I received what appeared to be a mint copy of Letters From Iwo Jima and it would not play in my PS3. It had that sharp around the edges resurfaced feel. If this is the case then Netflix blu-rays are going to be really bad in the coming months. Can someone inform netflix that resurfacing a blu-ray ruins it?!?!?

I saw a lady at a game store put a PS3 game in a resurfacing machine once. Why would she be resurfacing a disc that shouldn't be scratched in the first place? What a waste.

Has anyone else had similar issues with blu-rays from netflix? I love netflix and the instance with Iwo Jima not playing and feeling resurfaced is a first. Please reply so when can gauge if this is widespread yet.

I've rented 12 BRs from Netflix this past month, and have experienced only one problem with some skipping on Hellboy. Checked the disc and could only see a hairline fracture, didn't appear to be resurfaced.

1) BDs have a scratch resistant surface, that also resists fingerprints.

2) The only disadvantage to scratch resistant surfaces is if/when they do get scratched you cannot resurface them.

So to answer your question, the discs you received are likely a tribute to the anti-scratch surface coating on BluRay, or perhaps they were brand new.

Has anyone else had similar issues with blu-rays from netflix? I love netflix and the instance with Iwo Jima not playing and feeling resurfaced is a first. Please reply so when can gauge if this is widespread yet.
My Iwo Jima copy from Netflix was cracked on the edge & didn't play :(
The other was the Will Smith Flix. Cracked also.
Since March those two were the only 2 Bad Disc's
Netflix Shipped.

I just rented The Prestige. It was scratched and it skipped a couple of times. So, they can be scratched, it seems.

I've been a Netflix member since February I've never had a bad BD from them. The BDs invariably look brand new.

I have received two completely unplayable DVDs and another that had a couple skips though.

I've been a Netflix member since February I've never had a bad BD from them. The BDs invariably look brand new.

Same here, except for me since April.

I rented the covenant and it wouldn't play at all I looked at the disc and it looked to be in prestine condition so I don't know if it was netflix or just a defective disc.

I have received probably 6-7 bad BD disks in the last few weeks from Netflix. They have a scratch/crack in the outer edge of the disk. I immediately report them to Netflix, get the replacement sent out, and THAT disk is usually damaged.

I have spoken to Netflix and they claim it it the Post Office not hand sorting the disks as they request.

Up until lately, I have not had a problem with Netflix and I have been a member since 2002.

If this continues, I don't know what I will do. Every single damn BD is unplayable.

I have received probably 6-7 bad BD disks in the last few weeks from Netflix. They have a scratch/crack in the outer edge of the disk. I immediately report them to Netflix, get the replacement sent out, and THAT disk is usually damaged.

I have spoken to Netflix and they claim it it the Post Office not hand sorting the disks as they request.

Up until lately, I have not had a problem with Netflix and I have been a member since 2002.

If this continues, I don't know what I will do. Every single damn BD is unplayable.

:( Sounds like your post office is using some kind of crunching or scratching machine for sortage...

No problems with any of the BDs I've rented from Netflix. No scratches...no cracks.Of the regular DVD's, I've only had one that skipped badly and you could plainly see the scratches.

With some of the Netflix discs the 'resurfacing' is so poor that I wonder if it isn't the actual users themselves doing it.

This seems to be the exact problem that Don Diotte the CEO of Venmill Industries which performs resurfacing and/or repairing of scratched DVDs, among other things, alluded to (found in The Winnipeg Free Press, Page E5, Nov 15, 2006):

"Blu-Ray may hold more data than HD-DVD disks, but there is a trade-off. To fit more information on the disk, Sony had to reduce the thickness of the protective coating. Consequently, the discs are much more vulnerable to scratches, if left lying around the table for example.... In the USA there's a billion dollar buy-sell industry around computer games. I do not know how they're going to face the reality that Blu-Ray is an unrepairable format."

He affirms that if Blu-Ray discs are not properly taken care of they will end up getting scratched even with a scratch resistant coating, which may prove to be a big problem for disc owners and rental businesses. Netflix and Blockbuster should make a deal with the BDA to have their discs replaced for free if they get scratched or crack.

I have had a few cracked BD disks from Netflix. Ice age2 was cracked along with Pursuit of Happyness. Sent them both back and received 2 more, both cracked. The second set were both cracked. Finally received good ones. Then I received Rocky Balboa. That was cracked. The replacement is fine. I have had more defective disks in 2 weeks then I have had in the previous 5 years.

Why do HD-DVD supporters even look at blu-ray boards? Guess its cuz they got nothin to watch;)

I've had two discs in a row with problems. Letters from Iwo Jima and Planet Earth disc 4... both from Netflix. Letters pretty much froze about 1 hr 20 minutes into the movie. Planet earth had multiple freeze, skip a few seconds and continue.

Would this have anything to do with resurfacing? It's really annoying.

Another question: Was part of Planet Earth shot in 720p?

This seems to be the exact problem that Don Diotte the CEO of Venmill Industries which performs resurfacing and/or repairing of scratched DVDs, among other things, alluded to (found in The Winnipeg Free Press, Page E5, Nov 15, 2006):

"Blu-Ray may hold more data than HD-DVD disks, but there is a trade-off. To fit more information on the disk, Sony had to reduce the thickness of the protective coating. Consequently, the discs are much more vulnerable to scratches, if left lying around the table for example.... In the USA there's a billion dollar buy-sell industry around computer games. I do not know how they're going to face the reality that Blu-Ray is an unrepairable format."

He affirms that if Blu-Ray discs are not properly taken care of they will end up getting scratched even with a scratch resistant coating, which may prove to be a big problem for disc owners and rental businesses. Netflix and Blockbuster should make a deal with the BDA to have their discs replaced for free if they get scratched or crack.

Go away Troll.

I have had a few cracked BD disks from Netflix. Ice age2 was cracked along with Pursuit of Happyness. Sent them both back and received 2 more, both cracked. The second set were both cracked. Finally received good ones. Then I received Rocky Balboa. That was cracked. The replacement is fine. I have had more defective disks in 2 weeks then I have had in the previous 5 years.

Same here.

Why do HD-DVD supporters even look at blu-ray boards? Guess its cuz they got nothin to watch;)

This one does because I want to learn more about each format so that I can make informed decisions about future purchases. I just lurk usually, and I think I can separate the FUD from the truth in most instances.

Before I purchased an A2 (only because it was a great deal), I considered the scratch resistant surface of BD to be a significant advantage. I'm interested in learning more about how that perceived advantage translates to real world use.

This one does because I want to learn more about each format so that I can make informed decisions about future purchases. I just lurk usually, and I think I can separate the FUD from the truth in most instances.

Before I purchased an A2 (only because it was a great deal), I considered the scratch resistant surface of BD to be a significant advantage. I'm interested in learning more about how that perceived advantage translates to real world use.

The BD's I rent at blockbuster have worn cases (signifying they've been rented a few times) and the BD's themselves look pristine.

BD's I receive in the mail look pristine with maybe a few finger smudges or one or two tiny scratches. HD DVD's sometimes look like they were used to sand wood. :D (though often times they play just fine)

Just amazes me how people treat rental discs. I figure if BD's are being rented to a majority of PS3 owners and they come back looking as good as they do, then the hardcoat must be working. ;)

I've been renting from Blockbuster on line here in the south eastern part of the US since inception. I have less problems with the quality of the BDs then I did with regular DVDs. I've only sent two back that were unwatchable. I'm using the PS3 not sure if that matters though.

I think this is more of a quality control issue than a format issue. I've been renting from Blockbuster and Netflix long enough to know that they don't even look at the discs. They just send them right back out. I've seen my fair share of grape jelly finger prints to prove that! :rolleyes: They depend on us the customer to be their quality control.

Been getting Blu-rays from Netflix since launch. Never had a defective disc, never saw a scratch.

I've gotten two bad BD's from Netflix. Neither one had visible defects.

BTW, I left our Monster House BD in the PS3 and my youngest ejected the disc and rubbed it up and down our bamboo floor. Data side down. He managed to put 3 major scratches on it. If it was a DVD, it would have been alot worse. Oh, the BD still plays flawlessly.

BD's can not be resurfaced. There was an article a while back (now in the AVS archives) from a disk resurfacing company stating that the protective layer was too thin to be resurfaced.

I'm not a Netflix subscriber (yet), but I've been with BBO for about a month and a half, and have thus far only seen one BD with any scratches/cracks/whatever they were… that was Superman 2, and it had several. It looked like the disc may have been bent backwards - creating a bunch of hairline seams in the coating/optical layer which bent away from the disc, as opposed to scratches which appear to go into the disc, or cracks which appear on both the front and back. The disc would successfully play up until about 25 minutes? (maybe 15) before freezing hard at the same point every time.

However, every other disc I've tried (about a couple dozen, between BBO and in-store exchange) has been problem-free… even with fingerprints or other assorted dirt, they've played flawlessly.

BTW, I left our Monster House BD in the PS3 and my youngest ejected the disc and rubbed it up and down our bamboo floor. Data side down. He managed to put 3 major scratches on it. If it was a DVD, it would have been alot worse. Oh, the BD still plays flawlessly.
Lucked out! :)

The scratches were probably on a portion of the disc that had no data or were for the extras.

I got a few that were cracked on the edge from Netflix. I ran up on this site and he thinks there might be a problem.

http://marsbox.com/blog/news/cracked-netflix-blu-ray-disc-problem/

BTW, I left our Monster House BD in the PS3 and my youngest ejected the disc and rubbed it up and down our bamboo floor. Data side down. He managed to put 3 major scratches on it. If it was a DVD, it would have been alot worse. Oh, the BD still plays flawlessly.
Well... that's one way to look at it.... the other way of course is that...

1) hardend scratch coat surfaces CAN in fact scratch.

2) dvd's (and HD DVD's for that matter) can be very easily repaired... you can buy even buy the repair kits through your local disk vendor. The BD's however are garbage after a fatal scratch has been delivered.

I'm not quite sure which way I would want it....scratch coat or no... but them's the facts.

Well... that's one way to look at it.... the other way of course is that...

1) hardend scratch coat surfaces CAN in fact scratch.

2) dvd's (and HD DVD's for that matter) can be very easily repaired... you can buy even buy the repair kits through your local disk vendor. The BD's however are garbage after a fatal scratch has been delivered.

I'm not quite sure which way I would want it....scratch coat or no... but them's the facts.

Here's another way to look at it:

3) A scratch that damages a BD will probably make an HD DVD unrepairable.

I've been using Netflix for BD since March, and I've never had a problem with any discs.

Here's another way to look at it:

3) A scratch that damages a BD will probably make an HD DVD unrepairable.

I've been using Netflix for BD since March, and I've never had a problem with any discs.

However, these aren't scratches. They're cracks in the coating. A coating that doesn't exist on HD DVD.

Here's another way to look at it:

3) A scratch that damages a BD will probably make an HD DVD unrepairable.

and this is "probably" a fact.... right ;)

I've had two damaged Blu ray disks so far from Netflix.The first one was"Reservoir Dogs".Second one was"House of flying daggers".The copy of reservoir dogs had many fine hairline cracks on the data side,while the copy of house of flying daggers had a little crack on the edge of the disk.Maybe it's the post office?

I have seen a number of reports on this forum about BD discs with cracks. I thought it was much more isolated than it apparently is. Based on the posts here at least for rentals this looks to be a big deal.

I don't rent BD, just buy and have never experienced a cracking problem. I rent 3 HD DVDs each week and have zero problems with any HD DVDs rented or purchased since 1.6 of the Tosh firmware. I did have some issues with rentals skipping before that.

Maybe there needs to be a poll to see how widespread this is. I have never heard of a cracked HD DVD, actually I would have thought it would take some serious crazy abuse to crack any DVD let alone a BD. Must be something about the BD coating that makes BD media vulnerable to this. It does makes sense though. Generally when you make something harder, it becomes more brittle.

My experiences are with metal but I think many of the same physics apply. Any variations in the cooling process during manufacture could cause the coating to become overly brittle. Perhaps the real world stresses from the mail based rental process exceeds the design parameters expected for BD.

I know I am doing a lot speculating here but the reporting in this thead is probably tip of the iceberg.

As the OP of this thread I just want to let everyone know that I have not received any cracked discs from netflix and have not had a resurfacing problem since Letters From Iwo.

I have had some major HD-DVD scratching issues from them though. Especially with movies that are popular with the young crowd.
I support both formats, I just wish they would splash some of that coating on HD-DVD's too.

Check youtube, they have a few vids on how much a BR can take. This one guy did everything he could to try and get talledega nights not to play and he had to resort to setting the disc on fire to stop it from playing. This was after he took razor blades and sand paper to it, and it still played. Setting a lit book of matches onto it did ruin it though. The coating is why I buy WB movies on BR instead of HD-DVD.

I don't rent BD, just buy and have never experienced a cracking problem. I rent 3 HD DVDs each week and have zero problems with any HD DVDs rented or purchased since 1.6 of the Tosh firmware. I did have some issues with rentals skipping before that.

Maybe there needs to be a poll to see how widespread this is. I have never heard of a cracked HD DVD, actually I would have thought it would take some serious crazy abuse to crack any DVD let alone a BD. Must be something about the BD coating that makes BD media vulnerable to this. It does makes sense though. Generally when you make something harder, it becomes more brittle.

.

I've had cracked disc from both formats(only with rentals) and no skipping problems that couldn't be fixed by cleaning the disc. If a mail carrier drops his bag and that disc is on the bottom its bound to crack. You also have the hydraulic pusher arms that are in mail sort facilities.

Before we start down the path of no return (re: cracked BD), I propose the following...I've been watching too many Mythbusters episodes.

I do know that discs come from Netflix cracked. I myself have received two discs (Ice Age and another one I can't remember at the moment).

We have a number of theories as to what could be causing it:

a) Discs repeatedly going through sorting machines (both at the Netflix facility and the USPS facilities).

b) Heat

c) Shearing forces/spindle speeds

d) ?

I'd like to see what other theories there are and maybe we can set up a controlled experiment and test these theories.

Last I checked, AVS meant AV Science, not AV Speculation.

Thoughts?

Ed

Anyone who has come across a cracked BD disc should indicate the following:

Movie title(s):
Location (City, State):
Date received:
Playable?: [Yes/No/Problematic],[Title]
Brief Description:

Games for the PS3 are on BD, and they stay on for hours on end, yet I havent seen a widespread issue of cracked PS3 games.

So you can rule out heat or excessive usage.

You could do a controlled experiment... by sending BD Discs to each other through the mail and see if that causes the discs to get damaged.

Movie title(s): Superman II: the Richard Donner Cut
Location (City, State): Portland, OR
Date received: July '07
Playable?: Problematic
Brief Description:
3 parallel hairline fractures approximately ¾" long and ¼" apart were visible in the middle of the data area (not at the edge of the disc) on one side of the spindle hole, running mainly length-wise with the data tracks (not perpendicular). The fractures didn't appear to go all the way through the disc (mainly on the surface/in the coating), and they appeared to bulge outward - instead of gashing inward as would be expected of a scratch - seeming to indicate that the disc had been bent backward.

Playback would reach approximately 15 minutes (or 25 minutes? I don't remember the first digit for sure) with no difficulty, then would freeze hard in exactly the same spot every time; I could not seek to any point past this.

FWIW, this disc came from Blockbuster Online, and was one of the first batch of 3 sent to me when I signed up; I've received ~20 more discs by mail and rented at least another 20 in store with no such difficulty - in fact, nothing but pristine.

^^

That's a strange fracture. Possible pressure put on the disk at a specific spot? You'd think the cracks would radiate out from the center.

That was my guess as well. With the cases that Blockbuster uses in store, if one doesn't push down on the middle of the disc-holder before pulling up on the disc, one would have to exert a significant amount of force on the disc - bending it to an alarming degree - in order to remove the disc from the case; I've done that (sadly), and while it didn't produce such cracks in that case, I would think that could be a cause. However, this particular disc did come from their mail center; they don't use such cases.

I'm on the 3 at a time plan and I have rented about 30 so far I'd say. None of these gave me a problem whatsoever and they were in pristine condition when I checked! I wouln't be surprised if I was the first person to get these BDs! :)

I started renting from Netflix last November and have rented 75 Blu-ray movies as of today. I received 2 movies that were cracked - both in the January, February time-frame, none since. At the time that I received the cracked disc's there was considerable discussion on this board as to whether weather was a factor - there were a few weeks of particularly cold weather around the US. Without Netflix weighing in on the subject, it is difficult to tell whether the problem was/is with their processing equipment of whether it was/is a postal service equipment problem or possibly the mailman dropping the disc on the sidewalk :eek:

Maybe Lee Stewart and MidnightWatcher are renting discs and cracking them... :p


J/k, but considering how crazy fanboys are during this format war, it really wouldn't surprise me if something similar were the case...