Solid Snake

square?

Dr. Forrester

It freaked me out, too! I'd played all the discs in the past with no issues and they certainly never looked like that, so it was something of a shock when I pulled them out of their sleeves to see that!

FYI: Here's all three (from R to L: Walkabout, Sanjuro, Wages)

Why So Blu?

Wow, i thought the square pattern was a reflection. That's jacked.

Dr. Forrester

Yep. I live overseas, and while I don't mind shipping the defective discs back, it would be nice to have Criterion provide replacements for everything that's effected with one transaction, including Yojimbo and Sanjuro which haven't yet made the official 'problem' list but clearly are suffering from the same problem.

Thankfully, Howards End seems fine, but I'm checking it again now. I figure there are worse things to watch while I double-check my whole Blu collection!

Solid Snake

Yeah, the seventh seal and Walkabout are the only fucked up ones for me still.

Josh-da-man

Okay... that's really weird. The discoloration shouldn't be so 'geometric.' It should either be spreading out from the edges or certain points on the disc, not in straight lines.

How were your discs stored? In their retail cases, or did you keep them in binders or some other kind of alternative storage method?

rdodolak

Those aren't the right codes. The L0 represents layer. 0 and L1 represents layer 1.

The codes you're looking for, usually, follow IFPI (i.e. IFPI L021, IFPI LB24, IFPI 10K6, etc.)

asianxcore

Thanks for the heads up! Luckily, all the Well Go USA stuff I have is on DVD.

This is good to bring up, as Fry's Electronics has been selling many Well Go USA's BD titles for dirt cheap the past few months.

Dr. Forrester

In paper sleeves, stacked vertically. Probably not the best method, but I live in a smaller apartment overseas, so it's the best I can do. I did wonder if that didn't help things; stacked vertically, it does put pressure on the discs, but checking my collection, none of my other discs had this issue.

Perhaps I should invest in a bunch of binders? As much as I wish I could use the retail cases, it just isn't an option right now :/

rdodolak

Possibly a chemical reaction been the discs and the paper sleeves?

Why So Blu?

I only had time to check one disc tonight and it was the Pierrot le fou one and it played fine. Granted, it doesn't have the bronze rot, so that was cool. It'll be interesting to see how CC replaces OOP ones. I take it that CC may have a digital archive of the film stored on a server or something. Who knows.

hanshotfirst1138

I have a nasty feeling as regards the OOP releases that at most they'll reimburse people, I don't think they'll be able to do anything about it. I'm agree with the earlier post about hedging my bets and looking at what's on the list and sending them in regardless just in case. But I have a very unpleasant sense that those out of the country and OOP are just SOL. Hopefully Criterion will find some solution.

Why So Blu?

As of now, since le fou works for me, I will not be sending it in.

I'll check the other ones this week. Summer Hours and Walkabout are definitely getting sent in, though.

Dr. Forrester

I guess it's a possibility. I ordered two larger binders today, so I'll transfer everything as soon as they arrive.

Double-checking my entire collection, only two other discs show the same problem: Jaws and Battle Royale. Nothing too difficult (or expensive) to replace.

I did email Criterion about the issues and included the pics I posted here. Fingers crossed they can explain it and are willing to provide replacements to my US address.

DirkUSA

I checked Stagecoach and Ride With The Devil over the weekend and there is no discoloration/bronzing. I fast forwarded both discs and saw no problems. I did see an uneven brown circle on the inner ring on some of my Criterions.

Solid Snake

Yeah. That's why I just keep them in the cases. Typically there's nothing to fear if they stay in the cases

morriscroy

(On a tangent).

If I had known about stuff like disc rot, bronzing, etc ... before 2011, most likely I would have never started buying a lot of dvds and blurays in 2011.

Previously, I never came across disc rot, bronzing, etc ... in my music cd collection. My oldest cd discs from the mid-late 1980's could be still be played/ripped. I was largely ignorant of such phenomena like rot/bronzing.

E Unit

Well per the notice John Mulvaney sent out, it looks like they're going to replace the OOP titles. I have Pierre le fou and it does have bronzing, so I'll send it in for a replacement.

Josh-da-man

It's nothing new.

"DVD Rot" has been around since the format was introduced. Occasionally, a disc will become unplayable, though it doesn't seem to be systemic problem with the format, only isolated manufacturing defects.

I know that there were a number of earlly Anchor Bay titles that had problems with bronzing/rot... I seem to remember Heathers, Kentucky Fried Movie, and Frankenstein Created Woman having problematic pressings. (The problem with the AB discs was whoever manufactured the actual discs used sub-standard materials that caused the discs to become bricked.)

And, similarly, there was also a problem with bronzing CDs from a certain UK distributor about twenty or so years ago.

Personally, out of thousands of DVDs and blu-rays, I have only discovered three that became unplayable.

1. My Walkabout blu-ray.

2. The Howling SE DVD. This was a DVD-14. DVDs with multiple layers and sides (DVD-14 and DVD-18) can be difficult to manufacture and are more prone to failure than DVD-5, DVD-9, and DVD-10s.

3. One pornographic DVD. Which was probably manufactured by an unlicensed DVD presser to avoid licensing fees.

dsa_shea

Well, after stumbling across this thread while I should be sleeping I discovered this problem. I went and checked my copy of Walkabout and sure enough it was bronzed and would not even be recognized in my PS3. My copy of M played after two attempts and it looks like Paris, Texas is ok. I, however, am a bit worried about all of this as I don't want to be sending movies in to get replacements on a regular basis. I also don't want to feel paranoid and have to sit and check discs every few months.

Also, all of mine have been stored in their original cases since day one and Walkabout and M have been affected by this.

dsa_shea

I was checking my other movies one section at a time and came across 8 1/2 and it looks like it is bronzing but my copy still plays. I compared it to other discs and it has the brownish color to it rather than the silverish color. I didn't see it previously mentioned but if you have it then please check the disc.

Solid Snake

guess i need to check that one now.

dsa_shea

In response to 8 1/2:

I got to the last ten minutes or so and the movie just started skipping stuff and ultimately went back to the title screen. Also, is the title screen supposed to be black aside from the selections on the left? Is there supposed to be a title or anything there?

dsa_shea

Add:
Kagemusha to the list of possible bad discs. I know mine is bad and cannot be played.

I have found about 8 discs so far in my collection that either flat out don't play or are a concern as they are turning that bronze color. This is the case with Monsoon Wedding and 8 1/2 that play for the most part but could be completely dead sooner than later. 8 1/2 only gives me about 90% of the movie and it doesn't display anything in the menu screen.

Here is a direct link to the Criterion forum where customers are discussing some of their problems. Most of what they have mentioned is what I have seen aside from 8 1/2.
http://www.criterion.com/current/pos...efective-discs

zyzzle

One question staring me in the face:

Isn't it just a little ironic that a company supposedly dedicated to the highest CRITERION of quality in their releases gets away with using a shoddy manufacturer of its media? Yeah, only just?