I just read Bill Hunts $.02 from 9/24/07. He really lays into the combo format. Could the problems be as bad as he says? I want to give the guy the benefit of doubt here. But jeez, he sure does a good job at scaring someone away from HD-DVD.

"I've checked out 23 Combo titles. You know how many actually worked, playing smoothly all the way through? Just 9." -BHunt

Has anyone else experienced this level of problems? 61% failure rate? Could that be right??

yes this is true,when i buy one im always worry.

That many failures it has to be player related.

15 Combos (rentals & purchases) problems 0.

This includes Superman, Children of Men, Happy Feet, Matrix Ultimate, 300.

I have been quite fortunate with my combo experience. I have not experienced any problems (no stutter, freezing, or anything) in about 12 different combos that I have purchased or rented. I have an A2. Because of my good experience, I happen to like combos since it means I don't have to purchase two versions of the movie. I like the flexibility of playing my movies outside of my home theater (I can't afford multiple hd players and HDTVs).

I have been quite fortunate with my combo experience. I have not experienced any problems (no stutter, freezing, or anything) in about 12 different combos that I have purchased or rented. I have an A2. Because of my good experience, I happen to like combos since it means I don't have to purchase two versions of the movie. I like the flexibility of playing my movies outside of my home theater (I can't afford multiple hd players and HDTVs).

My copy of 300 stalled on chapter 17 like a bunch of other people reported. So I am a bit worried.

HD Combo Problems - As big as Bill Hunt says?

No.

No.

Could you please be a little less wordy? :D I agree. Have an A1 and it's played the 6 combos I've toss at it without problems. Perhaps the key is to keep your players firmware up to date.

I have 4 combos and rented more but never had an issue on my 360 attachment.

No the problems are not as big a Bill Hunt is making them out to be. Mr. Hunt's credibility when it comes to this format war is questionable.

I own 12 Combo discs have not had a problem with any of them.

That's not to say that there have not been issues with them. It just has not happened with me.

The thing I dislike about them is the $5 premium.

My copy of 300 stalled on chapter 17 like a bunch of other people reported. So I am a bit worried.

That sucks - I'm sorry to hear that. I had no problems with 300 (not that that will make you feel better) :)

"I've checked out 23 Combo titles. You know how many actually worked, playing smoothly all the way through? Just 9."

I have probably seen just as many combos and have only had problems with 2-300 and The Good Shepard.

XA2 owner.
I only had a problem with Children of Men before update.
After update no problem

No problems with a single disc yet, combo or otherwise...only REAL reason why they're causing a problem for Bill Hunt is the fact that they're simply STILL HERE, lol - he said the war would be over by now - oops. :p :D

Bill Hunt is FOS. I've never had a problem with a combo disk, and I've played dozens.

No not that big.

I had problems with Children of Men, The Hitcher and Smokin Aces, but they were all fixed with firmware updates.

No problem with 300 except for finger smudges from DA WIFE!!:mad:

Did you also see his headline that says "We choose Blu-Ray Disc" ?

I've never had a problem with any combos.

No problems here. I use HD A2. I have The Break Up, Hot Fuzz, The Hitcher, Music and Lyrics, Grinch, The Departed and You, me and Dupree. Never had any problems - 7/7 - 100 % :D

I am wondering if its just propaganda. I read something from BH where he was trying to sound more neutral... he made a parallel between BD profiles, high-cost, delayed releases... and HD-DVD combo disks.

No the problems are not as big a Bill Hunt is making them out to be. Mr. Hunt's credibility when it comes to this format war is questionable.

I own 12 Combo discs have not had a problem with any of them.

That's not to say that there have not been issues with them. It just has not happened with me.

The thing I dislike about them is the $5 premium.

I own 7 combo's and have rented several others through Netflix. I've never had a single issue playing them.

As for Mr. Hunt's credibility, now would be a good time to run those pictures of him at the invitation-only party blu-ray had for him at the Home Media Expo in July.

While I actually sometimes use the DVD side of the Combo, it would be nice if the price could come down some.

Did you also see his headline that says "We choose Blu-Ray Disc" ?


Yes, I read it. I know he's a BD fan. I got no problem with that. But if 61% failure rate is false.. isnt that slanderous our libelist or something?

Kidding aside, with his public stance on BD, he is now part of the PR machine. I just didnt expect that he would exaggerate so wildly. I mean if the product had a 61% failure rate, there would be a class action lawsuit.

1st gen hardware (A1) not even running the latest firmware (2.0) and I've never had a single problem with a combo. I probably own 30 of them and have rented 10+.

Yes, I read it. I know he's a BD fan. I got no problem with that. But if 61% failure rate is false.. isnt that slanderous our libelist or something?

Kidding aside, with his public stance on BD, he is now part of the PR machine. I just didnt expect that he would exaggerate so wildly. I mean if the product had a 61% failure rate, there would be a class action lawsuit.

Nothing new.. Here's another instance of making up stuff, with regards to Transformers.

"The 2-disc HD-DVD version (SRP $39.99) will include 1080p video, Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio (strangely, there's no lossless audio option - perhaps due to disc space issues?), "

I've read the bits since my first dvd player in 1997, and it's always been very informative. It's a hard habit to break, not going there to read up on DVD, but he's clearly not giving HD-DVD a fair shake anymore.

I have watched and owned many combos and never had an issue on my 360 ad on.

I just read Bill Hunts $.02 from 9/24/07. He really lays into the combo format. Could the problems be as bad as he says? I want to give the guy the benefit of doubt here. But jeez, he sure does a good job at scaring someone away from HD-DVD.

"I've checked out 23 Combo titles. You know how many actually worked, playing smoothly all the way through? Just 9." -BHunt

Has anyone else experienced this level of problems? 61% failure rate? Could that be right??

First and foremost keep in mind that Bill is little more than a Blu-bois himself. The guy railed on Universal at a trade show earlier this year for being HD DVD exclusive. When I say rail I mean rail, he yelled at them; how many professional journalists do that? He has made some valuable contributions in the world of DVD, but since this format “war” has started he has been little more than a Blu-ray partisan. That being the case I would take what he says with a grain of salt.

On the topic of Combos I had some issues with The Good Shepard and Children of Men. I returned both of them and the replacement copies worked fine. Some people have had issues with Combos, but most of those went away with a firmware update that came through earlier this summer. I think Universal had an issue at one of their manufacturing plants; several users reported an adhesive residue on their disks and I think mine had the same problem. In my case both HD DVDs that had issues had a small printed tag inside the shrink-wrap that said “made in Mexico” and the replacements did not have those tags.

I have not had any issues with Universal Combos since then and I have never had any issues with my Warner Combos.

The most likely reason that Bill Hunt is bagging on Combos has nothing to do with Combos working or not working; it has to do with the fact that Blu-ray can’t do Combos, or any double-sided disk for that matter. Just one of the many benefits of that special Blu-rot protective coating.

First of all, Bill Hunt has ZERO credibility. His pro-BD rants have become sickening and intolerable. He spits in the eye of HD DVD every chance he gets. But as he says: "I like HD DVD. I really do." Please...........:rolleyes:

Anyway, I'm have a problem with the Superman Returns combo. And, from what I've read, it seems a lot of people have the same problem with the disc freezing right after Superman takes Lois Lane up for a flight. You get the dreaded Error 408bc504.

My Fast & Furious Tokyo Drift combo works fine.

Bill Hunt is lying. Plain and simple. Not the first time, either.

Keep in mind too that he is a major HD DVD hater.

Guys, there was a problem with combos. I went through five copies of Children of Men and two copies of Miami Vice before finding ones that loaded and played through completely. It got so bad that I steered clear of combos for many months before having success with my sixth copy of Children of Men. You can attack Bill Hunt all you want for a number of reasons, but his opinion on combos can't be one of them. There's an editorial on Hi Def Digest about this very matter, too. Read it here: http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Combo_Discs/Joshua_Zyber/Commentary:_Combo_Discs_-_What_Went_Wrong/894

I personally don't like combo discs, that said, I own an HD-A1, HD-A2 and
XA-2 and have honestly only had one problem with a combo disk, Superman Returns and that's only recently after I upgraded (?) to FW 2.5. I am format neutral with no ax to grind for either format, if there's a plague of problems with combos I haven't experienced it. YMMV.

There's not enough salt in the world to take with what Bill Hunt says. The guy is a washed-up hack, plain and simple.

This guy is a moron.

There a lot of positive HD DVD news and he feels the need crap on it.

I have had over 40 Combo's and have only had a problems with 1 of them.

I gotta believe that people who do not like COMBOS, do not have children or perhaps they are small. I have 5 kids they all have their own TV and DVD players, why would you not be happy buying a COMBO and having everyone be able to enjoy them when they want? I can't see buying everyone a new HD DVD player. That being said I own 7 COMBO discs NO PROBLEMS what so ever.

Bill Hunt probably tried to play the COMBOS on his Blu-Ray player, and he still got 9 to play!!! Now that's impressive!!

What's amusing about this entire thing is that it's such an obvious lash out at HD DVD as Transfomers is closing in. $50 says we get a few more of these before it finally comes out. He's going to do everything in his power to bury the fact that it's only on HD DVD, just watch.

He's a funny guy.

This guy is a moron.

There a lot of positive HD DVD news and he feels the need crap on it.

I have had over 40 Combo's and have only had a problems with 1 of them.

DITTO on your first two points.

Also, does anyone know what the failure rate is of a regular HD disc, whether it's Blu-Ray or HD-DVD?

I mean there must be some rejects of everything, Right?

I doubt he has had as many problems as he is claiming and if he has, do you think he has bothered to update the firmware of his player?

I doubt he has had as many problems as he is claiming and if he has, do you think he has bothered to update the firmware of his player?

The guy can hardly write, do you really think he's intelligent enough to update his firmware? ;)

He reminds me of kid who throws a temper tantrum when his brother gets a toy and he doesn't.

About 5 combo's here with a 360 add-on... no problems yet...

The only time I EVER tried a combo disc was Hot Fuzz (b-day present for mom). Low and behold, the movie fails to get past the Universal logo and gives the "cannot read disc" error. Oh and that's not just once, thats every consecutive time after that.

Other than that I have never had a problem with an HD DVD. Combos though are garbage. Do not support them at all.

The guy can hardly write, do you really think he's intelligent enough to update his firmware? ;)

He reminds me of kid who throws a temper tantrum when his brother gets a toy and he doesn't.

BTW, of course he wants the combos to go away. He like every other blu ray supporter knows when (not if) the studios start releasing combos only and their is no SD DVD option available, it's bye bye Blu-Ray.:eek:

I have played several combos in my HD-A2 and I have not had any problems. I think it's just more FUD from Bill. In fact, he should name his column "Bill's FUD - What to hate about HD-DVD this week."

Over 20 combos - zero problems.

Has anybody who has had a problem with combos not had the problem fixed through a firmware update?

Zero problems with mine. I bet I just jinxed myself though...

MS paid Paramount and DW $150mil. :D :D editorial site my bottom :D :D

I have rented several combos from Blockbuster that have stalled on the HD DVD side but played on the DVD side. I am sure that is an issue with scratches.

Not 1 problem with over 10 combos.

I have rented several combos from Blockbuster that have stalled on the HD DVD side but played on the DVD side. I am sure that is an issue with scratches.

Can't be. Hot Fuzz was a brand new copy for a b-day present.

I have had problems with combos in the past. Firmware has corrected them. It seems that combo problems are becoming more rare. I think the BD folks will concentrate on the early problems and not have very many posts with "new" combo posts.

Has anybody who has had a problem with combos not had the problem fixed through a firmware update?
I had a problem with my 300 combi that was fixed with a firmware update. MANY other combos and NO issues. I don't know why we waste our time wringing our hands over this guy and his blu talking points!

Guys, there was a problem with combos. I went through five copies of Children of Men and two copies of Miami Vice before finding ones that loaded and played through completely. It got so bad that I steered clear of combos for many months before having success with my sixth copy of Children of Men. You can attack Bill Hunt all you want for a number of reasons, but his opinion on combos can't be one of them. There's an editorial on Hi Def Digest about this very matter, too. Read it here: http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Combo_Discs/Joshua_Zyber/Commentary:_Combo_Discs_-_What_Went_Wrong/894

Key word being "was" a problem as in 3 or 4 months ago. Does Bill have an article mentioning the few Blu-ray disks that have disk rot? No he does not and thus his opinion can be dismissed out of hand because he's being biased in what consumer issues he choses to address. If a few HD DVDs have an issue it is big news on The Digital Bits, but the fact that some BDs have problems that NO MEDIA has had since the early days of DVD goes unnoticed by Bill.

I don't think any of us are questioning the fact that some Combos had issues; I said that I had some issues in my previous post. We are simply pointing out the fact that Bill bleeds Blu to the OP. There was a problem and for some perhaps there still are, but in this case Bill is 3 months late and several dollars short.

Both rented and own many combos. I still have problems with the Matrix Ultimate (2 and 3 don't always load, I have to keep reloading them.) I think I ran into a few other problems months ago too. I have NEVER had a disc stutter or stop playing once it loads, and I've gone through 70+ easily.

I very much doubt that his problems are as bad as he states. I have no less than 15 combo discs and have only had a problem with one. That was We are Marshall that Warner sent me a month early. I have no doubt that that issue was fixed with the 2.5 fw. Which was released just before the movie hit the streets. It would be interesting to know if these combo issues are true which discs they are and if they are not advance screeners from the studios prior to any appropriate fw. That is if he is still lucky enough for them to send discs to him after the way he has attacked the HD DVD side.

I gotta believe that people who do not like COMBOS, do not have children or perhaps they are small. I have 5 kids they all have their own TV and DVD players, why would you not be happy buying a COMBO and having everyone be able to enjoy them when they want? I can't see buying everyone a new HD DVD player. That being said I own 7 COMBO discs NO PROBLEMS what so ever.

Bill Hunt probably tried to play the COMBOS on his Blu-Ray player, and he still got 9 to play!!! Now that's impressive!!
ROFL

Combos are problematic. I don't care what % work versus don't work, it hardly matters if it's anything over a 1-2% failure rate -- which in other words is a huge flop.

I have avoided all combos since my TGS problems (IIRC). I will spring for the BD versus every time if available, and if not (like the case with CoM), I will wait for a non-combo version to be available in the US. I'm actually to the point where I wouldn't be surprised to see combos having a much shorter shelf life than normal disks.

They put the fear of whatever into the BD camp.

Bill Hunt has had parties thrown for him by the BDA and writes articles for the 'fake' BDA site. I don't believe a word he says. When an HD DVD title gets delayed its "OMG! The format is failing", when a Blu-ray gets delayed (Master and Commander, Amityville) its "Well, good for them! Don't release something that may not be perfect!". Ugh.

I've avoided buying combos mainly because I don't like them. I''ve rented a number from Netflix without problems; I assume it's because by the time they get to me the bad ones have been weeded out. I would prefer if Universal eventually sold regular HD DVD versions like they've done with Army of Darkness.

My old A1 was a real POS when it came to combos, now the E1 on the other hand has been flawless:D

61%, he's needs a new job

Of course I wonder what he defines as a "problem"

My guess is if there is a 1 second delay after hitting "play" before the movie starts Hunt calls the disc defective

Combos do have a few problems, but given Bill Humiliationt and his history of anti-HD DVD, pro-Blu-Ray, pro-DRM statements it isn't surprising that he is bashing HD DVD again.

Key word being "was" a problem as in 3 or 4 months ago. Does Bill have an article mentioning the few Blu-ray disks that have disk rot? No he does not and thus his opinion can be dismissed out of hand because he's being biased in what consumer issues he choses to address. If a few HD DVDs have an issue it is big news on The Digital Bits, but the fact that some BDs have problems that NO MEDIA has had since the early days of DVD goes unnoticed by Bill.

I don't think any of us are questioning the fact that some Combos had issues; I said that I had some issues in my previous post. We are simply pointing out the fact that Bill bleeds Blu to the OP. There was a problem and for some perhaps there still are, but in this case Bill is 3 months late and several dollars short.Yes, that's true-- "was" is past tense. But I'm still a little nervous about the upcoming 10-disc Star Trek combo set.

I just read Bill Hunts $.02 from 9/24/07. He really lays into the combo format. Could the problems be as bad as he says? I want to give the guy the benefit of doubt here. But jeez, he sure does a good job at scaring someone away from HD-DVD.

"I've checked out 23 Combo titles. You know how many actually worked, playing smoothly all the way through? Just 9." -BHunt

Has anyone else experienced this level of problems? 61% failure rate? Could that be right??

There are two possibilities here:

1) Bill Hunt has a completely malfunctioning player

-or-

2) Bill Hunt is again exaggerating, and making up outright lies about HD DVD in a maniacal rage.

I own about ten combo discs. I had a problem with ONE, and it was one of the really early Superman copies that was plagued with problems. I exchanged it, and no further issues. Departed? No problems. 300? No Problems.

Seriously, who else has had problems like this? What are the chances that Bill Hunt, of all people, happens to be the one guy to have such a problem?

Trent

Guys, there was a problem with combos. I went through five copies of Children of Men and two copies of Miami Vice before finding ones that loaded and played through completely. It got so bad that I steered clear of combos for many months before having success with my sixth copy of Children of Men. You can attack Bill Hunt all you want for a number of reasons, but his opinion on combos can't be one of them. There's an editorial on Hi Def Digest about this very matter, too. Read it here: http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Combo_Discs/Joshua_Zyber/Commentary:_Combo_Discs_-_What_Went_Wrong/894

Did you consider that it may have been your hardware, or firmware version? Obviously there was something weird going on with Combos, but I think player issues may have exacerbated the problems in some cases, with borderline discs playing on most players, but not on others.

The bottom line is that your experience (and Bill Hunt's allegations) are NOT the norm.

It very much sucks that you experienced such problems, and I agree that it's unacceptable for such QC issues, but Bill Hunt blew it totally out of proportion here.

While there have been some problems with combos, me included (300 chapter 17 issue), I think it does get blown out of proportion a bit online here. It's like any message board, many people who have problems post about it on a message board. 99.9% of that products users may never have an issue and then have no reason to post. In that poll for 300 issues, there was greater than 10% failure rate, but certainly that wasn't the failure rate for the disk worldwide, or that would have been a major fiasco.

Anyone find it odd he watched We are Marshall on HD and not on BD?

I own 12 combos and have rented quite a few more. No troubles at all with an A1 unless the disc was heavily scratched.

On this note, the first disc I watched on my player, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, is a combo and the playback was flawless. I've had more trouble with HDMI than with HD DVD combos.

Other than scratched up rental discs, the ONLY combo disc I have had trouble with is We Are Marshall. It locks up on my XA2. But, interestingly, the standard def side locks up in the same chapter. Even more interestingly, the standard def side locks up on BOTH my XA2 and my Oppo player.

Obviously, it's a bad disc. It is the only disc to EVER cause problems on my Oppo. With hundreds of discs played just fine on my Oppo, there's NO WAY it is the player.

Amazon is exchanging my copy of We Are Marshall. It will be here this week. I am anxious to see if it gives me any problems on either player.

Mark

Article prompted me to count my combos just to see.

27 combos. 1 problem of 27 required a replacement disk

http://www.nvgaonline.com/images/evo/hd2.jpg

1 issue: returned CoM which is now fine.
Smokin Aces required a brisk wipeoff but fine other than that.

With over 125 HD DVD and over 70 BD I've had more issues with regular BD and HD disks than with combos (only a few there too). No special issue witih combos to single out among disks in general.

Take everything Hunt says with a grain of salt, especially if it something negative about HD DVD. Out of all my combos (I have at least 15), I've only had one skip on Children of Men, which was fixed by washing the disc.

BS.

11 combos owned. 10 played fine 1st time. 11th played fine after a firmware update

No it's not anything near as bad as he says.

I have probably 80 hd-dvd's lots of combos. no problems. I keep the firmware up to date. on my xa2

XA2 owner.
I only had a problem with Children of Men before update.
After update no problem

+1

Bill Hunt, as usual, is pretending to be non-partisan. Hands up, anyone, and I mean anyone, who takes this statement from Bill at face value: "I've said many times that I like the HD-DVD format, despite the fact that I prefer Blu-ray. And believe it or not, it's true." It's astonishing one person would go so far out on a limb, sawing madly behind him. Earth to Bill: only Bugs Bunny manages to stay in the air on the branch when the tree falls.

Hunt is a moron. I try not to lay into people, but he is what he is - a fanboy at any cost and someone who has so deeply invested into something that he uses anything and everything as ammunition, even if he's shooting blanks. :rolleyes:

Personally, I've had trouble with 1 combo, CoM, 2 or 3 months ago from Netflix. Cleaned it, and it played fine. The two combos I own have had zero problems. Sure, there were some problems with some of the early released combos. For one, how is that the HD DVD format's fault? Blame it on the replicators or the authors who are really at fault. Two, the squeaky wheels always make the most noise. For all the people that posted on the various web forums about playback issues, how many thousands didn't have problems?

I have slightly less respect for Hunt as a journalist as I do Rob Enderle....but that's another topic!

Does he even realize what a joke he's turned into? Maybe we should remind him. :)

Out of the 8 or so combo's I have the only problem I have had was with Superman Returns, sent it to WB and they sent me a new one and that one works fine. Other than that the other's have been fine.

There are two possibilities here:

...

2) Bill Hunt is again exaggerating, and making up outright lies about HD DVD in a maniacal rage.


In fairness to Bill Hunt, he doesn't have to be in a maniacal rage to exaggerate and make up lies about HD DVD.

7 combos no problems.

Bill Hunt should try to play the combos in an HD-DVD player instead of a Blu-Ray player.

I have 70 HD-DVD's and climbing. I've never had an issue with playback on a single one, let alone one of the combo's.

I just read Bill Hunts $.02 from 9/24/07. He really lays into the combo format. Could the problems be as bad as he says? I want to give the guy the benefit of doubt here. But jeez, he sure does a good job at scaring someone away from HD-DVD.

"I've checked out 23 Combo titles. You know how many actually worked, playing smoothly all the way through? Just 9." -BHunt

Has anyone else experienced this level of problems? 61% failure rate? Could that be right??


Bill Hunt absolutely hates HD DVD so why expect anything positive from Mr. Negativity?

Is Josh Zyber (http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/894) an HD DVD hater too?



[...]

Worse than that, the damn discs don't even work half the time! Just the other night, I sat down to watch my recently-purchased HD DVD copy of '300' on my Toshiba HD-XA2 player, and I only made it 45 minutes before the stupid thing froze up and ceased playback. No matter how many times I try to restart the movie, the disc will not play beyond Chapter 14. This is an extremely high-profile release; in fact, it's currently the best-selling title on either the HD DVD or Blu-ray formats, and the disc won't function in a top-of-the-line HD DVD player! Who wants to put up with nonsense like that? I certainly don't.

Let's not kid ourselves that this is an isolated defective disc or a one-time anomaly. Complaints about playback problems on '300' are widespread, and similar compatibility issues have plagued earlier Combo releases such as 'Children of Men', 'The Good Shepherd', 'Happy Feet', 'Superman Returns', and 'The Matrix Reloaded' (copies from the expensive 'Ultimate Matrix Collection' box set which has the bonus features in DVD format on the flip-side of the disc). Some of these will only work properly on second-generation HD DVD players but not first-generation models, and some bizarrely just the opposite. Some function fine on Toshiba's players but not on Microsoft's HD DVD add-on accessory for the XBox 360, and others vice versa. Some don't work right on any player at all.

The excuses are manifold. First we were told that certain titles were authored out of spec for the HD DVD format, but if that were true why would they work on some players but not others (even within the same player model)? Then we were told it was a manufacturing error having to do with the bonding process that seals the two halves of the disc together. Some people believe that there's a filmy residue on the surface of the discs that the player's laser can't read through, and have claimed better results after cleaning or boiling (yes, boiling!) the discs for a few minutes. For what it's worth, I actually tried this boiling trick on a couple of my non-responsive discs, but it didn't do anything to solve my playback errors.

Universal was good enough to offer a mail-in exchange program for "defective" copies of 'Children of Men' and 'The Good Shepherd'. However, many people who received "corrected" copies found them just as problematic. Later, Toshiba issued a firmware update for their players that seemed to clear up most of the problems with these two titles. If it were really a physical manufacturing error on certain copies, how could a firmware change in the player make a difference? And if it were an authoring mistake that a firmware update can work around, why are brand new discs like '300' still not working correctly? Something just isn't right here.

If these DVD/HD DVD Combo discs are having so many issues, why should we expect any differently when (or if) Warner finally unleashes their much-delayed "Total HD" format that seals HD DVD and Blu-ray together onto the same disc? I dread the compatibility nightmares that would almost inevitably come with those.

Personally, I have no idea what's causing these compatibility problems between Combo discs and HD DVD players. I don't know whether it's the studios at fault or the hardware manufacturers, and I honestly don't care. I've lost faith in the Combo format. When presented with an option, I'll avoid it if possible. When it comes to Warner titles, I'll buy the Blu-ray version instead, assuming equal features. The reason I went with the HD DVD edition of '300' was for its highly-touted interactive bonus features that are not available on the Blu-ray, only to find them quite useless if the disc won't play. In some cases, I'll consider importing a non-Combo HD DVD edition of the movie from overseas, as I did for 'Children of Men' (it's available in England that way). Fans of '300' might be interested to know that a non-Combo HD DVD was released in Australia.

Are even the studios starting to realize the predicament? Universal originally issued both new releases and catalog titles in Combo format, but wisely scaled back to only new releases after consumer complaints. Many viewers had already bought these older movies on DVD prior to the introduction of HD DVD, so why should they be forced to re-buy another DVD edition to get the HD side? Recently, the studio has started re-releasing previous Combo titles such as 'Unleashed' and 'Army of Darkness' in HD DVD-only editions for a reduced price. Warner has begun to do the same with 'The Ant Bully', 'The Departed', and others, and also hinted that in the future all Combo releases may be reissued several months afterwards in non-Combo editions. I say, why not just cut to the chase and do away with the Combo discs altogether?

I never could get the 300 combo to play all the way through on my HD-A1 or HD-A2. Went through 2 copies and then went with the Blu-ray version. Screw combos.

EDIT: Just looked at the Knocked Up thread, and looks like there's plenty of problems to go around. That'll be a SD DVD purchase for me.

BTW, my own experience: I had no problems with The Departed and The Fountain, but I did with Children of Men, The Good Shepherd and Happy Feet. That gives me a 40% problem rate.

COM and 300. Everything else played fine. Even an update could do nothing for 300. Either make combos the norm and get rid of reg dvd or make stand alone hd-dvd's at the same price as blu ray.

Ironically, the only disc I have that won't play is Casino, and it's not a combo.

I have about 12-15 combos (not sure, have to count), and I only had a problem with one-Children of Men. It froze at one spot.
J

Is Josh Zyber (http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/894) an HD DVD hater too?

There is a giant difference between Josh and Blu Ray Bill Hunt.

And you know it Grubert.

There is a giant difference between Josh and Blu Ray Bill Hunt.

And you know it Grubert.

Yeah. If Zyber pans combos (giving info about the problems he's had with them), he has a point. If Hunt pans combos (giving info about the problems he's had with them, he's just dissing HD DVD.

Though I noticed combos tend to work better if you are an HD DVD fan. Must be the power of faith, I presume...

I've had couple of playback issues before on old firmware, never since 2.0. I've also had issues with Weinstein discs (non combos) but again they are fine on the latest firmware.

Anyone having playback issues with the latest firmware need to get their player sent back to Toshiba.

I don't know about Josh, some people have an agenda against combos which doesn't relate to playback issues. Bill knows that Blu Ray is about to have lots of playback issues with 1.1 profile content coming out and this is a way of preparing damage limitation.

To put it bluntly, Bill Hunt is full of crap.

I have a LARGE number of combos in my collection, and have NEVER had ANY playback problems with ANY of them, EVER. Is that good enough for ya?

The only thing I can fathom is a) I'm lucky or b) I keep on top of my firmware updates better than others.

Well I only have 5 combos but, I haven't had a problem with any of them... Sounds to me like he is pushing his agenda with this one...

To put it bluntly, Bill Hunt is full of crap.


Sounds to me like he is pushing his agenda with this one...

Again: is Josh Z full of crap? Is he pushing an agenda?



[...]

Worse than that, the damn discs don't even work half the time! Just the other night, I sat down to watch my recently-purchased HD DVD copy of '300' on my Toshiba HD-XA2 player, and I only made it 45 minutes before the stupid thing froze up and ceased playback. No matter how many times I try to restart the movie, the disc will not play beyond Chapter 14. This is an extremely high-profile release; in fact, it's currently the best-selling title on either the HD DVD or Blu-ray formats, and the disc won't function in a top-of-the-line HD DVD player! Who wants to put up with nonsense like that? I certainly don't.

Let's not kid ourselves that this is an isolated defective disc or a one-time anomaly. Complaints about playback problems on '300' are widespread, and similar compatibility issues have plagued earlier Combo releases such as 'Children of Men', 'The Good Shepherd', 'Happy Feet', 'Superman Returns', and 'The Matrix Reloaded' (copies from the expensive 'Ultimate Matrix Collection' box set which has the bonus features in DVD format on the flip-side of the disc). Some of these will only work properly on second-generation HD DVD players but not first-generation models, and some bizarrely just the opposite. Some function fine on Toshiba's players but not on Microsoft's HD DVD add-on accessory for the XBox 360, and others vice versa. Some don't work right on any player at all.

The excuses are manifold. First we were told that certain titles were authored out of spec for the HD DVD format, but if that were true why would they work on some players but not others (even within the same player model)? Then we were told it was a manufacturing error having to do with the bonding process that seals the two halves of the disc together. Some people believe that there's a filmy residue on the surface of the discs that the player's laser can't read through, and have claimed better results after cleaning or boiling (yes, boiling!) the discs for a few minutes. For what it's worth, I actually tried this boiling trick on a couple of my non-responsive discs, but it didn't do anything to solve my playback errors.

Universal was good enough to offer a mail-in exchange program for "defective" copies of 'Children of Men' and 'The Good Shepherd'. However, many people who received "corrected" copies found them just as problematic. Later, Toshiba issued a firmware update for their players that seemed to clear up most of the problems with these two titles. If it were really a physical manufacturing error on certain copies, how could a firmware change in the player make a difference? And if it were an authoring mistake that a firmware update can work around, why are brand new discs like '300' still not working correctly? Something just isn't right here.

If these DVD/HD DVD Combo discs are having so many issues, why should we expect any differently when (or if) Warner finally unleashes their much-delayed "Total HD" format that seals HD DVD and Blu-ray together onto the same disc? I dread the compatibility nightmares that would almost inevitably come with those.

Personally, I have no idea what's causing these compatibility problems between Combo discs and HD DVD players. I don't know whether it's the studios at fault or the hardware manufacturers, and I honestly don't care. I've lost faith in the Combo format. When presented with an option, I'll avoid it if possible. When it comes to Warner titles, I'll buy the Blu-ray version instead, assuming equal features. The reason I went with the HD DVD edition of '300' was for its highly-touted interactive bonus features that are not available on the Blu-ray, only to find them quite useless if the disc won't play. In some cases, I'll consider importing a non-Combo HD DVD edition of the movie from overseas, as I did for 'Children of Men' (it's available in England that way). Fans of '300' might be interested to know that a non-Combo HD DVD was released in Australia.

Are even the studios starting to realize the predicament? Universal originally issued both new releases and catalog titles in Combo format, but wisely scaled back to only new releases after consumer complaints. Many viewers had already bought these older movies on DVD prior to the introduction of HD DVD, so why should they be forced to re-buy another DVD edition to get the HD side? Recently, the studio has started re-releasing previous Combo titles such as 'Unleashed' and 'Army of Darkness' in HD DVD-only editions for a reduced price. Warner has begun to do the same with 'The Ant Bully', 'The Departed', and others, and also hinted that in the future all Combo releases may be reissued several months afterwards in non-Combo editions. I say, why not just cut to the chase and do away with the Combo discs altogether?


You are no better than the Blu-ray fans making excuses for the PotC misframing.

sigh :(

time