Hiring DVD's On-line

[dazuk1972]

Does anybody have this problem with on-line DVD rental stores like Blockbuster or Amazon? You add a title to your list, wait a while such as weeks and when the DVD arrives the DVD is so badly damaged with gunk it looks so unplayable without even thinking about trying the DVD because the gunk or scratches might damage the laser? I get that from Blockbuster and Amazon. I joined Amazon's rental service last week and my first order contained a damaged DVD and I had to report it as faulty. My replacement was also faulty in the same way as if somebody tried to use the DVD as a sharpening stone. When I re-ordered the same title I now have an indication of a very long wait. Typical, I got the damaged copy very quick and a copy that I suspect that is playable has a very long wait. It makes me so angry, not so much because I have to lose out on a DVD and wait again, also because of the people that never respect other people's DVD's. I never let anyone handle my DVD's except for my family because they are the only people I know that know how to respect DVD's.

Something else that annoys me about Blockbuster and Amazon's rental service is the policy that anyone can hold onto a DVD for as long as they like. I had some DVD's listed in my list for weeks and weeks and in the end I deleted them and bought them. What my point is on this that annoys me is the thought of some people holding onto the same DVD for weeks and weeks with no plans to watch it, returning it so that the next customer can watch it. Just image wanting to watch a rare copy of something and either only Blockbuster have it or only Amazon have it and some rogue has it in their possession and they have for weeks and weeks with no plans to watch it and others have to wait until dooms day. I always wonder, if there are people like that, why do they hire them in the first place if they have no plans to watch it/them?

By the way, with the damaged DVD's, I wonder how people manage to damage them so badly. I hired a new release the other week that was a two-day-year-old copy and already the DVD had more marks than a racing track. I've had DVD's for years and they are all still in mint condition such as THE THING that was my first DVD that I believe I bought in 2000.

Darren.

[RFBurns]

Thats the problem with online video rentals. You dont know where those discs have been...by the time they get to you they could have been run through a meat grinder, stepped on, spit on, and no telling what kind of germs or other bacteria that linger on the surface of those discs from less than clean handling by less than clean hands and no telling where those hands have been!!

Either these rental sites dont have anyone that cares in the shipping/recieving department to go through these returned discs and clean them up, or their policies are "quick in and out" without even bothering to so much as look at the disc before re-sending it to the next, already frustrated client.

Sometimes I think that QC has gone so far south that you would have to travel to the south pole to find any good QC these days. As far as how folks can ruin discs so quickly....chances are good that its just pure inconsideration. They dont own it, therefore it doesnt matter if they damage it or not. They simply return it and get another one to muck up. Those of us who have discs from the days of when they were first released, we have discs over 20 years old and have not a single mar or scratch on them.

It doesnt take rocket science to figure out how to take care of and properly handle/store optic discs!!

[dazuk1972]

Thats the problem with online video rentals. You dont know where those discs have been...by the time they get to you they could have been run through a meat grinder, stepped on, spit on, and no telling what kind of germs or other bacteria that linger on the surface of those discs from less than clean handling by less than clean hands and no telling where those hands have been!!

Either these rental sites dont have anyone that cares in the shipping/recieving department to go through these returned discs and clean them up, or their policies are "quick in and out" without even bothering to so much as look at the disc before re-sending it to the next, already frustrated client.

Sometimes I think that QC has gone so far south that you would have to travel to the south pole to find any good QC these days. As far as how folks can ruin discs so quickly....chances are good that its just pure inconsideration. They dont own it, therefore it doesnt matter if they damage it or not. They simply return it and get another one to muck up. Those of us who have discs from the days of when they were first released, we have discs over 20 years old and have not a single mar or scratch on them.

It doesnt take rocket science to figure out how to take care of and properly handle/store optic discs!!

I agree with you. They have no consideration for other people's property. One time my postman never. I have a letterbox that's a little bit too small to mail a DVD through and my postman forced a DVD through and he split the DVD in two places and I wanted to see the film again in years. I waited ages for it and as soon as I got it that was when my postman pratt damaged it and now the DVD is out of stock. Just think, the only copy left and he damaged it. Anyone with half a brain would have known the DVD wouldn't fit. I have them delivered to my mum and dad's house and I pick the DVD's up from there encase my postman damages anymore.

When you think of it, DVD's can be marked from off-line rentals when you hire them in the stores. The same applies to CD's and video games. I remember years ago I borrowed a CD's from a library and when I was listening to it the CD got stuck and I had a very loud laser gun sound blasting out where the laser was stuck from reading the CD. I hate the sound of when a CD or a DVD does that because it's deafening and who who's what effect it can do to the eardrums with headphones on.

The people that damamge the DVD's, I'd love to hear them moan and get upset if somebody damaged their favourite DVD's or CD's.

Darren.

[drfsupercenter]

It's the same with my library, but at least I can return them the same day if they're scratched

[RFBurns]

When you think of it, DVD's can be marked from off-line rentals when you hire them in the stores. The same applies to CD's and video games.

The people that damamge the DVD's, I'd love to hear them moan and get upset if somebody damaged their favourite DVD's or CD's.

Darren.

I try not to think of that too often, but lately it seems that even the brand new stuff right off the shelf is also subject to the damaged disc syndrome.

I recently bought a few games for a new PC and 3 out of 5, the "rattling" noise from the boxes when shaked seemed a bit more abundant than the other two. I said to myself...here we go again, brand new discs and they somehow got loose from their center lockdown holder and are bouncing around inside the case scrapping against that center lockdown holder and putting scars on the surface!!

Sure enough, that was the result! Before opening them I went back to the store and let the clerk open them, shrink wrap and all. To their surprise (judging by the look on the guy's face) all 3 discs were scrached from them being loose and sliding across that center lockdown hub. These were brand new, unopened shrinkwrapped packages too!!!


Me personally I prefer discs that come in the single disc case, the classic ones that seem to keep hold of the disc perfectly...mostly because even if it were to walk itself out of that center hub, there is not enough room for that disc to go very far and end up sliding around getting scrached by the hub. These newer, larger and flimsy black cases that have more room inside than what is necessary, belong in a furnace and recycled into the older classic cases!

Tho this scenario is different from the online rental discs that come in a paper envelope inside a cardboard sleeve, all of it goes hand in hand when your spending your money on this stuff. It chaps me to no end when new discs get ruined by cheap cases and careless packing.


Ok didnt mean for the post to head in the direction of rants and so forth. I hope that they improve the case hubs and make them hold the discs better as well as make it so that you dont fight or possibly break the disc while trying to remove it!!

[Chewy]

if they improved quality of packaging and even the disks wouldn't that raise the cost above the 50 cents they spend now? that would hurt profits too much