ER: The Complete Eleventh Season - Audio defect?!? (1 Viewer)

[yigohgoh]

Hello!

I'm just throwing this question out there in case someone else has experienced the same problem and knows if/how it can be fixed.
I purchased ER: The Complete Eleventh Season back in July when it came out, and noticed immediately when I started playing it that something was off.

In particular, the audio on disc 1, episode 1 seemed to be sped up 4% as if it was from a PAL source or something. My ears picked up on the pitch-change to the opening credits' theme music immediately. I continued watching, and all subsequent episodes were back to normal pitch, so it's not as if I accidentally purchased a PAL version or anything - besides, the box art is marked as Region 1, and I don't have a region-free DVD player or a PAL-capable system that would allow me to play a European/PAL disc anyhow.

I sent an e-mail to Warner Home Video inquiring about the issue, returned my set to them in August as per their instructions and they eventually sent me a replacement set. Apparently, it's the first time they had heard of the issue. I've just put in the replacement set and same problem (sped up audio on episode 1) is present.

Have any of you experienced the same problem of sped-up/PAL-ish audio on the 11th Season Premiere?

 

[Christian Preischl]

I haven't even started watching Season 8 I must admit.

But I just threw in disc one of Season 11 and the first episode is most definitely sped up! Not only is the pitch difference immediately noticeable, the episode is also a full 2 minutes shorter then every other episode on that disc (42.x as opposed to 44,xx) which is consistent with the usual PAL speedup difference. Don't know what happened here but it's definitely screwed up.

 

[yigohgoh]

I appreciate you checking it out, Christian!

I do have to admit that I'm a little disappointed with the outcome though, since this probably means that the entire run of discs carries this unusual defect and that it's not just some fluke that I picked up a "bad" one.

I also find it odd that Warner Home Video's representative told me that my e-mail to them was the first time that they had heard of the problem. Honestly, I would have thought that more people would have picked up on the pitch change and inquired about it. Chances are that if I'm truly the only one asking, they're not likely to reissue a replacement disc with corrected audio.

While the episode is still watchable, it bugs me that it's not "right"...and makes me wonder how such a thing could have happened. After all, it's an American-made series, the DVD is being issued by the studio that distributed it for television in the first place, and yet for some reason there's an audio error?!? Boggles the mind... wouldn't the original studio have access to the original source material, and hence the original un-sped-up audio/video?

 

[Christian Preischl]

Yeah, no idea how it could have happened, however given Warner's track record in their TV home video department I can't say I'm surprised either (*cough* Tom & Jerry *cough*). Also, a reason why nobody has mentioned it before might be because this isn't exactly a top seller. I gotta agree with you that chances for a replacement disc being made are very slim in this particular case.

 

[Davidh27]

I have all the Pal R4 E.R DVD sets. We're lucky to have had all 15 season released on the PAL format.
I checked our season 11 and didn't notice a particular speed up in the audio on Ep 1..
The episode on the Pal set runs 42.20 minutes. Subsequent episodes roughly run the same time.There is no 2 minute discrepancy.
Since the show's overseas releases have always been much faster than the North Amercan release, I wonder what their source material is?

 

[yigohgoh]

Yeah, I've noticed that some regions overseas already have the entire series available on DVD...which I also find weird. I would expect a series developed in North America to be released in its entirety initially in North America. :/ But instead, Region 1 appears to be the furthest behind in ER releases. Go figure!

To conclude then: not only is Region 1 lagging behind in releases, it's also the only one so far with audio speed-up in Season 11 (based on what David posted above). Terrific!

I've also attempted to contact WHV again to see if they would look into the possibility of fixing the error, but it looks like my e-mail has gone into their trash/ignore list. I guess those who bought Season 11 are just stuck with this defect. So enjoy ER: The Complete Eleventh Season, Chipmunk Edition...