Assigning scores to the A/V of screeners.

[Boba Fett]

I've noticed that sometimes screener discs from Fox you guys review are assigned A/V scores. Although, I'm a person who reads a review and would notice mention of a disc being a screener, I find it more than a bit misleading that anyone could accurately judge a final product based on a single-layer screener, and for those who often glance at the numbers only, it's pretty crummy.

[Dan Mancini]

Fox doesn't seem to mind. Not enough to, you know, send actual product.

[BrettCullum]

Normally when I get a "screener" I mention it in the review and use the "short form" so that I am not assigning a score to the A/V portion. I agree with you it is tough to figure out how great a transfer will be from the DVR screener a studio slaps together for pre release hype.

But you will notice as the economy sank and tanked... we got more and more of them. Fox mainly sends them out, but quite a few of the major studios and even some bit players find them cheap and easy. It does not prevent us from being able to review content, but it does mean we might miss some tech specs and extras.

But the approach and answer has been "better than nothing", and you have to just see it for what it is. It's a trend you will not see disappear any time soon.

[mhansen]

Some "screeners" are final product discs that just come without the final packaging. In other cases, sometimes it's a tough call. Do we give as much information as we have, letting readers know it might not reflect final product, or do we just skip it because it might not be equal to what the consumer will get? We could just review only final product, but that means we'd have no information available for some releases. Since we are known for our in depth reviews, I would hope (and guess) that people would take the time to read the review rather than just look at some numbers. Regardless, we are looking at ways to revamp the scoring system with our site redesign, which will debut later this summer.