Well, it's not really Universal that makes them; it's whoever they contracted to duplicate them.

If it really is very old DVD's - 1998/98 - then it's most likely that they don't use the same company anymore. Universal now use Deluxe, don't they?

If it's a new batch of Universal discs going bad, it;s a whole new ballgame...

Incidentally, I have a load of the WAMO early discs, and they're all fine. Including all the Universal ones.

So far I've found two discs with this problem: Primary Colors and Daylight CE bought in Sep and July 1998, respectively. Neither will play on my 1997 Sony DVP-S7000 DVD player. The Primary Colors DVD has faint, but noticeable blue lines, 5 to be exact, radiating from the outer toward the inner part of the dvd (about 0.5” in length) and the Daylight CE dvd has discoloration. Both appear to be from layer separation on the dvds.

Two others purchased in Nov 1998 don't exhibit this problem. This is one of the reason why I can't wait for blu-ray to be the next format (only one substrate instead of two, like CDs).

..but on the other hand, manufacture tolerances will be much finer than those for making CD's or DVD's. The requirements for things like layer uniformity and defect tolerance are way ahead of what DVD requires. Not to mention dual-layer blu-ray discs...

Early adopters of Blu-ray discs will be in the same position as those buying DVD's back in 1997/8.

Essentially, you'll be buying on faith, an item that hasn't stood the only real test of time - and that's time.

OK, so you might argue "well we know more now from the experience of DVD". Yup, that's what people said when it came to DVD "we've learnt from the mistakes making CD's".

Nearly everything that's gone wrong with DVD's can be put down to manufacture errors. Blu-ray will be just as vulnerable to these, if not more so!

My Vertigo just stopped working! None of the three dvd players I have tried will read it!
Fu.... Universal!

Has anyone here from outside USA had their early Universal R1 DVD die out (due to the WAMO defect), and tried to have it replaced by Universal ?

My 1998 R1 orange-covered Vertigo DVD died recently (last week / last september it was still working when I last watched it), so I wrote to Universal US (using the link given on the HTF forum) and (not unexpectedly) got a negative reply:

From: "[email protected]"
Subject: RE: Vertigo UPC# 2519-20183-2 ( UK ) Inquiry # xxxxx

Universal Studios Home Entertainment sells Region I DVDs, authorized for use in the U.S. and Canada only. Consequently, we are unable to accommodate your request.

Just wondering if someone (from outside USA) has had more luck with Universal...

YES !

I have.

But it was some years ago. I had Dragonheart, Primary Colors and The Jackal exchanged by Universal.

Now, im affraid that Universal just hides behind pre scripted email responses and bullsh*t corporate crap like "if you havenīt bought the disc in the US or Canada, you are fu*ked"

Its really sad really...its a good way to lose customers and get people to look the bootleggers way...

But I guess the money we foreigners spend on R1 DVDīs arenīt worth anything.

I would really like to see the studios actually take some time to figure out how much of their DVD sales come from abroad...my guess would be a substantial (sp?) amount !

This is common to most studios - they will not issue replacements discs to anyone outside of the intended sales region. Some of them state this in their terms and conditions on their "How to get replacement discs" pages.

As I recall, Universal, Paramount, Warner and Sony (MGM etc) to name a few have this policy.

Anchor Bay are one of the few that don't have an issue with it.

AFAIK a sale is deemed to have taken place in the country where the transaction takes place, NOT where the purchaser happens to be when making their purchase - for example, if I (sat here in the UK) buy a DVD on the net from a US store, then the sale takes place in the US.

That is why it is perfectly legal to buy and import DVD's that way; what the stern warnings about "only for sale in the US and Canada" at the start of the disc mean is that the discs shouldn't be sold anywhere but those countries (ie, exported and then resold).

I know in the UK, when BBC Video did a major exchange program for some faulty discs, the explicity said that they would not offer exchange discs for people in (for example) the US.

I suspect that Universal aren't going to budge on this.

Which is strange, because they aren't selling anything. Indeed, when A.B. sent me a replacement disc, the Customs declaration was value $0 because nothing had been paid for it.

But just so you know, I DID have 3 DVDīs replaced by Universal, so this IS a new thing with them

Am I to understand that Universal discs manufactured only in 1997 and 1998 are problematic? I wanted to pick up the original release of Dante's Peak (with Brosnan and Hamilton on the cover), but it came out in 1998, and that gives me pause.

--THX

Galaxy Quest DTS stops at the layer change, and continues - after a long pause, without the sound on. One have to go the menu, selelct DTS, and then find the right chapter to continue.

Very annoying.

The problem was identified as being dual-layer discs manufactured by the WAMO (Warner Advanced Media Operations) plant. Which was mostly done prior to 1999.

The disc itself will have the WAMO ident engraved near the middle of the disc on the play side if it was made by them. WAMO manufactured discs for many studios.

Single-layer discs were not an issue.

The problem usually shows up around the layer-change point at first, getting progressively worse until the disc is unplayable.

Unless there's some pressing reason for you wanting an early edition, it might be better to get a later release of it.

But not all discs were affected, and not even all discs of the same title; for example, my original Matrix disc is just fine even though it's listed as one of the troublemakers.

Most of the early Universal discs were made by Panasonic's PDSC. Meet The Parents is the only Universal title I have that was made by Warner. Most of their titles I've gotten recently have been made at that crappy Mexico factory, though a couple are from Deluxe.