Universal to release "flipper combos" on Blu-ray

[Hep]

Count me in with those who will not be supporting BD flipper discs. I dislike the idea for most of the reasons mentioned, including the inability to use the DVD as a disc for my daughter while protecting my BDs separately.

Apart from that, I have another very specific (and functional) reason for being unable to support the format: my Sony BD changer. In the DVD days, the only discs I wasn't able to load/play in my DVD changer were DVD flipper discs; they are thicker than a regular disc and create havoc with the mechanism. Thankfully, with DVD it was a simple matter of burning the disc onto a DVD-R and loading those in the player. That solution is not available/practical with BD, and therefore I will not be able to support this format.

It will be really hard to resist if I love the movie, but I will get by with renting the disc and playing in the PS3. If Universal is reading these threads, you can put another tick in the lost customer box.

[TM2-Megatron]

Terrible concept; I like having disc art on my movies, and I wouldn't buy a flipper disc like this. I hated double-sided DVDs for the same reason, and only ever bought a few (ironically, most are part of the Universal Legacy Collection classic horror movies).

As others have said, they should do what Disney does and just throw in disc 1 of the equivalent DVD release. That's the only right way to do this, short of finding a way to squeeze DVD layers into the existing structure of a 50GB BD and somehow make the bloody thing readable to DVD players.

[P@t_Mtl]

I never like the flipper disc and if a movie was release as such on BD then I won't be buying it.

[AKORIS]

I will not buy any Universal blus either-- this is much different that complaining about digi-books or packaging-- it's a change that has a good
chance of faulty discs-- I can't take that chance (especially since it can take me so long to watch a movie-- if it's defective it ,may be too late to exchange it!) on top of that I don't have the time to view movies several times until I get a good copy (like the old laserdisc days)

[TM2-Megatron]

I'm not sure quality control is that big an issue... of the double-sided DVDs I've had, I've never actually had a technical issue with any of them.

It's mainly the aesthetics that concern me, and that's enough to get me not to buy any of Universal's flippers. It's just a silly, outdated concept by this point.

[Clark Kent]

Universal's quality control is awful. Their double-sided dvds were so bad that entire runs were damaged. The problem is they know the risks and are going ahead with these combos anyway. I doubt they will pull back from this disastrous decision, irrespective of consumer sentiment. As consumers, the only power we have is to not purchase them, which I plan on doing. I can live without Universal's mediocre catalog titles for the foreseeable future.

[TM2-Megatron]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

Universal's quality control is awful. Their double-sided dvds were so bad that entire runs were damaged.

That might be true; I can't say from personal experience, though. I've taken another look at my DVD shelves, and there are very few Universal titles. I do have all the Legacy Collection horror sets (Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, Invisible Man, and Creature from the Black Lagoon) and several of those do feature double-sided discs since so many movies are included in each set (the originals and most of the sequels). I love those sets, though, and none have any quality issues. My only other Universal DVDs are two Gladiator sets (2-disc Signature and 3-disc Extended) and Monty Python's the Meaning of Life (which, as I recall, I did need to get a replacement disc for due to some issue).

[kk725]

The individual Bourne "flipper" BDs are up for pre-order on Amazon:

The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremacy
The Bourne Ultimatum

At $19.99 a pop, not really that overpriced like some had guessed.

[Afrobean]

Originally Posted by kk725

The individual Bourne "flipper" BDs are up for pre-order on Amazon:

The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremacy
The Bourne Ultimatum

At $19.99 a pop, not really that overpriced like some had guessed.

The point is to appeal to the DVD consumer though. They're a LITTLE overpriced for Blu-ray, but they're WAY overpriced for a DVD. If the DVD of Bourne Identity is 11 bucks (which it is from Amazon), that's about what this edition needs to be to be purposeful.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by kk725

The individual Bourne "flipper" BDs are up for pre-order on Amazon:

The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremacy
The Bourne Ultimatum

At $19.99 a pop, not really that overpriced like some had guessed.

To think I thought I was finally going to be able to get Bourne Ultimatum on Blu-Ray, guess I'll just wait for a normal release. I think these WILL appeal to DVD collectors, as long as they don't already have the films on DVD.

[greatfoxmusic]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

Universal's quality control is awful. Their double-sided dvds were so bad that entire runs were damaged. The problem is they know the risks and are going ahead with these combos anyway. I doubt they will pull back from this disastrous decision, irrespective of consumer sentiment. As consumers, the only power we have is to not purchase them, which I plan on doing. I can live without Universal's mediocre catalog titles for the foreseeable future.

I remember those flipper DVDs with the 4 layers on them having lots of problems. Like the Miami Vice season sets and the Dune movie. It's too much on one disc and there's too much to go wrong. Universal movies are the worst for QC for sure, I think they're all made in Mexico. Remember the disc rot on their early DVDs like U-571 and Pitch Black?

[cdot2four]

What type of case will they come in DVD or Bluray? We will have the option to buy both versions the flipper and the regular Bluray right? I pray that's the case cause I won't buy a flipper

[SymbioticFunction]

What an awful idea. I do not want this. I will not buy this.

[BJMRamage]

Yuck.

I hated the CD/DVD combos. I hated the 2-sided DVDs that had widescreen on one side and full frame on the other. I don't like the tiny inner ring printing. I don't like chancing fingerprints. I like the Disc Art. I do not like them sam i am.

[seigneur_rayden]

Originally Posted by BJMRamage

Yuck.

I hated the CD/DVD combos. I hated the 2-sided DVDs that had widescreen on one side and full frame on the other. I don't like the tiny inner ring printing. I don't like chancing fingerprints. I like the Disc Art. I do not like them sam i am.

I agree. It was always hard to tell which side to put for the widescreen version.

I will not buy any flipper discs.

[styl3s]

instead of flipper disc why don't they just put a SDVD w/ DD as disc 2? literally every blu-ray that comes out has a disc with digital download.. so why not just make it SDVD w/ DD?

i will boycott every single flip disc, i will not tolerate this bull****

[OrlandoEastwood]

I am honestly going to try to avoid these at all costs. I just hope Smokin' Aces Blu-ray isn't a flipper.

[OpFeRmEtZgER]

flippers suck!
i will avoid flipper releases!

[GGX]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I never like the flipper disc and if a movie was release as such on BD then I won't be buying it.

This is exactly how I was with HD DVD and how it will continue for me on Blu-ray.

[marzetta7]

Flipper discs suck...the sweat off a smelly goat sack. Nuff said.