Amy Bento

Hi Jordan,

I suppose, although I replied to you, I was addressing the general thread as a whole - and I did get my back up a bit, as this subject hits close to home with me. Honestly, I appreciate people who have a mind of their own and do not pass judgment on you at all. Opening my own fitness company has always been a dream of mine and, therefore, have looked into the music, clothing, etc. and I'll be honest...there really isn't a lot of choices out there. I was on the VF site today and someone (Kristen) said Amy asked Cathe who she used for clothing when on the road trip. It leads me to believe that they had extensive conversation about this, and that Cathe is supportive of Amy (which doesn't surprise me - she seems to be that type of person).

Everyone has a "straw" and believe me when I say I've had plenty of unfortunate experiences in that area (E.g., instructors secretly taking my class, then using my choreography and calling it their own), but I do feel that Amy is original. And it's nice to have options, right? I hope I enjoy my purchase as well!

Best regards,
Geraldine
 
Hi Geraldine,

Don't let any of this scare you off; follow your dream! I definately think that there were underlying issues with the replies that were provided on all forums. I have learned additional information about Amy & her workouts through these discussions which I would never have known otherwise. In the long run, all of this brew ha ha has been good. I'm not ready to take the plunge but who knows, maybe someday. You know, discussions evolve and sometimes people change their minds toward one way or the other. I always try to listen and understand (even if I don't agree). I know that it must be hard for Amy & the people who care about her to get all of this attention at once. I hope they will recycle the treasures of input and toss out the trash.

I have always gotten the impression that Cathe is very supportive toward other instructors so I can see your point. Yes options are nice, like I've said before I enjoy using other instructors. Hopefully you will be one of those options one day :D .

jordan
 
I think it's great to have many instructors and wish her well...I could care less if she mimics George Foreman or Cathe for that matter. She could be superwoman and absolutely fantastic, but I would still only consider buying her DVDs when she stops whooping or the sounds are edited out....her utterances are just way too annoying for my taste. For those of you who don't mind whooping...enjoy and have lots of fun!

Robin:)
 
LorryG!!!

I just wanted to say thanks for making the suggestion. I ordered 3 of the workouts and can't wait to try them.

Jacque
 
I'm TRYING to hold off from ordering until I hear the reviews from those of you here and at VF who have ordered. I will be waiting...patiently...sorf of. I really want the step workout then Pump then BC. I just may have to break down and order the step workout...I'm really going to try and wait for reviews though!
Angela:7
 
A heads up: it sounds like these are DVD-R (some people have already gotten them, and the back of the disc is the purple color of DVD-Rs). Personally, I think the prices are too high for a medium that will degrade (people who have the TLP--not TLT--workouts on DVD-R are already having problems with them degrading and not reading correctly on their machines).
 
Yes, it's a shame about the DVD-r thing, because All Pump looked interesting/different judging from the clip.
 
Techie info on Amy Bento's DVD-R's

From Kathryn's post I see that the early reports are that the disks are purple-backed, meaning that they appear to be DVD-Rs, not pressed/stamped DVD's which are quite a bit more expensive and more time-consuming to produce. (Cathe has always used pressed DVD's). I agree with Kathryn's hesitation about DVD-R's.

Although I'm not interested in buying these videos myself for a lot of reasons, I know many of you are, and I thought I'd share a little more info I got straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak, about the formatting.

I followed the link on Amy Bento's web page to her production company's web page, and here is the information from their site about what they produce. What interested me were the sections on "Output Formats" and "Compatible DVD Players".

http://www.talkingboxdmg.com/sites/dvd_authoring_site/dvd_authoring_tech_specs.html

So they're definitely DVD-R's, meaning they'll have some perfectly predictable limitations in life span and playability, folks. I would imagine that the cost factor probably explains Amy's choice of this medium for her first productions (like Tracie Long's TLP's from last year), but IMHO (no flaming me please -- it's JUST my opinion! ;-)) this is a very risky and unfortunate choice for an expensive product that you WANT your consumer to be able to re-use many times and on any DVD player without problems.

Just food for thought -- hope it's helpful. :)

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S. http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/sport/sport-smiley-001.gif
 
RE: Techie info on Amy Bento's DVD-R's

I'm sad...I wanted to at least purhcase the step workout. Hopefully in the future she will make them on DVD's. I will be keeping my eye on her future workouts. I think she had a lot of potential.
Angela:7
 
RE: Techie info on Amy Bento's DVD-R's

Kathy did you get this info from Amy (direct from the horses's mouth) or through the link that you used? If not why not ask her directly? She has been very forthcoming with all her info and I am pretty sure this pressed DVD vs DVD-R has taken her by surprise as well. She believed that they were pressed DVDs not DVD-Rs.

JMHO.
 
Hi Hedy!

Hi Hedy! Nice to see you here!

I got my info straight from the link that I provided, as I said. (The production company's the "horse." :))

I'm sure Amy would be perfectly responsive if I needed to ask anything, Hedy, but I didn't contact her because I didn't have a question for her. I've just gotten curious about this DVD/DVD-R issue myself, having looked with interest at her website, and although I'm not in the buying market myself I wanted to know what the story was. So I looked at the website for her production company to see if there was anything useful there that would tell me once and for all whether these disks were DVD's or DVD-R's, and lo and behold the answer was right there. I posted the link here at Cathe's simply because I thought the information would be useful to the members here who had expressed an interest in buying Amy's products, some of whom had wondered whether they were DVD's or DVD-R's. As I said in my post, that distinction matters to me and it might matter to others -- or it might NOT. I don't really care; I was just passing along the info for whatever anyone felt it was worth. I might add that I wasn't expressing or implying any opinion about Amy or on the quality of her workouts. Just the disks themselves.

Here's what Amy posted on her new forums today about this issue, verbatim:

[font color=blue]I would like to take a minute to address the DVD/DVD-R situation. As we all know, technology is ever-changing and evolving to our benefit.

My product was produced by a professional distribution company who indicated these were DVD however, burned. Being in technology myself I assumed this product was one in the same. I have never seen issues with DVD-R. and in my line of business (outside the fitness world) we consider DVD/DVD-R to be compatible with each other. I did not know other peoples products had any issues at all. I have never experienced this. Obviously other people have used other production/ distribution companies and they are not all created equal. (kudos to mine)

My distribution company called me today and stated they would be happy to phone anyone concerning their product. They stand behind it 100%. So do I, now, a year from now etc... I ordered a small quantity of these disks only. My next order for copies, will be on stamped/pressed DVD to eliminate any doubt about my product. We discussed this today and it's in motion. If I misspoke on this point, I stand corrected they are "technically" DVD -R. I would be happy to replace anyone's product at anytime no questions asked if something happens. I stand by my product.

Thanks for your support and patience as I get off the ground here. I am trying to make this the best workout experience for all. I hope everyone will stand by me as I make adjustments.
_________________
Stay Energized,
Amy Bento[/font color]

Once again, hope that's helpful!

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S. http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/sport/sport-smiley-001.gif
 
RE: Hi Hedy!

Hi Kathy,

I think information like this is very important to know before making a purchase (and could apply to any instructor). The current price for a first time effort & DVD-R format may make a difference to some people. I like that she is willing to back her product, thumbs up for her. However, she is a start up company and unfortunately there is a risk involved. People need to make an informed choice to alliviate any ill feelings if things change (I've seen this before & it isn't pretty). This is the kind of information that I like to see exchanged. I was armed with these facts when I ordered Tracie's earlier workouts and I was fine about the risk (concerning the DVD-r not working & that they may degrade)but others may feel differently.

Thanks again,
jordan
 
RE: Hi Hedy!

Hi Kathy,

Hope all is well with you. For me not so good but that'll pass in time.

Amy made an additional post regarding the duplicators of her workouts which is different then the information you referenced. In case this makes a difference.

Just posting the correct information about who my distribution company is. There is some wrong info posted elsewhere ...

"Talking box digital media group did the filming and production


Vidoe Services International did the product duplication,art work, and packaging

www.vsimedia.com
this is their capabilities page
Capabilities:

Today’s producers need far more than just an edit suite. VSI Media offers a full palette of high-end production services. Among our offerings are High Definition Editing, Audio Post Production, Motion Control Camera, Closed Captioning, Transcription, Translation and Video and Optical Duplication (including DVD and CD).

Our editors are more than technicians, they’re creative professionals with long experience in electronic storytelling. We know that sometimes, you have important fires to put out, and you have to concentrate on other issues. Just get us started and we’ll do it your way. When you add your creative concept with our talented professionals and cutting-edge equipment, the result is excellence."

JFYI
 
RE: Hi Hedy!

Since she only had 100 copies made this first time out, and the next run will be DVD (rather than DVD-R), I'd wait until then!

So who are the first 100 guinea pigs going to be (paying prime prices for DVD-R?).:D
 
RE: Hi Hedy!

Hedy,

Gee, I'm sorry to hear that you're not at 100% right now. :) I hope every day will be a little brighter than the last one for you and that all will be totally well soon.

I think you and I share the same mission here, which is just to relay accurate and useful information so that everyone in our fitness communities can make informed choices. Good mission, I think. :)

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S. http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/sport/sport-smiley-001.gif
 
RE: Hi Hedy!

Hello there!

I purchased Advanced Step (should be arriving VERY soon) so to answer your question, I am the one of the guinea pigs! LOL Honestly though, I don't mind about the whole DVD/DVD-R thing. My brother-in-law works in IT/Graphic Art and said he hasn't had DVD-R issues in years. Accoring to him there shouldn't be a problem and I trust his opinion (such a computer "geek" if you will).

Amy and I emailed back and forth over the weekend and she is willing to refund/exchange if necessary so that's good enough for me. I must say she responded quickly and was very helpful. It appears that talkingbox did not handle the distribution of the DVDs - they only did the filming.

Smart of her to order the next round in DVD format to avoid further drama, right?

Health and happiness,
Geraldine
 
Actually the Firm produced many advanced DVDs back in the day but I have noticed there is a lot of Firm bashing (or bashing anyone who is not Cathe) on this Forum. Personally, variety is the spice of life.
 
Jordan,

You said it!

The only reason I would ever invest other workout is, if it offers fresh new moves that are advanced as Cathe. Now, I will gladly pay that $26.00 even without the premixes.
 
Meeeooooooww! Are some of you really that catty? Rather than posting some serious feedback about the quality of the workout or the instructor people are keeping tabs on where she buys her clothes. Does this matter to people? Are the Bento workouts safe? Effective? Interesting? Balanced? I personally can't stand Karen Voight but it doesn't change the fact that she is a well qualified instructor who delivers high quality, effective workouts. I guess the "well she's not Cathe so she sucks" doesn't seem like constructive commentary to me. I'm glad this thread was started and I'll keep my eye on Amy to see what she has to offer in the future. I think Ms. Friedrich is double fabulous as is Tracie Long, Jen Carman, and my Jazzercise instructor (who all offer advanced workouts despite the Cathe snobs who think otherwise) and I'm always looking fo new inspiration and challenges. ;-) ;-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top