Season DVD Packaging

[J. Allen]

I love Star Trek. I really do. Joining in on the great human adventure aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, U.S.S. Voyager, or space station Deep Space Nine. Yet it seems that my enjoyment of the show that is Star Trek is hindered by something. Something very simple, something that shouldn't even be a second thought. The DVD packaging.

While I haven't had any experience with the packaging for Voyager or Enterprise, I have such experience with TOS, TNG and DS9.

Now, to get it out of the way, the TOS packaging isn't too bad. However, the TNG packaging is just dreadful. Who in the world thought it would be a good idea to stack the DVDs in a folding lineup, and then put them in a box with a closing flap? The cases themselves take up so much room, and the plastic they use has to be the most brittle, cheapest plastic I've seen in a DVD set.

That is, until you try to open the Deep Space Nine DVD season set. Like the TNG set, the plastic is still cheap, and still very breakable. However, the brilliant minds behind the packaging decided to make it in book format, which is good. That's much better than folding lineup sets, but the problem here is that the plastic is just too cheap, and just breaks with ease, leaving sharp edges that cause cuts. I have literally bled over my Deep Space Nine Season 3 DVD set.

Oh, and for the record, I purchased some 8 disc DVD cases from Genesys, and downloaded some well made DVD case covers for those cases, which I'll print (and show the final result) once my inkjet cartridges get here .

Back on topic, who does the planning for the packaging, and why do they still have jobs? What are your experiences with the DVD packaging from any series or season?

[Nick086]

I notice some of the cheap plastic would break off if your trying to get the DVD out. If your lucky, you were still able to put it back in the case. Most of the time a disc would get loose inside the boxset causing scartches on the DVD.

[J. Allen]

Nick086 wrote:

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I notice some of the cheap plastic would break off if your trying to get the DVD out. If your lucky, you were still able to put it back in the case. Most of the time a disc would get loose inside the boxset causing scartches on the DVD.

That happened to one of my TNG S3 DVDs. Two of the episodes don't play because they were scratched by the easily breaking plastic.

[KiraDax]

I absolutely detest the DS9 and VOY packaging. I'm insanely clumsy and those sharp plastic edges just beg for cuts.

[J. Allen]

KiraDax wrote:

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I absolutely detest the DS9 and VOY packaging. I'm insanely clumsy and those sharp plastic edges just beg for cuts.

So VOY's packaging is the same way?

[The Wormhole]

I like DS9's packaging best. It's the most simplest. TNG's is okay, though a little extravagant. Voyager and Enterprise's really leave little impression on me. I don't have the packaging, but I don't particularly like it very much either.

TOS has the most overly complicated packaging. I remember seeing something on the Space channel about the TOS boxset saying how much of a bitch it was to get into, and boy did I realize what they were talking about when I got those sets.

[species5618]

The initial cost of the Trek DVD sets put me off of purchasing them--upon their initial release they cost upwards of $150 CDN a season at Future Shop or HMV. They've come down quite a bit (about $60 CDN for the DS9/TNG/VOY sets) but I've read many other reviews citing the sets for absolutely horrible, easily breakable packaging, so once again I've decided to put it off. Not bothering with TOS as I'm going to buy the Blu-Ray sets once I make the jump to HD, and I'll be getting double dipped as it is for BSG, Firefly, and the ST films on Blu-Ray.

All I really want is the discs in a slimline plastic case (1 or 2 per case) bound with a simple slipcase, the way the R1 The Shield or Buffy sets are packaged (WERE packaged in the case of Buffy--at this point BtVS DVD's are on their third iteration of the packaging). I don't need super-intricate packaging that's going to fall apart and probably end up costing more for the consumer (more elaborate packaging=higher price tag). If the manufacturers can come up with innovative, cool packaging without sacrificing ease of use and durability, I'm all for it, but in my experience this is usually rare.

Good thread J, DVD packaging that falls apart and/or puts the discs in danger of being damaged just to get them out of the case really ticks me off--the things cost enough as it is.

[mythme]

Axiom wrote:

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So VOY's packaging is the same way?

Actually its even worse. They didn't even print anything on the discs. Oh, the titles are there, on the inner circle, but you can barely read them. I have a hell of a time finding a certain episode on a given season. I have to look at the outside of the plastic shell and literally count - disc 1, disc 2, disc 3, until I come to the one that contains the episode I want.

[species5618]

Anyone have any of the TOS seasons on Blu-Ray? Any problems with the packaging? From what I've seen in store, it seems to be a thicker version of the standard Blu-Ray case (to house multiple discs) with a wraparound cardboard sleeve--since I plan on TOS being one of my first BD purchases, I figure I should know how bad (or good) the packaging will be.

[RandyS]

The TOS, TAS, and ENTERPRISE packaging are the best. At least they're in a hard shell case, and once you figure out how to open and close them, it's no problem.

I don't mind the TNG cases. At least they are study, and the foldouts don't bother me, but yeah, a little more thought could have gone into those. Such as a hard shell case.

The Voyager packagaing....I'm surprised those have held up, they're so flimsy. I keep expecting them to fall apart, but so far, so good.

DS9........good God. I don't know what the hell the guys who made those were smoking, but it had to be something powerful if they those these cases were a good idea. So far, season 5 is the only one that hasn't fallen apart, and I have used roughly eight or nine miles of scotch tape to keep the other six sets together. I'll bet that was the plan. Paramount had a deal with a company that makes scotch tape. They would put DS9 in the shittiest cases they could make so buyers would in turn have to buy tape to keep them together.

[Mr. Laser Beam]

For TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT, I threw away the damn packaging. I replaced it with those sleeve things you can get from Case Logic.

[StarshipDefiant]

I live in region one, and I hate those big DVD cases for season sets, mostly for the way they open and the space they take up. Someone mentioned the slim line clases, those are nice, and so are the (third buffy/angel release) cases, the cd's are not stacked onto each other (or layered is perhaps a better term?) they are single side DVDs and on a single side of the flap each (with the first disc and last disc being on the covers). I've heard people having issues with this type to, inevitable, I guess, mostly due to the placing of the security strips, but an extremely small amount of space (the cases are the size of a typical movie case) which is nice when you consider that in Angel at least, two seasons would take up the space a single slimline clase season takes (and probably four or more would take the place of the original release). I wish the smaller cases were more the norm, more standardize like I seem to be seeing with the BluRays.

Either the slimlines, or the "standard case" (as it were, I don't know what else to call it) would be nice for season sets, they make them much more manageable, take up far less room, weigh less, etc... Oh, if only...

[J. Allen]

Just for those who want a slimline type case, this is what I now have for the TNG seasons 1-3 and DS9 S3:







$7.50 for a box of 10 from these guys:
http://www.genesysdtp.com/index.htm?8dvddetails.htm

All I have to do now is print the labels for them that I downloaded from these guys:
http://www.rixgrafix.com/index_342.htm

They work beautifully, and hold 8 discs each. I stored my boxes away just in case I needed them. The TNG boxes weigh a ton! I was holding one after I removed all the DVDs and you could have swore on a stack of Bibles that all the DVDs were still in there. They are very heavy.

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Those labels look pretty cool. Do you need special (sized) paper for that, or can standard paper be used?

[J. Allen]

I tested it out on standard paper, and it works out really well. It would probably look better on semi-glossy paper, which I have and will probably use for the final cover. When printed, it was suggested to use 0" margins to give that edge to edge look. When I tested, it ended up looking right about where it would be on a standard DVD, with less than 1/4" from the paper to the DVD front edge. In fact, as mentioned earlier, the only reason I don't have the labels already is that I ran out of ink before I could print them. I won't be able to do so until either tomorrow or Monday depending on when my ink arrives.