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

[AlucardDracula]

I have the two punisher release and the two rob zombie films no disc rot play perfect no skips

[glennstl]

My Criterion discs of 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes ( both Alfred Hitchcock) no longer play. I discovered this over a month ago. I have emailed Criterion 3 times in the past month and gotten zero replies about replacing the discs.

I have been a huge supporter of Criterion... and I don’t understand why I’ve heard nothing back after over a month.

I’m at the point where I probably won’t be giving them much more of my money in the future.

[AlucardDracula]

Originally Posted by glennstl

My Criterion discs of 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes ( both Alfred Hitchcock) no longer play. I discovered this over a month ago. I have emailed Criterion 3 times in the past month and gotten zero replies about replacing the discs.

I have been a huge supporter of Criterion... and I don’t understand why I’ve heard nothing back after over a month.

I’m at the point where I probably won’t be giving them much more of my money in the future.

My guess is cause of COVID and the usps situation

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by glennstl

My Criterion discs of 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes ( both Alfred Hitchcock) no longer play. I discovered this over a month ago. I have emailed Criterion 3 times in the past month and gotten zero replies about replacing the discs.

I have been a huge supporter of Criterion... and I don’t understand why I’ve heard nothing back after over a month.

I’m at the point where I probably won’t be giving them much more of my money in the future.

They can take awhile to respond. Be patient. You also should mail directly to Jon Mulvaney (mulvaney@criterion.com). I emailed him on 4/28 about a disc that got damaged in shipment, along with asking him about a couple of old titles that I needed replacement for, one because of play failure (Kagemusha) and one because of an encoding issue (White). I followed up the email on 5/26, and eventually got a reply on 6/17.

[eddyw78]

Just gave my copy of Gone With The Wind a spin (last time was 2017) and it skips and jumps at regular intervals.

[surfinhank]

My copy of Flags of Our Fathers has gone bad. I don't see any bronzing, but starting around 1:10:00 or so it just freezes (chapter 14). If I restart the disc and jump to chapter 16 from the main menu it plays ok to the end, so it's just those 10 minutes or so that no longer play.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by surfinhank

My copy of Flags of Our Fathers has gone bad. I don't see any bronzing, but starting around 1:10:00 or so it just freezes (chapter 14). If I restart the disc and jump to chapter 16 from the main menu it plays ok to the end, so it's just those 10 minutes or so that no longer play.

I am happy to report that my copy of The Flags Of Our Fathers played fine.

As this is a Paramount disc, you can write to Paramount at PHE_CustomerService@paramount.com and request a replacement just be aware that their response time takes about 2-3 weeks due to the pandemic.

Explain the problem, include a picture/ or a receipt or something to show that you own the blu-ray, and they may send you a free replacement.

[houseca]

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but i know early Fox titles have... for those looking for a copy of Speed, I got a disc that was completely bronzed and unplayable. Thankfully Bull Moose quickly sent a replacement. The issue is with the 1st release:

[Torrente]

"Funny", I had the issue with the european/french original release too.

[mande2013]

Originally Posted by JurassicBD

A firmware update might fix it, if available. But, most manufacturers are slow with updates these days, and often don't support older players no longer in production at all. Not to mention updates that fix new issues, sometimes cause problems with older discs.

I have exactly the latter issue when trying to watch my Criterion Red Desert blu-ray on my computer with MacGo Blu-ray Player. There are no issues when playing it with a set-top box blu-ray player, however. In the former scenario there are problems displaying the menu, but the feature playback is fine. Basically, when it brings up the Resume Playing screen it will skip right past the menu straight to the feature after you've selected 'No'.

[JurassicBD]

Originally Posted by mande2013

I have exactly the latter issue when trying to watch my Criterion Red Desert blu-ray on my computer with MacGo Blu-ray Player. There are no issues when playing it with a set-top box blu-ray player, however. In the former scenario there are problems displaying the menu, but the feature playback is fine. Basically, when it brings up the Resume Playing screen it will skip right past the menu straight to the feature after you've selected 'No'.

All bets are off with computer software. There are too many variables for producers to test their product to ensure compatibility. Computer software is likely even less reliable than a PS4.

[Underworld54]

Aren't these discs supposed to last 60+ years?

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Underworld54

Aren't these discs supposed to last 60+ years?

The problem here isn't the longevity of the format, it's the lack of QC at the replicating plants.

[surfinhank]

Found another bad disc: The Cowboys from Warner Brothers. It's bronzing, I tried playing it anyway but it freezes right around the 2 hour mark.

[jdw89]

When a disc has bronzing what exactly does that look like?

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by surfinhank

Found another bad disc: The Cowboys from Warner Brothers. It's bronzing, I tried playing it anyway but it freezes right around the 2 hour mark.

What is the mould code for this disc? (please see the very first post of this thread for a picture and explanation if you are unfamiliar).

Originally Posted by jdw89

When a disc has bronzing what exactly does that look like?

The bottom of the disc literally starts to look bronze or golden.

Google Image Search results for Blu-ray bronzing

[jdw89]

Originally Posted by neo_reloaded

What is the mould code for this disc? (please see the very first post of this thread for a picture and explanation if you are unfamiliar).



The bottom of the disc literally starts to look bronze or golden.

Google Image Search results for Blu-ray bronzing

It looks like it does it more towards the edge of the disc not really the entire disc itself. Are there any major discs that are affected?

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by jdw89

It looks like it does it more towards the edge of the disc not really the entire disc itself. Are there any major discs that are affected?

It's a progressive failure - it seems like it normally starts at the edge and then grows inward, eventually making the whole disc bronze.

As for major discs that are affected, that is what this thread is about. I've tried to keep the first post semi-updated, so that's a good starting point.

[darkness2918]

Although I haven’t had a chance to test them yet, the BDs in my Blade Runner 5 disc ultimate set appear to be bronzing. I’ll have to run through them when I can to see if they still work.

[BluProofie]

Originally Posted by darkness2918

Although I haven’t had a chance to test them yet, the BDs in my Blade Runner 5 disc ultimate set appear to be bronzing. I’ll have to run through them when I can to see if they still work.

They should still work. Mine have looked like that for awhile and play fine.