Older Lionsgate Titles Won't Play Anymore?

[rjg77vett]

Originally Posted by Jason One

I just discovered my original Total Recall disc from 2006 is defective now. It takes longer than usual to load, and it skips pretty badly in certain spots.

My original Terminator 2 still seems okay.

Just discovered my Total Recall BD will not play in either of my BD players. Checked my other nine LGs and they play fine. Same thing happened in 2013 (post on page 5, john757), LG was receptive to the problem, and gave me replacements for Basic Instinct and Devils Rejects which still work fine.

No such luck this time. LG's Vivian on 877 230 2756 said the expected, no replacement program for Total Recall, and also it was too old (2008 purchase - hey, that's only 9 years old! lol). Anyway, looks like I'll spring for a new disc on Amazon for $9 or $11 depending on the cover, etc.

[Trace Buster Buster]

My PS3 and PS4 both refused to play my Evil Dead II disc. Looked at the disc and it looks fine. Wiped it off with a microfiber cloth and still wouldn't play. It's a 2011 Lionsgate release.

[Trekkie313]

Originally Posted by Trace Buster Buster

My PS3 and PS4 both refused to play my Evil Dead II disc. Looked at the disc and it looks fine. Wiped it off with a microfiber cloth and still wouldn't play. It's a 2011 Lionsgate release.

Luckily the current version is dirt cheap. Still unacceptable though!

[Trace Buster Buster]

I broke down and bought the Evil Dead I and II combo pack for 10 bucks. Didn't own the first Evil Dead so it's not a total loss. Still worries me that I probably have some titles that won't play at some point in the near future.

[John-kimball44]

Originally Posted by Trace Buster Buster

I broke down and bought the Evil Dead I and II combo pack for 10 bucks. Didn't own the first Evil Dead so it's not a total loss. Still worries me that I probably have some titles that won't play at some point in the near future.

is the newer version you bought the same lionsgate version or has different artwork on discs? can post comparison of old disc and new working disc?

Many Thx

[Trace Buster Buster]

I ordered it off of amazon so I don't have it yet. When I get in the mail I'll take a look.

[Trace Buster Buster]

So to follow up, Evil Dead II appears to be the same exact disc as the 25th anniversary version. Same artwork and everything. Evil Dead is the same as the previous release only without the special features dvd (so no special features other than the commentary).

[Torpedo Penguin]

I discovered that my Total Recall will not play anymore. I tried it in a new 4K Sony player, a PS4, a PS3 and my PC which is equipped with a LG blu-ray drive. I have an awful sinking suspicion (conspiracy theory) that since all blu-ray players have network access, perhaps companies are issuing stop codes when certain discs are put into machines for force us to buy newer versions. Remember the failed Divx discs? I also recently put in my DVD copy of Blues Brothers (which is in flawless condition) and it also would not play on ANY of half a dozen players. I haven't done it yet, but I have some 20 year old DVD players that have never been touched by the internet. It'll be interesting to see if Blues Brothers plays on one of those players but not a modern network-based machine.

[Mr. Joshua]

Streaming is the way... Discs are dying and those that think oh physical media I can watch the movie anytime well guess what the studios can control your physical media too wake up... They are watching everything you do...

[thepiecesfit]

Originally Posted by Mr. Joshua

Streaming is the way... Discs are dying and those that think oh physical media I can watch the movie anytime well guess what the studios can control your physical media too wake up... They are watching everything you do...

Streaming might be the way, but until the bit rates cross 15Mbps and we have lossless audio it will always be inferior. Those of us that have higher end speakers and subwoofers want to hear the full dynamic range in a film. All that is crippled with streaming.

[Mr. Joshua]

Originally Posted by Torpedo Penguin

I discovered that my Total Recall will not play anymore. I tried it in a new 4K Sony player, a PS4, a PS3 and my PC which is equipped with a LG blu-ray drive. I have an awful sinking suspicion (conspiracy theory) that since all blu-ray players have network access, perhaps companies are issuing stop codes when certain discs are put into machines for force us to buy newer versions. Remember the failed Divx discs? I also recently put in my DVD copy of Blues Brothers (which is in flawless condition) and it also would not play on ANY of half a dozen players. I haven't done it yet, but I have some 20 year old DVD players that have never been touched by the internet. It'll be interesting to see if Blues Brothers plays on one of those players but not a modern network-based machine.

Total Recall is coming out on 4K Blu-ray sometime in 2020... Time to upgrade!

[clifford finch]

Originally Posted by Torpedo Penguin

I discovered that my Total Recall will not play anymore. I tried it in a new 4K Sony player, a PS4, a PS3 and my PC which is equipped with a LG blu-ray drive. I have an awful sinking suspicion (conspiracy theory) that since all blu-ray players have network access, perhaps companies are issuing stop codes when certain discs are put into machines for force us to buy newer versions. Remember the failed Divx discs? I also recently put in my DVD copy of Blues Brothers (which is in flawless condition) and it also would not play on ANY of half a dozen players. I haven't done it yet, but I have some 20 year old DVD players that have never been touched by the internet. It'll be interesting to see if Blues Brothers plays on one of those players but not a modern network-based machine.

Time to break out the tin-foil

[Bluyoda]

Really crushed that my copy The Monster Squad no longer works. I think it's their responsibility to make up for that, as products should not fail like this.
I haven't even checked Total Recall, and others yet.
Scary stuff.

[JurassicBD]

Originally Posted by Mr. Joshua

Streaming is the way... Discs are dying and those that think oh physical media I can watch the movie anytime well guess what the studios can control your physical media too wake up... They are watching everything you do...

Not legally, unlike digital distribution, which the consumer has absolutely no legal rights to whatsoever. So says the US Supreme Court. And Hollywood has historically been very vocal about how little they think of consumer ownership of their properties. This industry has always preferred a PPV model. DVD was just way too profitable to pass up, though several majors tried.

But the internet has finally made the distribution model corporate Hollywood prefers viable. And Hollywood didn't become the billion dollar industry it is by being stupid. They've learned their lessons of how to manipulate the market without getting caught. After decades of the courts siding in favor of consumers, the industry has been systematically returning the market to the PPV model that it prefers. Exploiting a wide-open field of inexperienced, not to mention less scrupulous internet journalism, while almost as aggressively diminishing the desirability of physical alternatives for all but the more scrupulous collector. For now they're still content with letting us have our cake, those of us willing to wait a little longer, pay a little more, and sacrifice some amenities, as the collector market is still too profitable for them to shun. But they are not in any way interested in growing the physical market for future generations that didn't grow up during the collector era.

Any presumption that the current state of digital distribution is anything other than transient, is literally delusional. Anyone who has significantly invested in digital can not afford that kind of bury your head in the sand mentality. It would be naïve to assume it will last, considering the overwhelming history of this industry. Some insiders (you know, people who actually work in and about Hollywood), have even termed what's going on as a deliberate, plotted "sabotage" of the collector market. It's a monumentally bigger gamble to assume we might have indefinite access to digital files than to physical discs. And there are countless court rulings to prove it.

Despite my avatar, I've never been arbitrarily against digital distribution. It's nothing so shallow as that. I have plenty of friends and family who find it more convenient than going to Redbox. But they were all, without exception, chiefly renters during the dvd era with collections of maybe 50 dvds max, most far less. And the only reason they ever fork out for an overpriced download even today is because it's cheaper than treating a family of 4-6 to the cinema where they live. I don't find the concept of digital itself offensive. It's certainly practical, at least for the time being, maybe even an evolutionary necessity for the rental market. Still, it's a little disheartening, watching an industry that I worked about and reported on for so long, meticulously, and so deceptively abandon the thriving collector market that they so aggressively helped build for over a decade, while preying on a general consumer ignorance of a pop-culture industry that seems too trivial, if not innocent to them, to raise an eyebrow, even when it's so obvious.

[JurassicBD]

Originally Posted by Torpedo Penguin

I discovered that my Total Recall will not play anymore. I tried it in a new 4K Sony player, a PS4, a PS3 and my PC which is equipped with a LG blu-ray drive. I have an awful sinking suspicion (conspiracy theory) that since all blu-ray players have network access, perhaps companies are issuing stop codes when certain discs are put into machines for force us to buy newer versions. Remember the failed Divx discs? I also recently put in my DVD copy of Blues Brothers (which is in flawless condition) and it also would not play on ANY of half a dozen players. I haven't done it yet, but I have some 20 year old DVD players that have never been touched by the internet. It'll be interesting to see if Blues Brothers plays on one of those players but not a modern network-based machine.

Unlike a digital file, encoding a kill code on a disc would be illegal or at the very least legally culpable considering the BDA even stated it would not use such aggressive measures even for copyright violation purposes when the format first came out. And it would probably be pretty easy to trace, if they actually did something like that. More likely, it's the fault of some inadequately tested Java or copy-protection revision at some point since fouling up the disc. Some discs are supposedly coded so that they won't load on a player that hasn't had the latest copy-protection revision installed every 18 months. At least that's what I was told once. Still not sure it's correct. Of course, just because a disc looks fine, doesn't mean it is. I just discovered last night that our copy of Transporter 2 won't load in either a discontinued Oppo that's not connected, nor a PS3 that is. It was watched in it's entirety when the movie was first released on BD and has none of the telltale signs of rot, no scratches, etc. Transporter 1, still plays fine. I also checked Transporter 3 last night, as looking at the disc it has a very distinct bronze appearance. But it loaded fine as well and seemed fine at all the chapter stops. So, fingers crossed...

Whatever happened to the known defective discs thread, anyway? I'm trying to find out if Transporter 2 is mentioned. But after half dozen searches, this is the first remotely relevant thread I've come across.

[crackedknee]

Originally Posted by JurassicBD

That would be illegal, and probably pretty easy to prove, if they actually did something like that. More likely, it's the fault of some Java or copy-protection revision at some point fouling up the disc. Of course, just because a disc looks fine, doesn't mean it is. I just discovered last night that our copy of Transporter 2 won't load in either a discontinued Oppo that's not connected, nor a PS3 that is. It was watched in it's entirety when the movie was first released on BD and has none of the telltale signs of rot, no scratches, etc. Transporter 1, still plays fine. I also checked Transporter 3 last night, as looking at the disc it has a very distinct bronze appearance. But it loaded fine as well and seemed fine at all the chapter stops. So, fingers crossed...

Whatever happened to the known defective discs thread, anyway? I'm trying to find out if Transporter 2 is mentioned. But after half dozen searches, this is the first remotely relevant thread I've come across.

I don't know about the defective discs thread, but I have found Lionsgate discs mentioned in the general threads in the general Blu-Ray thread.

This issue with (mostly) flawless-looking Lionsgate discs stopping playing or being flawed is a very old issue. Even 2008-2010 complaints online had surface about Lionsgate discs not working in spots. And of course, over time, not at all.

I know recently my disc for Reservoir Dogs stopped working, including on my Oppo 205 (plays everything). And others had had that same problem with that exact disc (and others).

[kcgr]

sonofaB .. My Wallace and Gromit Lionsgate disc is dead.

They had one job, and couldn't handle it. Replacement discs are not $3 unfortunately. I was trying to even rip it to save it, but multiple drives spit it out.

[Lucy Diamond]

Originally Posted by kcgr

sonofaB .. My Wallace and Gromit Lionsgate disc is dead.

They had one job, and couldn't handle it. Replacement discs are not $3 unfortunately. I was trying to even rip it to save it, but multiple drives spit it out.

Is the BD Live feature turned on in your blu-ray player?

If it can't play when connected to the net, then it is completely gone :/

Sorry to hear about your disc man. That sucks.

[CSM101]

My Saw shit the bed. It’s weird because it looks brand new, no signs of disc rot. Meanwhile my Way of the Gun has spots all over it and has changed to gold and it plays just fine.

[Brian81]

My King of New York glitches up during a couple of the trailers. I guess this goes with Reservoir Dogs and Basic Instinct. I rebought Reservoir Dogs a few years back, might do this one as well, but cheap as I want a BD to pair with the 4K plus it has some extras which are not on the Arrow.