The most important part of the private is not the actual submission/move but rather the "feel" or "weight" or "pressure" that goes along with the other. The dvds can't tell you, "move your hip to drop your weight better", "there it is, you got it"! That is the biggest difference in my opinion. The move is straight forward, the transition and feel is the catch! I have done privates for the last 10 years and have only now started watching and incorporating instructionals into my game... I still find I learn the "key" points to the moves in the privates....
I think tapes help you more when you are in the white and blue stage. I think purple and up get the most out of privates. A lot of the things you need work on are so subtle that you need to learn them with an instructor with you live, not on video.
Subaru,
I agree with you description. The devil is in the details.
The better tapes have those details. I know when I was watching the saulo set.....I was like that is the one detail I was forgeting....& then having a certain Guard Pass work
I thought the Margarida DVD had a nice amount of detail. I look forward to the Saulo set based on the reviews I've read.