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Paramount Recalls 'Jack Ryan' HD DVD
Thu Oct 18, 2007 at 12:00 PM ETTags: Technical Glitches, Paramount (all tags)
Following reports of a packaging error, Paramount has issued a recall of its forthcoming HD DVD release of 'The Jack Ryan Collection.'
As we first reported Tuesday, early copies of the highly anticipated release found their way into consumers hands earlier this week, but fans who were initially delighted to snap up a sneak peek began noticing something strange as they dived into the four-disc set.
Despite the "Special Collector's Edition" label clearly stamped across the front cover of each disc in the set, and a list of bonus features promoted on the box art (including audio commentaries, featurettes, and more), no one was able to find the advertised supplementary material on any of the actual discs.
As these reports began to surface, fan reaction was swift and predominantly negative in our forums area, with most wondering how a mistake like this could slip by the studio.
Today, Paramount has issued a street delay for the disc, and is asking all retailers return their stock to the distributor. No new street date has been announced, and at press time it wasn't clear whether the studio is planning to ultimately release the existing barebones discs with new corrected packaging, or with new feature-packed discs. We'll let you know as more information comes in.
The text of Paramount's email to retailers follows below:
Please be advised that there are typographical errors on the packaging for the Jack Ryan Special Collector's Edition HD-DVD. The packaging inadvertently notes special features that are not on the HD-DVD. As a result, this product is being recalled and street date is being delayed.We ask that you do not sell or rent this product to consumers and that you stop shipments to additional destinations. A Paramount Home Entertainment Representative will contact you with an RA number to facilitate sending the product back to Paramount Home Entertainment's manufacturing facility. Returned product should include any unit previously shipped to retailers or other destinations as well as your on-hand inventory. We will provide further information on the availability of new product shortly. Should you have any further questions, please contact a Paramount Home Entertainment Representative. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. |
Thanks to Shannon and Brian for the tip!
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- 'Jack Ryan Collection' Packaging Snafu? [High-Def Digest Forums]
- Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)
- The Jack Ryan Collection (HD DVD)
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- 'Jack Ryan' Special Edition HD DVD Not So Special? (Oct 16, 2007)
'Jack Ryan' Special Edition HD DVD Not So Special?
Tue Oct 16, 2007 at 11:00 AM ETTags: Technical Glitches, Paramount (all tags)
In what may end up being the biggest packaging blunder yet for a high-def title, Paramount's 'Jack Ryan Collection' HD DVD appears to have shipped to retail in a deluxe "Special Collectors Edition" box set that contains none of its advertised bonus features.
First announced earlier this summer, the four-disc 'Jack Ryan Collection' was originally planned for dual-format release on September 25. Although the studio would eventually scrap the Blu-ray version and push back the street date by nearly a month to October 23, the box set remained among the more highly-anticipated titles of the season.
Now, with the set's official street date only a week away, the HD DVD edition of 'The Jack Ryan Collection' has begun shipping to retail, but fans who were initially delighted to snap up early copies of the set began noticing something strange as they dived into the four-disc set.
As first reported yesterday by fans on several forums (including our own), despite the "Special Collector's Edition" label clearly stamped across the front cover of each disc in the set, and a list of bonus features promoted on the box art (including audio commentaries, featurettes, and more), as yet no one has been able to find the advertised supplementary material on any of the actual discs.
We here at High-Def Digest received our own copy of the final product direct from Paramount on Monday, and after combing through each disc, we too were unable to find a single supplemental feature anywhere on the entire set.
At press time, Paramount had not yet responded to a request for a comment on the apparent packaging snafu, but we'll keep you posted as soon as any official information comes in on the matter. Stay tuned...
(Thanks to Eddie for the tip!)
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)
- The Jack Ryan Collection (HD DVD)
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- 'Top Gun,' 'Jack Ryan Collection' Lead Paramount Fall Blu-ray, HD DVD Action Wave (Jun 12, 2007)
- Paramount Shuffles Fall Blu-ray, HD DVD Line-Up; 'Face/Off,' 'Jack Ryan Collection' See Delays (Aug 17, 2007)
Universal Breaks Silence on HD DVD Playback Issues; Announces Disc Replacement Program
Tue May 01, 2007 at 03:09 PM ETTags: Technical Glitches, Universal (all tags)
After weeks of persistent complaints from early adopters, Universal has issued a statement regarding playback issues with several of their most recent HD DVD releases.
The issues first surfaced in late March when 'Children of Men' was released on HD DVD, and consumers experienced inconsistent playback problems on both the Xbox 360 add-on and other stand-alone HD DVD playback devices. Since then, readers have reported similar playback issues on 'The Good Shepherd' and other more recently released Universal titles.
While the studio had been mum on the topic for over a month, today they issued a statement to High-Def Digest acknowledging the problems, and initiated a disc replacement program for affected consumers. The studio's full statement follows below:
"Universal is currently investigating reports that Children of Men, The Good Shepherd, and select other discs not playing properly in some HD DVD players. While we believe this is limited to a small number of HD DVD discs, Universal is offering a replacement service for any customers who are experiencing this problem. We are still investigating the cause and will provide further updates as we get them. Any customer problems should be directed to USHE.ConsumerRelations@worldmarkinc.com."
Needlesstosay, we'll continue to follow this story, and will keep you informed of any developments as they happen. We've also set up a dedicated thread in our Forums area to discuss playback problems with 'Children of Men' and other Universal discs.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- 'Children of Men' HD DVD Hits Xbox 360 Playback Snag? (Mar 29, 2007)
'Digital Video Essentials' HD DVD Hits Xbox 360 Playback Snag
Tue May 01, 2007 at 12:02 AM ETTags: Technical Glitches, DVD International (all tags)
Amid growing online complaints of playback issues with 'Digital Video Essentials' on the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, the disc's distributor has acknowledged the problem and says that a fix is on the way.
While Joe Kane's highly-anticipated calibration disc finally hit stores last Tuesday, many owners of the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on had a rude awakening when they attempted to boot up the disc, experiencing a series of hiccups and outright stalls that rendered key portions of the disc unplayable.
Needlesstosay, the complaints quickly found their way online, and onto the boards at AVS Forum. But as readers there were relieved to find out, the disc's distributor is aware of the problem, and promises that the next Xbox 360 dashboard update will solve it.
Here's how DVD International spokesperson Jeffrey Goodman responded in a post dated April 20, 2007:
"As many of you have seen, 'Digital Video Essentials' HD DVD experiences severe playback issues on Xbox 360 HD DVD add on players. All other players have been tested extensively in their current firmware build. All Toshiba players play this disc.
As has been suggested in this thread and others concerning DVE playback, you are correct - past delays were due to slight changes in each new firmware build - and the program had to go through the same rigorous testing and revisions each time. Finally, a disc was produced that adhered to the spec set forth by the DVD forum, which has been confirmed by its working status in all current firmware builds of Toshiba players.
The XBOX 360 dashbord update to be released on May 7th will fix these problems. All HD DVD players must have Internet upgrade capabilities, and we are all learning first hand why this was built into the spec."
We here at High-Def Digest followed up with Microsoft regarding dashboard update, and as of late Monday afternoon, the company confirmed that it is currently still on schedule for May 7 availability.
We'll keep you posted on any further developments to this story, and we've also added an editor's note regarding the Xbox 360 playback issues to our recently-posted review of 'Digital Video Essentials,' which can be read in full here.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- DVD International Responds to 'DVE' Playback Issues [AVS Forum]
- Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)
- Digital Video Essentials (HD DVD)
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- 'Digital Video Essentials' Finally Ready for HD DVD Release (Apr 16, 2007)
'Children of Men' HD DVD Hits Xbox 360 Playback Snag?
Thu Mar 29, 2007 at 04:10 PM ETTags: Technical Glitches, Xbox 360, Microsoft, Universal (all tags)
We've received numerous reader reports that Universal's new 'Children of Men' HD DVD is a bit of lemon for some Xbox 360 owners, due to incompatibility problems with the console's HD DVD add-on drive.
'Children of Men' hit stores earlier this week on March 27, as one of the most highly-anticipated HD DVD releases on the format thus far, and as our Kenneth Brown wrote in his recent review of the disc, it apparently boasts stellar video and audio. Unfortunately, more than a few Xbox 360 owners have had issues playing it on the device's popular HD DVD add-on drive, with many of our readers writing in to say that the disc simply won't play, and that even multiple returns of the disc have produced the same issue.
When testing the disc out on our own Xbox 360 add-on HD DVD drive, we had the same results -- the disc spins in the tray, but is seemingly unrecognized by the system. A black screen and a reboot threw us back to the Microsoft Dashboard menu regardless of how many times we continued to try and load the film. We tried this dic on another Xbox 360 and found the same problem. Strangely, that tryout was even more unsuccessful -- we didn't even make it to a black screen, it simply spun the disc longer than usual and remained at the Dashboard menu.
We should note that since word of these issues first emerged, readers have also written in to say that the disc plays back fine on their Xbox 360 devices, while others have reported playback problems with the disc on Toshiba's XA2 player (we had no such issues on our XA2).
We've contacted both Microsoft and Universal, but have not yet received any official word on whether it is a hardware problem, a software problem, or both.
We'll certainly keep you posted as soon as official word comes in. In the meantime, we've set up a dedicated thread in our Forums area to discuss playback problems with 'Children of Men' on the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on drive.
Stay tuned...
- Related links:
- 'Children of Men' HD DVD Review [High-Def Digest]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Universal Brings 'Children of Men,' '40 Year-Old Virgin' to HD DVD (Feb 09, 2007)
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