Sony up to no good? DVD problem.

[The Thayan Menace]

007 Glitch: The Accountants Are Running Sony These Days

I've encountered it on Rocky Balboa and Casino Royal.

Does your version of Casino Royale automatically use subtitles, even when you don't select them?

Mine does, and I have turn them off manually ... every time I watch the movie.

-Samir Asad

 

[bbarrington]

I also have a Toshiba DVD player from around 2001-2002. I don't have the model number since I'm travelling. I too had the issue with Casino Royale not playing and had to use my PS2. I guess I need to see if there is a firmware upgrade for my system as well.

 

[Lockridge]

Interestingly, when I first went to Toshiba's web site and looked under Support, there was no mention of any firmware upgrade for my model (SD3800).
I should ask the support person why that is.

Rodrigo and RangerREG: your both right - I wish I could return everything Sony but their televisions are damn nice. It is only the real consumers who get screwed when this happens. I can't imagine how much money is spent on these copy protections that only take the hackers a day to get through. This drives up our DVD prices since we pay for this copy protection when we buy the DVD. Ironically, the hackers don't buy the DVDs.

You'd think someone in Sony's marketing department would be screaming about the badwill this sort of nonsense generates. I find this happens when some companies get too big - they don't think they have to please the consumer anymore.

I don't know any details on Toshiba's lawsuit problems mentioned by Thornir but doesn't it imply that if the firmware patch works that indeed the fault is with Sony's copy protection? The very need for the patch is because of Sony. Maybe, maybe not.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I don't know any details on Toshiba's lawsuit problems mentioned by Thornir but doesn't it imply that if the firmware patch works that indeed the fault is with Sony's copy protection? The very need for the patch is because of Sony. Maybe, maybe not.

The lawsuit was that Toshiba listed their players as being "DVD" players, which means they had to meet certain standards that would allow playback of any DVD media meeting the DVD standards. The players, without the firmware upgrade were not capable of playing some DVDs, even though the media met the requirements, therefore the players were not compliant with the DVD standard. I suspect that copy protection is the reason the DVD player is unable to work since the one DVD I had issue with had a copy protection (Macromedia) that I do not have on any other DVD I own. There aren't any technical details, but if you want to see the lawsuit, you can find it here.



Hmmm, you said Toshiba will send you a free disk to do the upgrade? I'll have to call for that and save myself the trouble of bringing it to someone and having to pay. Thanks for the update.

 

[Arnwyn]

I don't know any details on Toshiba's lawsuit problems mentioned by Thornir but doesn't it imply that if the firmware patch works that indeed the fault is with Sony's copy protection? The very need for the patch is because of Sony. Maybe, maybe not.

Nope, it implies nothing of the sort.

Sony is hardly the first DVD software publisher to have compatibility issues with certain DVD players... and Toshiba is hardly the first player manufacturer to have compatibility issues with software.

(Did I miss the thread date...? I feel like I'm in in 2000. DVD compatibility issues are nothing new.)

 

[Lockridge]

(Did I miss the thread date...? I feel like I'm in in 2000. DVD compatibility issues are nothing new.)

DVD compatibility is most definately new when you start renting movies three weeks ago that just don't work in your machine.

Thanks for your answer though - I'm not enough of a tech person to know what a firmware update implies - I had assumed that it simply brought it up to date with changing DVD copy protections. (Remember the old days when a VHS tape was just a VHS tape?)

Thornir did a good job of explaining it though. Thanks for taking away my Sony conspiracy theory (although I do still have some suspicion...)

For anyone interested, the Toshiba tech support email address is:
customer_support @ tacp.com (without spaces)
Their reply message to me was:

Dear :

Thanks for writing!

There is a firmware disc available that addresses readability and compatibility issues. If you would like this firmware sent, please write back with your

Name

Address

Phone#

Model #

Serial #

For further assistance, please write back or call our Customer Solutions Department at 1-800-319-6684. They are available Mon-Fri, 8AM to 7PM Central time.

Erin
Toshiba Customer Service

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Thanks for the answers. I have no hard proof that there is a Sony conspiracy but I have a lot of circumstantial evidence.

Interesting point to note:
While online looking for the source of the problem I also found many links showing exactly how to illegally copy commercial movies. The jury is still out on whether or not the problem is copy protection or a worn out DVD player. If copy protection is what is making me go out to buy a new DVD player then I am now far more likely to engage in illegal copying since I feel ripped off.

Truth to tell I just don't have time to figure out the whole illegal copying thing but I think that the fact that this feeling exists makes an interesting point.

DVDShrink will rip a DVD and remove the copy protection.

 

[Agamon]

So what have we learned?

Sony is an evil corperation.

...what, that's not what we learned? Well, then consider it some useful advice.

(I kept up my Sony boycott for almost 2 years until my bro, who worked in electronics, got me a good deal on a new TV...turned out to be a Sony. Nice TV, though.)

 

[Ranger REG]

Rodrigo and RangerREG: your both right - I wish I could return everything Sony but their televisions are damn nice. It is only the real consumers who get screwed when this happens. I can't imagine how much money is spent on these copy protections that only take the hackers a day to get through. This drives up our DVD prices since we pay for this copy protection when we buy the DVD. Ironically, the hackers don't buy the DVDs.

You'd think someone in Sony's marketing department would be screaming about the badwill this sort of nonsense generates. I find this happens when some companies get too big - they don't think they have to please the consumer anymore.

Well, I am worried that Sony may changed the DVD format. If in the future I pick up the Spider-Man 3 DVD and it doesn't work while my two previous Spider-Man DVDs still work, then I will fire off a letter to Sony for discriminating my five-year-old DVD player.

Is this Sony's subtle way of telling me the old DVD format is obsolete so I might as well pick up a Hi-Def DVD player? That's scandalous. It's bad enough I don't have a HDTV yet.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Sony cannot just change the DVD format, unless they want to call it something else. To now be called a DVD, you have to meet the agrred upon standards. If they change those standards to the point where older DVD players no longer function, then they have to change the name. It is no different than CDs. New, old, different copy protection schemes, they still play on your old CD player because there is a standard that must be met. CDs with copy protection can get away with not being playable on a computer CD-R drive because the rules are slightly different for computer drives than they are for an ordinary CD player.