Whatever the HD DVD people are doing with their voodoo dolls, it seems to be working. Blu-ray is enduring its first defective-product scandal, with discs breaking out in spots.
Multiple reports have surfaced in the AVScience Forum—click to see unedited pictures—with most centering on The Prestige. The imperfections are variously described as blotches, specks, or spots. And the problem is severe enough to prevent some discs from playing.
Several readers reported checking their discs. Some found blemishes, others did not.
The initial poster said the disc surface felt smooth when he ran his fingertip over it. That might mean the outer protective coating is intact and the rot lies deeper down. Is the problem with the metallized layer which reflects light back to the laser? At this point, we can only speculate.
Although Buena Vista has not yet announced a product recall, one reader who got on the phone with the company reported that it will send a prepaid envelope for return of the disc. Another one who bought through Amazon reported that the retailer will send him a new copy.
The story is drawing skeptical reactions in the somewhat more partisan forum at Blu-ray.com, where some readers attribute the news to FUD (the sowing of fear, uncertainty, and doubt). These rot reports began on the very day that Blockbuster announced it would stock Blu-ray in most stores to the exclusion of HD DVD.
Optical-disc rot is nothing new. The laserdisc format endured its own "laser rot" scandal in the 1980s. There have also been sporadic reports of rotting DVDs.
writer: Mark Fleischmann
