Blu-ray Reviews That Make No Sense – A Collector’s Rant
I originally decided to write this post out of sheer frustration with the user review process that many DVD and Blu-ray retailers use. Don’t get me wrong, I like shopping online where reviews are visible. But too often I find myself getting angry at the nonsense some people leave behind.
How can the exact same Blu-ray receive both glowing 5-star reviews and scathing 1-star write-ups? After buying a few movies myself, I sometimes come to the conclusion that half the reviewers are either mad, clueless, or just full of it.
Things I wonder about when reading reviews
Are they just promoting their own blog, business, or agenda?
Are they writing maliciously for the fun of it, or simply to stir controversy?
Do they even own a proper Blu-ray player and an HD-capable TV with surround sound?
Do they have good taste, or would they struggle to tell the difference between “shit and shinola”?
Or are they simply nuts?
The Simple facts
Some people just like to complain. Some are never happy. The problem is, how do I separate these reviewers from the handful of honest, intelligent ones—without spending ages reading through all the junk?
It doesn’t help that some sites automatically pull in old DVD reviews when a Blu-ray upgrade comes out. These rarely get removed, so it’s not unusual to find yourself reading reviews for the wrong product altogether.
Like what you're reading? You can buy me a coffee — sure it’s cheaper than a pint!
The Search That Sparked This Rant
I was looking for a particular Blu Ray movie (Platoon) and I found the title on 2 of the biggest DVD sites, one site had 5 reviews which were all positive and the other had 46 which were mixed.My only concerns when buying Blu Ray is that the picture and sound must be superior in almost every way to the original DVD releases and this is the rule of thumb that I use while shopping. More than likely I will have previously seen the movie on DVD so I don't need to know the synopsis and I don't want to read everyone's opinions of the plot.
My Suggestion
Why can’t the big sites introduce a separate 5-star rating specifically for upgrade quality—DVD vs Blu-ray? Keep the normal 5-star system for the movie itself, sure, but give buyers a quick way to judge whether the new disc is a real improvement. That way I wouldn’t have to trawl through conflicting, often irrelevant comments.Rant over
I know this isn’t as simple as it sounds—what seems like a small tweak might be a coding nightmare on the backend. Still, it feels like a fixable problem, and I’d love to see it happen.
Until then, I’ll continue being quietly annoyed every time I shop for Blu-rays.
If you are as big a fan of movies as I am and this issue annoys you too, drop a comment below.
Thanks for Reading,
David
Postscript:
I originally planned to move this post over from my old site, Phoenix DVD Blog, but then I had an epiphany, why retire it when I could use it to talk about my love of movies and cinema? So I bought a new domain and got back to writing. The post now lives over there in a slightly different form, and the site is growing nicely. If you share a love for film, you might find something there that catches your interest.
More Titles for You to Read:
Stop Killing TV Shows and Movies: Why Negativity Online Is Ruining EntertainmentAbout the Author
I’m David Condon, a movie enthusiast and blog writer based in Tralee, Co. Kerry. I’ve been collecting DVDs and Blu-rays for years, which means I’ve seen first-hand the joys of great transfers — and the frustrations of dodgy reviews, confusing releases, and shelves that fill up too quickly. That’s why I wrote this post — to share a bit of my experience as a collector and hopefully give fellow film fans something to nod along with.
Every so often I take a break from the workshop and woodcraft business to write about movies, Blu-rays, and the quirks of being a collector. If you’d like to read more, you can follow the link in the Note from the Author section below.
💬 Note from the Author
This post was written specially for David Condon Finds. If you enjoyed it, you might also like my other projects:
Phoenix DVD Blog – where I write about DVDs, Blu-rays, and life as a collector
David Condon Woodcraft – my main site focused on woodturning and handmade Irish pieces
If you’d like to support my writing, you can do so through the Buy Me a Coffee button below. It helps keep these side projects going — thank you!
Like what you're reading? You can buy me a coffee — sure it’s cheaper than a pint!
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