MEJHarrison

I've finally decided to give Buffy a shot and picked up Season 1 last week. Everything was going well until the second episode on disc 2 (The Pack). From about 27:00 to 34:00 the disc is completely unwatachable. It's skip, freezes, pixelates, etc. I put it in the DVD-ROM on my laptop and it had the same problems. I guess that means it's not a problem with my player at home. So I returned it yesterday and picked up a new copy. Watched the seven minutes I couldn't see before and was just about to move on to the next episode, when it started acting up again. This time around the 34:00 or 35:00 minute mark. Then it had several problems in the next episode (Angel).

I've searched, but can't find any other reports of bad discs. Is there a known problem with this disc or just bad luck on my part? My best guess is a whole run of disc 2s got screwed up in the manufacturing process then got packaged up and shipped together. That's how I ended up with two bad sets in a row. So I'm going to try to exchange it at a different store tonight and hope I get a good disc. But before I go to all that hassle, I wanted to know if anyone has any more information about this? Any other thoughts?

Cartload

It sounds like a case of really, really bad luck. I'd keep getting the discs exchanged until you get one that works.

otmetrud

No problem with mine, nor have I read or heard of any problems elsewhere. Sounds like you are unlucky and have gotten into a bad batch.

WhiteRob

There have been multiple problems with past Buffy sets dealing with the same issues you're describing. Heck, even I had to take back my Season 1 3rd disc and Season 2 6th disc to exchange for another one. It only seems to be in a limited run of discs though, so you might just want to take it back and swap it for another one again.

MEJHarrison

Thanks for the answers. I plan to return it tonight. I'll just hit another store for the exchange and hope theirs came from a different run of discs.

Chad

You're definitely not the only one, I had the same problem a few months back. This is the reply from DVDSoon:

As for the defective Buffy DVD. There was a defect in the actual packaging. With this problem we have taken it upon ourselves to make the exchanges of the scratched DVD's. You can return just the scratched dvd and we will exchange it here as the Studio declared that the packaging was ok.

MEJHarrison

It's not a scratched disc in my case. The packaging was fine and the the disc was in perfect shape. It's just not playing right. My guess is the layers weren't bonded together properly, but I have no way to tell for sure.

Josh-da-man

Several months ago, I posted about my Buffy S1/Disc 2 having problems.

It played fine for a year, but I started having trouble with the episdoe "Angel." When I would try to play that episode, the picture would break-up and freeze on the "every generation" intro.

The disc plays fine now, however, so I'm tempted to chalk it up to some kind of player glitch.

But it sounds like you have a badly pressed disc. It happens occasionally. Just exchange the set for a new one.

MEJHarrison

I tried to exchange it for a third set last night, but the store I visited didn't have any copies. So I went back home and moved on to the second episode on disc 3. It played fine for most of the episode then died towards the end. So I take the disc out, give it a good look and discover a fingerprint on the edge of the disc as if someone with very fat finger gripped the edge a little too hard. That's a little odd since it's a brand new disc and I'm the only person to handle it so far (and I would not have left a fingerprint). As I said, that's a little odd. What was truly odd is that a gentle buffing didn't remove the fingerprint. So then I tried a little harder. Still there. I tried some water. I tried wiping it off with my thumb (not caring at this point since this set needs to go back to yet a different store anyway). The fingerprint is STILL there! It's somehow not on the surface of the disc, but within the disc itself.

So I discovered a fingerprint that can't be removed since it's not actually on the surface of the disc. While trying to watch the episode titled Nightmares where everyone's nightmares come true. I'd heard that Buffy was a good show, but I never imagined it was such an interactive experience!