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Warning to potential buyers of Universal's Abbott and Costello Collection Vol. 2 (1 Viewer)

Lyle H.

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I stopped at a local indie store before work today to pick up The Best of Abbott and Costello: The Franchise Collection; Volume 2. I opened up the disc in the store (I didn't have a problem with the first set buta friend of mine did, the discs were in place but the second had a HUGE scuff mark on it) and the first disc was loose. There was a tiny scuff on the very outer edge of the disc, on Disc 1/Side 2 (with Buck Privates Come Home & The Naughty Ninties) and i'm going to watch these tomorrow to make sure they play correctly. I tried opening up another A&C Vol. 2, and that too was loose in the case, with a very large scuff, which nearly took up half the disc. Naturally, out of courtesy, I didn't want to tear through their whole stock of A&C DVDs to find the best ones, so I grabbed the set with the smaller scuff. Luckily, they have a very good return policy, but not all stores are like this. I believe the problem is that the hubs are way too weak. When I put Disc 1 back in place, it was easily removed, without even having to press the center. Disc 2 was OK, as far as I know. The other set also had a weak hub for the first disc. I would have rather had 6 A&C collections (Double sided, with two films on each; sans Digipack and 2nd disc) to prevent further damage from happening. This is such a bargain anyways, I wouldn't mind a $19.99 retail. $14.99 asking price for 6 sets, it would save people a lot of trouble. I will update you all with whether or not the disc plays, and how the films look.

--Lyle
 

Larry Sutliff

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Thanks for the info, Lyle. I've got one on order from Amazon, I'll keep my fingers crossed that the set is ok.
 

CraigF

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Shaking doesn't work too well on tightly shrink-wrapped digipacks, but I do shake keepcases when buying in person.

Contrast the problem here with what happened with Uni's Airport Terminal pack: the discs were extremely tight and difficult to remove, I believe some people even broke discs trying to get them out.
 

Scott_J

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Lyle, quick question about volume 2. Does it include A&C Meet Jerry Seinfeld? i heard a rumor that was included on the set but never saw anything official. Thanks.
 

Lyle H.

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Nope, A&C Meet Jerry Seinfeld is NOT on there, unless it's hidden, but I doubt that. :frowning:

I watched the first 20 minutes of The Naughty Ninties with no problem, but I fell asleep, so I still don't know if there is any damage (It was, like, 3 AM). I took the disc out of the player this morning to put it back in the case, and then the second disc was loose! This is what i'm going to do: Get 2 keepcases from the local video store, and put Disc 1 in one case, and Disc 2 in the other. I deviate which case is which, I'm going to cut the insert in hald, which tells you what is on each disc/side with pictures and plot synopsis, and put them in the front of each case, respectivley. So much for this "space-saving" collection. :rolleyes


Hey, Universal, if you're reading this, you really messed up with this set, and hopefully you can learn a thing or two from Warner's Marx Bros. set (which some sites have for as low as $35, comes in a keepcase, with remastered transfers and ample extras).

Oh, and btw, the transfer for The Naughty Ninties looks nice, a small step above the VHS transfer.
 

Jimmy M

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Lyle, why not get a thin double amaray keep case? Then you can still save the space.

Jimmy!
 

Lyle H.

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Good point, Jimmy. Whatever I do, I'll be damned if my nuerotic ass keeps those discs in that case for much longer. :D
 

Lyle H.

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My mistake, the disc that was scuffed was a double feature of The Naughty Ninties/Here Come The Co-Eds, not The Naughty Ninties/Buck Privates Come Home. Damn! Now I have to watch BOTH. Buck Privates Come Home was the only film in the set I didn't ever plan on watching (I don't like their war films, except for Keep 'Em Flyin) but now I have to watch both to make sure there's nothing wrong. :frowning:

Hopefully A&C Meet Jerry Seinfeld is included on a possible 4th set, with the other 3 films that haven't been put out by Universal's A&C Franchise Collection.
 

Michael Elliott

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I've bought two of these sets and the discs were fine so perhaps I'm lucky with these things. I didn't have a problem with the first set or the AIRPORT set either.
 

Lyle H.

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That's good, Mike, but it still is a problem for many of us, and it shouldn't be excused just because a few people DIDN'T have problems. I just got back from the video store and I got two keep cases. Hopefully Universal arranges a case-replacement program.
 

Michael Elliott

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I don't recall saying it should be excused. As with the problems on the last set, hopefully people will get lucky and be on the minority side (meaning, hopefully their sets won't feature any problems). I think the problems on the last set were on the minority side so let's hope that's the case here.
 

Lyle H.

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Apologies for blowing up on you.

It's really a minor problem, but a problem nonetheless. A lot of people don't have the option to keep returning discs over and over until they get a good set (Fortunatley, my store allows this, but many are ordering online, or buying from stores with very poor customer service).

Pardon my language, but if a studio f*cks up (Like Universal has done MANY times) they should be willing to "un-f*ck" up the problem. Blue Underground did this with the Mondo Cane set, Universal should do the same, in my humble opinion.

At least these A&C films are on DVD now, I guess...*shrugs*
 

Michael Elliott

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I know Universal replaced several of the E.T. cases so hopefully they'll do it here if people have problems. I'd certainly rather have these in keepcases because I've already had problems with the second set. When I tried putting the package back in the case, the back end of the case keeps getting bent and now with it on the shelf, the cardboard is sticking out more than it should and some of the redish color has come off. This is only after pulling it out twice. I think the Warner sets are a bit stronger so perhaps Universal can do something different but I hope they don't change the style until after the A&C films are released. I'd hate to have the first two sets in this package and then the last two in something else.

I also picked up MA AND PA VOL. 2 for my father and it's VERY thin from the front cover to the disc so it would be easy for these to get damaged. I also got the ROAD series set but the packaging appears pretty good on this. I've yet to have any problems disc wise, which is why I'm lucky. The strange thing is that I've never had a problem with snappers either but I bought the MARX BROS. COLLECTION today, which is in keepers yet one of the discs were loose. My first loose disc from Warner comes in a keepcase. :D
 

Lyle H.

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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! :angry: :frowning:

What kind of hubs are these on? BTW, Mike, let us know what you think of these films. A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, & the underrated Go West are favorites of mine.

I'm going to email Universal about a keepcase replacement. I will keep you all posted.
 

Lyle H.

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[email protected] is the email address. Here is the email I sent:

Hello,

I recieved my copy of Abbott & Costello - The Franchise Collection Vol. 2 yesterday, and one of the discs was loose and scuffed due to the poor packaging. The problem is the hub on the fold-out digipack and like you did with the E.T. discs, I was wondering if there is going to be a replacement program for the bad cases, or if you could possibly provide me with two keepcases with artwork to house the discs, since my original digipack is basically useless now. Please get back to me ASAP. Thank you for your time,

Lyle H.

If they are going to be offering a replacement program, I will post all info HERE.
 

Lyle H.

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Apr 22, 2003
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Please, on Tuesday when you get your A&C Vol. 2 set, report back here with any 'damage reports', etc.
 

Joe Karlosi

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Lyle - my first disc of this set was off the hub too. I could sense this when I bought it but I figured it was probably a paper insert or something. Anyway, thankfully there were no scratches or scuff marks.

I wasn't too happy with the video quality of IN SOCIETY (which I watched today), nor some of the others I sampled. But I did check out some of THE NAUGHTY NINETIES and I agree that this one looks GREAT. Why they don't all seem that nice is beyond me.

But anyway - aside from this "loose disc problem," this is a great bargain set from Universal and I love that they're doing these.
 

Dave Mack

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I had a defective AandC Vol. 1 but didn't discover it til' after 14 days, the limit for an exchange on defective discs from TOWER, so I'm waiting for the inevitable defects list for Vol. 2... And Joe, on Volume 1, the new transfers like HOLD THAT GHOST blow doors off the recycled laser transfers like WHO DONE IT, which is my fave. The audio level on the last chapter of that also suddenly jumps many dbs.... And parts look awful. They should have all been new transfers, which is probably what happened with Vol. 2. Some new, some old. I would gladly have paid more dough to have them all look as good as possible.

Oh well.... It IS Universal...

:frowning:
 

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