Purchased "Caddyshack" after the warning & WB logo nothing happens - anyone have this problem

I had a similar problem with The Lovely Bones.  It did nothing after the Paramount logo came up.  I needed to get a firmware update.  It sounds odd that there's anything in a movie like Caddyshack that would require new firmware though, so maybe it's just a defective disc.  Did you buy it someplace where you can exchange it easily to just try another disc?

Yeah, that sounds like a firmware issue but it's odd that two players won't play it so maybe it is the disc.

What players and what firmware versions? The disc does have Java based menus that load after the intro warning and WB logo.

Modern Blu-ray players are more like small computers than traditional consumer electronics. Just like Windows or iTunes updates, so does the programing of the players.

And QC testing is always done on the latest firmware versions.

Criterion's The Red Shoes isn't loading for me, and it's the first disc I've had a problem with on

my Sony(-Costco) (BD-X1?).  I haven't had the player near an internet connection since buying it two years ago, so I hope this is fixable.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (original) presents problems sometimes -- after playing the feature or one of the extras, it will sometimes freeze up on returning to the menus.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chas in CT 

Criterion's The Red Shoes isn't loading for me, and it's the first disc I've had a problem with on

my Sony(-Costco) (BD-X1?).  I haven't had the player near an internet connection since buying it two years ago, so I hope this is fixable.

Most Sony players have had several updates the last couple years. http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-list.pl?mdl=BDPS1&SelectOS=7

If that Sony Costco model is the same unit as my Sony BDP-S350, then The Red Shoes should play fine if you have updated firmware. It played without issues on my player, as did Caddyshack.

You are going to need your update your firmware regardless of if you are buying your discs at Frys or at Amazon.  You can start here: http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/select-system.pl?DIRECTOR=DRIVER&PRODTYPE=78

GM - 

Perhaps Fry's could have refunded you, just to keep the peace, but you may be coming down too hard on them. 

A firmware update will resolve your issue.   It is very easy and you will be happy once you have done it.  As Blu-ray features advance, firmware updates allow your player to stay current. 

It's not Fry's fault.  

Because customers got in the habit of buying a movie, watching it, and then returning it. In order to avoid becoming a free rentals store, virtually every electronics retailer has instituted an exchange-for-same-title-only policy. Fry's is following mainstream retailer practices here.

As the choir has said: do yourself a favor, hook your Blu-Ray player up to your router or modem and upgrade your firmware. Otherwise you're going to find that more and more titles new titles give you similar problems.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt 

As the choir has said: do yourself a favor, hook your Blu-Ray player up to your router or modem and upgrade your firmware. Otherwise you're going to find that more and more titles new titles give you similar problems.

And even if someone doesn't want (or doesn't think they have the technical know-how) to connect their player to the internet, they can still call the manufacturer and get a firmware disc mailed to them.

Oh my GOD what a difference.  The Red Shoes now loads and plays beautifully, as do the couple of other discs I'd had a problem with.  And the Sony is performing like never before, even in a few areas of functionality that I won't embarrass myself by naming.  (Why was I accepting questionable or sub-par behavior as normal??)

The only reason my player isn't connected to the internet is location, so I downloaded and burned the update to CD and everything went without a hitch.  I'll check for future updates regularly from now on.  So glad I spoke up here.  Thanks, one and all, for the help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMpasqua 
This whole Firmware business is unbelievable. DVD players did not have "Firmware".  Software should be playable on all players, and if not There should be a note printed in the product stating so. Unlike a  PC or Mac a blu-ray player is not a computer.

Several discs come with an insert with the very message that the disc may not play without your player having the most current firmware.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon Conway 

Several discs come with an insert with the very message that the disc may not play without your player having the most current firmware.

Warner's, Sony, Fox, Disney, and Universal all have fliers included in their Blu-ray packaging.  They have been including these fliers for a least the past four years.  The only problem that I have had with a disc loading due to firmware issues has been Fox.  it is a pain but once the player is updated, then all is fine.

Greg,

Quick question.  Do you have BD-Live enabled through your blu-ray player's settings/menu?  If you do, disable it and try the disc again.  I had this exact problem with a few blu rays a while ago and once I disabled discs' abilities to try to access BDLive, the problem went away.

regards,

J

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMpasqua 

If the disc played fine I can understand their doubt, but when it didn't and a 2nd disc didn't - please give me a refund - apparently there is a problem.  FRY's should not turn it it to a criminal case and set out to prove that something they make a $7 dollar profit on is now the trial of the century ( and take up a half hour of my time doing so.)

 

As a result - no longer will I or some of my friends shop there anymore - It's not like their the only game in town, there are many other retailers in town who also have low prices for electronics.

 

If FRY's aim is to lose customers, then they're doing a great job!

GM - I think you are still directing this in the wrong direction.   

Because the Caddyshack Blu-ray is fine.  It just needs to be played on a system that can support it.  If there was an authoring  problem, then it would be widespread & manifest itself on all the BD discs (and that has happened before). 

You keep getting mad at Fry's, but it's like you buying computer software that your computer could not support, but then getting mad at the retailer for your computer not being up to date. 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMpasqua 
This whole Firmware business is unbelievable. DVD players did not have "Firmware".  Software should be playable on all players, and if not There should be a note printed in the product stating so. Unlike a  PC or Mac a blu-ray player is not a computer. 

Actually, DVD players did (and do) have firmware. My first player (a Toshiba) had an issue playing a DVD from a small studio. When I contacted Toshiba, they informed me that there was a firmware update available. I could take it into an authorized service center and get the update. However, since the unit was out of warranty, I would have had to pay for it.

Blu-ray players are most certainly computers. (For that matter, so are DVD players.) They may be specialized computers, but they are computers.

In reality, after my experience with that DVD player firmware issue, I appreciate the fact that BD players will allow you to update firmware at home for free.

My first dvd player was also a Toshiba and had to go to service center twice for 2 firmware updates.  Each time it was because it would not play a newer disk.  It is so much easier now to update the firmware on my ps3.  Firmware updates are definitely not a new thing for disk players.

Greg,

I do agree with you that under the circumstances the Fry's manager should have refunded your money -- especially after determining that the disc would not play in any of the store's BD players, either. Unfortunately, at big box stores you will frequently run into poor managers who cannot think for themselves and can only read a store policy.

However, you still need to keep the firmware updated on your player. As others have pointed out, a BD player is in fact a computer. Heck, it even runs Java!

BTW, my old Panasonic RP-91 dvd player had its firmware upgraded numerous times. There were actually people who sought out the latest firmware on newly manufactured units, got the firmware off it and made it available on the Internet for folks to download. On this particular model, newer firmware could result in better playback image quality or additional features being added. I must have updated my player at least three times.