The Bela Lugosi Collection and related dvd problems (1 Viewer)

[Joe Karlosi]

Robert, which movie(s) did you watch?

 

[Robert Crawford]

I watched "The Black Cat" followed by "The Raven". I didn't have time to watch the third movie on that side of the disc nor the two other films on the flip side.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

That's a good sign, that at least the films are playing for some people. I hope we get more positive reports, and I'm thinking also of trying another copy myself.

 

[Todd_Brown]

I also had no problems with the set, or for that matter, any of the Universal DVDs, Legacy sets, A&C sets, etc... I'm using an Integra DPS 7.3.

I also agree, however, that if no problems exist using DVD-9 that Universal really needs to take a look at their release philosophy. It can't make good business sense to tick off a huge percentage of customers using DVD's that won't play on certain machines.

Todd

 

[BrianRi]

Have watched Rue Morgue, Black Cat, Black Friday, and minutes 15-35 of The Raven. No problems yet. Toshiba SD-4900. Rue Morgue has best looking print.

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

From the HAMMER COLLECTION set, I've so far watched BRIDES OF DRACULA, CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA in their entirety on my Pioneer DV-333, and all were completely glitch-free, so only PARANOIAC was defective on Disc 1. I'll watch the remainder of PARANOIAC soon to see if there are any other problems with my copy, beyond what I've previously posted in this thread, and then on to the 4 films on Disc 2.

My copy of THE BELA LUGOSI COLLECTION should arrive in the mail sometime this week, hopefully all will be well with it (fingers crossed).

 

[George Reis]

I had someone do a technical check on Side 1 the Lugosi collection through DVD Dycrypter. To make a long story short, technically there is nothing wrong with the disc, making it a player compatibility problem. This is not to say that Universal is totally wrong in manufacturing the disc this way, giving headaches to everyone out there with various players that just can't read these damn cheaply made releases.

 

[Matt Stieg]

While it seems The Raven has been the problematic film for most people, I had problems with Black Friday; the first two chapters are unplayable.

The sad thing is, this is the best these films have ever looked on a home video release (I'm particularly pleased with Murders in the Rue Morgue, one of my favorites). Really hope Universal can get this crap cleared up.

 

[pitchman]

I just skimmed my set and Paranoiac plays fine. The title sequence on Curse of the Werewolf, though, will not play on my Sony 685C changer. The player just skips over it and jumps to chapter 2. I also tried it using a Panasonic changer and there, the chapter starts to play, but then freezes and locks up. I can still watch the film, just not the opening credits. At this point, I don't know if it is worth it to take it back to BB for an exchange, since based on what I am reading here, I may end up with a copy that is worse than the one I already have.

It looks like many of the playback problems being reported are located near the point where a normal layer change might occur. This is the first time that I have encountered a DVD-18 playback problem (that wasn't the direct result of a badly scuffed disc due to poor packaging) so, I wonder if Universal recently switched to a new manufacturing plant or process. All of my Universal Legacy series sets play without a hitch.

 

[Richard_Gregory]

Did DVDDecrypter do a full error check?

It's possible that there are errors, but that some players cope with them better than others (I'm assuming that you ran the check on a disc that gave trouble playing).

That wouldn't be a player compatability issue, as such, but poor manufacturing which some players won't tolerate.

If the disc checked absolutely error free, then, as you say, Universal are doing something plain weird. It must be weird, one side of a DVD-18 should look to players just like a DVD-9!

What's even stranger is that the things are causing trouble at different and seemingly random points. Not to mention other discs (like the Columbo ones) where people have been able to obtain new, playable, copies...

Is the problem on the lugosi disc set on the side with three films?

If they're sensible, that should be the side on which a layerchange happens in a film. On the side withtwo films, it should occur between films.

Doesn't explain the Hammer problems though - two films a side. Mind you, I bet Universal manages to get a change in the films, not between 'em!

 

[Matt Stieg]

My problem was with Black Friday, which is on the side with only two films, so no it's not limited to the side with the three films.

 

[Richard_Gregory]

Hmmm...if they'd done something nasty (and unecessary) like seamless layerchange and/or branching the problem surely should have appeared consistently at the same point.

It almost sound like an area of memory that should be cleared at some point isn't being..or something...

Truly baffling!

 

[George Reis]

I just got another copy of the Lugosi collection, and THE RAVEN looks fine so far, though I'll watch the whole movie tonight for a full report. I also got another Hammer Horror Series, and the problem I had loading CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF on my computer is not apparent on this copy. I was even able to get some screen grabs to add to the review.

And yes, the first Lugosi disc checked totally error free.

 

[John Hodson]

Problems like this have always seemed like a memory problem to me, though I'm not technically proficient enough to know for sure.

 

[Tim-H.]

I'm just going to rent these from Netflix; too bad, seemed like a must buy before reading this! I had no trouble with the monster Legacies, but 'The Pianist' was kind of a nightmare.

 

[Larry Sutliff]

I've watched RUE MORGUE and BLACK CAT without a hitch. I'll be watching THE RAVEN after dinner(fingers crossed).

 

[Michael Elliott]

THE RAVEN and THE BLACK CAT watched without a problem on my Toshiba SD6915. I "listened" to both of them in the background while cleaning on my region free Oritron and there were no pauses or freezes.

 

[Jim Peavy]

Have only (attempted) to watch The Raven from the Lugosi Set and sure enough, freezes up around the 21:40 mark on my Philips DVP642. If I let it go, it'll skip ahead to around the next chapter. Haven't bothered going farther than that.

Geez Universal, why the heck not two, dual layered, single sided DVDs like everyone else?!

 

[Gary Banks]

I spot checked each chapter of each Lugosi film with no problems on my JVC-533. I played The Raven straight through with no problems on my Emerson.

Now the Hammer Horror Series is being mailed back for a replacement. Disc 2 side B was a mess and naturally Night Creatures & Evil Of Frankenstein are the ones I wanted to see the most.

On the JVC (which is about two years old) if you were to hit the Play feature on the screen menu it would lock up. Then it would reject the disc.I was able to access the start of each film through Chapter access. However after trying it a second time it started pixillating, freezing and skipping chapters.

So I slapped it in the Emerson which is a year old and plays most "faulty " dvds. It would lock up, pixillate and skip the first chapter or two.

Next up the Cyberhome 300 which was bought earlier this year. Since I use it for Region 2 dvds it has only been used 7 times this year. It wouldn't even read the dvd.I put another region 1 dvd in there and it played fine.

So thsi is a disappointment and I'm hoping it is just a single disc and that the replacement set will fare better.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Watched THE INVISIBLE RAY on my Toshiba without any issues.