…is bad disks.

For about the 3rd time in as many months I’m saddled with another scratched and damaged DVD that won’t play. This time it’s “Michael Clayton.”

I’m sick of this. Are you listening Netflix? You must not be, because there’s easily accessible way for me to contact you on your website and tell you THIS SUCKS!

Netflix and other online movie rental companies want you to think that having movies mailed to you is the greatest thing since sliced bread. But the basic problem is that the media is too fragile; DVD’s are too easily damaged. It’s far too easy for the average person to incidentally scratch a DVD to the point where it is unplayable. Never mind the careless folks who just don’t give a shit and scratch them up because they’re clumsy oafs.

This would be manageable if Netflix would comp you a free movie when this happens, but they don’t. Instead, they ship you out another movie on the next business day. Meanwhile, you have to eat the lost time in shipping since you got a bad disk you can’t watch.

What’s really disappointing in all of this is that no one apparently considered the fragile nature of the DVD when they were attempting to create the next great removable media. Every time I see a science fiction film or television show where the actors utilize some snazzy, futuristic removable media (think “Serenity”), the media is always a well-protected one, encased in a shell that prevents it from getting scratched (or destroyed by martial arts fighting villains).

A disappointing end to the weekend.

…is bad disks.

For about the 3rd time in as many months I’m saddled with another scratched and damaged DVD that won’t play. This time it’s “Michael Clayton.”

I’m sick of this. Are you listening Netflix? You must not be, because there’s easily accessible way for me to contact you on your website and tell you THIS SUCKS!

Netflix and other online movie rental companies want you to think that having movies mailed to you is the greatest thing since sliced bread. But the basic problem is that the media is too fragile; DVD’s are too easily damaged. It’s far too easy for the average person to incidentally scratch a DVD to the point where it is unplayable. Never mind the careless folks who just don’t give a shit and scratch them up because they’re clumsy oafs.

This would be manageable if Netflix would comp you a free movie when this happens, but they don’t. Instead, they ship you out another movie on the next business day. Meanwhile, you have to eat the lost time in shipping since you got a bad disk you can’t watch.

What’s really disappointing in all of this is that no one apparently considered the fragile nature of the DVD when they were attempting to create the next great removable media. Every time I see a science fiction film or television show where the actors utilize some snazzy, futuristic removable media (think “Serenity”), the media is always a well-protected one, encased in a shell that prevents it from getting scratched (or destroyed by martial arts fighting villains).

A disappointing end to the weekend.