Warner DVD's not working thread - watch to make sure they still play

Way up-thread somewhere I mentioned a couple titles that had gone bad on me. Finally got around to contacting Ms Bogard in late September; after prompt emails & responses, I received a prepaid return label. Discs were in Warner Bros.' hands by October 4th.

I received the replacements on November 19th. Nice to see the Popeyes again.

Side note: it was an interesting challenge to find the receipts for the original purchases. Once found, more of a challenge: thermal-print receipts from over a decade ago... well, let's just say that's not an archival medium. Scanning and enhancement brought them to near legibility.

In sum: a thumbs-up and deep-felt thank you to Sherri Bogard for taking great care of the customers.

 

I’m glad that most of mine were online purchases, from Amazon, so it was no problem finding receipts. One of mine was a gift, and it wasn’t a problem that I didn’t have the receipt.

I still have a couple of DVDs that’s I have to contact her about. It will have to wait until after Christmas at this point!

 

Are the receipts absolutely required? After ten plus years and a few moves, I definitely don't have most if any of the receipts. How long do they expect me to keep them? How was I supposed to know a decade ago about the company's shoddy quality control?

 

I've got my Popeye Vol 1 back as well, having purchased a new one from Amazon.com. Fortunately they are still available at a reasonable price. There's no way Warner Bros are going to send me replacements to the UK and frankly, it's all too much hassle.

 

In my email exchange I knew that one item was from Best Buy (exclusive retailer packaging); the others were best guesses. The letter that arrived accompanying the return label states in part: "In the event you do not have a receipt, please identify in your note the store from which it was purchased."

Yes, they'll work with you. Figured since I had a few minutes to spare I'd do my best to work with them, and was pleasantly surprised by finding, er, what was left of the paperwork. Thought HTF members would get a chuckle from the remarks on archival status, too; small repayment for the enjoyment and good information on this thread and elsewhere.

 

I no longer had my receipts and since virtually all of my Warner dvd box sets were purchased at the now-defunct J & R Music World in Lower Manhattan, I had nothing to offer - and I never shopped online in those days. I advised Sheri of that in my letter. I received my replacement dvds without any issue.

 

Thanks for the replies. Most of my purchases were done at Costco and online at DVD Empire. I tried logging onto DVD Empire but I just learned that my old AOL email address that I used "back in the day" had been deactivated (RIP). Still, I can pretty much pin-point where most of the discs were purchased which I'm glad to learn will suffice. Strangely enough I did locate a receipt for a Bob Hope DVD that I purchased from Borders back in 2003, and it was still very much legible!

 

I discovered the discs in my Mickey/Judy set have rotted. This is the response I got:

"Thank you for your email. I am sorry to say that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is no longer distributing this boxset; therefore I am unable to assist you with an exchange. I apologize for the inconvenience.


Kind regards,

Sherri Bogard

Warner Bros. Customer Service"

 

I would respond by noting that that the titles are individually available through the WAC and as such an exchange is still very much possible. I wouldn't be surprised if they try the same thing when I try exchanging one of my Errol Flynn sets. Good luck.

 

Has anybody has issues with The Shakespeare Collection DVD boxset released By Warner Brothers in 2007 that contains Hamlet 2-Discs Special Edition, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet: https://www.warnerbros.com/studio/news/shakespeare-collection-dvd-warner-home-video

I just purchased the boxset on Ebay yesterday. I know Aunt Peg (William) reported playback issues with A Midsummer Night's Dream on this thread back in February 2018.

 

As far as I know, my copy of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" seems to be fine. I played it about a year ago with no issues, and the data side of the disc doesn't display any of the visual abnormalities associated with Warner disc rot. As the saying goes, your mileage may vary. Good luck in playing your Shakespeare discs.

 

Thanks, Arthur. I appreciate the response.

 

I tried watching Rich And Famous (1981) on DVD tonight and it freezed at the 53 minute mark and wouldn't play.

 

I watched mine (Rich and Famous) middle of the year and it stopped playing at one point. I popped it in another machine and it played fine but I have no doubts that the disc is going to die altogether soon.