Early Blu-rays that may have playback issues (Criterion, Well Go USA, etc.)

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by timothy ramzyk

I agree. I have some of the Lionsgate titles I've watched in the last year with no problem at all. This could very well be a player software VS comparability issue for some.

I don't go for this whole "The sky is falling approach" to this. Bronzing is a clearly definable defect that you don't even have to play the disk to detect.

You're just going to get a lot of blanket statements about Blu-ray being an unstable medium due to people lumping everything into one inaccurate ball, and that impression will travel to non-tech forums.

Nobody was hysterical, and just because you can't see a problem with your eyes doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. People have run scans of their Lionsgate BDs on their computers, and the software is corrupted.

Plus, the point of creating three separate threads was to avoid lumping everything into one big ball.

[BTTF_]

An overnight merge? What a bloody mess.

[johnny]

I've gone through most of the Post's but I've not seen anyone mention this info. I've noticed on My Disc's that have been mentioned as possible problems, that the codes I have are "LOD21" and not just "LO21" they have the "D" added, I've noticed no Bronzing issues on any of them and they were either purchased 2009 or 2010.

Am I the only one with the "D" in the code or anyone else?

I watched My copy of "The Seventh Seal" last night and there were no issues, I even played a couple of extras.

My Howards End copy has the code L0D25....the "D" is always present. on the inner most ring and the ring beneath it the code L1DO26.

[iceman]

Originally Posted by jscoggins

Those weren't. People reported problems with Lionsgate BDs across several threads.

The Well Go USA issue is not isolated to a few individuals here and there, and those discs came from another factory.

There were two Lionsgate threads, an old one with two pages where one member seemed to have problems, the other thread was started by you. I have updated the title with WellGo, please update the original post with identified WellGo titles with name and dates that have been confirmed by several members.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by johnny

I've gone through most of the Post's but I've not seen anyone mention this info. I've noticed on My Disc's that have been mentioned as possible problems, that the codes I have are "LOD21" and not just "LO21" they have the "D" added, I've noticed no Bronzing issues on any of them and they were either purchased 2009 or 2010.

Am I the only one with the "D" in the code or anyone else?

I watched My copy of "The Seventh Seal" last night and there were no issues, I even played a couple of extras.

My Howards End copy has the code L0D25....the "D" is always present. on the inner most ring and the ring beneath it the code L1DO26.

I think I see what you're referring too. That comes after the CCxxxxBD correct? If so, than that's not the numbers we're looking for. The correct numbers follow IFPI (i.e. IFPI xxxx).

[timothy ramzyk]

Originally Posted by jscoggins

Nobody was hysterical, and just because you can't see a problem with your eyes doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. People have run scans of their Lionsgate BDs on their computers, and the software is corrupted.

Plus, the point of creating three separate threads was to avoid lumping everything into one big ball.

Do scans = playback issues?

I've ripped many DVDs that play without a hitch, only to have the ripping software tell me bad sectors were detected. Obviously there are some things that players don't take issue with that ripping software does.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by jscoggins

They are a small company, and if Fry's can sell their movies for less than $3 and $5 on a regular basis, I'm guessing that the profit margins are either slim or non-existent. Thus, they might do what Lionsgate has done, which is just ignore us.

I bought some cheap titles two weekends ago, and those will be my last Well Go USA purchases as well.

me neither. it's affecting ALL of their original titles that carry the LP606 mold # and there is no proof that facility was ever fixed as they are STILL using it. very simply put this is the first time it's been noticed, so there is an excellent chance that ALL of the L606 printed discs will fail over time.

The Criterion issue was from one small plant that was abandoned years ago and Criterion is making it right with the handful of affected titles.

Well Go USA is much more distressing as this is the first time we've heard of it and that company uses that and one other plant for ALL of their titles. With this being the first time we have no proof that this problem was fixed or even noticed and that means all newer discs and all future pressings from that plant (until further notice) are considered suspect as well.

[Clark Kent]

Lionsgate's failures are a completely different beast from the bronzing problem found on certain Criterion and Well Go pressings, traced back to a completely different source of failure.

We would likely get more answers from Disney, which had early problems on their The Prestige discs similar to Lionsgate's known problems. Studios and distributors are loathe to publicly name faulty replicators, it opens them up to potential civil litigation.

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by iceman

There were two Lionsgate threads, an old one with two pages where one member seemed to have problems, the other thread was started by you.

iceman, the information was not limited only to threads with the word "Lionsgate" in their thread titles. I spent a considerable amount of time researching unplayable Lionsgate BDs both here and on the Internet in general.

I didn't create these threads to bash any studios. I enjoy Criterion, Lionsgate, and Well Go USA movies. In fact, people who enjoy their movies are more likely to buy their BDs, which would explain why we tend to be the ones reporting problems.

In the past two weeks, I bought A Night to Remember (Criterion) and several Well Go USA BDs at Fry's. I'm a big fan of The Hunger Games, Divergent, and other Lionsgate properties.

If you don't believe me, this is now hanging in my living room.

[rdodolak]

So I scanned a few of my discs, released between 2009-2010, with VSO Inspector and they came back OK.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5 May 2009 / Purchased 27 Jul 2009

Mastering SID Code: LV79
Mould SID Code: KKMJ

For All Mankind
14 Jul 2009 / Purchased 14 Jul 2009 (Good: 100%)

Mastering SID Code: L021
Mould SID Code: 10K7

Gomorrah
24 Nov 2009 / Purchased 16 Nov 2010 (Good: 100%)

Mastering SID Code: L021
Mould SID Code: 10L0

Ride With the Devil
27 Apr 2010 / Purchased 13 Nov 2010 (Good: 100%)

Mastering SID Code: LB42
Mould SID Code: 10K6

The Thin Red Line
28 Sep 2010 / Purchased 13 Nov 2010 (Good: 100%)

Mastering SID Code: L324
Mould SID Code: QWZI


jscoggins, what do you think about adding the Mastering/Mould codes for each title in the OP? This may allow us to determine whether or not more than one plant pressed a given release or whether there was more than one pressing for a given release. Assuming the discs weren't released via the same plant if there was more than one pressing of course.

[Joeyseven]

Hate the merge.
Criterion and Wellgo USA are both going to handle this issue of failing Blu-Ray disc differently.

If you have one of the OOP titles that has failed.Might want to contact CC first.

From neogaf.com forum

They personally told me that they don't have ANY extra copies of the OOP titles, and for those they will have to come up with some other sort of replacement option.

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

Ack! These threads were merged?

[JediFonger]

sorry i just wanted to be sure that i'm not missing out on other titles. so if you guys are sure, i'm sure because i trust you guys

thanks!

Originally Posted by jscoggins

JediFonger, you're trying to reinvent the wheel. Partyslammer already narrowed the date range (linked in my OP). My OP lists everything that has been problematic so far.

The one title that I haven't added yet is Che. Some people are reporting bronzing for either Disc 1 or Disc 2 in their sets, but no one has yet reported outright playback failure.

[octagon]

So when does the thread get locked and the title changed to 'Blu-ray is awesome, just keep buying them'?

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by BigManDeath

Yeah, I don't think merging the threads was a good idea.

FWIW, I just checked all my Criterion and Well Go USA discs. Here is what I found:

SANJURO - slight bronzing around the outer edge, seems to play fine (this is from the YOJIMBO/SANJURO box set)

It would be helpful to know the IFPI numbers. I also have the Yojimbo/Sanjuro set, and my discs have Master SIDs of L324 and L323 respectively (no, I haven't checked for the Mould SID yet). Those are for Sony DADC, which is not the problematic plant.

[jscoggins]

Here's someone's Sanjuro. He has other BDs that look like this.

[Show spoiler]

[MifuneFan]

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by jscoggins

Here's someone's Sanjuro. He has other BDs that look like this.

[Show spoiler]

I'm curious how he's storing his discs given he states his other discs have the same square pattern. That's a first I can recall anyone mentioning a pattern like that rather than the normal bronzing pattern.

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/hd-talk/622...l#post12258654

EDIT: Maybe this has something to do with it.

Originally Posted by Dr. Forrester

It freaked me out, too! I'd played all the discs in the past with no issues and they certainly never looked like that, so it was something of a shock when I pulled them out of their sleeves to see that!

FYI: Here's all three (from R to L: Walkabout, Sanjuro, Wages)

[atlantajoseph]

Ridiculous that these threads were merged. It's hard enough to keep track of the many issues identified for Criterion titles much less adding the noise of titles from an unrelated label.

I wish the mods here would take a little more time to get feedback on a proposed change of this magnitude before just forcing something like this on the user base.

[jayembee]

So...it appears from other sources that Criterion doesn't have copies of the two OOP titles for replacement.

So people who need either or both of those replaced should probably contact Criterion to confirm one way or the other before just sending the discs in.