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

[Spire]

Originally Posted by neo_reloaded

Well I guess I'm saying that I don't believe their guarantee.

Fair enough.

And just to be more on topic for the rest, I do own Paris, Texas. I did just now notice it looks a little darker than other Criterion blu rays, it did work fine though when I watched it maybe 6-8 months ago.

[Thomas Irwin]

Originally Posted by Brad1963

I probably should not have posted In the Realm of the Senses, yes it has a bronze color but it does play. This forum seems to have become a runaway train. It should not be counted as defective at this time.

Yes, but it is good to take note of it. My copy of Walkabout is faintly bronzed and appears to play fine, but apparently some peoples do not.

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by Brent L.

How do you do that exactly?


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

BD-ROM drive + the free software Nero CD-DVD Speed. It scans the entire disc, reading every single block of data, and reports on any unreadable blocks encountered. An unaffected disc should have no unreadable blocks.

[lemonski]

For what it's worth, I have M,Days of Heaven and Wings of Desire from the list someone posted a little earlier, purchased June 2010. All 3 were still factory sealed. Cracking them open, they're all minty.

I'm imagining it's a batch issue? If it was an oxidisation problem with the aluminium layer there's still air inside the case when they're sealed, so it should be theoretically possible for them to have bronzed. Perhaps unsealing them will now accelerate the process.

Anyway, as long as Criterion come out with some sort of statement that they guarantee to replace any of their BD discs if they bronze (esp. OOP stuff like The Third Man), then I'll be happy with that.

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by lemonski

For what it's worth, I have M,Days of Heaven and Wings of Desire from the list someone posted a little earlier, purchased June 2010. All 3 are/were still factory sealed. Cracking them open, they're all minty.

I'm imagining it's a batch issue? If it was an oxidisation problem with the aluminium layer there's still air inside the case when they're sealed, so it should be theoretically possible for them to have bronzed. Perhaps unsealing them will now accelerate the process.

Anyway, as long as Criterion come out with some sort of statement that they guarantee to replace any of their BD discs if they bronze (esp. OOP stuff like The Third Man), then I'll be happy with that.

You kept them new/sealed for 4 years?

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by lemonski

Anyway, as long as Criterion come out with some sort of statement that they guarantee to replace any of their BD discs if they bronze (esp. OOP stuff like The Third Man), then I'll be happy with that.

If they don't own the license for those titles how are they ever going to print fresh discs?

[captveg]

Originally Posted by Partyslammer

This is a list of all Criterion BD releases sorted by release date that cover the release dates spanning the first and last (so far) titles that have shown signs of so-called laser-rot.

I have the following of this group and have checked them on my PS3. Here are my results:

Stagecoach - No bronzing, seemingly loads/plays fine

M - Significant edge browning, does not load

Days of Heaven - No browning, seemingly loads/plays fine

Yojimbo - No browning, seemingly loads/plays fine

Sanjuro - No browning, seemingly loads/plays fine

Lola Montès - No browning, seemingly loads/plays fine

Paris, Texas - No browning, seemingly loads/plays fine

8½ - No browning, seemingly loads/plays fine

Gimme Shelter - No browning, seemingly loads/plays fine

Howards End - Notable edge browning, does not load

Wings of Desire - No browning, seemingly loads/plays fine

Monterey Pop - Notable edge browning, did not load once, loaded another time but could not play first 3 minutes of feature

Jimi Plays Monterey & Shake! Otis at Monterey - No browning, seemingly loads/plays fine

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by Snicket

If they don't own the license for those titles how are they ever going to print fresh discs?

I would hope there are clauses for situations like this, i.e., we can print replacements for pre-existing customers as long as no new sales are made, but I honestly don't know the terms of their licensing deals so that could be entirely out of the question.

There have been no reported issues for any of the original titles (which includes The Third Man, Chungking Express, and The Man Who Fell To Earth), so hopefully those are safe. Pierrot le fou and Howard's End seem to be the OOP titles affected, and neither seems to suffer the problem to as widespread a degree as Summer Hours or M. You might just have to suck it up and buy a new copy on eBay if Criterion isn't able to help with those two OOP titles.

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by captveg

Monterey Pop - Notable edge browning, did not load once, loaded another time but could not play first 3 minutes of feature

Added to the OP.

Also, for Stagecoach, check the Bucking Broadway special feature.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=122

[rdodolak]

If this issue is actually related to a specific plant, assuming there were more than one plant, then the Disc IDs on the inner ring of the disc may help to identify potentially affected discs.

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by jscoggins

You kept them new/sealed for 4 years?

I knew someone was going to grill me on that Believe me, I have sealed discs that are much older

They just went to the bottom of the priority list...Days of Heaven I've seen twice on the big screen since I bought it, Wings of Desire and M on TV...so no great rush...

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by lemonski

I knew someone was going to grill me on that Believe me, I have sealed discs that are much older

They just went to the bottom of the priority list...Days of Heaven I've seen twice on the big screen since I bought it, Wings of Desire and M on TV...so no great rush...

These things happen.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Actually, I own all of the discs mentioned in this thread and this is the reason why I am commenting here. My discs also have discoloration -- various titles -- and they play fine.

So before you start creating mass paranoia it is good to get the facts first. And the facts are that discoloration has been around for quite some time and it does not automatically equate disc rot.

Pro-B

Be sure to check all chapters of each film, also the special features could be affected too.

Also what player are you using to test your blu rays?

[captveg]

Originally Posted by jscoggins

Also, for Stagecoach, check the Bucking Broadway special feature.

Seems fine.

[JackTwist]

So far I can confirm my copy of Walkabout has turned brown and errors out on my blu-ray player. I have a few of the other mentioned discs. They do have slight color variation but do continue to play currently. This could get interesting...

[Canada]

I know that this is off topic, does any one know if there was CD or DVD rot, I know that some disks are effected over time, I'm talking about in less than five years.

[Brian81]

Can there be an additional listing of titles which have showed bronzing on some members' discs but still worked for them? I think it would be useful to have a listing of "potential" rotters...and not just "confirmed" rotters.


I pulled out 'Howards End' and 'Pierrot Le Fou'...both discs don't show visible bronzing. I will watch them in the near future. Of the other titles mentioned in this thread (neither on the confirmed list), I own '8 1/2' and 'M'...however I actually never opened either... I will check them another day, it's late.

[Brian81]

Originally Posted by Canada

I know that this is off topic, does any one know if there was CD or DVD rot, I know that some disks are effected over time, I'm talking about in less than five years.

My HD DVDs started failing around the 5 year mark... 2007 - 2012'ish.



Just a word of advice, if you are ever going through a run of potential bad discs, do them on a cheaper player if you have one. I did my long run of Warner HD DVDs on my trusty XA2, and after tossing so many defective discs at the player with all the error codes and discs locking up, the player eventually died on me. Could have been a coincidence, but I'm sure the stress on the optics is there if the player keeps trying to read the disc unsuccessfully. Example, there were PS2 models that if you used scratched media, the drives would keep trying to read the disc until the laser fried itself.

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by Brian81

Can there be an additional listing of titles which have showed bronzing on some members' discs but still worked for them? I think it would be useful to have a listing of "potential" rotters...and not just "confirmed" rotters.


I pulled out 'Howards End' and 'Pierrot Le Fou'...both discs don't show visible bronzing. I will watch them in the near future. Of the other titles mentioned in this thread (neither on the confirmed list), I own '8 1/2' and 'M'...however I actually never opened either... I will check them another day, it's late.

Well, bronzing is only a possible indication of a disc's demise. Some discs have stopped playing even if they haven't bronzed.

[Brian81]

Originally Posted by jscoggins

Well, bronzing is only a possible indication of a disc's demise. Some discs have stopped playing even if they haven't bronzed.

Yeah, that's why I'm going to have to play test these. All I know is that if there's evidence of bronzing, I might as well prepare for obtaining replacements in the future.