Warners warning

[drednm]

Has this been discussed before?

"This disc is expected to play back in DVD video "play only" devices and may not play back in other DVD devices including recorders and PC drives."

What exactly does this mean and why would a DVD drive on a computer be any different from a DVD drive in a DVD player?

Also I just discovered that 2 Warners disks I have previously watched no longer play. There's no damage. The disks have just been stored in a regular way. Why would a disk just stop working? The video is a pixilated.....

[entredeuxguerres]

Same warning appears on certain other DVDs. After encountering a few inexplicable play-back failures with my LG DVD/VCR recorder, I simply connected it to my (now) 7 yr old Magnavox player ($30 at Walmart), & use the latter for play-back; no further problems. A year ago, thinking the Magnavox couldn't last much longer, I bought another one; it remains in the box.

[sethb]

If the video is pixillated, it may not be the DVD's that are at fault.

My guess is that the lens in your player may have gotten a bit of dust or small dirt particle on it. Go to Staples or Office Depot and buy a DVD lens cleaning disc, about $10 or less. If that doesn't solve your problem, I suppose a call to WB is in order. SETH

[momsne]

The message on Warner Archive DVD-R discs is more a statement of fact than a warning. The Warner MOD discs are not as playback compatible as pressed DVDs. When I have a problem with a DVD-R I burned, I first check the dye side to see of there are any smears or scratches on the disc surface. The Warner DVD you have could have been damaged somehow so it will never play right. Or, as stated in a previous post, there could be a problem with the laser pickup of your DVD player. My guess is that your disc is defective if it doesn't play right on two separate DVD players.

In 2006, Sony acknowledged distributing 25 million movie DVDs with anti-copy protection that prevented some buyers from playing back the DVDs on some DVD players (including even Sony DVD players). I bought one of these Sony made overprotected DVDs and it would not play back on my computer DVD player. The DVD did play on my standalone DVD player, in part because consumer DVD players are better made to play pressed DVDs that have minor manufacturing defects.

I have found only one of the Warner Archive DVD-Rs I have, "Safe In Hell," that appears to have copy protection. Your move.

[drednm]

Thanks for all the great info.....

It must be the disk because when I made a backup copy, the picture broke up in the same place.

But again, these are films I've watched before and the disks were fine. It's like they self destruct

[entredeuxguerres]

But again, these are films I've watched before and the disks were fine. It's like they self destruct

Have heard of others reporting the same, though it hasn't happened to me. When problems with my recorder first occurred, I used a cleaning-disk, but it didn't help (even though my old house is drafty, dusty, & choked with dog hair). Many of the DVDs sent from Netflix appear to have been used as frisbees--scratched & covered with fingerprints; amazingly, however, none have failed to play perfectly on my cheap Magnavox player.

[drednm]

Yes that's true about Netflix and their scratchy disks.... The Warners ones that won't play are flawless...

Someone mentioned high-compression disks so that must have something to do with it....

[drednm]

Well this is truly strange.... I called WBA and discovered that the discs that suddenly stopped playing were bought March 2010 in the same batch. I checked others from that batch and THEY don't play either. Only 1 of the 5 still plays.

SO THIS IS COLLEGE
AH, WILDERNESS
UNDER 18
TWO SECONDS

So as someone else mentioned, they were simply a bad batch....

[Paul Penna]

Also I just discovered that 2 Warners disks I have previously watched no longer play. There's no damage. The disks have just been stored in a regular way. Why would a disk just stop working? The video is a pixilated.....

Warner Archive's guarantee now covers things bought from them directly at any time, not just within 90 days or whatever it had been before.

From their FAQ (http://www.wbshop.com/jump.do?itemID=5& ... id=archive):

Q: What do I do if my DVD doesn't play?

A: We will exchange Warner Archive Collection discs purchased from WBshop.com that do not play due to manufacturing defect. Discs that were damaged from misuse, accident, or wear and tear are excluded from this policy. Regardless of when you purchased your Warner Archive Collection disc from the WBshop.com, if you discover that one of your discs does not play or suffers from some other manufacturing defect, please contact customer service at: 1-866-373-4389.

[drednm]

Yup thanks.... That's how I learned the discs all came from the same order. WB was terrific and will replace the discs.

I assume that a pressed or stamped disc that becomes unstable for whatever reason can be copied right off. That burned copy would be more stable, right?

[sethb]

I'm confused! I thought the WB discs were made-to-order (MOD); that is, they are "burned" rather than pressed. So I thought your complaint was that the MOD discs were perhaps less stable than a pressed disc.

From what little I know about DVD's, the pressed discs (if manufactured correctly) are supposed to be more stable than a burned disc. That's because the pressed disc is created by a physical process which should be irreversible, unless the aluminum media degrades or the disc is scratched. The burned disc is created by a chemical process involving heat that is supposedly not quite as permanent, and can revert back to its original state. So the pressed copy is supposed to be more stable than a burned copy. But in your last post, you suggest making a burned copy of a pressed disc, which you think might be better. Can you clarify?

It also sounds like your problem isn't the DVD media, whether pressed or burned, but that the intial copy itself was poorly made, possibly because the master was bad. Fortunately, it doesn't matter since WB is apparently willing to replace the discs, or is already in the process of doing so. SETH

[drednm]

Well I'm confused as well. The WB woman said their made for order discs are pressed and that the process likely turned out a bad batch since my 5 films would have been processed together.


So what's better? Pressed or burned?

[Danny Burk]

The woman at WB is the one who's confused. All MOD discs are burned. Pressed discs are (in theory, at least) more stable.

[sethb]

Well, as long as WB is replacing the defective disks, looks like you will be living "happily ever after" (or at least until the disc itself self-destructs). Kinda makes you want to go back to nitrate film, huh? SETH

[Changsham]

I have over 50 plus Warner archive titles and none have failed yet. I back most of them up using Mac The Ripper and burn with Popcorn. A very reliable combination but every now and then one fails verification and won't play for some reason. a repeat effort has worked every time. All burned disks will have the odd failure.

[todmichel]

Strange stories always happen with DVDs. Some months ago I bought from Holland a DVD of "Sweeney Todd" (the John Schlesinger version, with Ben Kingsley). It was brand new and unopened. In one of the DVD-players the movie stopped after some sequences and it was impossible to watch the rest of the movie. In another machine it was pixellisations from beginning to end. I made a copy of this original DVD with Nero on my PC. Well, the copy plays beautifully on both DVD-players - no more pixellisations nor blocking. How to explain this ? (in this case, the pressed DVD was defectuous, and the burned one - made directly from this defectuous source - is OK !)

[35MM]

Well this is truly strange.... I called WBA and discovered thatthe discs that suddenly stopped playing were bought March 2010 in the same batch. I checked other from that batch and THEY don't play either. Only 1 of the 5 still plays.

SO THIS IS COLLEGE
AH, WILDERNESS
UNDER 18
TWO SECONDS

So as someone else mentioned, they were simply a bad batch....

Sounds like WB got a bad batch of blank DVD-R's with a defective dye layer. I don't own any of their newer releases but the originals still play fine. The warning is probably designed to discourage anyone from trying to make copies.

[momsne]

I will check my Warner discs of
UNDER 18
TWO SECONDS
to see if they still play okay.

I usually convert the Warner MOD DVDs to XviD video format as insurance against the original disc going belly up for some reason. Anyone who ever bought Ritek GO4 DVD blanks 7 or 8 years ago knows that bad DVD blanks make burned DVDs that can degrade fast. I try to be redundant, keeping XviD transcodes on at least two separate external hard drives. I wish Western Digital would finally start lowering its prices on its 2TB Elements external hard drive to the prices these drives were before the Thailand floods last October, flooding that shut down WD's Thai fabrication plants.

[Doug Sulpy]

Strange stories always happen with DVDs. Some months ago I bought from Holland a DVD of "Sweeney Todd" (the John Schlesinger version, with Ben Kingsley). It was brand new and unopened. In one of the DVD-players the movie stopped after some sequences and it was impossible to watch the rest of the movie. In another machine it was pixellisations from beginning to end. I made a copy of this original DVD with Nero on my PC. Well, the copy plays beautifully on both DVD-players - no more pixellisations nor blocking. How to explain this ? (in this case, the pressed DVD was defectuous, and the burned one - made directly from this defectuous source - is OK !)

It may be the pressed disc was warped or something, and the tolerance for errors is better on your DVD drive than on the stand-alone players, enabling your computer to read it.

[entredeuxguerres]

I usually convert the Warner MOD DVDs to XviD video format as insurance against the original disc going belly up for some reason. Anyone who ever bought Ritek GO4 DVD blanks 7 or 8 years ago knows that bad DVD blanks make burned DVDs that can degrade fast. I try to be redundant, keeping XviD transcodes on at least two separate external hard drives. I wish Western Digital would finally start lowering its prices on its 2TB Elements external hard drive to the prices these drives were before the Thailand floods last October, flooding that shut down WD's Thai fabrication plants.

Good to know there are technical compensations for such defects in a premium-priced factory product, but ain't it a damn cryin' shame there'd be a need to use them! (Use them if you've got the time to waste, & if you know how! Not me!) I don't loose sleep when my $6 bootlegs prove defective in some way (seldom happens, anyway), but thinking about my set of TCM's Forbidden Hollywood series mouldering quietly away doesn't make for pleasant dreams.

[drednm]

WB certainly was pleasant to deal with. I sent off my 4 defective DVDs this morning.... I'll make back-up copies as soon as I get the replacements....

[Paul Penna]

...but thinking about my set of TCM's Forbidden Hollywood series mouldering quietly away doesn't make for pleasant dreams.

The three TCM Forbidden Hollywood sets were pressed discs, at least as originally issued. I know mine are. When did you get yours? Are the playing sides silver or purplish? Purplish would mean burned, like the Warner Archives releases.

[entredeuxguerres]

...but thinking about my set of TCM's Forbidden Hollywood series mouldering quietly away doesn't make for pleasant dreams.

The three TCM Forbidden Hollywood sets were pressed discs, at least as originally issued. I know mine are. When did you get yours? Are the playing sides silver or purplish? Purplish would mean burned, like the Warner Archives releases.

Silver, they are, bought years ago. Foolish, truthfully, to be hugely concerned--have watched them all so many times, don't know when I'd set aside time to do so again!

[35MM]

In one of the DVD-players the movie stopped after some sequences and it was impossible to watch the rest of the movie. In another machine it was pixellisations from beginning to end. I made a copy of this original DVD with Nero on my PC. Well, the copy plays beautifully on both DVD-players - no more pixellisations nor blocking. How to explain this ?

Occasionally an air bubble gets into the clear layer on the bottom or the aluminum layer has a pinhole in it with nothing to reflect the signal back. It can throw the tracking off and some players recover better than others. Three beam laser pickups work well for this, single beam not so much.

[todmichel]

Thank you very much for these precise explanations, 35MM. Making a copy via a PC and a programme like Nero could be the solution in some of the cases mentioned above. It must be precised that none of the quality is lost, the movie isn't really "read" by the programme, for instance if the running time is 95mns the copy is made in much less - 15 or 20mns perhaps. And I'm quite sure that the DVD-r is perfect, as I added French soundtrack (lifted from an old VHS) my own French subs and watched the movie at least three times since, in English, French, and with or without subs. And the original DVD is still just unwatchable!