Blu Ray discs and Netflix damage

[acosmichippo]

If this is a n00b "FAQ" please forgive me. I ahve been noticing lately that a disproportionate amount of blurays (compared to DVDs) i receive from Netflix and/or blockbuster are unplayable due to damage or slight debris on the disc surface.

I know blurays are supposed to be more resilient than DVDs, but what i am noticing is that IF a bluray DOES happen to get damaged, it is much more likely to affect playback than a DVD with a similar type of damage would.

In other words, a few blurays in the last week i get from various rental companies appear at first to be in good shape, but when i get skipping during playback, i take out the disc, notice a *very* small scuff or fingerprint, wipe the disc, and then it plays fine again.

Is this common? Am i imagining things?

[Atreyu]

Remember you are talking about rental discs, people don't handle them as if they were their own. I know I do but I must be in the minority. Just look at the disc before you put it in because if one thing I hate is, when I get into a movie and it starts skipping etc... and I have to remove it to clean it.

[seeweda]

I haven't rented from Netflix in a few months but I usually didn't have problems with playback. I think 1 disc in the 2 or 3 dozen had an issue and it only skipped a few seconds of the movie but continued to play. It could be you are getting discs later in their life(more uses) or your player maybe a bit more sensitive.

I usually only kept 3 to 6 movies in my queue and most were new releases. This ensured that I was usually the first or second person to handle the discs so much less risk of them being damaged.

[acosmichippo]

Originally Posted by Atreyu

Remember you are talking about rental discs, people don't handle them as if they were their own. I know I do but I must be in the minority. Just look at the disc before you put it in because if one thing I hate is, when I get into a movie and it starts skipping etc... and I have to remove it to clean it.

i see what you're saying, but i have been renting DVDs from netflix for over a year, and haven't had as many issues as i have with the blurays in the past month.

Also, as i said, the faulty blurays generally look like they're in MUCH better condition than most of the DVDs i get.

[wharf]

Perhaps it's an issue with your player?

[acosmichippo]

Originally Posted by seeweda

I haven't rented from Netflix in a few months but I usually didn't have problems with playback. I think 1 disc in the 2 or 3 dozen had an issue and it only skipped a few seconds of the movie but continued to play. It could be you are getting discs later in their life(more uses) or your player maybe a bit more sensitive.

I usually only kept 3 to 6 movies in my queue and most were new releases. This ensured that I was usually the first or second person to handle the discs so much less risk of them being damaged.

i really don't think the discs' age is the problem here because they LOOK like they're in great condition. Also, i get PLENTY of DVDs that are VERY worn due to use (most recently the XFiles). And i do know it's not my player as i try each one on my computer's bluray drive as well as my PS3.

[acosmichippo]

Originally Posted by wharf

Perhaps it's an issue with your player?

definitely not. when this happens, i double check with both of my players: PS3, and my computer's Bluray drive.

[amarster]

Originally Posted by Atreyu

Remember you are talking about rental discs, people don't handle them as if they were their own. I know I do but I must be in the minority. Just look at the disc before you put it in because if one thing I hate is, when I get into a movie and it starts skipping etc... and I have to remove it to clean it.

remember, these aren't the people that have a blu collection, i wanna see them handle the discs

[Rblu-Dblu]

Originally Posted by acosmichippo

If this is a n00b "FAQ" please forgive me. I ahve been noticing lately that a disproportionate amount of blurays (compared to DVDs) i receive from Netflix and/or blockbuster are unplayable due to damage or slight debris on the disc surface.

I know blurays are supposed to be more resilient than DVDs, but what i am noticing is that IF a bluray DOES happen to get damaged, it is much more likely to affect playback than a DVD with a similar type of damage would.

In other words, a few blurays in the last week i get from various rental companies appear at first to be in good shape, but when i get skipping during playback, i take out the disc, notice a *very* small scuff or fingerprint, wipe the disc, and then it plays fine again.

Is this common? Am i imagining things?

A bluray disc and a DVD disc are the same size. Remember that a Bluray disc contains much more information on that same size space. A piece of debris or a scratch is much more likely to affect a larger portion of the stored data.

[acosmichippo]

Originally Posted by Rblu-Dblu

A bluray disc and a DVD disc are the same size. Remember that a Bluray disc contains much more information on that same size space. A piece of debris or a scratch is much more likely to affect a larger portion of the stored data.

that's exactly what i was thinking, and was just wondering if someone else had noticed this as well.

[alantgray]

I am a Netflix renter and I have pretty good eyes. Blu-ray discs that appear to be in nearly perfect condition play less reliably than DVDs with the same or more visible damage. For all the "progress" they designed in less tolerance to damage into the standard. This is one error that will ensure the Blu-ray disc will have a short period of relevance in consumer video history.

[MarkBirds]

I've been renting BDs from Netflix for a few years now, and I've only had a problem once.

I got Willy Wonka last month and it froze in my stand-alone player. I took it out and saw a few scratches. I popped it in my PS3 and it played fine, no freezing or skipping. I did report it to Netflix.

[madlost1]

Originally Posted by alantgray

I am a Netflix renter and I have pretty good eyes. Blu-ray discs that appear to be in nearly perfect condition play less reliably than DVDs with the same or more visible damage. For all the "progress" they designed in less tolerance to damage into the standard. This is one error that will ensure the Blu-ray disc will have a short period of relevance in consumer video history.

Yeah because blu-ray has only been out for about a year now and no one is buying them. Oh wait that's right it's been I think a little over 4 years now and sales continue to increase. That was a ridiculous way to start your stay on this site.

[Rob71]

Originally Posted by alantgray

I am a Netflix renter and I have pretty good eyes. Blu-ray discs that appear to be in nearly perfect condition play less reliably than DVDs with the same or more visible damage. For all the "progress" they designed in less tolerance to damage into the standard. This is one error that will ensure the Blu-ray disc will have a short period of relevance in consumer video history.

Funny that a little mist of Pledge works wonders for me. Maybe had 2 issues in the last 3 years. Far less than DVD. And as far as your "relevance" comment... We are in it's 5th year and the format is still growing so...

[Cevolution]

Originally Posted by alantgray

I am a Netflix renter and I have pretty good eyes. Blu-ray discs that appear to be in nearly perfect condition play less reliably than DVDs with the same or more visible damage. For all the "progress" they designed in less tolerance to damage into the standard. This is one error that will ensure the Blu-ray disc will have a short period of relevance in consumer video history.

I think u are over exaggerating. I don't hire often because I just buy my movies, but over the years I have had problems playing back almost every DVD I have hired, on the other hand only 1 blu-ray I have hired has had a problems (due 6 deep scratches). Most blu-rays I have hired have had scratches on them (which I don't get considering how they are quite durable to begin with, I think some people must purposely scratch them just to see if they can be scratched with their hard coating) and except for the 1 incident I mentioned above, all have played just fine on which ever of my 4 blu-ray players I choose to watch them on.

[Steedeel]

They will try anything that streaming lot!!!!!

[The_Donster]

^^Not sure where you are coming from SteedeelI've had a couple bad discs, one dvd and one blu. Fortunately I was able to watch the movie in full frame. Like someone said above, some folks treat the discs like their own. Which isn't always the best way My only complaint is when this happens and you report it, you should be sent out a new disc immediately. You shouldn't have to wait until they receive the damaged disc to get your replacement. Other than those 2 incidents, I've been pretty happy with Netflix.

[raygendreau]

I have rented close to 2000 bds from Netflix. There have been 5 that I returned and replaced due to being unplayable, (usually a hairline crack on the edge). Most of the time, Netflix provided me with an additional movie for my trouble. (I'm on 1 at a time unlimited.) The quality of service has consistently improved over the years I have been with them.

[alantgray]

I should add that I love the blu-ray format in general, but from a smudge and scratch point of view, I believe them to be less usable with less visible scratches and smudging than DVDs in agreement with the original poster's observation. They do, however seem to be more resistant to scratching than DVDs, so the net effect is they are quite reliable with cleaning. I'm just disappointed that they didn't do more to make them play with smudges present in the form of error correcting code. And the comment about blu-ray discs becoming irrelevant in a relatively short period of time, that's due to many factors, not just playability, but I should have known better than to make that comment at all on this forum.

Remember, Blu-ray Disc is the same size contains more spatial information. A piece of debris or scratches are more likely to affect a larger portion of the stored data....