I can understand the argument of simplicity and consistency for something productivity-related, or whatever, but when watching a DVD it is almost always for the purpose of entertainment. A fun and intnrnsting menu feels like part of the experience. It is a bit more of an event with all the little added flourishes.
One of the many reason I stopped buying dvds. The adverts (unskippable), the cognitive bones etc get through to the play, some disks would even have spoilers for the film.
Re:Beauty in DVD Menus
by reaperducer on Thursday October 08, 2026 @10:53AM
(#50006543)
Just buy them and rip them. This is Hacker News, after all.
Who's ripping DVDs in 2026? Just print a photo of each frame and flick through.
Re:Beauty in DVD Menus
by viceconsole on Thursday October 08, 2026 @09:02PM
(#50014691)
I still rip DVDs, a few a month. No streaming services in our household, so DVDs are how we get multilingual versions of things.
And I can rip the special features.
I was ripping DVDs before most of HN had touched a keyboard. I’ve stilll got my decss tshirt.
It’s far easier to acquire them from the internet.
Piracy is a service problem.
They might be bland and boring, but the menus employed today by the vast majority of discs produced are infinitely preferable in my opinion. Play Movie/Episode, Audio, Subtitles, Special Features. They're made from just a few templates and generally work the same across all discs from a studio. Doesn't bog you down with cutesy animations or wild layout choices, lets you just watch your movie in peace.