I have had to return the last three Universal combos I bought. There are a couple coming out next week. I have not heard any word on the cause of the problems and I am not excited about getting more combo discs that don't work. Does anybody have any insight into what the problem is and if the upcoming releases are affected?

I have had to return the last three Universal combos I bought. There are a couple coming out next week. I have not heard any word on the cause of the problems and I am not excited about getting more combo discs that don't work. Does anybody have any insight into what the problem is and if the upcoming releases are affected?

I have the XA2 and have never had a problem with any combo. The only problem I have is I do not want the SD version!

I have an A1 and have had no problems with combo discs. The Smokin Aces one I received last week works like a charm.

I have an A1 and have had no problems with combo discs. The Smokin Aces one I received last week works like a charm.

Same with me. Firmware 2.0. Zero problems with combos.

i have a a1 never had a probleme.

Guys, Grubert ran a poll on this issue, then posted the results here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=838130). They suggest that G2 players are having more issues than G1 players, so consider yourselves lucky there.

So it seems that the players that were best at playing Children of Men were the first-gen ones. Not only were they the likeliest to play without any problems, but also the incidence of serious problems was the lowest (they are the only player where serious problems were less frequent than slight ones).
On the other hand, the second-gen players have been the worst, both in flawless operation (just over a third!) and in problem severity incidence.

Guys, Grubert ran a poll on this issue, then posted the results here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=838130). They suggest that G2 players are having more issues than G1 players, so consider yourselves lucky there.

No, it's not safe. The last two copies of Smokin Aces I tried to watch on my A1 were F'd. And ALL my non-Universal combos play fine.

Until there's some sort of official announcement/explanation and offer of an exchange program for fixed discs, I'm done with Uni combos.

No problems with combo discs on my A1. I like the combo discs and they work well for my family. My A1 is in the living room but sometimes the kids don't want to watch a movie in there so they use the regular DVD player upstairs.

I applaud Universal for using the combo discs. Just wish the prices were a bit lower.

My A1 is in the living room but sometimes the kids don't want to watch a movie in there so they use the regular DVD player upstairs.


You let others touch your HD-DVD's? ;)

I wouldn't call it a problem, but the only effect i have seen was Smokin' Aces took a little while longer to load on my A1 with 2.1 firmware.

Depends on your player (and possibly firmware).

I returned Hollywoodland to Amazon but I sent my copies of Children Of Man and The Good Shepard to Universal and I have not heard anything from them. It would be nice if Toshiba and Universal could get together and determine where the problem is. I don't want to go through the hassle of returning discs, so I'm inclined to pass on future Universal releases until it is sorted out and corrected.

think most of it is a firmware issue. generally, at least on most of the forums i read, updating to the latest FW resolves most issues.

if you have the add-on. dont get any combos till the update that *might* fix the problem.

I must say that it really bugs me that people who are lucky enough to have not had any problems with the Universal combos act as if no problems exist. How can you "applaud" Universal's combos when everyday this forum is filled with posts talking about the major problems that plague these releases. I guarantee you would change your tune if you started buying discs that wouldn't play in your player. I guess it's just an annoying trait of human nature ... People don't want to recognize that as problem exists until it directly affects them. If you are an HD DVD supporter, you should be concerned. Universal's quality control problems with their combos are seriously BAD for the format!!

I must say that it really bugs me that people who are lucky enough to have not had any problems with the Universal combos act as if no problems exist. How can you "applaud" Universal's combos when everyday this forum is filled with posts talking about the major problems that plague these releases. I guarantee you would change your tune if you started buying discs that wouldn't play in your player. I guess it's just an annoying trait of human nature ... People don't want to recognize that as problem exists until it directly affects them. If you are an HD DVD supporter, you should be concerned. Universal's quality control problems with their combos are seriously BAD for the format!!

the poster that 'applauded' the uni combos like the concept behind them. or at least thats what i got from his post.

all new formats will have 'issues'. if you are old enough to remember the first dvds, THAT was a nightmare.

firmware upgrades solved the problem to a degree. i am not advocating that we should all not care about QC/QA, but universal will see the light with the almighty dollar.

you shouldnt get angry at people that dont have issues and are 'lucky'. let them enjoy their movies. if YOU cannot get a movie to play, and all the options to get it to play has not worked, use the power of your dollar. stop buying the discs. THAT will show universal more than a petition or screaming at your fellow avsforum members.

HD-DVD copy of Children of Men, HD-A2 Player, about half way into movie, starts to chop(video), and audio will cut in and out and speed up. Stoped it about 10 times, cleaned(brand new) disc. Only my second movie watched on this thing and its what? Broken?
:confused:



Very tired and if I need to Ill go into more it tomorrow

This is one of the few titles people seem to have problems with, especially with the a2 and 360. there's a thread on it with some possible solutions....

You can try lowering it into boiling water for ~15 secs, of course making sure it doesn't touch the pot. There seems to be some kind of residue coating some of the disks that normal cleaning might not fully remove. Try it and see if it works for you, seriously.

Wow, sounds crazy, but ill give it a try. Thanks Capek

I know. It would have been the last thing I ever would have thought to do. And while I haven't tried it, since I have yet to have any problems with any of the disks I've played, there is a thread here where somebody suggested this, said people have been talking about it on other forums, and it seems to have worked for every one that tried it. So I'd say it's worth a try before you take it back to where ever you bought it for a replacement. It certainly can't hurt anything.

You can always return it it seems that there was a bad batch that went out and theat Uni was replacing them quietly.......

Well said,

Yes, the concept behind the flipper is nice, in case I want to let my toddler daughter watch "Children of Men" or "Smokin' Aces" on a road trip, in the car. :eek: Okay maybe not those selections, but "Happy Feet" or something.

However, something is horribly worng with either Universal's authoring, DRM, HDCP, or Toshiba's current gen players, so I'm just taking a break from ALL of the HD DVD headaches lately and spending money for some good ol', outdoor, low tech family fun. (Bikes, canoes, camping gear, etc...)

I guess all of these tech pain in the arse problems couldn't have come at a better time, bring on the nice weather!!!

I agree that the concept behind a combo is a good idea, although ideally it should add just $1 or $2 buch to the retail price.

I had the freeze problem at 28 mins with Happy Feet but I could live with that. However, COM was completely unusable on my A1 with 2.0 firmware. I had to watch the SD side.

As a result I have decided to hold off on the order for the Matrix trilogy that I had planned on. I'll wait until i hear that there are no problems with them. I will no longer purchase a disc that is problematic for many.

It's enough to put me into the BR camp. In fact, as soon as I can get a BR player for $400 I'll make the switch.

No problems on my A2 with Hollywoodland, Happy Feet, or The Good Shepard. Did not buy Children Of Men.

I've not had any problems with my HD-XA1 and 2.1FW with any of Universal's combo discs. Based on my poll, I think it probably has to do with a bad batch of discs together with slight differences in error tolerence between different drives.

Poll on Source of Universal Combo playback problems (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=838790)

think most of it is a firmware issue. generally, at least on most of the forums i read, updating to the latest FW resolves most issues.

if you have the add-on. dont get any combos till the update that *might* fix the problem.


I have 1.5 on my XA2 and have had problems with three of the last four that I bought. Few to no problems on my A1. Hopefully, another firmware update will help the XA2.

The other day I bought

The good shepherd
Children of men
Smokin aces

I've watched them all on my 360 and I haven't had a problem with any of those three....got the hitcher coming next week and expect it to be problemfree as well...

All ordered from amazon

My 360 addon has played all these discs with no problems, while my HD-A2 has struggled terribly to do the same. Smokin' Aces DID eventually play correctly on the A2. So, I have found that there are ways to enjoy these movies while Tosh/Universal iron out the bugs.

edit: A2 is on v1.5 firmware

I've been having a few problems with combo disc's but after getting the new firmware update, and turning off the HD DVD player from the mains, all combo disc's have been working perfectly now.

Until there's some sort of official announcement/explanation and offer of an exchange program for fixed discs, I'm done with Uni combos.

me too!

Left a message and they called me back; a really nice guy. He said that they're still looking into the combo problem, no new news and haven't figured it out....even gave me his direct dial to call and check back later.

Left a message and they called me back; a really nice guy. He said that they're still looking into the combo problem, no new news and haven't figured it out....even gave me his direct dial to call and check back later.

so.....you got nothing then??? :p

You can always return it it seems that there was a bad batch that went out and theat Uni was replacing them quietly.......


Hmm... Got it from amazon... I guess I'll see if Best Buy will return it, if the boiling water trick doesn't work. Thanks for the input gents

Hmm... Got it from amazon... I guess I'll see if Best Buy will return it, if the boiling water trick doesn't work. Thanks for the input gents
Amazon does 1 day turnaround on Bad discs if you have a bad disc they send it out with upgraded shipping......Did this for The Good Shepherd until they sent me the email that it ws more widespread then they thought and to try back in about 2 weeks.

You could also use the dishwasher without heated drying....basically use the dishwasher as your HD DVD storage rack and run it every time a new Uni combo disk is added :)

Universal discs have been bad actors since February. I have quit buying any HD DVDs and get the Blu-Ray title when both are offered. Universal and Toshiba have been silent on this serious problem.
At this point Blu-Ray is the more dependable platform.

Why is Universal so quiet on this serious problem. I sent back discs nearly a month ago and they do not answer E-Mail inquiries. They have my Children of Men and Good Shepherd discs. Really bad situation. I refuse to purchase any more HD DVD discs. Both Toshiba and Universal seem silent on the problems.

Until there's some sort of official announcement/explanation and offer of an exchange program for fixed discs, I'm done with Uni combos.

Same here......I sent back Children of Men and Good Shepherd nearly a month ago to Universal and they refuse to answer E-Mail inquiries. I have XA2 player......no play. I now purchase all new titles on Blu_ray when both are available. HD DVD seems to have serious problems that both Toshiba and Universal refuse to address.

I had problems with The Good Shepherd and Children of Men. That is, problems with my XA2. My HD-A1 had no troubles with either movie. I have sent both to Universal because of this odd behavior. It might even be a firmware issue... :confused:

I have no problem continuing to purchase movies from Universal. I had no troubles with Smokin' Aces... :)

I sent them my COM and Hollywoodland to analyse so they are at least trying to find out the cause and correct it. I think its a manufacturing error where a film is left on the disc that upsets the laser reading it. I washed my discs in hot water and dish soap and they worked. The first generation players used an NEC drive while gen2 players use one made by Toshiba. This could be why the first gen players weren't affected.

Glad to hear that someone's had contact with them. They received my COM disc on 4/18 and I haven't heard anything from them.

Why is Universal so quiet on this serious problem.
I suspect that they either honestly haven't figured out the exact cause, or they have figured it out and are developing a public response. In either case, they can't say anything to people who send email or phone, other than to be polite and say they are looking into it. Or they could be politely blowing everyone off, and ignoring the problem, but I doubt that.

If it is the disks, and not the players at all, then Universal has to address what is wrong with their manufacturing process, and how to replace any/all of the faulty disks.

If it is a problem with players not tolerating the slightest flaw in disks (that should theoretically be playable by a robust player), then Toshiba has a problem, and Universal needs to give them a chance to respond (and not look like they are throwing Tosh under the bus).

If it is a worst-case combo of not quite out-of-tolerance behavior in both player and disk adding up, then Universal and Toshiba need to address this systemically. This will take the longest to address, because it involves two separate corporations and manufacturing processes. I suspect this is the case, since it seems certain people consistently have problems, while others (like me) have no problems at all, and there is a lower population of people in between with sporadic problems.

shinksma

Threads merged into one catch-all Universal disc issues thread.

No problems playing combos for me on either XA2 or A2. I just wish they would also release HD-only versions for people who don't need the SD side.

Glad to hear that someone's had contact with them. They received my COM disc on 4/18 and I haven't heard anything from them.

....and neither did I which is why I called. Bottom line what they told me is that if they have your email address you'll be updated when they diagnose the problem......

Until there's some sort of official announcement/explanation and offer of an exchange program for fixed discs, I'm done with Uni combos.

I also bought into both HD DVD and Blu-Ray. I have the XA2. Prior to that I has the XA1. Hollywoodland, Children of Men and Good Shepherd were all serious problem cases. It has now been almost a month since Universal send Pre-Paid Fed Ex envelop for return. They sent E-mail to acknowledge receipt but seem to ignore E-mail to inquire about status.

I have called Toshiba three times and can get no explanation for the problem. The installation of Firmware 1.5 earlier this month was no big help.

As a result of this silence on a major quality issue, I have cancelled ALL pre-orders for all HD DVD discs. Except for Universal, I will purchase the Blu-Ray version.

It is totally irresponsible for this apparently wide spread problem to go on so long without response from Toshiba or Universal. Apparently even the online writers cannot get any insights. Bill Hunt at Digital Bits wrote that his copies of Good Shepherd and Children of Men will not play in his X2. HighDef Digest and DVDFile also indicate they have no information. The poll on this forum indicates that it is no isolated situation.

Perhaps it is time to give up on the HD DVD format.

I suspect that they either honestly haven't figured out the exact cause, or they have figured it out and are developing a public response. In either case, they can't say anything to people who send email or phone, other than to be polite and say they are looking into it. Or they could be politely blowing everyone off, and ignoring the problem, but I doubt that.

If it is the disks, and not the players at all, then Universal has to address what is wrong with their manufacturing process, and how to replace any/all of the faulty disks.

If it is a problem with players not tolerating the slightest flaw in disks (that should theoretically be playable by a robust player), then Toshiba has a problem, and Universal needs to give them a chance to respond (and not look like they are throwing Tosh under the bus).

If it is a worst-case combo of not quite out-of-tolerance behavior in both player and disk adding up, then Universal and Toshiba need to address this systemically. This will take the longest to address, because it involves two separate corporations and manufacturing processes. I suspect this is the case, since it seems certain people consistently have problems, while others (like me) have no problems at all, and there is a lower population of people in between with sporadic problems.

shinksma


I tend to agree with the situation described in your last paragraph...worst case. The player acts like it can't find the layer or if it does it loses lock on layer2 as when a disc does play it does fine until later chapters. The same discs play fine in the LG combo player.

As I recall, in the early days of DVD there was a similar problem with early Anchor Bay titles that was attributed to layer depth at edge of spec. Some players were tolerant and others were not. In the current situation, it appears that the problem is only with combo discs from Universal......this seems to suggest a disc manufacturing problem that some players can tolerate.

Again, it is taking Universal and Toshiba far too long to acknowledge while they continue to release titles that cause problems. Strange....early combo discs play fine?

I have been affected with these problems in my HD-A2, though these titles play fine in my 360 addon. That said, both Toshiba and Universal have acknowledged the existence of these problems to me via email. THAT said, has it occurred to anyone that maybe they just haven't nailed down the cause of the problem, and thus have nothing concrete to report at this time? Seems to me that abandoning HD-DVD is the worst possible case of throwing out the baby with the bath water! (Just my HO)

The boiling water works!! At least give it a try.

At this point, I own only two HD DVD's. I bought four, but two of them good shepard and COM gave my brand new H2, bought during the CC giveaway fits. Good Shepard wouldn't load. I took it to BB and the CSR tried three other disc before pulling the rest of the titles, got a gift card worth the price of purchase. I had to take COM back to CC because once it got to chapter 12, it froze. After two more disc, they gave me a full refund. I really wanted Smokin Aces, but I too am gunshy about the purchase, so I'll try the netflix route until there is some sort of new info as well. Hollywoodland and Happy Feet both played without any problems

The boiling water works!! At least give it a try.

I tried it on Smokin' Aces. It made a skipping & freezing disc totally unreadable.

Yeah, I just had my first major problem with Smokin' Aces. Boiling/cleaning/washing was no help. I also played my Superman Returns disc (which I've had for 7 months but never played) last week for the first time, and that bad boy skipped and glitched and froze halfway (around about where I imagine the layer change would be).

After several attempts and power cycles of my XA2, I managed to play Aces both with and without U control...until it got about halfway through again and died on me - making either the player crash completely, or giving the dreaded 'Can't play' & numerical error codes.

All these problems appeared after I upgraded to 1.5. I had no problems playing anything on 1.3, including Children Of Men (with the obvious exception of Relentless Enemies). I'm wondering whether, in my case at least, the culprit is fw 1.5 interoperational problems with the Universal combos. That, or some serious QC issues at the Mexican HD-DVD pressing facility - some have suggested some sort of film or residue is coating these discs and causing the problems (hence the 'boiling' technique). I rather think perhaps the layers/sides are not being properly bonded...

Either way, we need this resolved, yesterday. Just the anticipation of playback failure, even if it doesn't happen, totally ruins the viewing experience - you're on edge the entire time just waiting for the glitch, or you're distracted the whole time sending vibes to the machine a la 'The Secret' (yeah right!) to play through. It blows. HARD.

I tried it on Smokin' Aces. It made a skipping & freezing disc totally unreadable.

Ditto.

Any word yet on whether the COMBO releases for this week are a problem? Alpha Dog and The Hitcher. I have cancelled all of my Universal pre-orders and switched other HD DVD pre-orders to Blu-Ray.

No problems with Hitcher on my problem 360 drive.
Only new glitch of if you let screensaver run, and then start movie - stuttering. Simply reload.
Alpha Dog arrives tomorrow.

Every Universal combo I have had has not worked. I am sick of seeing that stupid error code! :mad:

I had problems with Children of Men and The Good Shepherd (both were Netflix rentals). They are the only two discs (so far) to give me any trouble in my XA2. I wrote Universal about the problem when I had the problem with The Good Shepherd and they replied that they are looking into the matter. I wrote them again when I had the problem with Children of Men and they never responded.

I will not buy ANY Universal combo titles until we know these problems have been fixed.

Mark

Every Universal combo I have had has not worked. I am sick of seeing that stupid error code! :mad:

The Universal combos i have Tokyo Drift and Fearless work perfect on my add-on. I want Children of Men but will hold off till they resolve this issue.

Add Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to my list of problem Universal titles (another Netflix rental). It started skipping, stuttering and losing audio sync in chapter 12. I pulled the disc out, found a spot on it (didn't see it there the first time) and gently cleaned it with a damp cloth. I looked at it under a bright light and it was spotless. Put it back in and jumped to chapter 12 and fast-forwarded to the spot where it crapped out before. It wasn't skipping or stuttering but the audio sync was WAY off. Unwatchable off. So, one more eject and restart, this time going to the beginning of chapter 12 and not using the fast-foward. Played fine until chapter 14 when it skipped and stuttered some more but it recovered on its own after a few seconds. Audio sync was off again for a few minutes and then, all of a sudden, I realized it was back in sync. Again, all on its own. The rest of the disc played fine.

When I took the disc out, it was spotless. No scratches or other surface defects. So, I can only conclude that disc has a pressing problem.

I'd be REALLY curious to know if this disc was pressed at the same plant as either (or both) TGS and COM. I think Universal has a problem!

Mark

Noone seems to mention Miami Vice, that's the only combo I have and yes it gave me trouble towards the end. Bought it used. :(

No problems here! Xbox Addon.

Anyone have that Universal number handy to call to send in your discs?

Universal's consumer contact number is 1-888-304-0680, but they seem to emphasize emailing them.

Universal's consumer contact number is 1-888-304-0680, but they seem to emphasize emailing them.

Thanks!

Alpha Dog no problems on errant drive.
Seems like Universal have fixed any pressing issues.

So to conclude, a combo of drives and discs was the issue.
What is the solution?
Replacement disc for those that can, and firmware for those who can't?

I received The Good Shepherd from Netflix yesterday and it wouldn’t play on my A2. I tried 3 times and it stayed in the load mode as it continued to read from the same location over and over. The other time, the message ‘cannot play disc’ displayed. This is the first time I’ve had a HD-DVD not play at all.

My Copy of COM was unusable on my A1 with FW 2.0 due to continuous jerkiness during play with the audio cutting in and out . The SD side played fine.

However, I upgraded to FW 2.2 and COM now plays perfectly.

The only other disk I had problems with was Happy Feet where I had the 28 ' freeze. FW 2.2 did not correct that problem, so back to Amazon it goes.

official word

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Universal/Technical_Glitches/Universal_Breaks_Silence_on_HD_DVD_Playback_Issues_Announces _Disc_Replacement_Program/603

No problems with any hd-dvd movies. Altough I did get a bad sd Curse of the Golden flower from net flix.