Blu-ray discs: Made in Mexico vs. Made in Germany

[Warm Gun]

Originally Posted by sfmarine

Makes sense. I've definitely noticed a big increase in scratches when it comes to Sony releases. Groundhog Day and Bram Stoker's Dracula being the latest.

Yeah, I had to do an exchange for Columbia Classics 4K Vol. 3 and then have one of the cases and a disc in the replacement exchanged AS WELL. Also had to get the Sony Pictures Classics boxset exchanged. It's a joke.

[bhampton]

My Anatomy of a murder disc is defective.

Being a long movie it may have 2 layer changes.

Being such an old movie I just watch the blu instead.

[stonesfan129]

I have only had a problem with Mission Impossible: Fallout 4KBD. A replacement from Amazon ended up working. I have maybe 20 of these so far. Also, it seems every other 4KBD I get has these two or three little scratches at exactly the same spot on the disc. The discs play just fine, but come on. For a premium product you would think they could do better quality control than this. I may just go back to regular Blu-ray and DVD again.

[grayskale]

Originally Posted by eChopper

the ifpi codes on the centre spindle tell u what country discs pressed in ( u may need a magnifyer to see it )

all canadian and USA discs , blu ray or UHD are now pressed in mexico IFPI kk

IFPI UG = germany

IFPI 94 = austria

ifpi 45 =japan

ifpi 46 = australia

I see the IFPI kk embossed on the transparent layer in the center. Besides that, i found 3 more IFPI codes printed on each ring layer.

So far the 7 titles (with 'Casino UHD' added to the list) i have that developed freezes and skips have IFPI LV78 and IFPI L987 distributed across the layers. The outermost is almost always IFPI LV78 with the inner two switched around LV78 and L987.

Another interesting Mexican made disc is IFPI L323 - comparing this with LV78, this variant has no visible circular glue (or what i think is glue) lines that hold the platters together. The LV78 has these not quite cleanly aligned circles in the center whereas L323 is totally clean, silver and shiny. The fonts for the text printed on these discs remind me of the Sony DADC lettering.

Example, my 'Lord of the Rings UHD' is L323 (all Extended Editions played OK as of last week) and looks different from the LV78 sourced Criterion 'Adventures of Baron Munchausen' which i think has a chance of dying in the future if they didn't fix the pressing equipment responsible for LV78 discs.

[stonesfan129]

Anyone noticing a lot of these have these two or three little scratches all the time? It's getting to where I don't even want to buy them anymore because I might get one that's scratched.

[ActionJunkie]

Just received a copy of The Octagon, Chuck Norris blu-ray disc from Amazon.ca. It's a Kino Lorber title and has that dreaded blue ink stamped on the back, disc made in Mexico. Opened it up and about 4 long scratches side by side on the disc, returning it for a refund. It's like rolling the dice and feeling lucky about what condition the disc will be in. I have been lucky in many cases but have also had a fair share of returns/refunds. I bought the Andy Sidaris films from Mill Creek, all of them and only the final film had to replace due to scratches (all discs made in Mexico). I bought the World Series Champs Atlanta Braves set, a Shout release, on eBay. Made in Mexico and every disc in the set was scratched. I was refunded for it as well.

I bought The Running Man blu-ray, a Paramount release and that disc was made in Germany. Spotless and scratchless! My blu-ray of Breakdown (also Paramount) was made in Germany and again perfect condition as a new disc should be in.

[MrGarmonbozia]

Originally Posted by stonesfan129

Anyone noticing a lot of these have these two or three little scratches all the time? It's getting to where I don't even want to buy them anymore because I might get one that's scratched.

Yup, Last year 8 out of 10 Criterion discs I ordered over a few months all had scratches which I thought was weird as never had issue before. Logic told me they all came from the same plant or something but didn't know where until discovering it here a few months ago.

Of recent, ordered about 5 sets from Shout and I'd say 75% scratches/fingerprints, etc. (See Shout thread for their reply on how they are dealing with )

[the13thman]

Originally Posted by MrGarmonbozia

Y
Of recent, ordered about 5 sets from Shout and I'd say 75% scratches/fingerprints, etc. (See Shout thread for their reply on how they are dealing with )

Have you got a link or is that a joke?

I just got the Five Days UHD from Severin, big scratches on the disc, I really must avoid ordering American discs. Except from Vinegar Syndrome, never had a mark on any of their discs...

[ActionJunkie]

Recently purchased the Missing in Action trilogy (Kino title from blowitoutahere eBay store) and lucked out as all 3 discs didn't have a mark or scratch on them despite "Disc Made In Mexico". I took a gamble and I won! I want to buy the 2nd volume of Jackie Chan films (Shout Factory) but betting it would cause more headaches than enjoyment based on comments about many other Shout releases.

[grayskale]

Originally Posted by MrGarmonbozia

Yup, Last year 8 out of 10 Criterion discs I ordered over a few months all had scratches which I thought was weird as never had issue before. Logic told me they all came from the same plant or something but didn't know where until discovering it here a few months ago.

Of recent, ordered about 5 sets from Shout and I'd say 75% scratches/fingerprints, etc. (See Shout thread for their reply on how they are dealing with )

It seems Arrow US, Blue Underground and possibly Vinegar Syndrome does not use the Mexican replication facility - the text font printed on the rings look like they came from a Sony DADC (could be wrong, possibly Austria).

If only Criterion would follow suit - but they are the most mass-marketed amongst the niche boutique labels so .. savings have to come from somewhere i guess ..

[mjjckc]

It's been a nightmare trying to clear Made in Mexico 4K discs for me in the last year or two. 1 in 5 chance of a playback error. I definitely wouldn't risk letting anything sit unopened and unwatched during the return period.

I just hope there isn't a major flaw at the plant a la Cinram in Pennsylvania in the late 2000s that bricked most WB DVDs and HD DVDs.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by mjjckc

I just hope there isn't a major flaw at the plant a la Cinram in Pennsylvania in the late 2000s that bricked most WB DVDs and HD DVDs.

Or Mexico now…