Universal announces fix for 'Children of Men' and 'Good Shepherd'

ppltd · 05-25-2007, 03:09 PM

According to Bill Hunt at The Digital Bits, it seems Universal has discovered the reason for the playback issues with many copies of 'Children of Men' and 'The Good Shepherd.

Quote:

apparently due to a slightly too thick bonding layer...
USHE.ConsumerRelations@worldmarkinc.com

Universal is due to start repressing the disks next week. Hopefully the replacement disks will be shipped soon after.

Tim Glover · 05-25-2007, 11:57 PM

Very cool news! I sent my disc back to them about 1.5 weeks ago. Can't wait for this to be resolved. Good work Universal on the fix.

Jim_K · 05-27-2007, 08:21 AM

Quote:

apparently due to a slightly too thick bonding layer...

This is a major reason why I avoid Combo's whenever possible (if I have the choice) and the main reason I'm against the concept of THD. Glueing two discs together is not a good thing and introduces all kinds of potential problems (whether immediate or 2-5 years later if the glue starts to break down).

I've got DVD-18's that used to play fine but now don't, you'd think the studio's (especially Universal) would've learned from the problematic 18's.

Anyhow, good to read they figured out the problem and that I'll finally be able to own COM in HD. Hopefully they'll learn from this and take measures to avoid this situation in the future, the most reliable resolution is of course to eliminate the Combo

Robert George · 05-27-2007, 09:27 AM

While there are obviously some manufacturing issues involved, there is also obviously an issue with the tolerances in the players as well. That seems to have been addressed in the latest firmware update for the G2 players. 1.6 firmware released several days ago has fixed the issues I was having, and apparently other people's as well based on postings on AVS.

If you are using the A2, A20, or XA2, I suggest updating firmware and see if that does not fix this problem with these few problematic combo discs.

Yumbo · 05-27-2007, 02:28 PM

The affected 360 add-ons also has no more issues with the affected combos. Loads the first time.

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Robert Crawford · 06-09-2007, 10:17 AM

I just received a corrected "The Good Shepherd" HD DVD from Universal. They have an "inspected" tag on the front of HD DVD case. I'll try it in a little bit and report my findings in this thread.

Crawdaddy

Rachael B · 06-09-2007, 01:24 PM

I, in no way, shape, or form believe Universal's problem is Combo discs. They have a problem with everything they issue lately. Starting last fall I started notcing that most of my Universal discs came prescratched. Many would not play and had to be exchanged. Then, after their winter vacation, the only disc I've bought from them that I didn't have a problem with was The Jerk. Yesterday I bought The 40-Year-Old Virgin and it has bizzare amounts of aliasing and jaggies. Some others are reporting the same defect. This goes way beyond what you'd see on a particularly poor 1988 Laserdisc.

My copy of Alpha Dog freezes on the screen-saver. The various copies of Hollywoodland all frooze someplace, four of 'em. I have had the good fortune to have passed on COM and GS because of the early reports.

I cannot recall a problem with a Warner disc. If I had one, it was the early days. I haven't had one lately, not with them, Paramount, Weinstein, or my Euro imports. Universal discs are poison for me lately.

Jeff Adkins · 06-09-2007, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim_K

I've got DVD-18's that used to play fine but now don't, you'd think the studio's (especially Universal) would've learned from the problematic 18's.

True, but no one seemed to have problems with DVD-10s.

Robert Crawford · 06-09-2007, 06:04 PM

I watched "The Good Shepherd" and it played fine. I might repurchase "Children of Men" again because I know that Universal can send a corrected disc.

Crawdaddy