DVD REPLICATION

DVD DISC REPLICATION - JET SPEED / ANANT / KRCD / FUTURISTIC / SONY DADC / ETC

shemaroo and eros both get their discs replicated in India at either KRCD or JET SPEED or FUTURISTIC or ANANT ELECTRONICS etc. See the fine print on the back of any shemaroo or eros dvd (Indian editions), towards the bottom, that says "mfg by..."

>> some JET SPEED discs are known to freeze / skip and also cause problems during layer change when played on some makes/brands of dvd players.

>> Lately, BIG, Shemaroo, EROS, Excel Home Videos, have been getting discs replicated also at Sony Music / Sony DADC Mumbai -- some of these discs too are known to freeze during playback.

>> Some distributers also get DVD discs mfg/replicated at MoserBaer replication facility. MoserBaer also distributes DVDs. Some discs from new MoserBaer titles, those that are UTV movies such as, A WEDNESDAY, FASHION, WELCOME TO SAJJANPUR, MUMBAI MERI JAAN, play well on laptops, but freeze and skip when playing on some brands of DVD players.

>> Lately, T-series have also faced this issue on some of their discs from their new titles such as KARZZZZ, JAANE TU..., TAARE ZAMEEN PAR, etc.

FREEZING / SKIPPING of the same DVD disc may not happen on all brands/makes of DVD players and also may not happen on some computer DVD drives. Or vice versa -- that is there may be discs that play fine on a particular brand or make of dvd player but not on some computer drives!

When and where these problems do happen, they could be due to quality of media/material used by the DVD-replicating facility in manufacturing DVDs (especially if major freezing/skipping happens after layer change in dual-layer DVDs), and/or compatibility issues with some makes/brands/models of DVD players and/or simply low-quality / error-prone replication processes combined with a "don't care" attitude.

Needless to say, it's the responsibility of the DVD-replicating facility as well as DVD distributors to come out with DVDs that have reasonable quality and are compatible with / playable on all / most brands of DVD players and not just on exceptional/newer models

FootNotes:

1. Sometimes the same DVD title may be replicated at more than one facility. For example, some OM SHANTI OM batches were replicated at Jet Speed and others at Sony DADC.

2. Often, the problem is limited to a particular batch. Getting a replacement from a different batch usu solves the problem.

3. Also see viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9788

If it plays properly on your laptop/PC it means there is nothing wrong with the disc but the fault is with DVD player you have. I too use to suffer from this problem.

this is not always the case. some dvd players, esp laptop drives can play even rotten discs properly, but that does not necessarily mean the discs are any good. (btw, bad quality replication may result in proper playback on some dvd drives a few times, but may show true colours fifth or sixth rerun onwards, especially around layer change.)

DVD distributors who care have been known to take up disc playback problems with replicating facilities and have the same rectified.

Plus, look at the pattern of jet speed discs giving more problems to more people, than say KRCD -- it all boils down to the replication process in most cases!

I use to have a problem with my old DVD player, I could play it on my comp but it would always have a problem with most of my DVD's. So what did I do with the player? Threw it in the bin

could have tried replacing the lens or the firmware...

Did get it checked, didnt bother. I would rather spend half of the amount that I will spend on repairing on a cheaper player that lasts longer

but that's not really fair, right...? expecting consumers to replace dvd players instead of dvd manufacturers to come out with largely universally compatible DVDs?

It's both the responsibility as well as in the interest of the DVD-replicating facility and DVD distributors to come out with DVDs that have reasonable quality and are playable on most existing DVD players and not just on exceptional/newer models .

Often, the problem is limited to a particular batch.

Interested readers do also visit viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9788

Relevant posts copied from the Main Hoo Na DVD thread





Main Hoo Na (Main Hoon Naa) and Om Shanti Om seems to be the most problematic disc ever from Eros. Some discs simply don't load while others freeze and skip throughout the playback.

Similar experience with a National Geographic DVD ("I Didn't Know That") distributed in India by Maxlative (hope I got the distributor name right).

The DVD would pause and freeze when played back on Sony FL5D -- from the data side, I could make out that the disc was replicated/manufactured at KRCD (who also do a lot of shemaroos and eroses etc.)

The NGC-India people were very helpful and all credit goes to them for the prompt action initiated at their end. I finally got a replacement -- and this works perfectly on the same DVD player!!

So it all boils down to the replication processes and quality-of-media used by DVD manufacturers in India. Why else would a replaced disc work otherwise?

My first posting here, and not a very comfortable topic to pick on, but i guess, this needs to be addressed, and so, here goes. i probably will get shot for this, but let me try and address this issue , as honestly as i can, so that the story is heard from both sides. i speak only for my company, KRCD, and not for the entire industry as a whole and all comments and responsibilities are mine, personally.
This is a long post, and i have been in two minds if i should write this at all, but i think that there should be a meaningful dialogue, and hence have taken the liberty of writing this.

New Deep, you are absolutely right. it is the responsiblity of the replicating facility to ensure that a perfect good disc leaves the facility, and that you as the consumer of a legitimate DVD have the right to buy a good product, (atleast which plays well). I think, that this is the bare minimum, that we should offer our valued customers.

Not to plug my company here, but we are trying very very hard to ensure that this is the case for all our products. the process is not as simple as it seems, as the issues could arise at either the pre-mastering/authoring, glass mastering/replication, or at the consumers end.

i could go into a detailed explanation on each stage, if needed, in a subsequent posting, but what we find, in general, and based on our experience of DVDs replicated till now, that most errors like skipping, freezing at the layer end, chapters being skipped, missing content, etc arise out of the authoring stage.

On the other hand, certain playability issues, (not playing in a player, some particular types of skipping, freezing) can be attributed to the replication and glass mastering.

What we do at KRCD is, the following steps in Quality control:

1. Play the entire DVD on a standardised player
2. Play the same dvd on a bank of players of different makes, and a couple of PCs, to check compatibility with certain brands, depending on the regions where the DVD is to be released,
3. In case of any discrepancies, check with the original source, if the issue is in the source or in the replication process. (We are one of the very few, to have the capability to check this.) And in case of the issue being in the source, inform the customer accordingly.
4. and finally, A bit-to-bit verification of the replicated DVD with the source.

This is over and above, a test batch check for the signals recorded on the DVD for over 30+ parameters to ascertain that the DVD is manufactured as per the specified DVD specs, and a 100% automatic surface inspection at the manufacturing stage, and a 100% manual pre-packing inspection. (for removing any discs with surface scratches/marks)

Furthermore, we also calibrate our equipment on a regular schedule, to ensure that the products which are manufactured, meet the specifications for DVDs. We also manufacture DVDs for a lot of prestigious companies, and since our production is mixed (local/export/indian languagues/international titles), we have to maintain one common high standard for all the products we manufacture, as we cannot maintain varying quality standards for various customers. hence our raw materials, processes, quality control standards all have to be consistent.

Normally, this process is more than adequate to detect and prevent any "defective" DVDs from going into the market,and eventually in your hands. the idea is, to ensure that the customer gets a perfect product.

In my experience, we have located most faults very fast and taken corrective actions to prevent this from arising in the future orders. Today, I can say, with a certain degree of certainity, that we have built up expertise to almost guarantee playability of the Discs made by us, across all players. (*conditions apply)

Having explained of how the DVDs are manufactured by us, let us address the question:

Q. Why DVDs do not play on all players?

A. It could be either the dvd is manufactured out of spec, or the player is out of spec, or the player has a very low tolerance to "out of spec" DVDs (the very high end players)

Q. Why would a replaced disc work, whereas the first disc did not?
A. In most cases, we find that the first disc may have been scratched or damaged, (DVDS are very very delicate and small scratches and dust do cause immense playability problems). Normal handling, keeping it face down, loose discs in the boxes, fingerprints etc. can cause skips, freezes and jumps.

and yes, there is always the issues where entire chapters are skipped, some menu options do not work, languages are missing, picture quality is bad, sound quality dips at sometime during the movie, but the video is fine, etc etc are also
arising out of the authoring, for which the replicator cannot be held responsible.

You do know, that the authoring stage, factors like Colour Systems (PAL/NTSC)video/audio quality, screen format, region coding, copy protection, subtitles, are all determined and the project/Movie made, and then recorded into an image file, and sent to us for the final manufacturing. These come to us as a locked image, on which we cannot do any editing or corrections.

Anyways, i do realise that there would differences in each companys products and this is a complex field, which we are STILL learning every day! but i can assure you, that all our customers and KRCD, are working very, very hard, to ensure, that you do get the finest quality on Home Video and enjoy your purchase of legitimate products, since eventually, all our jobs depend on customers continuing to buy legitimate products.

@rags
Your posting here is appreciated and shows that atleast you and your company do atleast care a little about what the consumer thinks. Having said that I must also state that it is hard to digest that the Indian DVD/Movie industry even gives a damn about their customers. Considering the standard crappy DVDs that we continue to get from them only emphasises this point and I don't mean only from a mastering/authoring point of view but even the physical disc itself is of quite poor quality as compared to International standards. How else can you explain the following figures: I have over the years bought over 2500 English DVDs (all US releases) and only one, that's right, only 'ONE' disc till date has gone bad. Whereas on the other hand, I have bought over 600 Hindi DVDs (combination of Indian and US releases) till date and have had approximately 50-60 of them go bad on me, of which atleast 20 of them had problems from day one. I cannot personally comment on your company alone and your company may be an exception to the rule, but the fact remains that the Indian DVD/Movie industry is run by idiots and opportunists whose narrow and short term thinking makes them consistently release products of such abysmal quality. The funny thing is that they still wonder why most consumers are more than happy with pirated DVDs and I suppose why shouldn't they be, after all the so called 'original' DVDs are no better than the pirated ones. In fact the irony is that at times the pirated DVDs are actually of superior quality than the so called 'original' DVDs. More often than not, customers like myself who only buy original end up looking like fools compared to the millions who happily buy cheaper, earlier released pirated Indian DVDs.

PS: I know this is not directly related to your company or topic of discussion, but I can't help but point out the advantages of a pirated Indian DVD.
No company logos
No advertisements
No disabling of player controls
No running ticker tape advertisments during songs.

It's nice to know, some DVD manufacturers do care.

Over the yrs, we have come across many DVD manufacturers that consistently and deliberately brought out DVDs that would last no more than 3-4 months (if stay sealed, may be for a year or two and then rot in a few days). I say "deliberately" because even after hundreds of postings on zulm and other consumer complaints they still kept on bringing out same rotting discs.
90%, may be more, of Media Dimensions replicated DVDs were such kind. And they finally went bankrupt.

Currently, most of T-Series DVDs do rot after 5-6 months.

If such a DVD had been on shelf for more than 2 Yrs, it has rotted on sale. Most DVD shops don't let you play the DVD in the shop to check if it works. Some shops do allow it but can you imagine spending 2-3 hours checking some 15-20 DVDs (you have to go thru unskippable adverts in most cases). Must say that all shops promise you that you can return the DVD if defective, but driving is more expensive than cost of DVD. In case of web sales, you spend the same amount on postage and still not sure if you'll get a working replacement DVD, if you get it.

I know of only one shop that discarded all rotting DVDs, when he came to know of it. All others, they re-seal the DVD and hope that eventually someone, like me, will buy it and may not return it.

It is now better to buy the pirated dvds at 1.00 or 2.00 USD and watch it even once.I used to buy so many original dvds from manufacturers like Video Sound, SKY,Spark,DEI_BEI and the dvds are wishy washy-They froze the very first time

thanks a ton for your post rags / krcd -- much appreciated!
wish you and krcd good luck
thanks once again for caring for your customers!!

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10789&p=95362#p95362
MoserBaer Problems Continue In TAHAAN DVD


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Sony DADC -- New Plant In Mumbai -- hopefully, with improved quality -- in terms of "skip-free and freeze-free" discs. See the new DVDs from EXCEL and BIG carrying address of the new Sony DADC plant in Mumbai.