Minor rant: How do dvd rentals get so scratched?

[lv70smusic]

I guess the title says it all. I found myself wondering last night, having rented a couple of dvd's from a local video store, how it is that rented dvd discs get so scratched. After subscribing to Netflix for several months, the only time I have received really clean looking discs is when I've ordered a brand new release. While the scratches normally don't cause problems with playback, I have received a few discs from Netflix that were so scuffed up that there were playback issues. I know it can't be just the paper sleeves that Netflix uses that scratches the discs as I also rent dvd's locally from a few places and they all keep the discs in proper dvd cases. While these discs are not typically as scratched as Netflix's, they still routinely have many small scratches.

Are the playback machines themselves causing damage over time, and I simply don't see such damage on my discs because they are obviously played much less frequently than the typical rental dvd? Or are so many people really so careless in handling discs they rent (and probably the ones they own, too) that they are creating the scratches? If it's the latter, I'm really puzzled as to what people could be doing: Scraping the disc around on the post that holds the disc in its case? Leaving the disc laying on a table, not in its case, after viewing it? Not placing the disc correctly in the player's tray before closing the door, causing the disc to scrape against the drawer as it attempts to close? Taking sandpaper to them?

Okay, that's my pet peeve for the morning. Now back to my regularly scheduled morning coffee. :p

[Sckott]

In my area, I rarely find scrached-to-hell discs, but some do take a little abuse.

This question certainly answers itself though, doesn't it? People aren't good to discs they don't own, so what do you expect?

I hear you though. There's two different types of users. One that buys and takes care, the other that begs and borrows and could care less. The latter type rents 10X more movies than they buy, and they make for most of the rental market.

Add also the people who have kids and the carelessness that can occur in the household when the kids handle these discs too. It's expected, IMHO.

[-=Rudy=-]

Mr. & Mrs. Joe Sixpack & Family thinks DVDs are indestructible. :shake: Carelessness, no doubt.

[Drifter]

Are the playback machines themselves causing damage over time, and I simply don't see such damage on my discs because they are obviously played much less frequently than the typical rental dvd? Or are so many people really so careless in handling discs they rent (and probably the ones they own, too) that they are creating the scratches? If it's the latter, I'm really puzzled as to what people could be doing: Scraping the disc around on the post that holds the disc in its case? Leaving the disc laying on a table, not in its case, after viewing it? Not placing the disc correctly in the player's tray before closing the door, causing the disc to scrape against the drawer as it attempts to close? Taking sandpaper to them?

All of the above (especially the sandpaper treatment). :agree:

[JorgeGvb]

I used to be a Netflix member. Many of the disc's I received were scratched beyond belief. I never understood how they could look so bad. How hard is it to take the disc out of the envelope, put it in the drawer and put them back in the envelope when you are done? Some of them were dirty too, I recall taking the time to clean them to play in my DVD player.

[reidc]

Many of what my wife gets from Blockbuster have slight issues. We will have movies where the picture starts to pixelize and stutter and then stop. Sometimes cleaning it will help- but no always. When I look under them- usually they are scratched to hell.

Funny- I never have the issues with store bought(as in -new) DVD's.


Chris

[bluesbro]

Most people on this forum appreciate the value of CD's and DVD's. A lot of people out there are very different from us folks here. I've seen people treat their own CD's and DVD's as if they were a piece of furniture, no different than they would handle a coaster or a notebook.

[reechie]

Probably just the usual "It's not mine, who cares" attitude. :rolleyes:

You know, back in my radio days, there were only three of us who really worked with all the CD's, I could never figure out how they kept getting so boogered up! :confused:

[Jeff H.]

Probably just the usual "It's not mine, who cares" attitude. :rolleyes:

You know, back in my radio days, there were only three of us who really worked with all the CD's, I could never figure out how they kept getting so boogered up! :confused:


You couldn't be more right!!! :mad: That sort of thing makes me crazy when people don't respect someone elses property. I finally had to stop lending out CD's and DVD's to friends and family that think those discs are indestructible.

[Grant]

People throw them around, use them as coasters, kids run off with them, dog thinks it's a chew toy...

I see beat up DVDs all the time. People do not rent responsibly.

[lv70smusic]

I got back a dvd I had once lent to a friend. Fortunately the disc was still in good shape, but the case looked like (a) he was making chocolate chip cookies while he was handling it and (b) that he took a knife to the plastic cover over the artwork. He lives alone so I have to assume that he is the one who somehow managed to make a large slice in the newly greased cover.

You couldn't be more right!!! :mad: That sort of thing makes me crazy when people don't respect someone elses property. I finally had to stop lending out CD's and DVD's to friends and family that think those discs are indestructible.

[Grant]

I used to be a Netflix member. Many of the disc's I received were scratched beyond belief. I never understood how they could look so bad. How hard is it to take the disc out of the envelope, put it in the drawer and put them back in the envelope when you are done? Some of them were dirty too, I recall taking the time to clean them to play in my DVD player.

Most people do not do this. They think media is indestructable.

[BGLeduc]

I feel your pain, man.

All I can add is that if you think rental DVD's look bad, try renting a video game disc that has been on the market for a while...YIKES. We rented a Spiderman XBox game that literally appeared to have been rubbed with sandpaper.

BGL

[AKA]

I got back a dvd I had once lent to a friend. Fortunately the disc was still in good shape, but the case looked like (a) he was making chocolate chip cookies while he was handling it and (b) that he took a knife to the plastic cover over the artwork. He lives alone so I have to assume that he is the one who somehow managed to make a large slice in the newly greased cover.
I once lent out my copy of the first season of The Sopranos to a good friend of mine. When I got it back, some of the discs were scratched, and the packaging was sticky like she'd poured some soda on it or something (luckily, a tiny bit of glasses cleaning solution fixed that).

[John DeAngelis]

I borrow a lot of CDs and DVDs from the public library and it's the same problem--people are stupid and/or inconsiderate!

:shake:

[93curr]

I saw a guy on the subway the other day open a CD, handle the disc and flip through the booklet all while eating a hamburger. seriously. within ninety seconds he had grease and ketchup all over both the disc and the now-crumpled booklet.

THIS is why I don't buy used CDs.

most people treat CDs and DVDs the way we treat newspapers. there just ain't no respect. and that's for the stuff they own.

[PMC7027]

My wife usually rents DVDs from a couple of different local places. Not only are most of the discs scratched, but they are also usually full of fingerprints. She's also brought home discs that were caked in grime and crud, and wouldn't play. I can only imagine what would be on porno discs! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[Mark]

I borrow a lot of CDs and DVDs from the public library and it's the same problem--people are stupid and/or inconsiderate!

:shake:

Word. Unfortunately.

[Grant]

This is what we got when Sony advertised "perfect sound forever" about 24 years ago.

[MITBeta]

This used to be a big pet peeve of mine as well. I would get a disc that would skip whole scenes in a movie. My nearly every movie ritual would be to stop the movie in the middle, wash it, let it dry, then try to play it again, with 50/50 results. Then it got so that I'd just wash them as a rule right out of the Netflix envelope. I sent a lot of discs back to Netflix marked "UNPLAYABLE".

Then I replaced my DVD player with a cheapo Pioneer 563A and have maybe had one issue in 1.5 years. Clearly my even cheaper Toshiba DVD changer was less adept at handling disc scratches than the Pioneer is.

It does still boggle my mind to see how badly beat up some of these discs are. But then I have all I can do to get my wife to take a disc (any kind of disc) out of the player and put it back into its sleeve/case...

[Ron Stone]

This is what we got when Sony advertised "perfect sound forever" about 24 years ago.

Off topic, but wasn't "perfect sound forever" a line in a Technics ad?

[Dave D]

You couldn't be more right!!! :mad: That sort of thing makes me crazy when people don't respect someone elses property. I finally had to stop lending out CD's and DVD's to friends and family that think those discs are indestructible.
Yep. Lent a DVD-A to someone and it came back with a broken case. Lent a DVD movie and the cover looked like pizza was dropped all over it. Not anymore.

I always check the DVD's at the rental place before I take it. If it's bad, I get another one.