DRG

Okay, I know I should always open my DVDs when I get them to check them out, but anyway....

I just opened a DVD of The Prowler I bought last December. What do I see? There is one of those sensormatic strips stuck to the frickin' DVD!


Is there any way I can safely remove this damn thing without wrecking the disc? It's on there pretty tight. And after 6 months I'm sure it's too late to return it.

DRG

Never mind, I got it. Luckily there was a tiny gap on one side and I was able to slowly peel it off.

jkester

That is the dumbest thing I've ever seen...almost.

Josh Z

So long as the strip is on the label side of the DVD, you shouldn't cause any damage in removing it if you do it carefully.

If it had been stuck to the data side, then you could be screwed.

stevevt

I second what Josh Z said, only vice versa.

jough

Yeah, damage to the label side is more harmful than damage to the exposed side. I know that's counter intuitive, but there's less protection on top - one less layer that they hope the paint will make up for.

digiboy

I think it's just the opposite. For Audio CD it is anyway, not 100% sure about DVD. On a CD or CDr It's very critical that the label (back) side is not damaged. The data side is well protected.

The "label" side (Of a CD anyway) is the paint and it is actually the backing of the disk's reflective material. It's like the back of a glass mirror. If removing that security strip pulled any of the paint away from the disk, the reflective layer would have almost certainly been damaged and data lost.

I'm guessing that the security strip was placed by machine and something went haywire. I would have returned that DVD in a flash. If yours plays OK then I guess the data wasn't damaged so you were lucky.

mikewendt

That is the dumbest thing I've ever saw...

Laser Movies

That picture reminds me of my copy of the Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Had the same exact thing happen with the security strip. However I didn't notice it at first when I opened and played the disc in my DVD player. Believe it or not I watched the whole movie with the strip stuck on the top of the DVD. Didn't realize anything was wrong until I tried to watch the movie trailer and it wouldn't play. When I removed the disc to inspect it I finally discovered the strip stuck to it. I was able to take it off without damaging the DVD, and the trailer then played without any problems. After that I learned a lesson to never open a new DVD in a darkened room again. I now make sure the room has plenty of light so I can examine the discs first.

eau

Actually for DVD, the data layer(s) is/are sandwiched between two 0.6mm polycarbonate substrates. So, for single sided DVDs, it doesn't really matter which side the strip sticks to, you won't cause much damage to the data layer(s). Except that you might scratch the read side when you remove the strip if it lands there.




For CD, it's a different story. The data layer is on top of one 1.2mm substrate and just below the label. So if you scratch the label, you can damage the aluminum (data) layer underneath.

Walter Neff

In the future, you could try blowing a hair dryer on high on it for a few minutes. The heat tends to loosen the adhesive, and the thing should peel off easily. Works well on price stickers and such too...

NitroJMS

Couldn't the heat also damage the glue that holds the disc together?

ChrisHicks

I have had a few discs like this. I always just assumed that the strip wasn't placed on the case properly and just moved with the movement of the case until it just settled on a place to stick.

bboisvert

I never had this happen ever in over 5 years of DVD collecting... then TWICE in the past month, I've had this happen. Don't know if it is a pattern of shoddy quality control at a particular plant or just a coincidence.

jough

They probably came loose in the case and then stuck to the disc.

I've had a whole bunch just rattling around in there lately.

Sounds like they're using cheaper glue.

Walter Neff

I doubt the 20 or 30 seconds you're going to use the hairdryer on the DVD would be enough to separate the layers. It's probably not that much more heat than you'd get from having the DVD inside a player for a couple hours.

Of course, if you do separate the layers of your DVD using my advice, I won't be replacing your disc...