I just had an unpleasant surprise that is going to change my buying habits with regards to Blu-Ray.
A couple weeks ago Lucas' director's cut of THX-1138 was released to Blu-Ray. As is typical here in Canada the local Future Shop didn't bother ordering it right away, but a copy showed up this week with the new releases. Not actually realizing it was out, I picked it up on spec. I have the DVD set already for this, but I am upgrading to BD when the opportunity arises. THX is actually one of only two examples of a "remastered" film that I like better than the original version (ST-TMP is the other).
I get the disc home and go to play it. After the FBI warning and WB logo the load screen cycles. And cycles. And cycles. After 20 minutes (and a reboot of the player in case it was a glitch) I go online and Google to see if maybe a firmware update is needed. My machine was bought at Christmas and last updated then, so I think maybe the time has come for an update.
I find instead forum entries by people who experienced the same problem as I did. And the solutions given do not include firmware updates - they already tried that. Apparently, according to the "solution posts" Lucas has loaded the THX1138 BD with so much sh*t that most Blu-Ray players don't have enough hard drive space, so apparently it requires an SD card in order to work.
I don't even know if my BD player has an input for an SD - those are the cards used in things like digital cameras. At this point I'll put a question mark next to that in case they meant a flash drive. Though I don't know if my player has a hole for one of those, either.
As noted in the forums, there is nothing on the packaging to suggest that the disc requires extra hard drive space in order to run. Just the usual "playability may vary with the player" disclaimer that basically means make sure the firmware is updated.
I took the Blu-Ray back to the store and managed to get a refund (that itself was a minor miracle as the package was opened
). But the fact remains my confidence in Blu-Ray just took a hit and it means no more spec/impulse buying of current-release BDs for me. (Fortunately my other spec purchase of the night - the BD version of the Blade Runner 5-disc set - works like a dream. But then, it's a few years old now.) This has some ramifications because there are a bunch of upcoming releases - the Ultimate Editions of Harry Potters 3 and 4, Season 5 of Doctor Who, the inevitable special edition of Avatar - that I won't be buying on release day anymore or ordering from Amazon until after I check them out on the Internet to see if I can play them without having to buy a peripheral or something. To be fair of that list only Avatar has the potential to pull this stunt, but I consider myself lucky to have been able to get a refund on an opened product, so I'll just be more careful this time around. (Ironically I just found a potential argument in favor of getting an iPhone/Smart phone with Internet, but I digress.)
All I'll say is I never had this problem with DVD -- actually not completely true, as there was that fiasco early on when they changed the codec or something and first-generation DVD players were rendered unable to play newer releases. But people bitched so much you'd think they'd have learned.
Your mileage, of course may vary. Someone with a newer player might say they've had no problems. Or someone who perhaps has an older player with a larger drive on it. I'm just passing along my experience as a head's up. That's why I'm calling this a "possible warning".
My life won't be poorer for not having the BD edition of THX-1138. The DVD version looks spectacular on my plasma, so I can live without!
Alex
A couple weeks ago Lucas' director's cut of THX-1138 was released to Blu-Ray. As is typical here in Canada the local Future Shop didn't bother ordering it right away, but a copy showed up this week with the new releases. Not actually realizing it was out, I picked it up on spec. I have the DVD set already for this, but I am upgrading to BD when the opportunity arises. THX is actually one of only two examples of a "remastered" film that I like better than the original version (ST-TMP is the other).
I get the disc home and go to play it. After the FBI warning and WB logo the load screen cycles. And cycles. And cycles. After 20 minutes (and a reboot of the player in case it was a glitch) I go online and Google to see if maybe a firmware update is needed. My machine was bought at Christmas and last updated then, so I think maybe the time has come for an update.
I find instead forum entries by people who experienced the same problem as I did. And the solutions given do not include firmware updates - they already tried that. Apparently, according to the "solution posts" Lucas has loaded the THX1138 BD with so much sh*t that most Blu-Ray players don't have enough hard drive space, so apparently it requires an SD card in order to work.
I don't even know if my BD player has an input for an SD - those are the cards used in things like digital cameras. At this point I'll put a question mark next to that in case they meant a flash drive. Though I don't know if my player has a hole for one of those, either.
As noted in the forums, there is nothing on the packaging to suggest that the disc requires extra hard drive space in order to run. Just the usual "playability may vary with the player" disclaimer that basically means make sure the firmware is updated.
I took the Blu-Ray back to the store and managed to get a refund (that itself was a minor miracle as the package was opened
). But the fact remains my confidence in Blu-Ray just took a hit and it means no more spec/impulse buying of current-release BDs for me. (Fortunately my other spec purchase of the night - the BD version of the Blade Runner 5-disc set - works like a dream. But then, it's a few years old now.) This has some ramifications because there are a bunch of upcoming releases - the Ultimate Editions of Harry Potters 3 and 4, Season 5 of Doctor Who, the inevitable special edition of Avatar - that I won't be buying on release day anymore or ordering from Amazon until after I check them out on the Internet to see if I can play them without having to buy a peripheral or something. To be fair of that list only Avatar has the potential to pull this stunt, but I consider myself lucky to have been able to get a refund on an opened product, so I'll just be more careful this time around. (Ironically I just found a potential argument in favor of getting an iPhone/Smart phone with Internet, but I digress.)All I'll say is I never had this problem with DVD -- actually not completely true, as there was that fiasco early on when they changed the codec or something and first-generation DVD players were rendered unable to play newer releases. But people bitched so much you'd think they'd have learned.
Your mileage, of course may vary. Someone with a newer player might say they've had no problems. Or someone who perhaps has an older player with a larger drive on it. I'm just passing along my experience as a head's up. That's why I'm calling this a "possible warning".
My life won't be poorer for not having the BD edition of THX-1138. The DVD version looks spectacular on my plasma, so I can live without!
Alex
