Do you obsess about slight scratches on Blu-ray discs?

[joonskeezle]

Originally Posted by MrGarmonbozia

This was actually a replacement disc sent by Criterion (which they claimed to have inspected before shipment) for a previous scratched disc in the Once Upon a Time in China set.

Criterion's quality control is notoriously bad nowadays. Maybe the highest percentage of scratched discs I get are for Criterion releases.

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I recently received the UHD of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania with several scratches that affected playback. Luckily, DMC shipped me a replacement immediately at no cost.

DMC = a godsend when it comes to disc replacements. You get 5 free replacements per year. I discovered that a few of my 4Ks were scratched and they sent me new sets. I only needed the 4k discs replaced, but got a sealed copy of A New Hope and ESB. Great customer service.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by sfmarine

DMC = a godsend when it comes to disc replacements. You get 5 free replacements per year. I discovered that a few of my 4Ks were scratched and they sent me new sets. I only needed the 4k discs replaced, but got a sealed copy of A New Hope and ESB. Great customer service.

Agreed. Their prompt and appropriate customer service and comparable prices is why I have kept them. I did recently ditch Disney + though.

[D00mM4r1n3]

If I get a disc that has light scratches I'll try backing it up to digital first, if it fails to rip then I'll send it back, anything with deep scratches goes back by default. Ran into 2 Disney 4K's with light scratches that would fail due to them stacking their 4K on another disc. Sadly, I think they still do this.

I don't buy anything used in thrift shops or garage sales that have any scratches at all, too great of a risk that it can't be returned if it doesn't work.

[Moviefan2k4]

As long as the scratches don't affect the playability of the disc, I have no problem with them. Even the uttermost care will result in some slight scratches over time.

[GeoffOliver]

My director’s cut disc of Army of Darkness (Scream Factory) had a rather long scratch, but the disc never skipped when I viewed the entire film on two different players with no fast forwarding (once with the commentary). None of the extras skipped either. Maybe I shouldn’t be so OCD about these scratches. I’ve only encountered two discs that were ruined by them.

[everygrainofsand]

Originally Posted by joonskeezle

My primary blu ray player has only ever been a video game console (which some in this forum might find alarming, tbh.) ...

And I worried about those at the beginning. I hated the idea of something inside the player "grabbing" the disc and dragging it in or shoving it out.

But over all those years, I never once found any evidence that they were causing even the tiniest bit of damage to discs.

Agreed. I've used a PS3, PS4 and - now - PS5 for some 15ish years - and never once observed a single scratch/damage caused by the respective machine to a disc.

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

My director’s cut disc of Army of Darkness (Scream Factory) had a rather long scratch, but the disc never skipped when I viewed the entire film on two different players with no fast forwarding (once with the commentary). None of the extras skipped either. Maybe I shouldn’t be so OCD about these scratches. I’ve only encountered two discs that were ruined by them.

It still bothers me but I’m beginning to ease up on the OCD even though it drives me nuts that a brand new product is scratched. At this point, I feel like I should not view the bottom of the disc.

That’s how this all started tbh. I never looked at my discs but then I ran into problems here and there and now that we’ve learned about the plant in Mexico I’ve been checking more. It’s frustrating.

A scratched disc could play perfectly fine in your current player but who knows how it will act in a different one. It’s also super time consuming to watch the disc in multiple players, etc. in the end, the replacement is the quickest solution. Otherwise if you wait…you’ll be out of the return window.

[MrGarmonbozia]

Originally Posted by sfmarine

A scratched disc could play perfectly fine in your current player but who knows how it will act in a different one. It’s also super time consuming to watch the disc in multiple players, etc. in the end, the replacement is the quickest solution. Otherwise if you wait…you’ll be out of the return window.

Though some companies seem better than others in replacements after the fact. My Criterion Barry Lyndon was still in plastic wrap for about two years before I popped it up last November and it froze about 20min. Turned it around and saw the scratch mess.

Criterion replaced it despite the time in when I purchased it off Amazon. Thankfully, the screencap of the order page was enough for them.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by D00mM4r1n3

If I get a disc that has light scratches I'll try backing it up to digital first, if it fails to rip then I'll send it back, anything with deep scratches goes back by default. Ran into 2 Disney 4K's with light scratches that would fail due to them stacking their 4K on another disc. Sadly, I think they still do this.

I don't buy anything used in thrift shops or garage sales that have any scratches at all, too great of a risk that it can't be returned if it doesn't work.

Yep, that's what I do. If there are read errors when backing up a brand new disc then I know it's over.

[Member-839946]

Another vote for the "back it up as soon as you receive it" method.

Often, the error correction used can overcome a scratch or dirt, but so much depends on how deep the scratch is and especially the orientation of the scratch (center to edge is better than along a groove).

But I've also had discs that appeared pristine fail to scan. Even when looked at with ideal lighting and a 4x magnifier hood no defects stood out. The disc just wouldn't play.

Point being, a visual inspection is better than nothing, but the only way to know FOR SURE if you have a good disc is to read every single byte and compare the checksum of what was read against the list of checksums stored on the disc.

Something to keep in mind about a scratched disc "playing fine"....

Each and every scratch has a high probability of obscuring at least some data. Best case, the player can use the error correction (it's not just detection, it can actually replace some small amount of lost data around the omission) to recreate the bits hidden by the scratch. Beyond that, players can do stuff humans mostly won't notice.. repeat a frame, interpolate a frame, skip a frame, etc. The data is gone, but maybe the User will never notice. Maybe.

You don't have to actually -save- the backup. Just passing each disc through a backup program upon receipt can go a loooooong way toward ensuring the integrity of a media library that might cost $$$. It only takes a moment to pop the disc in the drive and start the program. Walk away until done. Peace of mind is only a button press away.

[RevolverOcelScott]

Do I obsess about Slight Scratches...

Yes. A new product should be recieved new. While the scratch might not effect playback now, that scratch will never "get better" over time. In fact, with temperature fluctuations, humidity, etc, I could foresee existing scratches only getting worse.

If they are the faintest "You really have to look for it" scratches and the disc plays fine, I keep it. Any scratches that are easily seen upon quick inspection go back. I have a backlog of movies, so I can't really sit and watch every single movie I buy within the return window.

At the end of the day, a new product should arrive new. I don't even see it as being a debate. One might say they personally don't care about them, and that's fine, but it doesn't negate the fact that the product is damaged and potentially an issue in the future.

[MrGarmonbozia]

Originally Posted by RevolverOcelScott

At the end of the day, a new product should arrive new. I don't even see it as being a debate.

As I said in the other scratch thread, I find it interesting that some around these parts will lament to no end about not getting a slipcover but be more "meh" about NEW product arriving with damage on it.

But, you know, to each their own.

[BigStef71]

So update about Tombstone Sonly told me to contact Disney since that's a Disney title which is odd because Sony manufacturers their discs now but whatever so I contacted Disney and they said unfortunately the item is sold out lol. Guess I'll be waiting until a standard 4k is released to exchange my damaged copy. I know it shouldn't matter if it works but still there's no guarantee it would work in the future with how bad the scratches are.

[meremortal]

Formats like CD and DVD are generally pretty robust when it comes to scratches. The problem with them is no matter how clean of a cloth, even a brand new microfiber using straight line technique from the center out, it seems to add scratches every time. But with blus even with imperfect technique the discs are quite forgiving in that regard and it's worry-free cleaning.

If a disc arrives to you scratch-free, it's pretty easy to keep them that way. It's frustrating how many used discs have scratches considering it can take a little effort to cause them. But the problem with blu and uhd is even a very small scratch can cause major issues. I've played several blus recently that skipped multiple times from tiny scratches and it's so annoying. Some will jam up completely and default back to the player's menu screen.

So I guess it's okay to be a tad nervous when buying sight unseen for blu and uhd. I rarely encounter DVDs badly scratched to the point of any playback issues but the frequency is increasing for small blu/uhd scratches to be a menace.

[sherlockjr]

Originally Posted by BigStef71

So update about Tombstone Sonly told me to contact Disney since that's a Disney title which is odd because Sony manufacturers their discs now but whatever so I contacted Disney and they said unfortunately the item is sold out lol. Guess I'll be waiting until a standard 4k is released to exchange my damaged copy. I know it shouldn't matter if it works but still there's no guarantee it would work in the future with how bad the scratches are.

I don't believe Sony manufactures the disks. Sony's the the disk distributor for Disney, not the manufacturer.

Pretty sure the disks are made in the same facility in Guadalajara that makes almost all North American manufactured disks.

[Rottweiler30]

Never check the discs unless they skip on playback. Ignorance is bliss with things like this.

[meremortal]

Bought a hundred tarifold sleeves and I filled them with more casual dvds. Their blu sleeves oddly cost twice as much and so I haven't bought any yet but would probably get more of the dvd ones. I also bought a bunch of cheap windowless paper sleeves to place each disc and it's housed within the artwork so hopefully the discs do not have problems from storing in the sleeves.

I've tested taking the dvds out of the paper sleeves and they can leave some small scratches if you aren't careful which is somewhat annoying. But I am just going to chalk it up to admission for saving storage space. The regular cases will be used for favorites, out of print stuff, boutique labels, etc. It just seems like the wise thing to do for more casual releases on dvd. I should probably even use sleeves for a lot of blus.

Aside from the added sleeve price, even small scratches on the blus can cause playback issues and so I'm more nervous. Perhaps I should invest in some better quality paper sleeves for them with some felt type lining. I got the absolute cheapest paper ones I could find since it was a great deal to buy hundreds at a time.

[PallasCat]

I have been lucky and never noticed any scratches on the discs I have bought and I've bought used for about a quarter of my collection. That said, I've had one disc that would not play saying 'the content was not compatible'. I always unwrap my BDs straight away and skip around a few chapters to make sure it's not a dud.

[stigdu]

No.