Universal Studios & Warner Brothers Reissued DVD Sets (1 Viewer)

[Tony Bensley]

I've rarely ever been turned down on foreign amazon sites, when it comes to dvd/bluray, music cds, and books.

Perhaps it may be that this occurs more on the Canadian end? I wouldn't say it's that common, but I have run into the can't ship to this address situation quite a few times over the past several years. One time, this happened when I tried to order, of all things, a VHS of ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS (1940) from a U.S. Amazon Marketplace vendor. It seemed asinine to me that I was denied shipment over a used item, but so it goes!

CHEERS!

 

[jcroy]

(Going offtopic).

I've only ever been turned down when I tried ordering new copies of certain books which were "not authorized" for sale in america. Though ironically, these same books were easily available on the used market for a small fraction of the original new price.

This was originally done through an offline bookstore.

 

[BobO'Link]

Perhaps it may be that this occurs more on the Canadian end? I wouldn't say it's that common, but I have run into the can't ship to this address situation quite a few times over the past several years. One time, this happened when I tried to order, of all things, a VHS of ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS (1940) from a U.S. Amazon Marketplace vendor. It seemed asinine to me that I was denied shipment over a used item, but so it goes!

CHEERS!

I'd guess it has more to do with shipping and/or import fees than anything else. I have this happen occasionally on Amazon UK with MP vendors.

 

[jcroy]

... from a U.S. Amazon Marketplace vendor.

Not every third party vendor on the american amazon is based in america.

Over the years of ordering used stuff through amazon's marketplace vendors, I'm generally skeptical of any of them explictly revealing where they are located geographically. I only know afterward when the package arrives in my mailbox.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Not every third party vendor on the american amazon is based in america.

Over the years of ordering used stuff through amazon's marketplace vendors, I'm generally skeptical of any of them explictly revealing where they are located geographically. I only know afterward when the package arrives in my mailbox.

Sorry, I should have indicated Amazon.com Third Party Vendor, as that was what I meant, and is what's accurate. Of course, Amazon third party vendors could be located just about anywhere in the world. However, this doesn't seem to factor in as to whether or not a given item will ship to my door. It's just one of those bugaboos that seemingly randomly pop up every once in a while!

For what it's worth, I've posted my question within the comments on THE MUNSTERS: THE COMPLETE SERIES amazon.com page.

CHEERS!

 

[jcroy]

Since they appear to be on such a kick reissuing single-sided versions of tv series that that originally released on flippers

As much as I would like to believe that Universal is on a "kick" of releasing single-sided versions of previous double-sided flipper disc sets, I strongly suspect this current batch might very well be just a coincidence.


Over the past year or so, and in the near future:

Kojak season 1 - Feb 14, 2017

Kolchak - Oct 11, 2016

Emergency seasons 1 and 2 (in the complete series set) - July 12, 2016

the original American Gothic - May 24, 2016


Before this, one would have to go back to mid-2015 and late-2014 for any releases, such as the short lived: Rockford Files complete series set, Quantum Leap complete series set, and Sliders complete series set. (These versions all appear to be out of print now).


If it has taken a decade for these less popular flipper sets to be re-released as single-sided discs sets, then perhaps the old flipper inventory of the remaining sets might also be running out by now (ie. Quincy ME season 1/2, Baa Baa Black Sheep vol 1, Alfred Hitchcock Presents season 1, Adam-12 season 1, Dragnet 1967 season 1, Las Vegas seasons 1 and 2, Cleopatra 2525, Earth2, Seaquest season 1, Law & Order SVU season 5, Law & Order Criminal Intent season 3, etc ...). Assuming Universal wants to keep these titles in-print.

 

[JeffT.]

If Universal wants to reissue tv series DVD sets then why not the first season (1955-56) of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS (CBS 1955-61, NBC 1961-62) which hilariously saw 39 half hour black-and-white episodes crammed onto a scant 3 discs?!

This thing proved to be a total disaster and fortunately I was able to get a full refund at absolutely no expense except time.

Here's a weblink to a vintage DVD TALK online review dated October 04th, 2005 to substantiate all this:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/18026/alfred-hitchcock-presents-season-one/

This is one longstanding mistake that I would really like to see rectified to be sure. It would be great to finally acquire this splendid first season at last.

Even Mr. Hitchcock would agree I'm sure!

Jeff T.

 

[Randy Korstick]

Hmm that's strange I purchased Season one of Alfred Hitchcock 3 years ago it was on the flipper discs but every episode looked great and played flawlessly. Another in the great mysteries of the disc world where some have problems and some don't. I actually have over 300 flipper discs and never had a problem playing any and never had a problem with any professionally made DVD-R. I have only had problems with about 15-20 discs in my DVD collecting since 1997 which is not that many at all. But all of them have been pressed DVD-9's

 

[jcroy]

Even better would be either Mill Creek or VEI licensing and releasing the entire Alfred Hitchcock tv series on bluray. (One could dream).

(ie. Instead of waiting for Universal to re-release season 1 as single-sided dvd discs, or even releasing the remaining outstanding seasons on dvd).

 

[jcroy]

For that matter, if there exists hd transfers for other old black and white shows originally released on double-sided flipper discs, such as The Addams Family or the original Outer Limits (both originally released by Fox/MGM), then I might be encouraged to buy them on bluray if they are ever released.

Whether released by Mill Creek, VEI, or Shout Factory. We now know that Fox and Universal are largely no-gos for most older classic stuff.

 

[jcroy]

Hmm that's strange I purchased Season one of Alfred Hitchcock 3 years ago it was on the flipper discs but every episode looked great and played flawlessly. Another in the great mysteries of the disc world where some have problems and some don't. I actually have over 300 flipper discs and never had a problem playing any and never had a problem with any professionally made DVD-R. I have only had problems with about 15-20 discs in my DVD collecting since 1997 which is not that many at all. But all of them have been pressed DVD-9's

I found most double-sided flipper discs are completely readable on the computer.

On the other hand, not all standalone dvd/bluray players are designed/created equally. Highly variable depending on how "smart" a particular design is at dealing with multiple rereads of flaky data sectors.

 

[jcroy]

In spite of my huge misgivings about Mill Creek, at least they appear to be using a competent bluray manufacturing facility.

(Though Mill Creek's dvds are an entirely different matter. Especially their dvds manufactured in China).

 

[Randy Korstick]

I found most double-sided flipper discs are completely readable on the computer.

On the other hand, not all standalone dvd/bluray players are designed/created equally. Highly variable depending on how "smart" a particular design is at dealing with multiple rereads of flaky data sectors.

I never play them on a computer but I agree not all players are created equal. I have always thought the flipper issue came down to one of three reasons:
1.) The Player
2.) Different weather environments (i.e. humidity)
3.) How the disc is removed from the spindle. (Prying it lose instead of using the release button can compromise the glue between the layers. Believe it or not there used to be a whole thread about people having to pry a DVD out of the packaging and not being able to use the release button so it is a real issue.)

 

[jcroy]

3.) How the disc is removed from the spindle. (Prying it lose instead of using the release button can compromise the glue between the layers. Believe it or not there used to be a whole thread about people having to pry a DVD out of the packaging and not being able to use the release button so it is a real issue.)

I've had a few sets which had atrocious packaging which made the discs difficult to take out of the disc trays.

So I just put these discs into some surplus dvd cases. The original packaging was never used again for storing any discs. Nowadays surplus dvd cases can be found for around 25 cents a pop (or less) in bulk quantities.


If you go further back through this now-long current thread, there's many examples of tv season sets which had completely atrocious packaging where the discs were difficult to take out of the trays, and/or the packaging warped the discs.

 

[jcroy]

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah .......

 

[BobO'Link]

Yada, yada, yada...

 

[Darby67]

Hmm that's strange I purchased Season one of Alfred Hitchcock 3 years ago it was on the flipper discs but every episode looked great and played flawlessly. Another in the great mysteries of the disc world where some have problems and some don't. I actually have over 300 flipper discs and never had a problem playing any and never had a problem with any professionally made DVD-R. I have only had problems with about 15-20 discs in my DVD collecting since 1997 which is not that many at all. But all of them have been pressed DVD-9's

Randy:

The pixelation and freezing issues with Universal's DVD-18 flipper discs is actually well documented especially with sets such the 2004 Universal Monster legacy sets (which they eventually re-released on single-sided discs in 2014), the 2005 Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season One, the 2005 Hammer Horror Series 8-Film Collection (which they eventually re-released on single-sided discs in 2014), the 2005 Kolchak: The Night Stalker Complete Series (which they eventually re-released on single-sided discs in 2016), and many others. Universal's modus operandi in dealing with the issue has been consistent: never acknowledge that there were problems with the original flipper releases but re-release them on single-sided discs about a decade after the original release so that you can squeeze for even more money out of consumers without having to set up a replacement program for a defective product.

I have bought and returned the Alfred Hitchcock Presents; Season One set at least 5 times over the years due to pixelation and freezing issues. I even contacted Universal Home Entertainment twice to exchange the defective discs directly with them (which to their credit they did but, of course, without acknowledging that their product was defective) and yet I still don't have a set that plays properly.

 

[Darby67]

I never play them on a computer but I agree not all players are created equal. I have always thought the flipper issue came down to one of three reasons:
1.) The Player
2.) Different weather environments (i.e. humidity)
3.) How the disc is removed from the spindle. (Prying it lose instead of using the release button can compromise the glue between the layers. Believe it or not there used to be a whole thread about people having to pry a DVD out of the packaging and not being able to use the release button so it is a real issue.)

I'll add a fourth possible reason: substandard disc manufacturing or authoring.

 

[Randy Korstick]

Yeah I have all of those Monster sets, Hammer set and Kolchak. I purchased them all when originally released. I never replaced any of them because they have always worked on my old players and my new players so again strange situation that has always puzzled me. But I remember reading all the threads of those that did have problems so I am well aware of the issue I just never encountered it and do not know anyone personally that encountered it.

 

[Randy Korstick]

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