Alfred Hitchcock Presents Coming To Dvd In 2005...i Hope!!!!!! (1 Viewer)

[Chris S]

Boycotting...? Hmm.... Well I guess I'm boycotting a purchase but not the title because instead I just added them to my Netflix rental list. I love Hitchcock and I've only seen a couple of the original shows. My problem is that I don't have the time to sit down and watch all the episodes within the a return window to know that all the discs are good.

 

[Jeff#]

Just do a forward scan, Chris! Mike DVD recorder lets me view a program up to 100X the normal speed. If there are any defects my fast eye can spot them.

 

[Dale MA]

I've just watched the first four episodes on the first disc, I also did a quick scan through all the discs, no problems yet...

 

[JeffT.]

Travis brings up an excellent point and for those (disgruntled) consumers who received defective DVD merchandise from Universal Studios Home Entertainment provided is a weblink where anyone can contact the company via e-mail and let your (righteous) disatisfaction be known.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment Costumer Contact (Click Here).

Incidentally I've returned my defective copy of the ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS 3-disc box set for a full refund and I declined the offer for a replacement.

Jeff T.

 

[Jeff#]

Jeff, if anyone from Universal ever saw how you constantly put all of your posts' TV series titles in boldface, the years they were produced, original networks that aired them, etc. then I can GUARANTEE that you will not get a refund.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

You guys have been pretty brutal towards the set, and I certainly understand why. When the screener for an eventual review arrived last Friday, it had a bad enough scratch on disc 3 that I would have taken it back for an immediate exchange... but since I can't do this, I ended up going to Costco and buying one for myself. This one had a slight scratch on disc 1, but the other discs were fine. I would check the original set to see how it plays with that big scratch, but I don't have time. Thankfully, Costco has a good exchange policy should there be a problem with the set I purchased.

One thing for certain: the packaging and the use of DVD-18 will be a strong (and negative) topic of discussion in the review. What's especially frustrating here is that Kolchak released the same week with largely the same DVD-18 configuration came in separate thinpaks, and there were no scratches. I think scratches are a packaging issue.

- Steve

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Okay, I did not get past disc 1 of AHP.

Episode 4 did it for me. I had freeze-ups on both sets that were in my possession. Thankfully, they were at different positions so I could at least see the entire episode.

While I would love to own and see these shows, I can't recommend their purchase in their current form. And when I post the review in the next day or two, that is what it will say. I thank those of you who were alerting everyone to this early on. Had Universal sent this set the week it was released, I would have been right with you.

- Steve

 

[JohnOPR]

I had a freeze problem with side B of disc 1, episode 6. Couldn't get past that point. My other discs in the series played fine, however. I just returned the defective DVD (disc 1) to Universal, asking for a replacement. Wonder if dual sided DVD's have a shorter life span than single sided DVD's? Or, if quality control has been maintained, is it about the same?

 

[Page]

I watched the entire series without any problems. I'm watching on an Onkyo SP-1000 which is a relatively high-end player that has never failed to play anything I throw at it, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

 

[Jeff#]

I have a low-end Panasonic DVD recorder, and I had no technical problems with these discs whatsoever.

 

[Craig Beam]

I'm using a $75 Sony player, and these discs have (so far) played without a.... hitch.

Oh come on, somebody had to do it!

 

[Seymour Uranowitz]

Yep, it was Jeff# in post #115 of this very thread!

 

[Craig Beam]

Yeah, but that was 10 days ago....

 

[Paul Arnette]

Would anyone here that owns the Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season One set be able to tell me where the layer changes are on each side of each disc?

 

[Jeff#]

I'm not sure I understand your question, Paul. What do you mean by layer changes?

 

[David Von Pein]

Why would there even be a noticeable layer change on a DVD-18 which features multiple 25-minute episodes of a TV show? I doubt any layer change exists (that is noticeable). I've never noticed a layer change (i.e., a pause) on any TV-DVD boxed set, ever.

Wouldn't Universal just start "Layer 2" on each side with the beginning of an episode?

 

[Paul Arnette]

Jeff#, David VP,

Since most of the problems that occur with DVD-18 releases are at the layer change, I thought that if I knew what the timecode was for each layer change in the AHP S1 set, I would have an easier time deciding whether or not the discs were good or not, as some of the discs scanned show as flat-out defective with Nero's CD-DVD Speed, and others are more 'questionable'.

Now that you mention it, David VP, I haven't noticed a layer change on a TV-DVD box set either. I hadn't thought of that, and that'll make things a little more difficult in getting a good set. That being said, if no one knows, I will continue to return the sets until I have all three discs that pass a Nero CD-DVD Speed Disc Quality test. So far, discs 1 and 3 do, while 2 does not.

 

[MarkHarrison]

Well, I finally lost what little will power I had and picked this set up last week. Now I'm trying to figure out if I have a good set or not. I'd rather not watch them at an accelerated rate just so I don't miss out on my 30 day return window. So I've been putting them in the player, hitting Play All, then going about my normal business. So far discs 1 & 2 have played all the way through and landed back at the main menu.

Is this a good enough test? It sounds like the primary problem is discs freezing, so I would guess this should be enough to figure out if there are any problems. Is it safe to assume the discs are good if they're playing the whole disc?

 

[michael_ks]

Like you, not wanting to rush through them, this is the test I'd undertake as well. But discs can freeze up, skip forward several minutes and finish out the episode, so...

I've got this title on my list to pick up if I can get a reduced price. Maybe I'll get it when DDD has their 20 percent off June sale. This may sound premature, but I have the feeling that this is the only season Universal will release. I wouldn't mind passing on this altogether, in anticipation that the quality control kinks will be worked out by S2 or S3, but I just don't visualize more releases. I've pretty much given up on AHP and "Night Gallery" as well.

 

[MarkHarrison]

Well, it's the best method I can think of to test the discs for problems. So hopefully it will work out well for me.