My first DVD player was purchased back in 2000 when there was so much promise in what the new medium would provide. I managed to find one that I could crack the region settings of and it travelled in my carry on on a plane to Canada. I had one DVD - "Walking with Dinosaurs" - they were expensive.
Apart from the clarity of picture, there was much hype that new movies and TV series would be crafted towards the new medium. You would be able to do things like: zoom in/out on aspects of any scene, or watch the movie from different angles and from different characters' perspectives.
These features never materialised due to the costs to produce. Was it right to set expectations so high? Ah well, this is all past but a historical lesson should be learnt even so.
But what of today's offerings? The user interface of practically any DVD I encounter is so unintuitive. Silly gimmick icons and non logical directional movements and submenus make it very difficult to access the actual product. Just turning on/off subtitles can be a challenge.
It's been a medium crying out for some UI standards for 10 years now.
Technology is moving on, the faster/easier alternative these days is to download your video of choice. So I suppose DVD UI's will never evolve - just disappear.
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