I know Blu-ray Discs are extremely versatile, but I received two HD-DVD's for Christmas today that were a bit beat up. Disc 5 of Blade Runner and The Bourne Supremacy are the two in question; in case they don't play right, boiling should work OK, right?

I don't think boiling fixes scratches. I haven't had any issues yet with minor scratches on HD DVDs, but if you received them new with scratches I would exchange them.

My disk 5 in blade runner was loose in case. I wiped it off and some of the marks came off. And it played perfectly. It would have been hard to return as part of the ultimate set through a web order site.

my Blade Runner set was loose/floating also. Thank goodness I got the BD version... I've heard too many horror stories.

HD studios need to spend a little money to license that scratch resistant coating that is on the Blu-Ray discs. We are dealing with next generation media and still working with old school discs. Also, I am 99% sure that the combo discs wouldn't come scratched if they didn't have the update warning and the "Keep It Real" printouts, why they tell us that I don't know, floating around in the case. From production to the store is a long time for those things to rub up and down on the disc and "make its mark". Almost every combo I have bought has had a scratch or two on the exposed side.

I've noticed that I can't be quite as picky with my HD DVDs, because although none are near bad condition, the surface usually has a few faint marks or smudges (why??) that I can only attribute to the casing.

Completely agree...and yes, I've returned two copies of Blade Runner to Borders since disc five was all scratched to hell. For the prices HD-DVD's command, I expect nothing less than flawless discs.

Versatile?? Did you mean resilient maybe... or durable?

I believe the whole "boiling" solution worked because sometimes some chemical films were left over from the manufacturing process that interfered with reading the disc - not related to scratches.

I would be skeptical about boiling a disc in any circumstance since they are supposed to be kept at normal room temperatures.

If you have the receipts, I would just see if you can exchange them for undamaged copies.

It is likely not as easy as "licensing the coating." The whole system is designed to focus the laser through a certain thickness of disc, and adding another layer can alter the thickness. BD NEEDS an extra layer of protection because of the disc structure where the data is layered close to the surface of the disc.

This is much ado about nothing. If you get a scratched disc, return it. I am not surprised to see some of those that never have a positive word to say about HD DVD throw in their .02.

So you're happy that your BD version was loose? LOL.

My disc 5 of the BD Blade Runner set was also loose in the case and somewhat scuffed new out of the package. But the nice thing about the BD protective coating is that one wipe with a microfiber cloth and it looks brand new. It played fine. I was worried because some have reported getting a mislabeled disc 5.

I didn't know BD had that feature. Cool.

Very cool!!!

My Bourne HD copy also came scratched from the factory. Pissed me off, because the disc wouldn't play for a 30 minute stretch.

I ordered from bestbuy.com and they wouldn't exchange it at first. Finally agreed to give me a no-receipt exchange. The employee decided to open it up to make sure i wasn't some scammer. Guess what, that disc was also scratched up. She was a lot friendlier after that. The 3rd and last copy they had in the store also had a smaller scratch, but i took it home anyway. What a pain in the ass.

...it is for that reason that I always open an hd-dvd purchase immediately versus my sd-dvd purchases that sometimes sit on a shelf for months unwrapped.

My BD version of Disc 5 has two small circular scratches and after testing it it freezes up about 40 minutes into the movie. My disc 2 (a DVD) is really destroyed. Sucks after all this wait to have to send this right back to Amazon.

BD may be harder to scratch, but when they do they always seem to freeze up in my PS3. BD discs are not by any means scratch proof.

Uncool!!!

Oh yeah


I'm saying I would take the best of both evils. IF they are most likely going to be loose when I recieve them I would like to know that I am going to have less of a chance of mine being scratched.

Down right savage!!

Anybody opened the case to discover broken disc holders? My copy of 300 which I bought yesterday has a big massive scratch that effects playback at three points in the film, my copy of Goodfellas has the same problem, only the disc was not scratched.

I drove down to the States to try to get a copy of Rock Band, back in November. They didn't have the game anywhere (I called ahead and everything and two stores had it,) but I noticed that Best Buy was selling the Knocked Up HD-DVD/DVD Combo for $10 less than it is here, so I picked it up. I opened it when I got home and noticed that there are some marks on the DVD side of the disc. I'm not sure if they're scratches, or just those marks that tend to look like slight scratches. I'd like to return it, but I'm probably S.O.L. Hopefully they come off.