Vox Populi on All Those PD Superman and Popeye Budget DVDs...!

[Geezil]

This will be quick and painless, I promise.

In the course of ongoing market research for (CAUTION: HERE COMES A SNEAKY FREE PLUG) the Stein/Stathes PD Project, I've been asked by more than a couple of budget-conscious parents of very young classic toon fans-to-be: "Which one of those, oh, one-dollar-to-five-dollar Superman or Popeye DVDs would you say is the best to buy?"

'Tis a puzzlement, indeed, since (as many GACers already know) literally every producer of those Anything for a Buck packages has at least one of each in its catalog.

And so, I toss out this question in turn: If you were asked to recommend just one such DVD with either character, which one would that be? The floor's open.


*******On my way toward 1,000 GAC Posts!*******

[Ray Pointer]

While you might take a chance on getting something looking good in a cheap DVD, that's just it, it's a chance. The first sign to watch for is packaging. If it looks poorly done, it's a reflection of the aesthetics of the producers. So in this case, judge the DVD by the cover. Also, many of the cheaply produced DVDs may not hold up over time, as they are made on cheap discs and the DVDs manufactured in China do not consistently conform to replication standards.

In a previous thread, I discussed a famous article that remains on the Internet, explaining in great detail the issues of DVD Rot where signs of tarnishing and mold were present in DVDs less than two years old. Knowing there is the possibility of bacterial cultures entering into DVDs made in China, I would be concerned about transfering those cultures to my player. While there is a laser beam working in the player that should kill off any harmful bacteria that could be present in these cheap DVDs, the thought of the possibility concerns me most, since we don't always know just how air tight other DVDs may be since even official studio releases are mass produced at the lowest cost as well.

[Geezil]

All good and useful information, Ray, and I do appreciate that. However, it doesn't exactly answer my question per se. Anyone else? Thanks. :)

[Chow Hound]

Well I quite like my Bosko Video COMPLETE SUPERMAN COLLECTION DVDs. You can find it for about $7 delivered online, which is almost within your 1-5 dollar range. I also like the Cartoon Craze Superman DVDs, which are just copied from the Bosko release, and are only a dollar each. I don't know if those are still readily available though.

[cpdavison]

Geezil...

I picked up the Genius Entertainment/AMC "dollar store" Popeye discs last year and thought they had very decent versions of the Fleischer B&W Popeyes.

If it weren't for the Thunderbean disc that came out a few weeks later, these would've been "the" discs to get.

Hope that helps.

Craig D.

[Ray Pointer]

Thunderbean, Delta Entertainment, and Bosko have very good versons of SUPERMAN, although the BOSKO versions have reduced picture area with a black boarder. The Thunderbean and VCI versions of POPEYE are good, Thunderbean's probably being the best out there at the moment. Avoid anything by Winstar since they were notorious for tampering with the soundtracks with the intrusive "feel the sound" features. Their covers also should be a tip off also. While the Winstar SUPERMAN looks good, it is ruined by the tampering of the soundtrack.

Again, as I explained in detail, avoid any other versions with obviously poor cover art by little known distributors, including those being sold at car washes and bins at supermarket checkout lanes. If it's cheap and looks bad on the outside, chances are it's bad inside.