I don't care about The Simpsons at all... but it shows what a pathetic turn home video is taking. The consumer today gets less quality, less control, and less ownership.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by TheSkeletonMan939

It used to be you bought your VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray and you owned it. You owned a high-quality product. Over time, the edges of the case might get scratched, the paper inside might get a little worn, the disc ended up being a bit scratched... but that's what made it yours, dammit, and it wasn't like anybody else's in that fashion.

Now they put ridiculously compressed copies of episodes on iTunes, Amazon, etc. for ridiculous amounts of money and even then you have to wait for it to download, and if you're streaming I hope to God you have decent internet speed.

Instead of wisely keeping the high-quality material on physical media and putting lesser quality copies on online stores, companies are phasing out physical media... but keeping the material on web stores low-quality.

Physical media ALWAYS trumps digital in terms of quality and character, NO MATTER WHAT. That crappy iPod you'll replace in a year anyway can't even be compared to a CD jewel case or a vinyl sleeve.

And your film collection "in the cloud" is nowhere as impressive as a shelf of films and TV shows collected over years, maybe even decades.

And in terms of video and audio quality - Digital HD may be better than a DVD in terms of video, but I'm sure the DVD has better audio quality (the 2012 TMNT show has stereo on iTunes. Its DVD has 5.1 surround @448kbps. That's a HUGE difference). And a Blu-ray is far more impressive than anything bought on iTunes.

Anything you buy on iTunes or Amazon pales in comparison to the audio quality of CD or even a vinyl. iTunes files are loud, compressed, and poor-sounding because they're mastered to be that way. CDs are better in terms of audio quality, and vinyl physically isn't able to be that loud, so that's nice.

I don't care about The Simpsons at all... but it shows what a pathetic turn home video is taking. The consumer today gets less quality, less control, and less ownership.

Dude, I just wanna hug you. If all it is is a digital file, you don't FREAKING OWN IT. Not permanently.

And yeah, I've maybe seen one full episode of the Simpsons in my entire life. Not my thing. But crap like this gets my blood boiling.

[Cure]

I prefer streaming over physical, so I won't be upset if this is the start of the trend.

I never would have given shows like Breaking Bad, Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, and Rescue Me a chance if they weren't on Netflix. Now they're some of my favorite shows ever. I don't need to clutter my place with boxes to impress people.

[CyberCubed]

I was born in the 80's so physical media is a must for me. I only buy digital when there's no other choice and even than that's rare.

Sadly with the new generation of kids growing up in the recent decade when they become adults they're probably going to prefer all streaming. Blu-ray players will become a thing of the past, everything will be digital.

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by TheSkeletonMan939

And your film collection "in the cloud" is nowhere as impressive as a shelf of films and TV shows collected over years, maybe even decades.

Neither are impressive man.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by The Stryker

Neither are impressive man.

Pride of ownership, man...

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

Pride of ownership, man...

I don't know. I guess I'm not wowed by someone buying a bunch of dvds and putting them on a shelf. I don't view on the same level of pride as owning a house or whatever.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

I get where you're comin' from. But isn't it neat to go to someone's house and see a shelf full of movies or video games to just browse through?

I think it is, at least.

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by TheSkeletonMan939

I get where you're comin' from. But isn't it neat to go to someone's house and see a shelf full of movies or video games to just browse through?

I think it is, at least.

Not really. It's just a bunch of dvds. I get the same feeling looking through the movie section at any number of retail stores.

[Leo656]

I live kind of sort of in the woods and my internet connection drops out every 10-15 minutes, on average, and we have what's supposedly the "highest-quality service" in the area. Some people are geographically f*cked. I can barely watch a music video on YouTube without it stalling out, and I live in the suburbs, not the mountains or whatever. There's a large chunk of people in this country, and more throughout the world, still using dial-up. People don't like to talk about it, but it's true! And they shouldn't be punished and prevented from watching TV shows or movies, or playing video games, or listening to music, simply because of circumstances they have little to no control over. Not everyone has stable, reliable, affordable, "one click and you're there" internet service, and the number of people who don't is much larger than people think.

And if you remember the protests from those same consumers when Xbox One was originally supposed to be "always online", the corporations' attitudes towards those people is more or less, "F*ck 'em, they can move. They're not the ones paying us, so they're invisible for all we care." Which is horrible.

Also, every single thing TheSkeletonMan939 said. Basically, both forms of media have their ups and downs but you need to give people options.

[Katie]

I'm definitely for not adding clutter. Im from the same timeframe at you too, cubed. I just prefer having a few favorites and anything else can stay electronic. I definitely prefer tv series to stay electronic. Those are too big and bulky in physical form.

As for getting choices, I'd love to be able to ride my horse to work and around town to do my errands. He's eco friendly and hay is cheaper than gas. But none of these darn places have hitching posts and there's no stables for him at work. Sometimes progress means that you adapt. If not you become obsolete. Like me riding Cajun around town. Cars are just better transportation these days. Next decade maybe personal flying vehicles then cars are obsolete.