Over 600 Blu-ray Titles No Longer Work?!

When it comes to physical media, there always has to be a concern for degradation. We saw it with VHS, Cassette Tapes, and Laser Discs. Eventually they become unwatchable. DVD was supposed to fix that issue, giving us the same experience each time, and with a much longer shelf life than laser discs (which are currently dropping like flies). And judging on Bumbray’s article about Warner Bros titles, the issue is as present as ever. But those are DVDs. That’s two whole generations ago and there’s a reason we’ve since switched! What about Blu-rays?

Blu-rays were actually made with the intention of lasting 100 years. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t issues that spring up. Any discs that have two layers, such as BD-50s (which have 50 GB of storage versus 25 GB for standard) are more likely to degrade as the two layers are essentially “glued” together. Lack of proper storage, or even an issue when initially printed, can cause these layers to separate, rendering the video unusable. It’s why proper storage is essential for any collection. Ever have a title just completely stop at one point in the film? That’s because it’s having an issue switching between data layers.

I was able to come across a website cataloguing a number of defective titles. Many are BD-50’s and are a result of printing problems. The list includes a bevy of popular titles like 127 Hours, A Ghost Story, Cloverfield, Death Race, Elysium, The Eye, Ghost Rider, Gone Girl, Hellboy, Jurassic Park 3, Peter Jackson’s King Kong, Layer Cake, Piranha 3D, Scream, Scream 2, Scream 3, Sunshine, Van Helsing, and The Witch. The issues can range from the film skipping, artifacting, and being unable to play entirely.

Even Criterion, who is considered the absolute top tier of physical media, has had its fair share of issues. 27 Criterion releases have known defects with classics such as 8 1/2, The Seventh Seal, M, and Paris, Texas falling on the list. The biggest offender may be the Citizen Kane 4K, which Criterion had to re-issue discs for and offer a $10 credit to purchasers. That at least shows the lengths that Criterion is willing to go to make up for these kinds of problems. Because unlike the massive WB issues from 2006-2008, these are more sporadic and self-contained, likely down to a specific batch of films, versus an entire lineup.

If anything, my hours of combing through message boards, blogposts, and responses just proved problems occur all the time and can be quite random. There are certainly some companies that pop up more than others, but it really comes down to who did the actual release. And I’d also like to point out how little Boutique Labels like Scream Factory and Arrow Video appear on this list. Not to say that they’re without they’re problems, but as collectors, we have to take the wins where we can. I’d encourage you to check out your Blu-rays, rather than just putting them on the shelf, assuming they work. You could just have a bunch of expensive paperweights on your shelves.

Have you had any issues with any of your Blu-rays? Which companies have you noticed have the best quality? Are these points against Physical Media as a whole? Let us know in the comments!