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Question about Warner Archive MOD TV series sets (1 Viewer)

Nelson Au

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Hey guys- I seem to be in a TV series collecting bug!

There’s a few series I’m considering to collect and I see they are from Warner Archive. And they are MOD. I don’t think I have many MOD discs from Warner. Though maybe I do, I bought many many movies via Amazon that are Warner Archive discs and they have printed art on the case and on the disc. I’ve seen the discs described on the threads here as pressed or MOD. Sounds like Warner makes an initial run of discs that are replicated like they normally do? I’m asking because in the Amazon reviews, the TV series on MOD discs from Warner sometimes skip.

The shows I’m looking at are The FBI and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. These have been out for a while. So maybe they no longer have pressed copies. If that makes a difference? I have already ordered Spenser for Hire and that is not due to arrive until April 1 or so from Amazon. So I hope those play Ok.

I’ll be interested in your insights and experiences. Thanks!
 

David Weicker

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I think the majority of WAC discs do not have issues, whether pressed or burned, created by Amazon or another manufacturer (currently Alliance).

However the few discs that have problems are the ones that are discussed Nobody talks about the 99% that work, all you hear about are the 1% that fail, which over-inflates the problems.
 

The Obsolete Man

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I think the majority of WAC discs do not have issues, whether pressed or burned, created by Amazon or another manufacturer (currently Alliance).

However the few discs that have problems are the ones that are discussed Nobody talks about the 99% that work, all you hear about are the 1% that fail, which over-inflates the problems.
Yeah, my oldest burned sets are Night Court S4 and 5. They're about a decade old, and still played fine as of around a year or so ago when I rewatched the series.

Do I prefer pressed? Yeah, it's just ingrained. But the burned sets do seem to last.
 

Jeff Flugel

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I agree with the guys above, Nelson...buy with confidence. Just know that if you order from Amazon, they will be burned discs for sure.

Personally, I recommend using Import CDs, as they often have superior pricing on Warner Archive TV sets. WAC have released a lot of neat stuff, but their TV-on-DVD sets are pricey, especially if they are split into two volumes per season, like The F.B.I. One thing you can rely on in nearly every case is that the image quality of the episodes is of a general high standard.
 

Nelson Au

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Hey guys, many thanks for your input! Glad to hear the likelihood of failure is low. I agree the majority of buyers are happy and silent and only a small number of unhappy people complain!

I was thinking of going direct from Warner, but yes, a series like the FBI is pricey. Thanks for the tip to shop at Import CD, I have not heard of them.
 

Bob Gu

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Seasons One and Two of the FBI were released before the Warner Archive Collection began pressing any WAC releases. So no matter where you buy the first two seasons you will get DVD-Rs. Seasons Three to Nine were pressed, from WAC and all the other online retailers, except Amazon. Amazon burned DVD-R versions of the pressed WAC titles, through their Create Space arm.

Amazon Create Space folded about a year ago, so Amazon does not manufacture their own in-house DVD-Rs any more. So they are now getting their studio mods from the same distributors every other retailer uses. So on new pressed WAC titles you should get pressed versions. But on older titles, known to be pressed, I would not buy from Amazon, as they still may have their burned versions in stock.

Except for one report here at HTF, of the Special Cover Edition of SHAZAM, purchased direct the WAC website, reverting to DVD-R after the initial pressed run, I have never heard of any of the other pressed WAC TV titles going to DVD-R. (Amazon manufactured DVD-R sets the exception.)

All three seasons of SPENSER FOR HIRE were pressed. I bought the First Season in 2014, when it first came out. Seasons Two and Three were released in 2015. I did not buy them until late 2018, from Oldies.com and they were still pressed DVDs.

Importcds and Deepdiscount are owned by the same company, along with some other sites. If you order from them and even direct from WAC the return addresses will be the same, as they all use the same distributors.
 

Nelson Au

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Thank you for the insight Bob! That’s great information.

That’s interesting to know about Deep Discount and Import DVD. I read the FAQ on ImportDVD before I saw your post. They say they have a large warehouse where they stock all the products for immediate shipping from. So perhaps the warehouse is the same one Deep Discount uses since you said they are owned by the same company.

That’s good to know about Spenser for Hire being pressed. I might cancel my order for Spenser since Amazon says it will ship by April 1st. And then give Import CD a try. As I said, I never heard of Import CD before but I have heard of Deep Discount.

Thanks for the Import CD recommendation Jeff! I imagine Import CD will use a solid box to ship the order rather then use flimsy padded envelopes like Amazon does.
 

BobO'Link

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I've used Import CD a few times but mostly use Deep Discount as they have more coupon/sale discount codes. Prices tend to be different and, IIRC, DD seemed to have more consistently lower pricing (it's been a while since I compared but one I just did out of curiosity is several $$ lower at DD). Looks like Import CD's shipping is a bit higher with no free shipping threshold. Both appear to ship from the same warehouse with the same packaging, which can be a crap shoot. Sometimes it's a box, sometimes it's a boxelope (the cardboard envelope things that self seal on all edges), and sometimes a padded envelope.
 

smithbrad

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I was made an order from Amazon, the label on the outside of the box was from Amazon and matched my order. However, the DVD disk and invoice inside were from Deep Discount. That tells me the the warehouse if KY is used across vendors, which I found interesting at the time.
 

filmnoirguy

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Does Amazon have sales on DVDs anymore? I used to get good bargains from them many moons ago but haven't seen a good "Sale" from them for quite some time. Deep Discount at least has their 15% off sales. I can remember the days when they were 25% off and then 20% off. No more!
 

David Norman

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The last I checked DD hasn't had general 20-25% codes since 2013-2014 though their general daily prices are often more heavily discounted now so with the 15% are often cheaper.


ALLIANCE (used to be SuperD), Best Buy, and AMAZON all have warehouses in the same Industrial Park in Shepherdsville -- the Google Map Photos are somewhat funny to see them within a few hundred feet so a lot of product likely starts at ALLIANCE and moves to the other docks for labelling/shipping. Amazon has sources quite a lot of their media from Alliance in teh past though they often move them to their own shipping sites. I think 90%+ of BBY media is sources through ALLIANCE and (a lot if not all) BBY 8 digital SKUs are shipped directly from KY.

The list is very long, but ALLIANCE directly owns all the DirectToU, LLC brands though it appears the front end (order, CSR, pricing, etc) still operates semi independently then sends the orders to the same warehouse. I've lost track of all the stores that are included, but DeepDiscount/WowHD, ImportCD, Blowitoutahere, OddBanana, DVDPlanet (until they closed the front end), I think DVDPacific if they still operate, and a ton of others that operate via Ebay, Amazon 3rd party, or their own Retail Sites.

ALLIANCE also directly handles supplies shipping for B&N, TCM, Criterion.com, some of BBY and a bit of Amazon, some Walmart, maybe WBShop except Warner Archives. They supply some if not the majority of Media for just about all the Big Box B&M (except Target) including B&N, Walmart, and Best Buy. Target seems to be one of Ingram Entertainments last large contracts though I think they handle at least some product for many other stores.

When I was looking for something else I came across a number that states ALLIANCE handles 48% of the global vinyl market. I suspect the US DVD/BD may be 60-80% directly or indirectly though them
 

Neil Brock

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Speaking of Warner Archive, I'm assuming that they are done with releasing any vintage (1950s-70s) shows at this point. I don't see any reason to think otherwise and with George Feltenstein leaving, I assume that's end.
 

bmasters9

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Sometimes it's a box, sometimes it's a boxelope (the cardboard envelope things that self seal on all edges), and sometimes a padded envelope.

There's a new word-- some things I've purchased from Amazon have come in that style too (I never knew it was called a "boxelope").
 

BobO'Link

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There's a new word-- some things I've purchased from Amazon have come in that style too (I never knew it was called a "boxelope").
I have no idea what the true word for them is. It's just what I call them based on it being cardboard (corrugated like, used for a box with one smooth side and one "wavy" side covered in what appears to be rubber cement) in an envelope shape. When 2 coated sides are pressed together they stick tightly. Place items between 2 sheets, press the 4 edges together, BAM! a "box" that looks like an envelope - i.e. a "boxelope."

The shipment I received yesterday from DD came in a boxelope - 2 DVDs and a CD.
 
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ClassicTVMan1981X

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The first copy of Wally Gator I got was defective so bad (disc 1 skipped part way, and disc 2 did not play at all). I subsequently wrote Sherri about it, sending her a picture of the DVD in question, and she responded and happily sent me another, which took six months to fulfill. The replacement Wally Gator set I got worked perfectly on both discs!

~Ben
 

ClassicTVMan1981X

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Sadly, I think you are correct, Neil. Even with Feltenstein there over the past several years, they've released very little pre-1980s TV on DVD. I guess we should count ourselves lucky to have gotten season one of Mr. Novak released.
I don't think WAC will end with Feltenstein's departure. I do believe there will be certain people who will adapt to what we want. I hope they will not put the Hanna-Barbera line on moratorium.

~Ben
 

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