Twilight Zone Blu-Ray strangeness - Page 2

I don't understand their attitude. Even if it is the player, you would think they would get with the manufacturer to get the issue fixed. Saying it's not our fault and doing nothing is not a smart thing to do for a business if you want people to purchase your current and future products.

 

 

Why? Assuming that the only problem is the firmware, the manufacturer should be able to fix a firmware issue without Image's input.

Despite what Image says, there's obviously a bad batch of discs out there.  My disc 4 will NOT play on my PS3, which has the latest firmware.  I'm going to try to exchange my set through Amazon and see if I get an unaffected set.

Maybe they are not aware of the problem. Apparently a number of people have updated and it does not seem to help. Image needs to nail down the issue rather than pushing it off on someone else. What do you think this mess will do to season 2 sales? 

Can the mods combine this thread with the Twilight Zone review thread in the TV on DVD/blu Ray thread? I mention because we're discussing the same problems and attempts at solutions there too. Hate for some good info to be missed.

How could manufacturers not be aware of the problem? If someone has had multiple copies of the set and the same problem occurs on all of them, the first thing that people should have done is call or e-mail the manufacturer of their player to make sure that they are aware of the problem (and then they can go complain about it online).

 

Like was said earlier in the thread, it seems likely that there was a bad batch of discs. The reality is that they're not going to recall all the sets because there's some bad discs (though you can logically argue that they should). Once you rule the bad discs and firmware updates out, the discs work so there's not much that Image can do beyond that. As for the damage to the reputation to the set, it's already done (you will see people starting threads about whether or not The Twilight Zone is 'safe' for years because of this) and it will effect sales but there's nothing they can do about that now either.

Edited by TravisR - 10/28/10 at 6:42am

It's hardly surprising that a firm that was on the edge of bankruptcy a few short months ago would not admit to anything wrong with one of their products. One gets the sense that only a class action lawsuit for issuing a defective product would be the only way to get Image to do the right thing.

I'm not a lawyer but I'd like to hear how that would be a case. Maybe if someone tried to return the defective disc and Image refused (though the consumer would have to return it to the store that they bought it from anyway) but the realities of producing discs means that there's going to be some bad ones and as long as the consumer can get a replacement, I don't see how there's the potential for a lawsuit.

 

By no means am I letting Image off the hook (they definitely should have said something before now and even this is an e-mail to one person rather than making any type of official statement) but a batch of bad discs or a player needing a firmware update is bad luck but it's not like they deliberately tried to ruin their release.

Take the initiatie rather than slough it off on someone else. That is what they should have done and they might have salvaged it. Telling customers that its their hardware sounds like corporate buck passing. Remember the lesson of Tylenol when the manufacturer got in front of the issue. They salvaged the situation. Image is doing the exact opposite and it will make things worse.
 

 

So what exactly should Image have done? I don't mean vague ideas like "Take the initiative...", I mean what should they have specifically done when any firmware problems are already being taken care of by the manufacturers of the players?

 

I've already said that they should make some kind of statement but if there's a batch of bad discs (I've seen The Big Tall Wish play through with no problems so it's not all of them) and firmware problems, there's not much else that they can do.

Maybe it is not a firmware issue. You don't tell customers that we don't deal with them directly or slough them off with the firmware excuse. They should have exchanged the discs and used the returns to determine whether the issue is the discs or firmware. The fact that Amazon has stopped selling it should be of concern.
 

You're suggesting they should have initiated a disc-exchange program, then determined whether or not it was actually a firmware issue?  I somehow doubt the customers would appreciate that approach, should it turn out to be a firmware issue, and the exchanged discs suffer the exact same problems as the originals.

Oh no you didn't just compare a TZ Blu-ray problem with Tylenol..lol. Yeah, let's examine that...medicine/health risks  and blu-ray. Me thinks those are two totally different ballparks.

In terms of how a company overcomes a potential problem it is no different. They turned a potential disaster into a plus. Image should have exchanged the discs and examined them to determine if there was a bad batch of discs. Spending weeks saying it's not our fault when it may have been their fault is not good for business. Especially one that has had financial difficulties in the past.
 

 

 

Why? The normal procedure in a situation where you get a bad disc is to return it to the retailer. Personally, I'd be much more comfortable returning my bad disc to Amazon (where there'd be a record of me shipping it and I'd get a replacement in a day or two) than mailing it off to Image (where I'd have to pay to ship it and wait for a much longer period of time for them to send me a disc). Plus, you have no idea that Image doesn't look at the damaged discs that they're getting back from Amazon.

I wasn't going to hazard an opinion as to how this mess should have been handled. But seeing as I have received two bad sets from Amazon, I'm pretty much invested in this conversation and I have contacted everyone involved, Image, Amazon and Sony. Both Sony and Amazon have been great. Amazon at the time I spoke to them was working to resolve the problem with Image. I thought that was fine as they have some leverage to push Image. I've discussed this in the Twilight Zone Blu ray Season One thread. (I do hope this thread be combined with that.  )

 

Sony told me they'd issue an new firmware update as soon as they understand it's a problem that requires it. Another member at the other thread is pretty sure it's a replication problem. 

 

What I would have hoped Image do is at least answer emails and phone calls and issue a statement that they are aware of customers having playback problems.  And also let us know they are investigating and would let us know what the problem is and a solution.

 

I'm working with Amazon now and will report what I learn in the TZ BD review thread.

That was the response I was looking/hoping for.  I did not get what I felt like was an appropriate response, so I returned my set for a refund.  I'm not sure if I want to continue doing business with a company that appears to value their customers so little.

 

I am following all of the TZ threads to see how this plays out.  I appreciate all of the information that is being presented about this situation.

 

Doug

 

Well, here's the latest wrinkle in my horror story.  Amazon over-nighted a replacement set to me.  The replacement set was obviously NOT brand new (it had been re-shrinkwrapped with a softer-than-usual plastic wrap and lacked the usual factory labeling).  And hey, guess what?  Disc 4 actually loaded, but "The Big Tall Wish" and "Long Live Walter Jameson" were all f***ked up.  So I emailed Amazon the following:

"The replacement item arrived today.  To say I'm angry would be an understatement.  The item CLEARLY isn't a brand new copy.  It was sloppily re-shrinkwrapped; it's very obvious that it was somebody's else's returned item!  Further, it's every bit as defective as the original item I purchased (discs 1 and 4 do NOT work).  I was impressed by your quick response to my problem, but now I'm totally insulted.  You sent me someone else's defective item?  Seriously, what the hell?"

Their response?

"I'm really sorry to hear your replacement order didn't work out either.  I guess there's a bigger problem with the "The Twilight Zone: Season One [Blu-ray]" than we thought. Because of the trouble, we don't want to risk sending another defective DVD to you by replacing the order again, but we'd be happy to issue a full refund."

Note that they completely ignored the fact that they didn't actually send me a legitimate NEW replacement copy at all.  So I emailed them an angrier response, demanding that they rectify the situation, and guess what?  24 hours later, they haven't responded.  I think Amazon just lost a long-standing customer.  I'll be returning both sets and take my chances through somebody else.  If that set doesn't work, well.... man, I dunno.

I'm so fucking pissed right now.

 

Why didn't you just take the refund and wait for them to sort this out? if Image is printing new discs why would you want another set right now? I understand your upset about the reshrink wrapped set but step back from it a bit and take the refund. Patience is a virtue

 

My set still plays fine on the PS3 slim version...I have yet to hear anyone who has a slim have a problem with this set. Weird.

Not every set is defective, Scott.  I don't have statistics, but I'd assume that most people have perfectly fine sets (you, for example).  If Amazon had sent me a truly new, unopened set, there's a chance (presumably a fairly good chance) that it would work fine.  Why wouldn't I at least try the replacement route, rather than giving up immediately and just waiting it out?  The money is already spent.

 

 

 

I just checked mine and put in disc 4 and it wouldn't load. I have the Panasonic DMP-BD30 and there hasn't been any  firmware upgrades in over a year.

ok just to add my input, havent tried it lately on the PS3, but in my low tech , i have a first gen Insignia, and it works fine on it, but i cant get half of the new releases to play because of all the BD Java Crap, and i dont think there has been a firm update in over a year

They sure don't act like it. The standard reply is that it is not their problem. They should at least acknowledge there is an issue with the discs. From these threads there are a lot of people that are getting very angry at this. Plus if they are producing replacement discs then maybe it might be better to exchange it directly to see if that is the issue.
 

Update: I sent yet another message to Amazon, and now they're overnighting me ANOTHER replacement.  Their response included the following priceless blurb:

Update:  Got the second replacement set from Amazon.  Like the previous replacement set, it was sloppily re-shrinkwrapped and lacking the normal factory stickers.... in other words, it's (again) someone else's return.  Okay, whatever.  So I'm sitting here with three sets.

 

As I reported in another thread, disc 4 plays fine on my Samsung BD-C6500, but wouldn't load at all in my PS3 (with the latest firmware).  So it's not as if I didn't have a workaround for the problem (whatever the "problem" is/was); however, I wasn't content to limit myself to the bedroom to watch disc 4.  So armed with three copies, I endeavored to do some extensive testing. 

 

All 3 copies of disc 4 resulted in varying degrees of failure on my PS3.  I tried all 3 copies multiple times; they loaded about 50% of the time (the rest of the time, the PS3 gave me an error message).  I was actually able to watch "Long Live Walter Jameson" in its entirety on one of the discs, but "The Big Tall Wish" invariably crashed at the halfway point every time I got that far.  Moreover, with all 3 copies, fast-forwarding didn't work at all.  Also, you know that subtle grinding sound that usually only happens for a second or two when a disc first loads?  Here, on all 3 copies, it was constant.  The other discs in the set loaded fine, played fine, didn't make undue noise, and had no trouble fast-forwarding.

 

Onto the Samsung.  Happily, all 3 copies of disc 4 played flawlessly.  I watched both "Long Live Walter Jameson" and "The Big Tall Wish" all the way through with a critical eye, and saw zero anomalies.  The other discs in the set also played fine.

 

I also have a first-generation Sony (BDP-S300) that resides in my daughter's room.  Frankly, it's a piece of crap.  Slow as mud, no internet connectivity, big and clunky.  I wasn't even going to bother trying it, but in the interest of scientific discovery... well, I had to.  And guess what?  Disc 4, from all three sets, played FLAWLESSLY.  This is a first-generation player WITHOUT the latest firmware (which is 5.50, dated 10/14/10), and all 3 copies of disc 4 (and the other discs in the set) loaded quickly and played without incident.  I was floored.

 

It now appears that the problem is indeed with my PS3 (despite the current firmware) and not with the discs.  I'm blown away.  I honestly don't know what to think now.  I was convinced that disc 4 was defective somehow, but now.... well, I'm stumped.  Is it possible that Image was right, and it's our players that are the problem?

 

I'll probably get another Samsung BD-C6500 for the bedroom and sell the PS3 (I don't do any gaming, and the Samsung does everything I need a blu-ray player to do and more).  My wife thinks I'm crazy to replace a player over one disc, but hey, it's The Twilight Zone.

 

Craig, i own a Sony 1000ES, and could not play The Big Tall Wish, beyond the halfway point. I had the same results as you. However, i had no problem with discs loading.

 

Frankly, it's not your PS3, or it is, but more to the point, it is how the player reads the damn thing. Sorry, but i need a set that will play on everything. Whats to say that the thing will not play on your next player in a few years? It needs to play on everything TODAY, and it doesn't.

 

The problem is not with just Sony players either.

Oh, I hear ya, Rick, and I completely agree.  I think this is one of those situations where, unless Image somehow identifies the actual trouble spot(s) and reauthors/replaces the set, our individual solutions will vary.

I wish Image would at least answer my emails.