Disappointed in Blu Ray durability

[JenniferinFL]

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I thought that Blurays were supposed to be more durable than DVD's and that was one of their selling points. I've been buying up pretty much every single Disney Blu-Ray as they are released.

Now, I have a three year old and the movies get rewatched. Finding Nemo now skips horribly, it has been watched around 15 times. I've been the only one to handle the disc, it looks flawless, but it skips. Bought a new blu ray player in case that was the issue, but the disc still skips. Tangled only made it through 4 viewings before beginning to regularly skip.

I don't understand this. The DVD's I own still work just fine. They skip if they have scratches or fingerprints, they don't skip when they aren't scratched. What in the world is going on with my Blu ray collection?

Are they only supposed to last a few viewings? It makes me regret buying them in Bluray format, should have just bought digital even though the quality would be lower.

[CouncilSpectre]

Think you've just been unlucky. I've never had a BD stick or skip. Yet, touch wood....

DVDs on the other hand, particularly earlier in the generation, were prone to sticking/skipping, even on new discs in some instances.

[MifuneFan]

That's certainly not typical. Blu-rays are much more scratch resistant than DVD's, but I believe are more brittle too. Where are you storing your discs? I've heard a few instances of too much humidity leading to "disc rot"

I would contact Disney and see if they'd be willing to offer you replacement discs for the damaged ones. They should be able to replace them, but there might be a small fee included.

[wormraper]

when you bought a new blu-ray player did you get the same model? or similar? try updating the firmware

[rdodolak]

Have you tried wiping the surface of the disc to see if it resolves the issue? Just take a wet cloth to the disc or run it under water and then dry the disc off.

Due to the smaller pit size of the data tracks combined with the fact that the data layer is closer to the disc surface Blu-rays are more sensitive to dust and dirt.

[Impossible]

Maybe you shouldn't eat your dinner off them?

[Cortiz]

This happened to me at least once with Sleepy Hollow BD. Bought the disc when it first came out in 2007 and watched it a few times without any issues. Last year though, it would not play any longer, on any BD machines I tried including the mighty PS3. I bought a new BD copy and viola! it played fine. So yes, my original Sleepy Hollow went bad.......I never had this happen to me on any DVD's though.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

Have you tried wiping the surface of the disc to see if it resolves the issue? Just take a wet cloth to the disc or run it under water and then dry the disc off.

I have no idea if it works the same with BD's, but whenever I had any skips on my DVD's, and noticed very fine scratches, I was able to solve it by covering the bottom with white toothpaste, and then cleaning that off under water.

[JeffTheMovieGuy]

My Halloween 2 skipped at the climax of the film skipping to the very end. I just rewound it then played it back a couple times. It did the job.

[The Edge]

Originally Posted by JenniferinFL

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I thought that Blurays were supposed to be more durable than DVD's and that was one of their selling points. I've been buying up pretty much every single Disney Blu-Ray as they are released.

Now, I have a three year old and the movies get rewatched. Finding Nemo now skips horribly, it has been watched around 15 times. I've been the only one to handle the disc, it looks flawless, but it skips. Bought a new blu ray player in case that was the issue, but the disc still skips. Tangled only made it through 4 viewings before beginning to regularly skip.

I don't understand this. The DVD's I own still work just fine. They skip if they have scratches or fingerprints, they don't skip when they aren't scratched. What in the world is going on with my Blu ray collection?

Are they only supposed to last a few viewings? It makes me regret buying them in Bluray format, should have just bought digital even though the quality would be lower.

Question: Do you let your kid touch them or the player?

Edit: Oops, just re-read the question, but I am one to treat the discs as though they are precious and should be handled as such. I believe they should be handled very carefully, even if they are a little more durable than a DVD.

Could it be the player?

[The Edge]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

Have you tried wiping the surface of the disc to see if it resolves the issue? Just take a wet cloth to the disc or run it under water and then dry the disc off.

Due to the smaller pit size of the data tracks combined with the fact that the data layer is closer to the disc surface Blu-rays are more sensitive to dust and dirt.

Sometimes I'll use Dawn dish soap, lukewarm water, and a soft cloth.

[Shagadelic]

check over the outer edge of the disk for a chip or ding.
blu-rays are tougher than DvD, but not as flexible too.

[Geoff D]

Funny thing about Blu-rays, they can look pristine but *very* close inspection under direct light might yield a little scratch or mark. As tough as they're supposed to be, IIRC the data is closer to the surface than on a DVD so even a tiny little nick can do more damage than people might think.

I had a copy of Hunger Games which skipped every time at a certain spot. I kept looking at the disc, running over the surface with a cloth etc etc, couldn't see anything until one day I noticed a teeny tiny blemish. It cut deep enough for me to be able feel the deviation on the disc's surface if I ran my fingernail over it, and that was it: disc went in the bin, bought a new one, worked fine.

[bladerunner1]

Hmmm, the truth is I have never watched any BD 4 times, let alone 15. I don't think i can comment other than saying I have never had a disc not play in the PS3's. I have purchased used discs and scrubbed them pretty hard and they worked fine. This is a unusual problem. Maybe heat or moisture related I dunno..

[noddinoff]

Originally Posted by bladerunner1

Hmmm, the truth is I have never watched any BD 4 times, let alone 15. I don't think i can comment other than saying I have never had a disc not play in the PS3's. I have purchased used discs and scrubbed them pretty hard and they worked fine. This is a unusual problem. Maybe heat or moisture related I dunno..

Why collect physical media if you will never rewatch it? Are you one of those people who collect it to show off and thats the only reason? I don't think I own one blu ray that I haven't watched at least 4 times because uhhh thats the entire point.

[erlinmeyer]

Originally Posted by noddinoff

Why collect physical media if you will never rewatch it? Are you one of those people who collect it to show off and thats the only reason? I don't think I own one blu ray that I haven't watched at least 4 times because uhhh thats the entire point.

watched many more than 4 times, but having over 1500 I'd say over 1000 of them have only been viewed once by me....only so much time on this earth

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by noddinoff

Why collect physical media if you will never rewatch it? Are you one of those people who collect it to show off and thats the only reason? I don't think I own one blu ray that I haven't watched at least 4 times because uhhh thats the entire point.

Not speaking for bladerunner1 but it might not be about collecting; he never stated he never re-watched a movie but that he never rewatched a particular BD 4 times. I could see if the price is right and it's cheaper than going to the theater or a rental viewing then why not purchase the Blu-ray? Once you've viewed it once your cost per viewing goes down with each subsequent viewing and you have it in your library in the event you, or someone else, wanted to watch it again at some point in the future. To each his own.

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by JenniferinFL

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I thought that Blurays were supposed to be more durable than DVD's and that was one of their selling points. I've been buying up pretty much every single Disney Blu-Ray as they are released.

Now, I have a three year old and the movies get rewatched. Finding Nemo now skips horribly, it has been watched around 15 times. I've been the only one to handle the disc, it looks flawless, but it skips. Bought a new blu ray player in case that was the issue, but the disc still skips. Tangled only made it through 4 viewings before beginning to regularly skip.

I don't understand this. The DVD's I own still work just fine. They skip if they have scratches or fingerprints, they don't skip when they aren't scratched. What in the world is going on with my Blu ray collection?

Are they only supposed to last a few viewings? It makes me regret buying them in Bluray format, should have just bought digital even though the quality would be lower.

I own over 1500 and most have been watched more than once. I have never experienced those issues.

[I KEEL YOU]

The only time I've ever had anything that resembles those problems is with my Casino blu ray that skips a split second at a specific point, not really distracting. It did that the first time so it was obviously a manufacturing fault.

If you take care of your discs like you're implying, then maybe your discs are exposed to humidity or heat or sunlight without you noticing. Other than that, I don't know what the problem could be.

[rdodolak]

At the moment there's just too many variables to determine what the issue is with Jennifer's Blu-rays. Many things can affect the playability of the discs such as dirt and grime, smoke, Blu-ray player quality (lens and mechanism), or how the discs are stored (original case or binders, etc.).