Just following up on the bad DVD transfers of the Back to the future DVd trilogy that cut off the top/bottom of the picutre.

Can anyone give an update - did Universal Release the corrected DVD's yet and did anyone receive them as promised?

Also, can someone give me some URLs to websites that document the problem so I can get my copy replaced - the local distributer says they "never heard of" this problem.

Search for: "back to the future" widescreen error on Google.

Here is one.

Here is the source where I first heard about the problem:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=40&threadid=908022

Yeah, it's not late February yet. I bought the set myself this last xmas season, knowing (via this BBS, thanks) that they were planning on offering replacement discs in February. I suppose there will be more news once they start shipping the re-framed DVDs.

Yep, I'm planning on getting it in early March, just to make sure I'm getting a new version.

I'm planning on getting it in early March, just to make sure I'm getting a new version.

That's no guarantee. You don't know if they got back stock from the distributor or not. If they don't label the packaging, you'd never know.

True. Well, crap. Hopefully they'll have some minor difference that someone will make note of, so I'll have something to check for.

Now that I think of it, they probably won't, since they have already been printing the cases for some time now. Guess I'll have to just wait and see if there is some sort of official way of telling the difference.

Then again, they could recall the older ones when the new version starts shipping.

You would hope so, as the expense of shipping out a lot of new copies will get expensive, then again, they may be hoping most people won't notice.... and I bet they're right.

edited for grammar...

ya most normal people who buy the dvd will never notice, you have to be geeks like us to really care about this sort of thing.

In reply to:

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you have to be geeks like us to really care about this sort of thing

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I don't consider it geeky to expect that the DVD release of a movie is 100% as good as its said it is by the studio - after all, thats why you buy the DVD (and pay a premium pricewise for doing so) to start with - because you want to own as close a copy to the movie version that was shown in a theatre on original release as you can [legally] get.

Hell, if you don't care about DVD over VHS or Laser disc, go buy the VHS copy - its cheaper, and watch it on your non-Stereo sound VCR.

It is basic "consumer rights" - we all paid good money to Universal for a supposedly "superior" (to Laser Disc and VHS) versions and we find that this is not the case - thats the problem.

I think actually that the framing is faulty in more than the 2 places mentioned as I watched disc 2 & 3 and found more than a few places where the image was truncated top and bottom and I'm not that picky about that sort of thing.

I can't see why only 2 scenes would be affected - which is what Universal are saying, if these 2 scenes are affected, then why not every scene in discs 2 & 3?

And from what I've seen of the disc 2 & 3 DVDs the problem affects more than these 2 scenes originally mentioned.

So I guess we'll have to reserve judgement until we get the new DVD's to be sure - [if and] when they ever appear.

edited for grammar...

I love this BBS.