Hello Johanna, According to our records, we have purchased 38 Amazom.com DVD-R titles since March 2011. I do not see where we had to return any of them due to defects.
While Roger is correct in that sometimes the DVD-R titles sold by Amazon.com may be from 'questionable' sellers, others are from companies such as Warner Bros. (and their series the Warner Home archive collection). The DVD-R that you are looking at purchasing has no product details listed. Since Amazon.com has the bad policy of pooling all of the reviews for many releases in one place, it appears near-impossible to find a review for this particular copy. I would agree with Roger. If given a choice, I would purchase the TCM Buster Keaton Collection which, while more expensive, is clearly described and has customer reviews that are easier to locate. Michael S. Phillips Library Associate I Monographic Acquisitions Division Texas A&M University [email protected] 5000 TAMU | College Station, TX 77843-5000 Tel. 979.845.1343 ext. 151 | Fax. 979.845.5310 http://library.tamu.edu -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Brown, Roger Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 11:01 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Videolib] DVDs Manufactured by Amazon Hi, Johanna, These Amazon DVD-r deals are sometimes from questionable sellers who have uploaded/submitted content they may not have rights (or good masters) for. Amazon is the middle man only and just press and ship - there is no quality control here, so that's 1. DVD-rs as a rule have more quality, compatibility and longevity issues than pressed DVDs. They tend to go south suddenly, more than once here after only a couple years and often have poor menus/bad design as well, so that's 2. Finally, TCM Archives' Buster Keaton Collection, with Cameraman, Spite Marriage and Free & Easy can be had for less than $30 and is a very nice package with good elements, a commentary on Cameraman as well as a restored print (which it sorely needed) and a documentary by Kevin Brownlow to boot. In this case the official issue is clearly the best choice. Cheers, - - Roger Brown Manager UCLA Instructional Media Collections & Services 46 Powell Library Los Angeles, CA 90095-1517 office: 310-206-1248 fax: 310-206-5392 [email protected] > > >Today's Topics: > > 1. DVDs Manufactured by Amazon (Johanna Bauman) > 2. Re: DVDs Manufactured by Amazon ([email protected]) > > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >Message: 1 >Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 11:25:06 -0400 >From: "Johanna Bauman" <[email protected]> >Subject: [Videolib] DVDs Manufactured by Amazon >To: <[email protected]> >Message-ID: <[email protected]> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > >Hello again from Brooklyn, > > > >Does anyone have experience with purchasing DVDs manufactured on demand by >Amazon? We are looking for a copy of Buster Keaton's cameraman and >noticed >that there is a DVD-R for sale: >http://www.amazon.com/Cameraman-Buster-Keaton/dp/B007C95V3S/ref=sr_1_3?s=m >ov >ies-tv ><http://www.amazon.com/Cameraman-Buster-Keaton/dp/B007C95V3S/ref=sr_1_3?s= >mo >vies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1380036104&sr=1-3&keywords=cameraman+buster+keaton> >&ie=UTF8&qid=1380036104&sr=1-3&keywords=cameraman+buster+keaton. Would >there be any reason NOT to purchase the title this way, instead of >purchasing the film as part of the Buster Keaton collection? > > > >Thanks! > > > >Johanna > > > >+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > >Johanna Bauman > >Visual Resources Curator > >Pratt Institute Libraries > >200 Willoughby Avenue > >Brooklyn, New York 11205 > >718-687-5745 > > <https://mail.pratt.edu/images/blank.png> [email protected] > >Pratt > > > VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors. VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
