Bad Disk

[Blckman]

Hello gang. I don't know if this has ever been discussed, but I just started collecting HD-DVD's about two months ago. Therefore, take it easy on me. Now, I just got off the phone with an Inetvideo representative and they are going to refund the $9.99 I used for the purchase of the I Am Legend Combo. The representative stated that many times the combo versions that are on HD-DVD or Blu-Ray sometimes don't play. They will play on the DVD side but not on the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray side. He said this is common at times. This doesn't happen on all the combo disk, but there's always a couple of bad one's in the bunch. Have any of you had any of these problems? Has this topic or issue been discussed in the past on these forums? Peace.....

[Rich86]

There have surely been defective HD-DVD and Blu-Ray products put out into the marketplace. My "I Am Legend" combo HD-DVD was also defective. Amazon replaced it and the replacement worked perfectly. The combo HD-DVDs took a fair amount of flack over some of the problems, but I am happy to report that my defective combos have been few and far between. Most of the issues I have experienced with HD-DVDs or Blu-Rays have been solved by properly cleaning the media or updating firmware in the player. When that hasn't worked, I've been able to get the offending title replaced, and the replacement has worked fine.
btw - there is no such thing as a "combo" blu-ray . . . only HD-DVD offered media with High def on one side of the disc and regular dvd on the other.

[Dragoncrest]

I've often had problems with combo disc, but maybe I've just been unlucky.
If there is a non-combo alternative I would pick and recommend that one.

[Splicer]

I've not encountered any issues with combo discs so far. Knock on wood.

[kdigit0l]

I've had many problems with combos. The worst was the star trek tos box. My bad ones: Star Trek (About half the discs were bad), the Good Shepherd, 40-year old virgin, matrix reloaded, I am legend. I always look for a non-combo version of any title I am after over the combo version. Although not every combo disc has a non combo counterpart, and many of the non-combo disc versions are imports.

[Blckman]

Originally Posted by kdigit0l

I've had many problems with combos. The worst was the star trek tos box. My bad ones: Star Trek (About half the discs were bad), the Good Shepherd, 40-year old virgin, matrix reloaded, I am legend. I always look for a non-combo version of any title I am after over the combo version. Although not every combo disc has a non combo counterpart, and many of the non-combo disc versions are imports.

Great to know somebody else has dealt with this problem kdigit0l. Wow....that's not good for the Star Trek season on HD-DVD. Did you get it replaced, opted for the blu-ray version, or just nipped it in the bud and didn't collect the season overall? Man, I'm about to check this matrix reloaded because I have the Ultimate Matrix and I don't want any problems. On the other hand, I popped in the Appleseed Ex Machina combo and it ran great. I guess it's just a consumer coming up with a bad disc randomly. That's all I have to say on this matter. Just wanted some confirmation if anyone was having any problems in the past or present. Peace....

[kdigit0l]

Got a replacement set of star trek TOS from amazon and between them I was able to find 10 good discs. I think largely the combos are hit or miss.

[Rich86]

Originally Posted by kdigit0l

Got a replacement set of star trek TOS from amazon and between them I was able to find 10 good discs. I think largely the combos are hit or miss.

I also managed to get a properly functioning set of the Star Trek S1 HD-DVD combo set by working my way through multiple sets from Costco.
However, I had a similar problem with the Battlestar Galactica Season 1 HD-DVD set - it took multiple sets to get a properly working complete collection of discs - and that is not a combo release, so I hesitate to point at combo discs specifically with QC problems with some titles.

[digitalbabe]

Hi Blck-there were 2 known issues with HD DVD's of which I am aware. Some are not unique (there are also BD discs that cause issues either due to firmware issues, or the occasional bad disc authoring). With HD DVD's, the combos seemed to cause issues with some people, with certain players. There was also a problem with some discs, where a thin layer of residue present on brand new disc, which was left over from the manufacturing process, caused some players not to be able to read the disc.

Though the following sounds funny, it seems to have worked for most. One disc where this seemed to occur,at least for some was the American Gangster Combo. My issue was resolved by putting dish soap on the disc, cleaning it with my hand, or soft toilet paper (not papertowel, as this can scratch the disc), and rinsing/drying (soft cloth) disc.

The other issue was that some discs, including Katyn (Polish import), and some other discs did not play on certain generation players. I have the A2, A35, the Onkyp 805 and LG BH200. I have had no issues with the 805, which for me has been the most stable player, in terms of playing any discs I put in it. I have not watched all of my HD DVD's (390+) on all players, but the A35 did seem to have a few issues.

I am sure you can also find a few threads about this, if you'd like more info on specific players/movies, as many discussed it.

Good Luck!