History Main / BetterOnDVD

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue''. On their own, each episode is generally five minutes long and you need to wait an entire week for the next five minutes of story. On DVD, they're all edited together so each season runs as a feature length CompilationMovie. It's notable that although the show is released episodically, each season is written more or less like a movie to begin with, which occasionally means a sequence that seems to drag on forever in the episodes ends up having much better pacing when the season is taken as a whole.

* According to some viewers, ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is the opposite from Part 3 onwards, since while Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency make for enjoyable binge-watching (due to their more straightforward, plot driven nature), every part afterwards has a MonsterOfTheWeek format with multi-part episodes involving characters battling one Stand User after another in their quest to find and defeat the BigBad, a formula that makes for exciting and suspenseful weekly viewing, but can make for a [[ArcFatigue tedious and repetitive viewing experience]] when binged all at once, despite the creativity of said battles. An issue that became all the more apparent with Netflix's batch release of Part 6, a decision unanimously hated by fans, due to killing all the hype and community discussion that surrounding the show each week during previous parts.

* According to some viewers, ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is the opposite from Part 3 onwards, since while Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency make for enjoyable binge-watching (due to their more straightforward, plot driven nature), every part afterwards has a MonsterOfTheWeek format with multi-part episodes involving characters battling one Stand User after another in their quest to find and defeat the BigBad, a formula that makes for exciting and suspenseful weekly viewing, but can make for a [[ArcFatigue tedious and repetitive viewing experience]] when binged all at once, despite the creativity of said battles.

* According to some viewers, ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is the opposite from Part 3 onwards, since while Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency make for enjoyable binge-watching (due to their more straightforward, plot driven nature), every part afterwards has a MonsterOfTheWeek format with multi-part episodes involving characters battling one Stand User after another in their quest to find and defeat the BigBad, a formula that makes for exciting and suspenseful cliffhangers when viewed weekly, but can make for a [[ArcFatigue tedious and repetitive viewing experience]] when binged all at once, despite the creativity of said battles.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is the opposite from Part 3 onwards according to some viewers, since while Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency make for enjoyable binge-watching (due to their more straightforward, plot driven nature), every part afterwards has a MonsterOfTheWeek format with multi-part episodes involving characters battling one Stand User after another in their quest to find and defeat the BigBad, a formula that makes for exciting and suspenseful cliffhangers when viewed weekly, but can make for a [[ArcFatigue tedious and repetitive viewing experience]] when binged all at once, despite the creativity of said battles.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is the opposite from Part 3 onwards according to some viewers, since while Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency make for enjoyable enjoyable binge-watching, every part afterwards has a MonsterOfTheWeek format with multi-part episodes involving characters battling one Stand User after another in their quest to find and defeat the BigBad, a formula that makes for exciting and suspenseful cliffhangers when viewed weekly, but can make for a [[ArcFatigue tedious and repetitive viewing experience]] when binged all at once, despite the creativity of said battles.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is the opposite from Part 3 onwards according to some viewers, since while Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency are both enjoyable when binged, every part afterwards has a MonsterOfTheWeek format with multi-part episodes involving characters battling one Stand User after another in their quest to find and defeat the BigBad, a formula that makes for exciting and suspenseful cliffhangers when viewed weekly, but can make for a [[ArcFatigue tedious and repetitive viewing experience]] when binged all at once, despite the creativity of said battles.

** The Eastern Bloc countries, as well as Yugoslavia, also suffered from this too (especially until 1997), it is not due to the AnimationAgeGhetto mentality, but tied to the embargo. Anime could not be exported to these countries due to the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain and an embargo placed by the West, Japan and several other countries. Considering the 80s had a ton of anime aired in some shape or form, it's more likely that Yugoslavia would've been on par with Western European countries when it comes to anime (Creator/{{Sunrise}} even licenced the rather obscure [[SuperRobotGenre super robot]] title ''Madou King Granzort'', which is to this day still somewhat of a a CultClassic in Serbia, which implies the market was getting to that point of maturity to be able to licence directly from Japan).

** The Eastern Bloc countries, as well as Yugoslavia, also suffered from this too (especially until 1997), it is not due to the AnimationAgeGhetto mentality, but tied to the embargo. Anime could not be exported to these countries due to the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain and an embargo placed by the West, Japan and several other countries.

* Owing to South Africa's apartheid policies, the British actor's union Equity [[NoExportForYou started a boycott of programme sales to South Africa]], which, combined with a similar boycott of releases of programs by Australia, so this is a good reason whySouth Africa saw very little of non-American imported programming before Apartheid. Collecting whole TV series on VHS for South Africa would be impractical. In the early 1980s, an American anime licencing company tried to even open a subsidiary in South Africa (mainly for the purposes of dubbing MagicalGirl anime into South African English, so that this makes a distinction that the SuperRobot anime be aired in the United States and the magical girl anime be aired in South Africa), but this did not happen for the same reason.

* Owing to South Africa's apartheid policies, the British actor's union Equity [[NoExportForYou started a boycott of programme sales to South Africa]], which, combined with a similar boycott of releases of programs by Australia, so this is why this is a good reason that South Africa saw very little of non-American imported programming before Apartheid. Collecting whole TV series on VHS for South Africa would be impractical. An American anime licencing company tried to even open a subsidiary in South Africa (mainly for the purposes of dubbing MagicalGirl anime into South African English), but this did not happen for the same reason.

* This is probably a good part of the reason why English anime translations in the early days (as well as Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish languages), other than the few heavily {{Macekre}}d for kids' TV, tended to be limited to films and {{OVA}}s. Collecting whole TV series on VHS would be impractical, and as far as the mainstream was concerned, the AnimationAgeGhetto mentality (amongst [[SixtyFiveEpisodeCartoon other things]]) was still very much in place, so any anime that were adapted for TV would likely be heavily {{Bowdlerise}}d or otherwise {{Macekre}}d. The only choice for hardcore fans who wanted unedited material was VHS. Even [=OVAs=] which were part of a series likely had much shorter runs than TV series, so were more amenable to VHS release. However, Norway continued to limit the translations of anime to {{OVA}}s and films until TheNewTens.

* This is probably a good part of the reason why English anime translations in the early days, other than the few heavily {{Macekre}}d for kids' TV, tended to be limited to films and {{OVA}}s. Collecting whole TV series on VHS would be impractical, and as far as the mainstream was concerned, the AnimationAgeGhetto mentality (amongst [[SixtyFiveEpisodeCartoon other things]]) was still very much in place, so any anime that were adapted for TV would likely be heavily {{Bowdlerise}}d or otherwise {{Macekre}}d. The only choice for hardcore fans who wanted unedited material was VHS. Even [=OVAs=] which were part of a series likely had much shorter runs than TV series, so were more amenable to VHS release.

* ''AnimeBoBoBoBoBoBoBo'' was victim of a couple faulty {{DVD}} releases that completely lacked an option for English subtitles for the Japanese version. This was until 2020 when Creator/DiscotekMedia re-released the entire series onto SD-Blu Ray and gave a properly subbed release at long last. This also couples with the fact that all the episodes are uncut, retaining all the scenes cut from the Toonami broadcast either for time or content.

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': Especially since the episodes were originally aired OutOfOrder. And had month-long spaces in between some. [[ScrewedByTheNetwork And weren't advertised]]. [[UpToEleven And in some cases weren't aired at all]].

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', due to having a heavy plot with tons of twists and LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters who are {{Heel Face Revolving Door}}s. If you missed even a single episode, you were likely to be absolutely lost.

* ''Webcomic/MegaTokyo'' is very much this, due to Fred Gallagher's notoriously inconsistent updating schedule, the often confusing plot, and its LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters.

* Rob Zombie's ''[[Film/HalloweenII2009 Halloween II]]''. The theatrical version was reviled by critics and series fans and, while not an outright flop, disappointed at the box office. The Unrated Director's Cut released on DVD and Blu-ray, while still controversial, is a very different film with much more focus on character depth and development, extended suspense sequences, and a totally different ending. It's generally better-received, with some fans calling the Director's Cut one of the best movies in the franchise. Zombie and/or the studio certainly think so, as the Theatrical Cut hasn't even been made available on Blu-ray in the US.

* While ''[[Franchise/StarWars Star Wars:]] Film/TheLastJedi'' is still a [[BrokenBase divisive]] movie, many have expressed the opinion that the film works ''much'' better if you treat it and ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' as one long movie; not only is ''Jedi'' an ImmediateSequel, but watching it right after ''Awakens'' makes both feel much more coherent with each other, as well as making the EndingFatigue more bearable. In fact, some critics have argued that this trope was actually the source of all the controversy and drama ''Jedi'' faced; there was a ''two year'' gap between it and ''Awakens'', meaning fans had more time than usual to build up expectations and {{Fanon}}, leading to disappointment and confusion when the film finally came out and [[{{Jossed}} proved to be very different from what people had come to expect/hope for]]. This problem obviously doesn't exist if you just watch the films back-to-back.

** ''Film/SpiderMan3'' had an altered yet shorter and improved version called Spider-Man 3: Editor's Cut with restored music and better focus on character development. It reinforces the belief many hold that there is a good movie buried inside here, it just got bogged down with all the ExecutiveMeddling.

* A lot of shows cancelled after just a season or so, such as ''Series/Jericho2006'' and ''Series/FlashForward2009'', feel a lot better on DVD, leading some to be frustrated at the end of the series. Watching one episode after another commercial-free makes the story feel much tighter.

* ''Series/{{MASH}}'': The DVD releases for M*A*S*H gave the viewer the ability to watch each episode without any of the canned laughter on a separate English language track. The DVD sets also boasted the untrimmed versions of each episode, since they didn't have to fit into a half-hour block for broadcast.

* Music/GreenDay is a good band to listen to for this, since, if you're familiar with their later works, some things Billie Joe Armstrong used in songs as throwaway lines or words, like the name Jimmy, can be interesting to hear when they crop up before ''American Idiot'' named its central character that. Additionally, their 2012 trilogy, since it was written and produced in the same span of time, has ArcWords, {{CallBack}}s, and such within itself that either become full songs, or are just reused phrases in other songs. Listening to the their album, ''¡Tre!'' right before the next album after it, ''Revolution Radio'', can also be interesting, as some ideas from the former were greatly expanded on in the latter, such as the phrase "too dumb to die" appearing in ''¡Tre!'s'' song, 'Sex, Drugs, & Violence' before getting its own song explaining what exactly that phrase is supposed to mean on ''Revolution Radio.'' You'll also get a bit of continuity between albums with Billie Joe growing older and either figuring some things out, or wondering about different things. Hearing 'Forever Now', 'Still Breathing,' and maybe some others from ''Revolution Radio'' can be really uplifting after hearing prior albums, since he's apparently finally figured out a lot of things in his later years that confounded him in earlier ones.

* The most famous singles from Music/MarilynManson are all from [[ConceptAlbum concept albums]]. Not only that, but the majority of those are specifically from three interconnected concept albums which take place in the opposite order of their release. As such, while the singles themselves explore some level of the concepts of those albums, their full meaning is best understood in the context of the album they're on. This is especially true for the lead single of ''Mechanical Animals'', "The Dope Show", which has a serious MisaimedFandom as a DrugsAreGood anthem when it's actually dripping in sarcasm, as the song in the context of the album itself is an in-universe work by the drug addict alien musician Omēga whom is used to produce such stuff by his label to specifically keep the people drugged and dumb. The albums give the songs context, but then there's the Triptych, the three album story. It's pretty hard to figure out how the story even works when listening to the albums in release order, as the first released ends with the destruction of the universe. The reverse order makes it much easier to figure out just how the three protagonists are connected.
* Music/PinkFloyd concentrated on making albums, rarely releasing singles at all. Many of their albums were concept albums, with coherent themes.
* With some exceptions, Music/{{BTS}}' music is often released as [[ConceptAlbum concept albums]], which in turn are often parts or chapters of a bigger series[[note]]Examples of these series are the School Trilogy, the ''Most Beautiful Moment in Life'' series and the ''MAP OF THE SOUL'' series[[/note]] that sometimes culminates in a CompilationRerelease. Since the members write and plan their music based on their experiences and thoughts at the time, themes and ideas such as youth, love and the place of dreams in society are explored and revisited through [[CallBack Call-Backs]] and occasional {{Sequel Song}}s throughout their discography (even in their solo releases), to the point that you can find a whole ComingOfAgeStory in their work. Album singles such as "DNA", "FAKE LOVE", "IDOL" or "Boy With Luv" are therefore the songs that best represent the overall themes of each release, but are best understood in the context of their respective albums and their previous work.

* ''VideoGame/FarCry5'''s [[EndingAversion hotly contested ending]], in which [[spoiler: all your work taking down the Project at Eden's Gate is rewarded with a sudden nuclear attack on America, all your friends seemingly dying, and you trapped in a bunker with the BigBad]], can be a much easier pill to swallow now that you can play ''VideoGame/FarCryNewDawn'' right after for proper closure for the setting and characters.

* ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'''s reception markedly improved with the release of the Director's Cut, which restored 30 minutes of footage, including an entire missing subplot, and placed emphasis on aspects of Daredevil's character that went underrepresented in theaters, particularly his Catholicism and his skills as a lawyer. As a result, the movie gained far more defenders than it did the first time around, and has effectively replaced the theatrical cut as the definitive version, with Fox not even bothering to bring the original to Blu-ray.

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