How Now Brown Blu-rays

[Matt]

Ugh, I feel sorry for them. I hope the pressing plant is picking up the tab for the recall.

[Max von Mayerling]

I would imagine that the pressing plant is contractually obligated to pick up the tab for defective pressings.

[claude]

I would love to be wrong on this: I guess Criterion/Mulvaney will not provide a replacement disc if you live outside USA or Canada.

[gyorgys]

Not all players are affected though:

Sony BDP-350 and BDP-360
Pioneer BDP-05FD and BDP-120
Sharp BD-HP22U, BD-HP21U, and BD-HP20U
Memorex MVBD2520
Insignia NS-2BRDVD

My Oppo BD-83 plays fine.

[dad1153]

So, are those affected going to have to provide proof that they own either one of these machines in order to get a replacement copy? How do you do that if you don't have a receipt or box? And what about anybody that has a "Walkabout" BD that doesn't play on a BD machine that's not among the listed incompatible one's?

[Peacock]

And what about anybody that has a "Walkabout" BD that doesn't play on a BD machine that's not among the listed incompatible one's?

Which player are you referring to?

[Vampyr]

I have this title (in Blu-ray) and have watched it on my LG Blu-ray player with no problems.

However, I was worried about future use, on a new player. Should I get a replacement disc, in case of problems down the road?

[willoneill]

I have this title (in Blu-ray) and have watched it on my LG Blu-ray player with no problems.

However, I was worried about future use, on a new player. Should I get a replacement disc, in case of problems down the road?

I would say yes. This is by their own admission a pressing problem, so your disc is defective, even if it causes you personally no problem. I would say better safe than sorry, and get a replacement.

[Vampyr]

I appreciate your sentiment, Will, but I have contacted Criterion and the always helpful Jon Mulvaney has assured me that if my disc acts up any time in the future, I just need contact him directly about a replacement.

Since the disc works fine in my current LG player, I will hold off on a replacement disc for now. Criterion has never let me down in the past and I have no fear of that for this situation.

[Finch]

Emailed Mulvaney and will let you know if they will offer replacements to non-US residents (I mentioned that I've now had two copies of the film and both faulty).

[Cinephrenic]

Anyone had problems on with this on PS3?

[Zumpano]

Anyone had problems on with this on PS3?

Since Criterion uses the PS3 as their reference player, I'm hoping us PS3 owners will be free of these problems.

[dad1153]

And what about anybody that has a "Walkabout" BD that doesn't play on a BD machine that's not among the listed incompatible one's?

Which player are you referring to?

My father has a Magnavox BD player (1.1 profile) which is made by the same manufacturer (Funai) of the Insignia and Memorex models listed as incompatible with "Walkabout." So, since the guts of all these machines are practically identical (per useful readers/post at AVS Forum, etc.), what happens if (hypothetically) I give my father a Blu-ray of "Walkabout" and it doesn't play on his machine (i.e. crashes at the 50 min. mark)? It's not listed by Criterion amongst the incompatible one's. Can he (or I since I'd buy the disc) still make an exchange even though the Magnavox is not listed as an incompatible model? And again, how does one go about proving that they own the BD player that's been listed as incompatible in order to get a "Walkabout" replacement disc?

[Vampyr]

Dad1153,

I had contacted Jon Mulvaney about that, as I have an LG player that happens to play the WALKABOUT disc just fine.

But I was concerned that a future Blu player may not allow it to play and Jon assured me that if a problem does arise in the future, a quick email to him will get the problem solved.

Hope that helps.

[Finch]

Mulvaney replied though it seemed like a template response they sent out to everyone affected. Still, they offered a replacement copy so I'll post mine this weekend. Fingers crossed.

[stagefright50]

I've got that Insignia model in my bedroom, and while the player itself leaves a bit to desire, the blu of Walkabout worked just fine for me and it was the perfect way to watch the film for the first time!

[Oedipax]

Had some minor skipping in my Curtis Mathes player with flashed Momitsu firmware. The odd thing is once the skip occurred, I could rewind the film a few seconds back and play over the previously affected area without issue. It did disrupt the flow of the film, of course, because it happened probably 3 or 4 times in total, all within a 5 minute stretch or so.

Very odd as I didn't have the same issue with Days of Heaven, although admittedly I haven't watched the blu start to finish yet (I've seen the film many times before), I merely checked the point everyone was mentioning as problematic and it played fine. Wonder if it will skip as well if I play it all the way through?

[HistoryProf]

Curtis Mathes? Does the player come in a 3' x 7' wood cabinet?

[Yakushima]

After waiting a month for a replacement Walkabout bluray disc I sent an email to Criterion asking for an update. Jon replied:

"Thank you for your email and patience. We've touched base with our pressing plant and expect to receive the replacement discs mid-July. I understand it has been some time, but we really want to make sure we resolve the issue before we supply new discs to our customers."

[arsonfilms]

Wow, so glad I rushed off to send my copy in so quickly.

[Rupert Pupkin]

After waiting a month for a replacement Walkabout bluray disc I sent an email to Criterion asking for an update. Jon replied:

"Thank you for your email and patience. We've touched base with our pressing plant and expect to receive the replacement discs mid-July. I understand it has been some time, but we really want to make sure we resolve the issue before we supply new discs to our customers."

a friend of mine ordered last week Walkabout on Blu-Ray at DVDPacific.
The Blu-Ray was in pending status, waiting for a new stock.
for instance, even at amazon.com, Walkabout is back in stock :
http://www.amazon.com/Walkabout-Criteri ... 454&sr=1-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So he thought that the first batch/pressing of the faulty first Walkabout BR were all sold already, or recalled? (as far as I know Criterion did not make such announcement on their web site about recalling all the stock?) we also do not know if there's only a portion of the first pressing that is faulty (matrix??) or if it is all the discs (we don't know how many discs were pressed).

The thing is that he has just received an email shipping confirmation for Walkabout BR.
Nevertheless, when I read Jon Mulvaney mail it implies that we have to wait mid-July for the new "error-skipping-freeze-free" Blu-Ray Walkabout.
So my friend will receive a defective Walkabout BR?
And since Walkabout at a green status (in stock) on amazon, they also ship the "old"/first pressing????


(I pre-ordered Walkabout, so I receive it the day of its release date, and it will go in the replacement program, but I'm curious and concerned about some retailers "new back in stock"...)

[wllm995]

FYI:

JUST received my copy of Walkabout via Amazon; it plays flawlessly on my LG Blu-ray player.

NO problems; NO issues at all on playback!

[arsonfilms]

Those folks returning their blu rays without watching the movie first should probably save their postage. Only a handful of players actually had any difficulty playing the discs, and it hardly seemed like a universal problem. I'm sure Criterion didn't bother doing a recall because most people wouldn't have any issues. I returned mine, but it was because it actually did skip when I watched the movie.

[Norbie]

Purchased from Amazon.com 3 weeks ago, watched on the Kogan 2.0 bluray player in Australia. No problems.

[gubbelsj]

I had problems with my disc and notified Criterion a few weeks back. We've communicated back and forth a few times. Just received this email today:

Hi Jason,

I wanted to let you know that we received the WALKABOUT Blu-ray replacement discs today. I am mailing yours out now via USPS First Class Priority Mail.

Please let me know if you encounter any more issues with the disc.

I hope this is helpful and thank you again for supporting Criterion!

Best,

Jon Mulvaney