Hey Universal! No More Double Sided Discs!

Derek K. · 10-19-2005, 12:02 PM

Its glitch heaven on most of these discs, so won't you kindly stop releasing tv on dvd this way?

I know its cheaper for you guys, but you're ending up with a ton of returns because of it.

Thanks, and have a nice day.

RickER · 10-19-2005, 12:11 PM

I love the Universal threads, and i ride the double sided hate wagon with ya. But we have quite a few of them going.
Look at the old "Universal discs are dieing", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "Universal Hammer Collection", "Bela Legosi (sp?) Collection", and more than 1 "Universal Stop using double sided discs" thread.

Daniel-M · 10-19-2005, 01:28 PM

somebody should really direct Universal to this forum

Gord Lacey · 10-19-2005, 01:52 PM

This really needs to be in the "Studio Feedback" area.

I've mentioned it to them a lot; I even sent off an email about it today. I think the DVD-18 is an acceptable format PROVIDING IT WORKS. These discs don't work, so they shouldn't be used. If DVD-9s became faulty then I'd feel the same way about them being used.

Gord

Mark Talmadge · 10-19-2005, 03:09 PM

Gord has my vote on this issue. If Universal could find a process for making the DVD-18's work I don't think it would be an issue but I think that Universal may not be seriously taking this into account. While ADV Films has recognized this problem, being that they are a realtively small company compared to Universal, I don't think Universal has taken the issue too seriously because they have have a certain level on how many compaints about a problem with their disks may constitute some action.

Since Universal is a larege company, and not many consumers file complaints, they may on the wavelength that the complaints right now are currently an acceptable risk.

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TravisR · 10-19-2005, 03:26 PM

Here's what I said about DVD-18s in the Alfred Hitchcock Presents thread. I think it's pretty applicable here:

Everyone that has a bad copy (or those who are not buying a copy due to that fear) should call Universal's customer service and let them know about the problem or that they aren't buying because their releases constantly have problems. I'm sure they get defective copies back from Amazon, Best Buy, etc and know that a problem exists. However, getting calls from consumers is going to get them to correct whatever the problem is or dump DVD-18s all together alot faster than talking about it on a message board will.

Jordan_Rebner · 10-19-2005, 04:07 PM

Just wondering if this problem affects Sliders Season 3, I was goign to be picking it up soon but now I kind of want to hold off on that.

RickER · 10-19-2005, 04:21 PM

The Sliders thing is the worst packaging i have EVER seen. Discs crammed in foam rubber slits. kept me from buying it more than the $80 to $90 price did. More money saved thanks to Universal!

Jesse Skeen · 10-19-2005, 05:47 PM

Well, I just finished watching the entire "Emergency" set on my 7-year old DVL-909 with NO problems whatsover, and I won't tolerate even the slightest glitch! With so much stuff out there to buy right now, I picked this title partly BECAUSE it was on 2 DVD-18s, as they still have a big "neato" factor to me. It would have been a lot less appealing if it had been stretched out to 4 single-sided discs instead, besides the show wasn't as exciting as I remembered it. My only complaint is that they are still putting NO printing whatsoever on side 2 of the discs- that definitely needs to change. If they'd put better printing on 2-sided discs (like they have on most of the CD/DVD DualDiscs) I bet that would solve half the complaints about them right there. It's a little troubling that they are making discs in Mexico no doubt because of the cheap labor, but as of yet I haven't gotten any defective ones from there in any form. I wouldn't be surprised if that's where all the problem discs are coming from though- is Universal keeping track of where the discs were manufactured when defects are reported?

I think I've been exceptionally lucky even with hundreds of discs and a relatively old player- I can count on one hand the number of discs I've had to exchange because of defects (one was a DVD-9 made by Warner that locked up the first day I got it, another was a DVD-9 made by Crest National that played fine when it was new but developed 'rot' and wouldn't play a year later.)

BTW I HATE those "overlapping" cases with a passion- I hate them more than the person who most hates 2-sided discs! There's been titles I've held off buying just because they came packaged that way- again, with so many titles out there, things like that become a factor in deciding what to buy. (Don't even get me started on those slipcases with NO shrinkwrap over them...)

Juan Books · 10-19-2005, 08:06 PM

The problem is, I buy TV on DVD to have the option of watching what I want, when I want to, so I don't see my DVDs right away. In fact, most of the time, they sit on my shelves for years until the mood strikes me. For example, I have Law & Order seasons one and two unwatched, and way out of the time frame for an exchange from the vendor.

If I can't be confident that my DVDs will work at *any* time in the future, I just won't bother with them at all. I don't need the stress of having to check out every DVD I buy to be able to exchange it in case a glitch is present. So yeah, count me out of Universal double-sided DVDs until I hear of *no* reports of defective discs...

John*D · 10-19-2005, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Just wondering if this problem affects Sliders Season 3, I was goign to be picking it up soon but now I kind of want to hold off on that.

I haven't had any problems with Season 3. I just finished watching the set today.

Quote:

The Sliders thing is the worst packaging i have EVER seen. Discs crammed in foam rubber slits. kept me from buying it more than the $80 to $90 price did. More money saved thanks to Universal!

Definitely! The Season 3 packaging is just as bad

---

The only problem I have had with a UNI DVD is the Season 2 set of A-team. I had a disc that would skip in certain sections. I think there were scratches on the disc.

I ended up returning the set and getting a replacement. No problems with the replacement.

I prefer regular DVD-9s. I like the disc art and having the ability to easily see what disc is which. The writing on the inner ring of a DVD-18 is really small and annoying. Plus you have to be extra carefull b/c you can't hold it on one side, but rather the edges.

Mike*SC · 10-20-2005, 06:51 PM

What exactly is the problem with these double-sided DVDs? I guess they don't work for a lot of people. I'm surprised, though, because I have three DVD players (not counting the ones in my computers), and have never had a problem even with an old DVD-18. And though my main DVD player is less than a year old, my others are a seven-year-old cheap standalone model and an almost-as-old portable player that my kids have dropped on airplanes more than once. Am I just incredibly lucky?