Q: What is this site all about?
A: This site's mission is to provide a place for unbiased, objective DVD reviews of genre releases. In addition, this site will provide genre news and a place where visitors can engage in discussion in the forum area.

Q: Why do your DVD reviews cover lesser-known movies when there are so many award-winning genre films on DVD?
A: Many of the major releases have been reviewed by several sites. It would be redundant to review them again when there are HUNDREDS of releases that collectors would like to see reviewed. Keep in mind that there are many rare, budget and import DVDs that capture the interest of collectors. These collectors would like to know about the quality and availability of these releases.

In addition, many films are either re-released or released by more than one company on DVD. In that case, collectors would like to know if it is worth upgrading or which DVD release would suit their tastes better.

Q: What do the terms "anamorphic widescreen" and "enhanced for widescreen televisions" mean?
A: The best way to answer that question is to give you, the reader, a background on visual presentation and television screens. In this case, the example of the North American, NTSC television model will be used.

A standard television creates an image that consists of over 500 lines of resolution, or lines that make up the total image that can be seen on a television screen. Such a television displays a 1.33:1 visual ratio (almost a perfect square, but a slightly wider image). This image is a standard format for television viewing that the majority of television viewers are used to. The image is also referred to as "Full Frame."

After a number of decades into the age of the theatrical film, film makers decided to create films with wider visual aspect ratios (for instance, 1.85:1, 2.35:1, etc.). These ratios allowed more visual information on the sides of the image. However, when these theatrical images were displayed on home televisions, the image was cropped on the left and right-hand sides, resulting in a loss of visual information.

With the arrival of the video age, collectors and film enthusiasts were dismayed by the presentation of these films on video and laserdisc. The movies were deemed "incomplete" due to this loss of information.

Before High Definition Televisions (HDTVs) were on the market, "collector's" versions of films were available in widescreen on laserdisc, videotape and DVD (where the now-familiar widescreen "black bars" appeared at the top and bottom of the screen). Collectors were happy that they were once again able to view their favorite films the way they were meant to be seen with all of the visual information restored to the sides of the image.

HDTV changed all of that for the better. Before HDTV, all of the lines of resolution were being used to make up the image, including the widescreen "bars." After the first wave of DVDs were released, many companies decided to release their titles in "anamorphic widescreen," where all of the lines of resolution were confined to the viewable image, and the widescreen "bars" were created by the DVD player itself.

For instance, if a DVD's image were to take up a full 525 lines of resolution, and the disc is non-anamorphic, one could estimate that the viewable image would consist of about 400 lines of resolution, and the black "bars" would take up the other 125 lines, resulting in a loss of visual quality. If that same DVD were anamorphic widescreen, ALL of the 525 lines of resolution would be reserved for the image, and the "bars" would be generated by the DVD player (the discs are coded to detect what type of television they are connected to). The rule is that the higher the number of resolution lines that make up an image, the sharper the image appears. If the DVD were being played on a widescreen HDTV, the image would be theoretically "fitted" to the edges of the screen. Hence, the term "enhanced for widescreen televisions."

Q: What do the terms "DTS" and "Dolby Digital 5.1" mean?
A: In the case of digital audio, surround sound systems are based on a six-speaker system. The audio on a particular DVD may be encoded for use with these systems (although, a DVD will be compatible with any sound system). The sound is broken down into:

• a front-left speaker channel (1)
• a front-right speaker channel (1)
• a rear-left speaker channel (1)
• a rear-right speaker channel (1)
• a center channel (1)
• a subwoofer (0.1)

Add these numbers together, and you get the number 5.1.

DTS is a similar system, however, it utilizes a special digital output on the DVD player. Not all discs are encoded for DTS use.

Q: What is Regional Coding? What DVDs can I view on my player?
A: The movie industry wanted to control the availability of DVD titles as dictated by what "region" of the globe they were to be viewed in. If a DVD is a certain region type, it cannot be played on a unit that is not compatible with that particular region type.

There are eight regions, but the most common are Region One (North America) and Region Two (Europe, Japan, South Africa, most commonly). Region Three pertains to DVDs playable in Eastern Asia. Region Four discs are playable in Australia, New Zealand and Latin America. Region Five discs are playable in Africa, India, Russia, Mongolia and Korea. Region Six discs are reserved for play in China. The other two regions (Regions Seven and Eight) are reserved for other uses. However, if a DVD is coded as "Region 0" or "region free," it can be played on any DVD player throughout the world.

Q: What is an Easter Egg?
A: An Easter Egg is when there is a hidden feature on a DVD, and it is not listed on the DVD packaging. For instance, suppose a scene cut from the film is included as an extra feature, but its menu button is cleverly "hidden" within the menu screen. A little exploration and menu navigation will reveal a "button" that, when pressed, will reveal the hidden scene. Other examples include hidden passageways to sub-menus, hidden buttons for alternate credit sequences or just about any extra feature imaginable.

Q: I have a DVD that I would like to review - where can I publish my online review?
A: You can review DVDs in the designated section on the forum! It's free!

Q: My company is releasing a DVD - would you write a review for it?
A: If your release is genre-related, you can send your inquiry via e-mail at reviews@doomsdaydvd.com.