I Wouldn't Steal a Car, Now FOAD

A number of the rental DVDs we’re taking home are now coming with that obnoxious ‘You wouldn’t steal a car’ ad which can’t be skipped.

It’s infuriating to have some movie company override my ability to control a disc I have bought or rented. It’s offensive to have an ad before the menu accusing me of piracy.

If I download a movie from a file-sharing network (I don’t usually) there’s no copy protection and no ads.

Interesting choice: legit & annoying or illegal & convenient. I find myself buying and renting DVDs despite what the distributors are doing—my sense of right wins out over their annoying tactics.

Movie companies are pissing off their remaining legitimate customers in their war against pirates. They really don’t have a clue.

Other irritating ‘features’ on many DVDs:

Any ad (e.g. company logos, trailers, FBI warnings) preceding the menu: most of the time I just want to pop in a DVD and start watching. Include trailers and small print as a menu item.

Any menu which takes more than a couple of seconds to run through before I can push ‘play’—again, I usually just want to start watching.