Question on 'flippers' (1 Viewer)

I have read a lot of comments on this board from folks unhappy with so called flipper discs.

My question is this - what is the issue or issues with these discs?

I have a few sets of flippers I bought on the cheap. I've not had a problem with these discs. So I am wondering what the issues with them are.

Thanks

Largely boils down to manufacturing quality control of the discs.


Apparently not every dvd player is created equally. Not every dvd player knows how to handle multiple re-reads of sectors which are erroneous the first few times.



Just about all of my double-sided flipper discs can play fine on my various computer dvd-rom drives. (Only one flipper disc doesn't play properly, but it was a $2 dump bin purchase which I didn't want to drive across town to do an exchange. At the time shortly later, I found another copy at a different dump bin also for $2, which was closer to where I lived).


But in contrast, most of my standalone dvd players have problems playing these double-sided flipper discs. Typically what happens is close to the transition between the two layers on a particular flipper side, the dvd player's laser "gets lost" and freezes and/or the picture pixelates.

I've had numerous freezing problems on my various flippers. That said, I also have several that have not had any problems. I especially hate it when I'm half-way thru a season and then a problem disc pops up. Plus, I just plain hate the way they look (no artwork, fingerprints show up too easily, tiny print on the inner-edge of the disc, etc.).

If you want to know everything and the kitchen sink about double-sided flipper discs, you can scan through the quintessential thread about it on here:



http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/322475-universal-studios-warner-brothers-reissued-dvd-sets/

Mr. Handley said:

I've had numerous freezing problems on my various flippers. That said, I also have several that have not had any problems. I especially hate it when I'm half-way thru a season and then a problem disc pops up.

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Even more annoying is having to watch such discs on the computer, to avoid such cantankerous behavior on my standalone dvd players.

Mr. Handley said:

Plus, I just plain hate the way they look (no artwork, fingerprints show up too easily, tiny print on the inner-edge of the disc, etc.).

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Even worse is when the original packaging scratches and/or warps the flipper discs. Or more generally, the digipak disc tray design is so horrible that it is difficult to take the discs out, such as: Dukes of Hazzard, Miami Vice, Law & Order franchise, etc ...


Generally when I buy a flipper set with the flipper disc faces touching one another, I immediately put them into surplus dvd cases so that they're no longer touching one another. For example, such as: most of the original Dallas season sets, Remington Steele, Reba, Alien Nation, etc ... (I also do this for digipak season sets where the discs are difficult to take out of the trays, for both flippers and single-side discs).

I've never had a problem with "flippers" that I could attribute to the discs being two-sided. My "Rockford Files" Season One box seems to be one that other people have had problems with, but I just rewatched every episode recently. Having said that, flippers are twice as likely to be damaged in a busted case, or to be pressed badly in the first place, so I do prefer single-sided, easy-to-identify discs.

I too have had problems with my flipper dvd 18's of ROCKFORD FILES season 1 and ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS season 1...I've had to switch players or watch them on my computer disc drive also...

I dearly wish that Universal would have done the right thing back in the day and reissued them properly on a replacement program...I have all the ROCKFORD FILES individual season releases, and don't want to double dip for the recent complete series...does the new complete set have newly redone discs in the first place?

DVD-18 flipper discs=bad news.
universal used these all the time on their tv dvd shows about a decade or more ago.
My WB flippers have always worked fine (The Waltons, Dukes of Hazard, Kung Fu etc). But I do have a problem with them as well, trying to find the correct disc number/side, and episode title that matches the episode I want to watch. Usually the episodes are listed on the packaging, but it still is a hassle sometimes(especially with The Waltons which has impossibly small font).

Flashgear said:

I dearly wish that Universal would have done the right thing back in the day and reissued them properly on a replacement program...I have all the ROCKFORD FILES individual season releases, and don't want to double dip for the recent complete series...does the new complete set have newly redone discs in the first place?

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Offhand, I can't think of many flipper discs cases where the "right thing" was done via a replacement program.


The only case I can think of offhand, were various Farscape releases by ADV around a decade ago.


http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Farscape/6369

Bryan^H said:

DVD-18 flipper discs=bad news.

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In practice, I've found dvd14 type flipper discs to be just as bad as dvd18 type flippers. Fox was notorious for using dvd14 type flippers.


Around the same time Universal and Warner were deep into flipper-mania around a decade ago, Fox went the route of only really using dvd14 and dvd10 type flipper discs for their tv shows season sets. (I don't know offhand if Fox ever used dvd18 type flipper discs).

Of the Fox dvd14 flippers I've accumulated over the years, it was almost always the dual-layer dvd9 side of a dvd14 flipper disc which had the cantankerous behavior. The single-layer dvd5 flipside of the same dvd14 flipper disc, typically had less problems.


Though in the end, this isn't saying much. A lousy disc is still a lousy disc, regardless of which side is cantankerous.

jcroy said:

In practice, I've found dvd14 type flipper discs to be just as bad as dvd18 type flippers. Fox was notorious for using dvd14 type flippers.


Around the same time Universal and Warner were into flipper-mania around a decade ago, Fox went the route of only really using dvd14 and dvd10 type flipper discs for their tv shows season sets. (I don't know offhand if Fox ever used dvd18 type flipper discs).

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Yeah I forgot about Fox. I remember my first season of Hill Street Blues was unplayable in 3 different dvd players at the time.

A decade ago, he BEST OF ABBOTT & COSTELLO: THE FRANCHISE COLLECTION Flipper Volume Sets gave me the worst headache, having had to exchange Volumes 1 and 3 (The former required 2 exchanges!) due to freeze ups, at our local Wal-Mart!


Thankfully, I now have the single sided 15 DVD 2014 Reissued Complete Universal Collection, which includes the previously unreleased (Prior to 2008) IT AIN'T HAY, and a superior print of the original release of BUCK PRIVATES, rather than the Realart reissue, which was complete with their superimposed Logo that in my opinion, rather tainted the Film's final gag! With my cost for this as just over $60 Canadian with all costs included, I consider myself quite fortunate!


CHEERS!

I've had problems with flippers from Universal and Warner both. The Warner discs are less prone to error, but the errors still happen, whereas the Universal discs had nearly 100% problems, and on multiple players. I won't ever buy another flipper. Don't care if they're gold-plated.

I went through 3 copies of the original Fox Studio Classics "Diary of Anne Frank" because the movie always went haywire.

One thing that bugs me besides the quality control, playback difficulty, and increased risk of damage is that I can't ever remember what side the disc identification is referring to.


If I'm seeing Disc 1: Side A, is it on the same side of the disc as the marking is? Or do I insert it into my DVD player with the marking facing up?


I've had minor playback issues with my Warner flippers, but nothing like what I've gone through with Universal's products from 2005. I don't even try to play those on my DVD player. Only my PS3 has seemed to be able to cope with them.


Where they'd lock up, freeze, or skip ahead on any of my standalone DVD players, the PS3 plays them just fine.

LeoA said:

One thing that bugs me besides the quality control, playback difficulty, and increased risk of damage is that I can't ever remember what side the disc identification is referring to.


If I'm seeing Disc 1: Side A, is it on the same side of the disc as the marking is? Or do I insert it into my DVD player with the marking facing up?

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Hi Leo!


Regarding the Labeling, I've seen it both ways. Sometimes, it's with the label facing up, and sometimes it is facing down!


This is just another of the "joys" of playing double sided DVD's!


CHEERS!


Tony

LeoA said:

... is that I can't ever remember what side the disc identification is referring to.


If I'm seeing Disc 1: Side A, is it on the same side of the disc as the marking is? Or do I insert it into my DVD player with the marking facing up?

Click to expand...

I remember something like this back in the laserdisc era.


Too many movie laserdiscs I came across in those days, were typically a massive 12 inch diameter double-sided flipper disc.

jcroy said:

I remember something like this back in the laserdisc era.


Too many movie laserdiscs I came across in those days, were typically a massive 12 inch diameter double-sided flipper disc.

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If what you mean is, to this day I own two copies of "Spike & Co.: Do It A Cappella" on laserdisc because Side A of one and Side B of the other are playable and the other sides of each have laser rot, then I know EXACTLY what you mean.