Single Sided Blu-ray Disks vs Double Sided Disks: Where Do You Stand?

[kemcha]

not a serious thread, but an opinion-based one

While I've gotten myself in trouble, on occasion, with the staff here. I'm curious where everyone stands. Now, I've heard all of the argument that double sided Blu-ray disks don't have any playback issues but with those of us who hate them with a passion, we've kind of developed an enraged hate over these type of disks.

Some of you may remember the double sided DVDs that were released via DVD boxed sets and how many problems they caused many consumers over the years. With Blu-ray, everyone who loves them tries to convince the rest of us that there's no problem. Well, that may be fine but we have developed such a hatred for these disks that it runs everywhere where our hatred for them lies.

For me, there's a lot of hate I have for these disks.

1. Blu-ray/DVD Combo.
The reason I purchased a Blu-ray player and a 32 HDTV was so I could enjoy the superior quality of this format. After sitting for many years on the fence, I found myself jumping into this new format, despite the many reservations I still had about it. Now, studios start releasing these "combo" disks with the DVD on one side and a Blu-ray on the other. I never saw the reasoning behind this. Why would I want to go back to an inferior format?

My main argument was that why couldn't studios do like Disney and many other studios, release a single title that has the Blu-ray on one disk and the DVD version on a second disk. Apparently, studios like Universal, Summit, Warner Brothers, etc., still have a morbid fetish with double sided disks and so they stick their customers with them because it saves them on manufacturing costs. That's just fine. But, why not also pass on those savings to the customers by lowering the price of that double sided disk?

2. "The Myth of Fingerprints" is a real problem for Double Sided Blu-ray (or Customers Will Boycott Your Releases).
Double sided disks? With the backlash over double sided DVDs, studios decided that they still like the format but they limit the growth of their sales because some customers won't purchase any title that has a double sided disk.

The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultamatum, Out of Africa, Twilight Eclipse, The Jackal and many others feature double sided disks and yet the studios don't realize that there are a lot of customers who won't buy these disks because of the "double sided disks".

3. The final solution?
I miss the artwork on my Blu-ray disks.

I simply boycott any Blu-ray release that is touted as a double disk. I don't boycott the company but I simply dislike double sided disks so much that I refuse to buy titles that include these disks. While I'll admit that there's a psychological impression when it comes to double sided disks, I have had too much experience with playback problems with double sided DVDs that I won't take that chance with Blu-ray disks.