This may be true, but if they're just going to take advantage of the situation, why not make the most of it? They are marketing the Treasures to collectors, who want complete sets of the original films uncensored, unedited, in chronological order and presented in the best quality possible. I'm fairly sure most of them are also willing to wait and pay for it. If they're going through them all anyway, why not just wait until the actual shorts have been restored before putting them on the discs?2099net wrote:Ultimately, it's impractical to expect 4-5 hours of fully restored footage for the price/print run combination. It's obvious that the DVD release is simply a way of taking advantage of an on-going restoration project rather than the reason for the restoration in the first place, as it is with the Loony Tunes releases too.
At least I would much rather wait another half a year for better restorations than get everything in inferior quality now, now, now and then have to wait another 10-15 years for a better release on the next format. And if people like to come up with wacky conspiracy theories then let them, because in the end it will not matter. Those who were planning to get them in the first place are going to do so anyway. People like to whine a lot when unfortunate situations arise, but I've never heard of anyone boycotting something they really wanted just because it was delayed.
As for the live-action TV shows, if people are not that interested and are not buying them, then why bother releasing them now at all? Maybe it would be better to wait or give them their own "Classic TV" label? Or maybe they're just a means to keep the Treasures line from thinning out when they can't keep up the restoration work for the shorts? I don't know, the latter doesn't seem entirely impossible. I can honestly say that I wouldn't buy anything if a wave consisted only of these, but I wouldn't be mad or anything. If it meant that I got perfect sets of pristine shorts the next year then it's all for the better.