Question:
lmk know what you think about this.
this has 2 parts so read them both, as i gets worst
Universal screws Back to the Future owners a bit more
December 30, 2002
As we had explained earlier, the recent release of the Back To The Future Trilogy by Universal Studios Home Entertainment has been incorrectly framed, leaving large parts of the image invisible in select scenes on the second and third part of the series. It is a result of Universal's carelessness and lack of quality control and the studio has no excuse for shipping poorly framed versions of the films.
Now, in a move that may first appear like a reconciliation on the surface, the studio screws owners of the release bit more. They offer replacement of the defect discs in late February! How ridiculous is this? They happily take people's money, selling them defective product and then they let them wait a full three months to replace it with corrected versions? Let's be clear here that it does not take 3 months to re-do these discs. Other studios have previously replaced defective discs in as a little as 2 weeks and Universal's arrogance speaks volumes.
Those wishing to exchange their discs should call Universal at 1 (888) 703-0010. Of course, you will have to send in the defective discs at your own expense for eventual replacement.
Our verdict still stands. Stay away from the Back To The Future Trilogy until Universal once again learns to appreciate their customers.
The Back to the Future debacle turns abyssmal
January 2, 2003
As you all certainly know by now, Universal’s recent release of the Back to the Future Trilogy is defective and the studio is making only half-assed attempts to rectify the problem. Apart from the framing issues explained before, it also appears as if the French language track in the third part of the film is occasionally out of sync and that there is a subtitle occlusion problem on a number of players. And still, Universal feels no need to expedite things!
To top off this cake of incompetency, we hear from various ends that despite their proposed exchange offer, Universal still doesn’t seem to take this issue with the right amount of seriousness. Why you ask? Well, for starters, owners of the trilogy living overseas will not have a change to obtain a corrected version. According to our sources, Universal has no plans to correct the region 2 and region 4 releases of the trilogy despite the fact that they are equally misframed. And, if you’re living outside the US and bought a region 1 version of the trilogy, you’re out of luck as well, because Universal will only replace the discs for US residents…
I am not sure what I am more disappointed about, Universal’s lack of QA on this release, or their arrogance and incompetence at handling this issue. As always, our advice is to stay away from this – and potentially all – Universal releases for the time being. A studio that doesn’t respect its customers doesn’t deserve their money either.
all i can say is, it's a good job i didn't buy this yet.
You would expect one of the leading distributors, with an astounding catalogue of films, could do a much better job with their releases. Must be a major problem in their DVD department somewhere :|
Got this for £17 from CD-WOW in August and I have no problems with it. In fact, I would say the the problem is minor but hey that is just me.
I would say the the problem is minor but hey that is just me.
Yeah, just like the UK '24' problem was only a minor one, but somehow FOX managed to correct that.
It doesn't matter how minor you think the problem is, the problem is there and a fix is underway in another region. FOX has shown that it is possible to both remaster and repress discs for the European market - so why can't Universal?
Please could everybody write to Universal at the address below (don't send an email has I cannot find the address and non-R1 mails to the universalstudios.com site are automatically ignored):
Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd
Tel: (020) 8910 5000
Address: 1 Sussex Place
Hammersmith W
W6 9XS
It will only cost the price of a stamp - so why not?
This time you may think the problem is minor, but if Universal are not held to account two things could happen:
1) Their DVD QA will become even worse. Why bother to check products when the public seems happy to accept any old crap?
2) Another defective disc with a worse problem could be released and the precident is already set for Universal to do nothing.
I can't believe how many people on this site complain about 'rip-off Britain' both here regarding DVDs and on the supplier and bargin forums regarding virtually every other consumer product and yet when there is a clear example of a major global company quite obviously giving the UK and Europe defective/inferior product and services nobody seems to mind!
Originally posted by 2099net
a clear example of a major global company quite obviously giving the UK and Europe defective/inferior product and services nobody seems to mind!
I mind and I wrote to that address after being given it from universalstudios.com when it seemed unlikely that the Uk market was not going to get the orginal version of ET, i never got a reply but in the end at least we did have confirmation and did recieve the original version. So maybe in some small way i helped.
But then I thought maybe that this lack of communication would mean that becase of the endless wait for bttf we would be getting the same extras as the US version but No! we were screwed not for the first time. And if they do reproduce the discs which is looking unlikely at the momment they cud also but the extras on, as they have to be repressed anyway.
but don't worry i will be writing again.
Of course it will take three months to redo the framing problem - it requires entirely new transfers to be done, digitally cleaned, colour-corrected and newly compressed all over again.
The problem is not a quick-fix issue.
Agree with Narshty here. How can people expect this to be resolved within weeks? To correct this problem will easily take months, especially as they wern't expecting to have to redo the whole transfers again.
Universal's team are going to have to find time amongst recent projects to redo the BTTF films. It is not a small task.
We don't want a quick fix. We want an acknowledgement that non-R1 discs will be remastered and replaced.
What's so hard to understand? Universal have offered a fix for R1 but nothing for other regions which
a) have the exact same problem (it can't be one rule for America and another for the rest of the world)
b) Most shockingly Universal have been aware of for upto 5 months from the original R4 release. Kind of strange the R1 situation should be addressed and fixed before the product was officially on sale while all international branches of Universal refuse to comment or reply to any letters. (And if they actually bothered to read such complaints in the first place the R1 release wouldn't have been incorrect in the first place! Somewhat negating WSW's comment about not expecting to have to do the remastering in the first place They should have already known)
It's not a difficult situation to understand is it?
UNIVERSAL IS EXPLOITING/RIPPING OFF ALL NON-R1 CUSTOMERS!
Is there any problems with R4 version as I got the Aussie version. I am happy with it anyway.
The Region 4 version definetely has the same framing issues that are being talked about left, right and centre.
Having watched the second film the other night, I can see the problems (in particular with Marty's jacket) but I don't really think everyone should get too worked up about it.
It's not as though the extras are crap, and the only version available is in pan and bloody can - so look on the bright side. ;)
I'm wishing I never read this thread now. I didn't know there was any problems with the discs, but now I won't be able to watch them without thinking something's wrong - and I hate that :( Shame, if I could boycott Universal I would, but chances are that I'd have bought BTTF regardless of how good/bad the films are simply because it's one of my favourite films of all time.
Originally posted by 2099net
a) have the exact same problem (it can't be one rule for America and another for the rest of the world)
Well it is for everything else on the planet, why would DVDs be any different?
:rolleyes: :D
Agree about Universal's attitude, though. Dismal.
Well it is for everything else on the planet, why would DVDs be any different?
I know this was a joke, but its not going to change unless everybody complains.
If you do think Universal's attitude is dismal please write and tell them:
Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd
Tel: (020) 8910 5000
Address: 1 Sussex Place
Hammersmith W
W6 9XS
It's only going to cost a single stamp! If they get away with this, what incentive is there for them to QA their future releases properly? They already got away with the botched Xena series 1 pt 1 release - don't let them get away with anything else!
Again I will stress, FOX showed it was possible to prepare new masters and totally repress faulty discs for the European market with their 24 release, so it is possible for Universal to do the same.
I didn't even notice the R4 version was defective intill it came on the forums! I have the R1 set know and still the same problem is relevent. I agree, production companies are taking the ____ and we are buying it.:(
Anyone have any experience of replacing discs outside the country of origin? I got a R4 copy of the BTTF set from cd-wow sometime ago, which will probably therefore need replacing *if* it's not an enormous faff to do so...
Does anyone know how it works - ie if you have to send discs to an address in the appropriate country, or if you can send them to a "local" address and still get replacement discs from the same region as those you send in?
(Obviously this is still theoretical for BTTF, but I don't know if other discs have had problems in the past...)
At least Universal UK have admitted to the mistake and are now offering a replacement program.
Originally posted by homerj
Universal screws Back to the Future owners a bit more
I knew my rear was hurting! :D
Sorry if this has been covered before, but exactly what is the problem and where. I have the region 4, I've watched all three movies and can't remember seeing anything that seemed odd.
Then again I'm not the most observant of people:nuts:
Ta
Something about the entire second and third films of the trilogy being mis-framed on all region dvd's, e.g, you miss some off the bottom of the picture so the film doesnt appear in the correct way, but i hear it is hardly noticable unless you are looking for it. Region 1 has already been recalled/replaced with a corrected version and we have just been granted the same response as you have read :) Anyone feel free to correct me/add the rest at will =]
will UK Universal replace the region 1 disks that were bought by the non-USA peeps!!!
Can't say i have noticed:eek:
Well considering the mis-framing only accounts for around 2mins of Part II, and 4mins of Part III, unless your looking for it, it's highly unlikely you'll notice.
Hi,
Has anyone actually sent their discs back to Universal Music yet (R2 ) in the UK?
I have read that you can now send them back for a replacement, but haven't sent my own back yet as not had a chance.
Anyone?
Originally posted by AnnatarUK
I have read that you can now send them back for a replacement, but haven't sent my own back yet as not had a chance.
Where have you heard this? I thought it only applied to R1?
Roolku
Whoops. I found it myself a few threads down.
Roolku
This thread has more details about returning R2 sets
&threadid=150717&highlight=bttf
It contains a link to the sollowing story on the UK situation
http://www.homecinemachoice.com/news/frame.html?http://www.homecinemachoice.com/cgi-bin/displaynews.php?id=2744
This whole scenario is a bit of a mountain/molehill thing I think. Having watched the DVD trilogy last weekend, it all looked fine. I've seen the comparisons on between the DVD version and the proper versions, but it's fairly small. It doesn't affect the enjoyment of these movies one bit.
this has 2 parts so read them both, as i gets worst
Universal screws Back to the Future owners a bit more
December 30, 2002
As we had explained earlier, the recent release of the Back To The Future Trilogy by Universal Studios Home Entertainment has been incorrectly framed, leaving large parts of the image invisible in select scenes on the second and third part of the series. It is a result of Universal's carelessness and lack of quality control and the studio has no excuse for shipping poorly framed versions of the films.
Now, in a move that may first appear like a reconciliation on the surface, the studio screws owners of the release bit more. They offer replacement of the defect discs in late February! How ridiculous is this? They happily take people's money, selling them defective product and then they let them wait a full three months to replace it with corrected versions? Let's be clear here that it does not take 3 months to re-do these discs. Other studios have previously replaced defective discs in as a little as 2 weeks and Universal's arrogance speaks volumes.
Those wishing to exchange their discs should call Universal at 1 (888) 703-0010. Of course, you will have to send in the defective discs at your own expense for eventual replacement.
Our verdict still stands. Stay away from the Back To The Future Trilogy until Universal once again learns to appreciate their customers.
The Back to the Future debacle turns abyssmal
January 2, 2003
As you all certainly know by now, Universal’s recent release of the Back to the Future Trilogy is defective and the studio is making only half-assed attempts to rectify the problem. Apart from the framing issues explained before, it also appears as if the French language track in the third part of the film is occasionally out of sync and that there is a subtitle occlusion problem on a number of players. And still, Universal feels no need to expedite things!
To top off this cake of incompetency, we hear from various ends that despite their proposed exchange offer, Universal still doesn’t seem to take this issue with the right amount of seriousness. Why you ask? Well, for starters, owners of the trilogy living overseas will not have a change to obtain a corrected version. According to our sources, Universal has no plans to correct the region 2 and region 4 releases of the trilogy despite the fact that they are equally misframed. And, if you’re living outside the US and bought a region 1 version of the trilogy, you’re out of luck as well, because Universal will only replace the discs for US residents…
I am not sure what I am more disappointed about, Universal’s lack of QA on this release, or their arrogance and incompetence at handling this issue. As always, our advice is to stay away from this – and potentially all – Universal releases for the time being. A studio that doesn’t respect its customers doesn’t deserve their money either.
all i can say is, it's a good job i didn't buy this yet.
Answers:
You would expect one of the leading distributors, with an astounding catalogue of films, could do a much better job with their releases. Must be a major problem in their DVD department somewhere :|
Answers:
Got this for £17 from CD-WOW in August and I have no problems with it. In fact, I would say the the problem is minor but hey that is just me.
Answers:
I would say the the problem is minor but hey that is just me.
Yeah, just like the UK '24' problem was only a minor one, but somehow FOX managed to correct that.
It doesn't matter how minor you think the problem is, the problem is there and a fix is underway in another region. FOX has shown that it is possible to both remaster and repress discs for the European market - so why can't Universal?
Please could everybody write to Universal at the address below (don't send an email has I cannot find the address and non-R1 mails to the universalstudios.com site are automatically ignored):
Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd
Tel: (020) 8910 5000
Address: 1 Sussex Place
Hammersmith W
W6 9XS
It will only cost the price of a stamp - so why not?
This time you may think the problem is minor, but if Universal are not held to account two things could happen:
1) Their DVD QA will become even worse. Why bother to check products when the public seems happy to accept any old crap?
2) Another defective disc with a worse problem could be released and the precident is already set for Universal to do nothing.
I can't believe how many people on this site complain about 'rip-off Britain' both here regarding DVDs and on the supplier and bargin forums regarding virtually every other consumer product and yet when there is a clear example of a major global company quite obviously giving the UK and Europe defective/inferior product and services nobody seems to mind!
Answers:
Originally posted by 2099net
a clear example of a major global company quite obviously giving the UK and Europe defective/inferior product and services nobody seems to mind!
I mind and I wrote to that address after being given it from universalstudios.com when it seemed unlikely that the Uk market was not going to get the orginal version of ET, i never got a reply but in the end at least we did have confirmation and did recieve the original version. So maybe in some small way i helped.
But then I thought maybe that this lack of communication would mean that becase of the endless wait for bttf we would be getting the same extras as the US version but No! we were screwed not for the first time. And if they do reproduce the discs which is looking unlikely at the momment they cud also but the extras on, as they have to be repressed anyway.
but don't worry i will be writing again.
Answers:
Of course it will take three months to redo the framing problem - it requires entirely new transfers to be done, digitally cleaned, colour-corrected and newly compressed all over again.
The problem is not a quick-fix issue.
Answers:
Agree with Narshty here. How can people expect this to be resolved within weeks? To correct this problem will easily take months, especially as they wern't expecting to have to redo the whole transfers again.
Universal's team are going to have to find time amongst recent projects to redo the BTTF films. It is not a small task.
Answers:
We don't want a quick fix. We want an acknowledgement that non-R1 discs will be remastered and replaced.
What's so hard to understand? Universal have offered a fix for R1 but nothing for other regions which
a) have the exact same problem (it can't be one rule for America and another for the rest of the world)
b) Most shockingly Universal have been aware of for upto 5 months from the original R4 release. Kind of strange the R1 situation should be addressed and fixed before the product was officially on sale while all international branches of Universal refuse to comment or reply to any letters. (And if they actually bothered to read such complaints in the first place the R1 release wouldn't have been incorrect in the first place! Somewhat negating WSW's comment about not expecting to have to do the remastering in the first place They should have already known)
It's not a difficult situation to understand is it?
UNIVERSAL IS EXPLOITING/RIPPING OFF ALL NON-R1 CUSTOMERS!
Answers:
Is there any problems with R4 version as I got the Aussie version. I am happy with it anyway.
Answers:
The Region 4 version definetely has the same framing issues that are being talked about left, right and centre.
Having watched the second film the other night, I can see the problems (in particular with Marty's jacket) but I don't really think everyone should get too worked up about it.
It's not as though the extras are crap, and the only version available is in pan and bloody can - so look on the bright side. ;)
Answers:
I'm wishing I never read this thread now. I didn't know there was any problems with the discs, but now I won't be able to watch them without thinking something's wrong - and I hate that :( Shame, if I could boycott Universal I would, but chances are that I'd have bought BTTF regardless of how good/bad the films are simply because it's one of my favourite films of all time.
Answers:
Originally posted by 2099net
a) have the exact same problem (it can't be one rule for America and another for the rest of the world)
Well it is for everything else on the planet, why would DVDs be any different?
:rolleyes: :D
Agree about Universal's attitude, though. Dismal.
Answers:
Well it is for everything else on the planet, why would DVDs be any different?
I know this was a joke, but its not going to change unless everybody complains.
If you do think Universal's attitude is dismal please write and tell them:
Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd
Tel: (020) 8910 5000
Address: 1 Sussex Place
Hammersmith W
W6 9XS
It's only going to cost a single stamp! If they get away with this, what incentive is there for them to QA their future releases properly? They already got away with the botched Xena series 1 pt 1 release - don't let them get away with anything else!
Again I will stress, FOX showed it was possible to prepare new masters and totally repress faulty discs for the European market with their 24 release, so it is possible for Universal to do the same.
Answers:
I didn't even notice the R4 version was defective intill it came on the forums! I have the R1 set know and still the same problem is relevent. I agree, production companies are taking the ____ and we are buying it.:(
Answers:
Anyone have any experience of replacing discs outside the country of origin? I got a R4 copy of the BTTF set from cd-wow sometime ago, which will probably therefore need replacing *if* it's not an enormous faff to do so...
Does anyone know how it works - ie if you have to send discs to an address in the appropriate country, or if you can send them to a "local" address and still get replacement discs from the same region as those you send in?
(Obviously this is still theoretical for BTTF, but I don't know if other discs have had problems in the past...)
Answers:
At least Universal UK have admitted to the mistake and are now offering a replacement program.
Answers:
Originally posted by homerj
Universal screws Back to the Future owners a bit more
I knew my rear was hurting! :D
Answers:
Sorry if this has been covered before, but exactly what is the problem and where. I have the region 4, I've watched all three movies and can't remember seeing anything that seemed odd.
Then again I'm not the most observant of people:nuts:
Ta
Answers:
Something about the entire second and third films of the trilogy being mis-framed on all region dvd's, e.g, you miss some off the bottom of the picture so the film doesnt appear in the correct way, but i hear it is hardly noticable unless you are looking for it. Region 1 has already been recalled/replaced with a corrected version and we have just been granted the same response as you have read :) Anyone feel free to correct me/add the rest at will =]
Answers:
will UK Universal replace the region 1 disks that were bought by the non-USA peeps!!!
Answers:
Can't say i have noticed:eek:
Answers:
Well considering the mis-framing only accounts for around 2mins of Part II, and 4mins of Part III, unless your looking for it, it's highly unlikely you'll notice.
Answers:
Hi,
Has anyone actually sent their discs back to Universal Music yet (R2 ) in the UK?
I have read that you can now send them back for a replacement, but haven't sent my own back yet as not had a chance.
Anyone?
Answers:
Originally posted by AnnatarUK
I have read that you can now send them back for a replacement, but haven't sent my own back yet as not had a chance.
Where have you heard this? I thought it only applied to R1?
Roolku
Answers:
Whoops. I found it myself a few threads down.
Roolku
Answers:
This thread has more details about returning R2 sets
&threadid=150717&highlight=bttf
It contains a link to the sollowing story on the UK situation
http://www.homecinemachoice.com/news/frame.html?http://www.homecinemachoice.com/cgi-bin/displaynews.php?id=2744
Answers:
This whole scenario is a bit of a mountain/molehill thing I think. Having watched the DVD trilogy last weekend, it all looked fine. I've seen the comparisons on between the DVD version and the proper versions, but it's fairly small. It doesn't affect the enjoyment of these movies one bit.
1 2