First problem I've ever really had with Netflix...

[Stoudman]

Now, I've gotten discs that wouldn't play before. I've gotten discs that skipped too badly to be enjoyable in any sense of the word.

...However, I've never had this happen with a DVD/Blu that literally was JUST RELEASED A WEEK AGO.

That's right, after waiting 6 months because none of the theaters around here would show the movie, I was thrilled to hear that "Fanboys" was finally coming to DVD as it sounded like something I'd want to watch. Why not buy first? I don't like to buy anything unless I know I like it and will watch it again, and I simply don't have the money for it right now. As such, I relied on Netflix to rent the DVD to me. However, the day it came out I was put on the "Short Wait" list, and then quickly moved to the "Long Wait" list. As a long time customer, I guess this is to be expected of New Releases, but I still wasn't expecting it for a film that isn't exactly a "blockbuster" that everyone knows about and wants to see.

Regardless, I was happy to see I wouldn't be waiting long as they shipped Fanboys out right after my last one. I got it today in the mail and started watching it tonight. It started out working fine, but then within the first 5 minutes the disc skipped so damn bad that the scene jumped ahead a good 1-2 minutes. I took the disc out and found that....it was BADLY scratched. BADLY. I did what I could and used eyeglass cleaner (50% isopropyl, 50% water) to clean off the disc. Stuck it back in, the movie played fine for about 20-25 minutes....then the disc skipped so damn bad that it didn't just jump 1-2 minutes, it SKIPPED 1-2 ****ING SCENES IN THE FILM. I was literally saying "wait...WHO THE **** IS THAT GUY?!?".....because he was introduced a few scenes earlier, in the part of the disc so badly scratched it couldn't even play.

Of course the issue is resolved from a quick visit to the Netflix site.

However....it's not exactly Netflix that I'm really pissed off about this. Sure they let this slip under the radar and a defective disc was sent to me, happens to the best of 'em -- even the brick and mortar stores have that issue.

What pisses me off is...

*Nerd Rage*

THIS DVD WAS RELEASED A WEEK AGO! 8 DAYS TO BE SPECIFIC! 8 ****ING DAYS!!

In that time Netflix would have had the chance to ship this particular disc to MAYBE ONE or TWO people AT MOST! Now, I have to figure with a film of this subject matter that the people who are so excited to see it that they rented it the week it came out are in fact nerds/geeks themselves. The question becomes...

How is it possible....that through the transfer of at most two nerds/geeks, people who are STEREOTYPED for their KNOWLEDGE in how to run and take care of AV equipment like DVDs and DVD players....this disc got SO BADLY SCRATCHED that it COULDN'T EVEN ****ING PLAY?!

I mean it looks like someone took an ELECTRIC SANDER to the bottom of this disc and then carved a few lines in with their ****ing keys. WHAT THE ****!??!?!?

It took EIGHT ****ING DAYS to turn a brand new rented DVD into trash? really???

That is the WORST I have EVER SEEN in terms of someone taking care of a DVD. If it is even possible for a player to cause that amount of damage, I want to find the person that owns this player, take a hatchet to the god forsaken piece of broken and hell born equipment, and then set the remains on fire while laughing maniacally. This should NOT be possible, and the fact that it is ENRAGES THE NERD IN ME!!

*Nerd Rage Over*

[Al_The_Strange]

Ah, that is a frustration we all experience with any rental system. Some folks (especially kids) just don't know how to take care of discs.

I'd reccomend investing in a disc cleaning kit. I'm not sure if you'd want to waste that kind of thing on rental discs, but I've got this thing called "Skip Dr." at home which uses a rotary plastic wheel to skim off all dirt, scratches, smudges, or anything else on the topmost layer of the disc. It's a bit of work to use, but in the end, the discs come out looking gorgeous. It has been invaluable for times when I bought used rental discs.

Otherwise...I'm not sure. Say, was this a Blu-Ray you rented? Is so, it must have taken a heck of a beating to get through the scratch-resistant coating!

[Stoudman]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Ah, that is a frustration we all experience with any rental system. Some folks (especially kids) just don't know how to take care of discs.

I'd reccomend investing in a disc cleaning kit. I'm not sure if you'd want to waste that kind of thing on rental discs, but I've got this thing called "Skip Dr." at home which uses a rotary plastic wheel to skim off all dirt, scratches, smudges, or anything else on the topmost layer of the disc. It's a bit of work to use, but in the end, the discs come out looking gorgeous. It has been invaluable for times when I bought used rental discs.

Otherwise...I'm not sure. Say, was this a Blu-Ray you rented? Is so, it must have taken a heck of a beating to get through the scratch-resistant coating!

Ahhh, my brother used to have a Skip Dr. but I never know where to find em anymore. Good idea, though.

Unfortunately, this movie was only released on DVD so far, so yeah...it's conceivably possible, but it still seems really ridiculous. I keep wondering why it wasn't released on Blu though...even if it isn't a big budget film, there are some big names in it -- Seth Rogen, Kevin Smith, William Shatner, ect....seems a shame we can see low-budget straight to home video releases on Blu but something like this doesn't make it? I'm sure it will eventually.

Heck, I don't even know if I like it or not yet, so I might not even care in a few weeks. I just thought it was crazy that after 8 minuscule days a disc could be that badly damaged.

Important thing to note blu-wise is that not one blu I've gotten from Netflix has had any skip issues. In fact, I've never had any blu-ray skip on me even once. Since I'm paying more for blu-ray access, I suppose that's the way it should be, but then Netflix didn't make the technology that keeps it that way, they're just taking advantage of it.

Meh, what the hell -- even in the rental market, the more money a blu fetches, the better off the format is.

[neos_peace]

I have to agree wiht you here. I personaly can't stand that either (the movie nerd) in me wants to strangle the perosn responceible as well. I mena seriusly I know things can drop or bend or whatever, we are still humans. Bu come on to get a a scratch the size of thegrand canyun on it. Thats just unaccecptable. Come on what do these people have for hands sizzors (no edwad sizzor hands is not real, but a dang good movie one of my favorites)

I can completly agree wiht your rage on this. I find the same redicualous stuff when I rent form the redbox in my area.

[Teabaggins]

just wipe the discs really well, reflect a bright light off of it and inspect it carefully before putting it in your player. problem solved. this has worked on every disc that has ever skipped on me from netflix. People are idiots so don't expect them to handle discs properly.

With my own copy of Baraka it came in that crappy cardboard case which had some glue residue or something stuck to parts of the disc. I had to wash the disc to get it off but now it's fine.

[Rovic]

Maybe it wasn't the nerds themeselves that did it...i know how to take care of dvd/bd's my seven year doesn't, I happend to rent once and returning it only to find out when i returned them the movie that i rented for my seven year old was heavly dirty, not scratched....so maybe a similar scenario happend here...but that sucks that you had the loosing end here...

[Moefiz]

That's the reason I rent from Blockbuster, If I get a bad disc just have to go back and get it exchange right away, no hassle .

[andyman1970]

Did it ever occur to you that the disc may have been damaged during the shipping process by the mighty United States POSTAL Service? I think that's where most of the problems arise. Especially "missing" disc that never show up.