We celebrate our 2nd Anniversary! Bigger and better than ever...

I can’t believe it has been 2 years already since we first opened “DVD Review” to the public. What initially started out as a hobby has turned into a major undertaking that eats up our entire time and requires our undistracted attention. It is exciting to see how things have evolved over those two years, how DVD has grown from a fledgling format to the next home video standard. Unstoppably it has made its way into millions of households and if the calculations are all correct, we will indeed see over 4 million DVD players in American households. It is a number no one could have dreamed of then the format was first introduced in spring 1997, and not even the most optimistic predictions at the time allowed for such a forecast. It is with some pride that we look back today on those two years that we have helped establish DVD as the coming home video standard by supplying fans and enthusiasts around the world with their daily dosage of news, information and details about DVD, always ensuring that the information is accurate and reliable.

I just read what I wrote last year for this occasion and fond memories arose. A year from today, Dreamworks was about release their first DVD title - highly anticipated - and in this short year, Dreamworks has shown practically shown every other DVD publisher how to do it right. Although there are many publishers out there who constantly deliver stunning high-caliber releases, Dreamworks is exhibiting a commitment to their titles that goes above and beyond the average DVD publisher. Incidentally, it was also Dreamworks who gave us the nicest Anniversary present we could have asked for by prominently featuring a quote from our review of “Saving Private Ryan” in their TV commercials for the DVD.

One year ago, also Fox and Paramount finally joined the DVD family, and many of you will still vividly remember the heated discussions surrounding those studios’ hesitance to release titles on DVD. Both publishers are since steadily delivering quality releases, although Fox should finally make the anamorphic switch happen for good, while Paramount urgently needs a boost in their press relations.

We have mentioned numerous times before how DVD is exploding in our face on a daily basis. The number of releases and title announcements, the sell-though numbers of soft- and hardware are just staggering, as you can all witness. New publishers enter the market on a weekly basis almost and it is getting harder and harder to gather all the information that is out there. Still, you can rest assured because “DVD Review” is always on the forefront for you. Making sure that we bring you the hottest information directly from the sources with an unbroken commitment for quality and accuracy.

This Anniversary also sees some additions and improvements to “DVD Review”, of course. After all, this is a good time to reflect and see what worked and what did not work. Over the course of the past year we have introduced and improved a number of features, such as expansions to our “Film Vault” DVD database, the most detailed and complete DVD database anywhere on the Internet. With almost 6000 titles in this database, it contains practically every DVD Video that has been released so far in the US, from Disney’s “Pinocchio” all the way to Vivid Interactive’s “Seven Deadly Sins”, plus every DVD title that has been officially announced. Expanded search capabilities and quick access lists make this also the easiest to use and fastest to access DVD database around.

We also introduced the “Smell The Coffee” column, in which Mr. Coffee is spilling his beans every morning on the current events in the industry. Gathering from the email we receive, it has become a valuable source of compacted information for many of you.

“My Star and Me” has become an exciting addition to the site where our readers share their encounters with celebrities. So, if you have met a star somewhere, send us your pictures and a small description of the incident, and maybe we will publish it, rewarding it with a free DVD.

The of course there are our acclaimed “Production Diaries”, which have become instant reader favorites. They give our readers an exclusive look behind-the-scenes of DVD productions, and show how meticulous these products turn out to be. When creating a DVD it’s not a 1,2,3... step process, it is a long project that sees its ups and downs. Anchor Bay’s generosity to allow us a very close look at the production of ”Halloween”, and their embracing of our idea for the diary helped to get this section off the ground.

One of the major changes you will notice on our site is our new, improved discussion forum. Not only does our new software present discussions in a much cleaner manner than before, it offers a variety of tools that make browsing the discussion much more fun and efficient. Search capabilities help locating messages, while the software also allows you to check all the messages that have been posted since your last visit with a single mouseclick. You can have a user profile so that other users know who they are actually talking to. Each user can set up personal preferences that include specific layout changes and most importantly email notification is someone replies to your posts or topics that your particularly interested in. You will find many possibilities to tailor the settings of the message board to your personal taste and hope you enjoy the additional comfort it offers. On top of all that we have introduced a series of new topics to keep discussions focused and give you the chance to cover varous aspects of DVD.

Over the past months, many of you have also noticed that we have an additional contributor to “DVD Review”. Mike Long has been writing reviews and editorial content for the site for a number of months now, and his work has become a valuable addition to “DVD Review” that we enjoy as much as you certainly do. Mike has also taken it upon himself to host a discussion board dedicated to “Horror and Cult Films”. An avid genre aficionado, I am sure you will have a great host in him who will be able to offer interesting insight and comments on the wide range of horror and cult films. Please stop by some time and check it out. I know he will love to hear from you on his board to share his wickedly fiendish thoughts with you.
Mike will also continue to write reviews for us, of course, but since Halloween is over, I think it is time to throttle down the output of horror reviews a little, before everyone starts to believe we are an actual Horror DVD site. Let me tell you though, that we all have greatly enjoyed bringing you all this extensive coverage of horror films on DVD over the past weeks. Although it was impossible for us to cover everything that was released, I believe we covered all the highlights horror fans were interested in, and if not, well there’s always next Halloween.

Personally I think the introduction of our “Gold Seal Of Excellence” has also been a major step this year. It is designed to highlight truly outstanding releases in the field to give the titles, and the publishers the recognition they deserve. It was triggered by two films this year that were so superior in quality and commitment, that we felt very strongly about recognizing these titles that went above and beyond your usual DVD releases. These initial titles were Dreamworks’ “The Prince Of Egypt” and Anchor Bay’s “Halloween”, of course. In the meanwhile an elite crop of other titles has followed suit.

By now, most of you are probably familiar with our philosophy that we recommend titles, rather than review everything that is in the market. It gives us the opportunity to really focus on selected releases and explain exactly what makes them interesting. Not including ratings is also part of that philosophy, to ensure our readers make up their own mind instead of having it made up for them. You have to know what you like and our reviews are supposed to be helpful guidelines. A DVD does not only consist of some technical specs and a packaging-style synopsis. There’s much more to films than many reviews dare to cover, and we pay justice to this by covering DVDs as a whole, treating the original content and the technical aspects with equal importance. After all, every online store has quick and dirty reviews online these days, and I believe the last thing the public needs is another fast-track feature run-down directly from the packaging.

With all this in mind we enter our third year, and I know already it will be an exciting year. I am looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead and the thrill of more new releases and developments in the DVD market. As usual we will give you the entire scoop on everything that is happening out there. Once again, I would like to send out my sincere thanks to all of you - but not before I made sure to remind you to participate in our 2nd Anniversary Contest. Some great discs are waiting for you!

 November 1, 1998

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