Warner Archive Discussion Thread (FEEDBACK) (2 Viewers)

[GlennH]

I think eventually the Archive will probably offer some kind of make your own bundle arrangement for $10 per title. New releases will stay at the higher price for a few months before they are eligible. Obviously Warners is okay with selling these at that price point in multiple quantities, so when they feel they've exploited the first tier of the market sufficiently I think they'll try to increase sales by opening it up more. It would no doubt lead to a surge in sales, as so many people bide their time and don't purchase now, waiting for possible value packs.

 

[smithb]

The shipping costs are riduclous as well ($5 per individual film). They should also just do a price point where shipping is always free instead of offerring it only on occasion.

Make your own bundle of 5 films for $50 with free shipping at the $50 mark would go along way towards getting a lot more business.

 

[greylocke5]

Originally Posted by smithb /forum/thread/283916/warner-archive-discussion-thread-feedback/2910#post_3625075
The shipping costs are riduclous as well ($5 per individual film). They should also just do a price point where shipping is always free instead of offerring it only on occasion.
Make your own bundle of 5 films for $50 with free shipping at the $50 mark would go along way towards getting a lot more business.

DeepDiscount is having a storewide sale until Nov 29; the Archive titles are brought down to $17.99 and I think their international shipping may be a bit more reasonable.

 

[Anthony_H]

Slighty on the pessimistic side, I see this as a slippery slope and a toe in the water as to what Warners sees as their possible beneficial future. "We can produce these with lack-luster quality, no extras, and at a HIGHER price point? Sign us up!" If this model thrives or even holds, I can see a day when only the rarest of catalog titles get a traditional release. If not already mentioned TCM/Universal are also beginning to use this method.....

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by Anthony_H /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Slighty on the pessimistic side, I see this as a slippery slope and a toe in the water as to what Warners sees as their possible beneficial future. "We can produce these with lack-luster quality, no extras, and at a HIGHER price point? Sign us up!" If this model thrives or even holds, I can see a day when only the rarest of catalog titles get a traditional release. If not already mentioned TCM/Universal are also beginning to use this method.....

Since the first batch of WA titles, I have been very happy with the quality of the transfers. I also have received the Universal Cult Horror Collection and found the transfers to be very good. I am all for the slippery slope if I can get films such as the Marie Dressler titles and a gem like Mail Order Bride on DVD-r when they would not see light of day any other way.

 

[smithb]

While I haven't purchased many compared to some others (only the Tarzan Barker's and Scott's, and Abe Lincoln in Illinois), I will say quality of video has not been a problem so far. So at least they seem to be selecting titles that have decent prints available. There have been some scratches here and there that might have been nice to have been cleaned up, but other then that more then acceptable. I have actually purchased some pressed DVD s of movies that look worse.

The DVD-R question is still unknown and it appears easier to get a bad burn then a bad pressed disk. but as long as they send out replacements that is acceptable.

So the price point is the only real concern. I managed to stay under the $10 average so far. If they can end up at $10 or lower, or just have more coupons and ways to mix and match to get what you want I can see this as a valuable resource for older titles.

 

[JeffMc]

I'm reposting my below comments from the separate TARZAN thread as I think it has relevance in this thread as well. And there are so many Warner Archives threads going on these days that it's hard to figure out the best place to post anymore...


TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE definitely has some sort of authoring error so I would suggest NOT purchasing this title until WB admits and comes clean that there is something wrong here. It played fine on my first deck (Philips) up until about 31 minutes in and then starts pixelating and becomes completely unwatcheable soon afterwards. I ejected it and tried it on my computer at that point and it went through that bad section fine. My other DVD player (JVC) seemed to go through that section fine as well, but I am not going to watch the entire film on all 3 players just to see if it will play all the way through on each. I put it back in the Philips and it still will not play correctly after the 31 minute mark no matter how many times I try. I have never had any disc not play correctly in the Philips. This is the first one that's ever had an issue. Since the disc may play OK in some players, that is why some here seem to have had no problems with it. That already a few of us have experienced some issues with this disc proves this is more than just some random isolated problem. Even if some players may play it correctly, that's simply not good enough if the player I'm watching it on won't. There is no discoloration or visible defect on the disc itself, either.

Considering this is easily the most desired title out of this latest batch, and even features a major role by a young Sean Connery, it's truly appalling that Warners continues to have such low quality control on their overpriced DVD-R program. OK, we'll pay the exorbitant price sometimes because we want a certain movie, but at least make the discs playable NOW. People are questioning if these DVD-Rs will play in five years. Ha! What about having them play right now??? Unbelievable.

 

[Timothy E]

Originally Posted by JeffMc /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I'm reposting my below comments from the separate TARZAN thread as I think it has relevance in this thread as well. And there are so many Warner Archives threads going on these days that it's hard to figure out the best place to post anymore...
TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE definitely has some sort of authoring error so I would suggest NOT purchasing this title until WB admits and comes clean that there is something wrong here. It played fine on my first deck (Philips) up until about 31 minutes in and then starts pixelating and becomes completely unwatcheable soon afterwards. I ejected it and tried it on my computer at that point and it went through that bad section fine. My other DVD player (JVC) seemed to go through that section fine as well, but I am not going to watch the entire film on all 3 players just to see if it will play all the way through on each. I put it back in the Philips and it still will not play correctly after the 31 minute mark no matter how many times I try. I have never had any disc not play correctly in the Philips. This is the first one that's ever had an issue. Since the disc may play OK in some players, that is why some here seem to have had no problems with it. That already a few of us have experienced some issues with this disc proves this is more than just some random isolated problem. Even if some players may play it correctly, that's simply not good enough if the player I'm watching it on won't. There is no discoloration or visible defect on the disc itself, either.
Considering this is easily the most desired title out of this latest batch, and even features a major role by a young Sean Connery, it's truly appalling that Warners continues to have such low quality control on their overpriced DVD-R program. OK, we'll pay the exorbitant price sometimes because we want a certain movie, but at least make the discs playable NOW. People are questioning if these DVD-Rs will play in five years. Ha! What about having them play right now??? Unbelievable.

My Tarzan DVDs arrived this evening. After reading your post, I was concerned that my DVD of Tarzan's Greatest Adventure would have the same problem. I played the disc all the way through without any glitches. Unfortunately, it appears that you received a defective disc.

 

[JeffMc]

Originally Posted by Timothy E /forum/thread/283916/warner-archive-discussion-thread-feedback/2910#post_3627993
My Tarzan DVDs arrived this evening. After reading your post, I was concerned that my DVD of Tarzan's Greatest Adventure would have the same problem. I played the disc all the way through without any glitches. Unfortunately, it appears that you received a defective disc.

Yes, my disc is defective, as well as other copies according to some other buyers in the TARZAN thread. I did admit it seemed to play OK in my other player (for that few minutes I checked, at least), but it apparently has issues beyond being just a random defective disc. If it pixelates and then won't play for more than just a few customers, something else is wrong here. At $20 a pop, these things should play in all players - at least for a year or two.

 

[RUrahrah]

I have a suggestion which I hope has some value re Archive quality problems: if you have one, report not only the fact of having one, but also who supplied the disc and what kind of customer service you got in getting a satisfactory replacement disc.

My experience over the years has been good in such situations with problem pressed discs and twice with Warner Archive titles; there have been instances where the pressed product of a major release have been discontinued and withdrawn from the market. I've yet to hear of an Archive title being discontinued for production quality reasons or discontinued at all.

As I've commented before, all I expect from Archive titles is they're equal in quality to the broadcast standards of TCM or prior laser disc releases. Beyond that I rely on the customer service reputation of the various sites where I purchase and the fact that titles are nor really restored unless they say so.

So now that I've had some 'heads up' on certain Archive titles, I can either wait for better news or know if I get a lemon the suppliers I use will provide a satisfactory replacement or a full refund.

I look forward to future postings on whether reported problem isuues are resolved.

 

[borisfw]

I've now watched tarzan's Fight for Life,Lost Safari and Hidden Jungle. very happy with all. They look very good and i enjoyed all of them. As for Tarzan's Greatest Adventure. I have tried it in all 6 of my homes dvd players with no success. When i talked to the Archive customer service the other day they told me that there has been many calls on that title and that they were checking the warehouse to correct any problem there might be. After that they would send me out a replacement disc. So i'm not too concerned.

They did not correct the problem with Mark Twain. My replacement disc still had the same issue as my first disc. Above and Beyond also had some type of glitch.that wasn't corrected on the replacement. Neither title has that problem on vhs or record off of TCM. So who knows where the issue comes from.

 

[Thomas T]

It had to happen eventually I suppose. Over 70 titles from the Warners archive in my collection and now my first unplayable disc. Received HOT MILLIONS yesterday and my Toshiba DVD player won't play it and neither will my Toshiba laptop. The DVD player simply reads "Bad Disc" after the disc is inserted. Anyone else had this problem with HOT MILLIONS? It does have some purple ring like discoloration around the inner edge just like those have had problems with some of the Gordon Scott Tarzan titles.

 

[RUrahrah]

'Hot Millions' played great in my SONY changer and JVC player. The reputable suppliers should stand behind the sale and readily provide a replacement. All my Archive purchase have been from wbshops.com and they promptly resolved the two quality problems I had.

 

[Thomas T]

I called customer service this morning and they say they'll report the problem to the disc manufacturer and a replacement should arrive within 10 days. I just hope the replacement doesn't have the same problem.

 

[Rob_Ray]

Originally Posted by Thomas T /forum/thread/283916/warner-archive-discussion-thread-feedback/2940#post_3629128
It had to happen eventually I suppose. Over 70 titles from the Warners archive in my collection and now my first unplayable disc. Received HOT MILLIONS yesterday and my Toshiba DVD player won't play it and neither will my Toshiba laptop. The DVD player simply reads "Bad Disc" after the disc is inserted. Anyone else had this problem with HOT MILLIONS? It does have some purple ring like discoloration around the inner edge just like those have had problems with some of the Gordon Scott Tarzan titles.

I had this exact same problem (purple ring, etc.) with "The Singing Fool" and received a replacement disc. I received a replacement disc after calling customer service. Initially they wanted me to ship the defective disc back to them for inspection but after asking for a supervisor's intervention, the customer service rep waived this request and shipped the replacement, which plays fine.
I now visually inspect every Warner Archive purchase immediately upon receipt. This is one defect that is visible to the naked eye.

 

[Bob Gu]

Thomas T, I think some of the WB Archive burners are incompatible with Toshiba players. I mentioned a few pages back, that except for the Joe McDoakes set, every archive title I have purchased since July '09 will not play in my Toshiba player (2004 model year). The piracy label loads, counter stops at 11, and then nothing until "no disc" comes up. The discs play fine in my Philips player.

My earlier Archive purchases still play fine in the Toshiba.

 

[Rob_Ray]

Originally Posted by Bob Gu /forum/thread/283916/warner-archive-discussion-thread-feedback/2940#post_3629288
Thomas T, I think some of the WB Archive burners are incompatible with Toshiba players. I mentioned a few pages back, that except for the Joe McDoakes set, every archive title I have purchased since July '09 will not play in my Toshiba player (2004 model year). The piracy label loads, counter stops at 11, and then nothing until "no disc" comes up. The discs play fine in my Philips player.
My earlier Archive purchases still play fine in the Toshiba.

The visible defect on the disc (the purple spiraling ring) that Thomas mentioned made my copy of "The Singing Fool" unreadable in every player in my house: Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba and my PC.

 

[tomwil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RUrahrah /forum/thread/283916/warner-archive-discussion-thread-feedback/2940#post_3628073
I've yet to hear of an Archive title being discontinued for production quality reasons or discontinued at all.

It seems Amazon has discontinued selling the "One On One" DVD because of problems. It is marked "This item has been discontinued by the manufacturer."
So now, there are other sellers on Amazon selling it for $40.

 

[RUrahrah]

If 'One On One' has problems, wbshops.com doesn't seem to know about it, it's still offered there, and they are supposed to be the primary outlet for the Warner Archive Collection. I still think my post is correct.

 

[VelvetVampire]

It looks like the Archive Collection is doing well. The Value Paks have been trimmed back, no more Joan Crawford., Marie Dressler or Robert Taylor bundles. I can't see much in the way of discounts being offered so could the person who's posted here saying he can get the discs for $10 each post the coupon codes again? I don't know of any that drive the price lower than $15.

My experience with WB Shop customer service has been all good except for one little episode which I consider unbelievable. I filled out their survey, but at the end did not get the promised coupon code. I wrote to Wanrer and got this reply:

"Thank you for your recent email. Unfortunately, we do not have the discount codes available to send out. I apologize for this inconvenience. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us again."

Gotta love corporate America. Can never admit to the slightest error or make the tiniest amends.

To overseas readers: not only Movies Unlimited offers these titles by airmail, two stores which also have websites Kims and Cinema Classics both do. They both have multiple archive titles in their stores. I don't know about you but the times I've called Movies Unlimited I've talked to people who seem to know as much about movies as my cat does about credit default swaps.

On another subject I've seen on this thread some people don't like Lionsgate. I don't know much about them but they have released several cheap box sets of obscure art films which is pretty cool for a big studio.